Best Universal remote control?

[indiancurry]

I have a classic, beautiful Sansui AUX R711. The only thing missing is the remote which does not seem to be available inspite of searching high & low for it. Which is the best universal remote control that can learn to do the basic functions of an amplifier?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[s2pdname]

Of course, this will depend on your definition of "the best." However, for ease of use (wife, kids, babysitter, etc), ease of programming, and budget around $100 MSRP) I have found that the newly released Harmony 520 is tough to beat. A lot of this depends on your budget and the number of Activities and Devices that you wish to control also.

You may also want to check out the remote control section of AVS forum and Remote Central.

Good luck!

 

[claudermilk]

You can also check out http://www.remotecentral.com/

 

[Hi Ho]

I have the Harmony 688. I absolutely love it! It is by far the best universal remote I have ever used. It controls ANYTHING. The online database is huge. If, by chance, one of your devices is not in the online database it has learning capability. You can even load TV listings into the remote!

The activity concept is wonderful. I can press "Watch TV" and the TV comes on, switches to "cable", receiver comes on and switches to TV and then ProLogic. Press "Play Xbox" and the TV switches to video 1, receiver to VCR then to CD, and the digital input is activated. All of the functions take ONE button push. All the basic activities (macros) are setup automatically using wizards with simple questions like "what do you use to change channels while watching tv?"... volume?... You can customize the basic ones and make your own as intricate as you want. I have never seen a remote this customizable. Every single button can be customized and any button that is not covered in the hard button array can be added to the LCD screen.

If the remote gets "confused" and out of sync the help button will fix it. It asks questions like "Is the TV on?" ... yes or no, "Did that fix the problem?" ... yes or no, and so on.

The best thing about this remote is that you program it on your PC. I don't know why no one else has done this. Programing on the PC is far superior to punching in codes on the remote itself.

I would recommend any of the Harmony remotes in a heartbeat. They are all very similar in functionality. It's really the button layout and egornomics that differentiates the models. I paid $80 for my remote at Newegg.

 

[MDS]

There are lots of different remotes that have pc programming ability and they go far beyond the Harmony's simple pre-programmed code database.

Button layout and ergonmics is very important and IMO Harmony fails miserably at that. The buttons are too small and layed out in a random manner. The models with dozens of buttons around the cursor controls is particularly bad.

Yet alot of people seem to rave about them. I don't see the attraction and I've used and programmed alot of different remotes. From here on out I'm sticking with Home Theater Master. The button layout is ideal and can be operated without looking at the remote. They can control anything and you can choose either pc programmable or direct from the remote programmable models. The models that can be programmed right on the remote are insanely easy because it has a menu system you use to configure all aspects of the remote. All of the new models are also RF capable with the purchase of the RF basestation.

 

[Hi Ho]

Button layout and ergonmics is very important and IMO Harmony fails miserably at that. The buttons are too small and layed out in a random manner. The models with dozens of buttons around the cursor controls is particularly bad.

Different people see things differently. I have a model with "dozens of buttons around the coursor" and I find it very easy to navigate by feel. The buttons all have a different feel. It's very easy to start at the center (coursor/OK button) and find all the main functions from there without looking at the remote once.

 

[Snap]

Harmony makes a good remote if.....
1. Money is an issue
2. Long programing is not needed (macros and stuff)

If you have the cash, then get a Universal Home Theater Master remote. Go MX-700 or higher. (700 and up are the ones that you can program with PC)
I love mine. And as far as the HT is...my wife would rather me sell everything and get a HT-In-A-Box then to ever get rid of the remote!

(Of course if you have HUGE DEEP pockets than by all means get a Crestron.)

The MX series remotes are IMHO some of the best remotes out there.

 

[Bryce_H]

I love my harmony remote. I have a Marantz MKII 2000 remote that I never use anymore because of the harmony. I agree the button issue is annoying (particularly since they buried the glow button in the middle of a bunch of other buttons) However, I now know where to find the glow button and can therefore find everything else no problem. I actually bought the harmony becuase my Denon 3805 (floor model at 1/2 off) didn't have a remote. Just downloaded all the codes off the internet. It even had the codes for my old sony DVP-7000 and projector VPL-400Q! Anyway, I'm happy with mine.

 

[eirepaul]

Harmony 676

I love my harmony remote. I have a Marantz MKII 2000 remote that I never use anymore because of the harmony. I agree the button issue is annoying (particularly since they buried the glow button in the middle of a bunch of other buttons) However, I now know where to find the glow button and can therefore find everything else no problem. I actually bought the harmony becuase my Denon 3805 (floor model at 1/2 off) didn't have a remote. Just downloaded all the codes off the internet. It even had the codes for my old sony DVP-7000 and projector VPL-400Q! Anyway, I'm happy with mine.

I have a 3805 with it's remote and I don't use it since I got a Harmony 676. I didn't like the Denon remote - I find the Harmony much easier to operate and I like the activity concept too. I don't have any trouble finding buttons either.

 

[Hi Ho]

Harmony makes a good remote if.....
1. Money is an issue
2. Long programing is not needed (macros and stuff)

You can do macros with the Harmony. I have some rather lengthy ones set up.

 

[Geno]

I've been using a Home Theatre Master MX-500 for a while now, and I love it. Got very high marks from Remote Central, and costs less than $100 on line. Easy to program and easy to correct mistakes I made the first time around. I previously had a $250 Philips Pronto Neo, and was extremely unhappy with it. The Harmony gets a lot of praise, but I found them pretty limited as far as customizing to your own particular setup.

 

[Mudcat]

The remote for my Yamaha RX-V1400 died. Do any of these remotes handle the speaker and other set up procedures well enough to be useful?

 

[westcott]

Which is the best universal remote control that can learn to do the basic functions of an amplifier?

Any help is appreciated.[/QUOTE]

There are a lot of cheap learning remotes for basic amplifier control but for a bit more, you can get an activity based remote like the Harmony 688.

Combine it with the Next Generation RF, and you will be able to control practically anything from anywhere in the house.

 

[indiancurry]

Thanks guