Best RF remote for home theater setup???

[greenstarfish03]

Hello,

I have a 55" LCD in my main living room over the fire place and my wife didn't want any of the components visible. I wired everything to the basement directly below the TV. I have an RF remote for the satellite receiver but its annoying running up and down the stairs to pause a DVD Can you recommend a good RF master remote that will operate my satellite, blue ray and audio receiver? Like I said I want one device to do all, it has to be RF so I can operate if from a different room, and I want something the whole family can use. I also would like something that will meet my needs for the best price possible. I don't need allot of extra features I wont use.

Thanks

 

[bandphan]

Hello,

I have a 55" LCD in my main living room over the fire place and my wife didn't want any of the components visible. I wired everything to the basement directly below the TV. I have an RF remote for the satellite receiver but its annoying running up and down the stairs to pause a DVD Can you recommend a good RF master remote that will operate my satellite, blue ray and audio receiver? Like I said I want one device to do all, it has to be RF so I can operate if from a different room, and I want something the whole family can use. I also would like something that will meet my needs for the best price possible. I don't need allot of extra features I wont use.

Thanks

Budget ??

 

[j_garcia]

I am partial to URC, but the Harmony remotes are good as well. Different methods of programming, but both are pretty simple. Yes, budget will make a big difference in recommendations

 

[greenstarfish03]

I'm not sure about the budget. I have cash to spend just don't want to waste it though on something I don't need. I want good functionality at a good price. I probably don't want to drop $300 though if I can help it.

 

[bandphan]

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Control-MX-450-Programmable-Editing/dp/B001HKLA60 + http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250684390942&rvr_id=129323248004&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=?*O?&GUID=002093ef12a0a0aad27731d7fea1216e&itemid=250684390942&ff4=263602_263622

Unfortunately 300 hundred wouldnt be high priced to me Its all about control and being bullet proof ) There also is the RFS20

 

[greenstarfish03]

remote

Wow. Expensive for a remote. I may need to find a used one

 

[bandphan]

Wow. Expensive for a remote. I may need to find a used one

Dropping 25k for a remote control system is expensive

 

[j_garcia]

I think you can find that stuff cheaper. Here's a good place to check as well:

www.remotecentral.com

 

[jostenmeat]

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Control-MX-450-Programmable-Editing/dp/B001HKLA60 + http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250684390942&rvr_id=129323248004&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=?*O?&GUID=002093ef12a0a0aad27731d7fea1216e&itemid=250684390942&ff4=263602_263622

bp, is this the unit that you were helping adk out with? I suppose I'd need the different base station, as I won't be the least bit surprised if the frequency band is different, as with my RF20? Just curious.

Dropping 25k for a remote control system is expensive

Agreed, and even well beyond that too.

 

[bandphan]

bp, is this the unit that you were helping adk out with? I suppose I'd need the different base station, as I won't be the least bit surprised if the frequency band is different, as with my RF20? Just curious.



Agreed, and even well beyond that too.

Craig's remote is the 980 which retails for an avg of 800. URC has two bands of RF and models need to be checked. My 950 works the 100. The RF20 is still the best remote for the money. Retail use to be 179 for the remote only the MX350. I only linked the 450 because of the graphics, as most use that as a comparison to Harmony. One of the nice things about "most" URC pro grade and RF series is the feel and layout, using it at night with the lights off is so easy for component fuctions. There are a couple of units I do not like from URC and they are the wizard based software

Edit: Craig went thru the learning curve and set up an awesome control system with ir, rf and rs232 control with out much help at all other than some tools. I'm sure he is very happy with it and compared to the previous URC setup he had (which was nice) the new one is bullet proof.

 

[greenstarfish03]

"Dropping 25k for a remote control system is expensive"

I agree!!! That is crazy expensive for a remote. For that kinda money I would want to control my entire house and then some. In my case I just need to control my basic components from another room

Thanks for the help.

 

[bandphan]

"Dropping 25k for a remote control system is expensive"

I agree!!! That is crazy expensive for a remote. For that kinda money I would want to control my entire house and then some. In my case I just need to control my basic components from another room

Thanks for the help.

You would get whole house control And some control options you never thought possible

 

[adk highlander]

Craig's remote is the 980 which retails for an avg of 800. URC has two bands of RF and models need to be checked. My 950 works the 100. The RF20 is still the best remote for the money. Retail use to be 179 for the remote only the MX350. I only linked the 450 because of the graphics, as most use that as a comparison to Harmony. One of the nice things about "most" URC pro grade and RF series is the feel and layout, using it at night with the lights off is so easy for component fuctions. There are a couple of units I do not like from URC and they are the wizard based software

Edit: Craig went thru the learning curve and set up an awesome control system with ir, rf and rs232 control with out much help at all other than some tools. I'm sure he is very happy with it and compared to the previous URC setup he had (which was nice) the new one is bullet proof.

I'm very very very happy with my control setup. After 4 months with my present setup I have not had any issues. All zones work everytime and I never get calls from my wife that something is not working anymore. That alone is worth the price of admission.

I may have done the programming but without Scott's help and direction with getting the software and part selection it would not have turned out so well.

 

[bandphan]

bp, is this the unit that you were helping adk out with? I suppose I'd need the different base station, as I won't be the least bit surprised if the frequency band is different, as with my RF20? Just curious.

The two bands are 418 and 433, you RF20 will be accessible to almost very base station URC offers, (260 would be the exception)

 

[greenstarfish03]

How does the Logitech Harmony 890 Remote Control stack up to the URC that you recommended?

 

[adk highlander]

How does the Logitech Harmony 890 Remote Control stack up to the URC that you recommended?

The 450 and 890 have similar feature sets so would be comparable. The Harmony's use a web based wizard software that walks you through adding your gear and setting up "activities" for watching/listening to your sources. The MX-450 is programmed on the remote and you do not have to connect it to a computer to program it.

I have owned both logitech and URC products and for build quality the URC's win hands down. Customer support from URC is very good and there are some very good user forums.

The one mistake I made early on was not thinking about all the additions to my system I would be making over the years so I wasted some money getting remotes that never quite did everything I wanted. If I would have just invested in an MX-980 or even the MX-880 at the beginning I would have saved money in the long run.

Edit: Here is a link to a thread I started about remotes and control systems: http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64836

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Just my two humble cents :
Neither URC's RFS20 [RF+Base] or 890 will support your sat tv receiver rf remote (different frequencies) . You have to do a bit more research on the issue.

As two years owner of Harmony 880 (same 890 minus RF) - I can first person attest that 880 has serious buttons design flaws and they pretty much guaranteed to fail in 1.5-2 years.

Recently I got RFS20 and thou programming is something one needs to get used to - I can 100% confirm - it's built like a tank and Harmony has nothing on it in terms of usability and quality. Plus I hate FF/RW/PLAY/STOP/PAUSE controls on the harmony - they suck on 880. Harmony one is big improvement , however it's expensive and Harmony 900 (One+RF) is madly expensive. I asked people around here long-term owners of Harmony One and responses weren't 100% positive - from failing back-light trigger (motion triggered) to minor drop to floor bricked the remote.

 

[greenstarfish03]

Ok I'm leaning towards the MX-450. Will that control my satalite RF or will I have an issue w/ the freq? It would b e a bummer to still have to use two remotes.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Ok I'm leaning towards the MX-450. Will that control my satalite RF or will I have an issue w/ the freq? It would b e a bummer to still have to use two remotes.

post model of your "satalite RF"

 

[bandphan]

Ok I'm leaning towards the MX-450. Will that control my satalite RF or will I have an issue w/ the freq? It would b e a bummer to still have to use two remotes.

you will have to set the satellite box to ir in the setup menu or depending on the model it might have an ir input on the back.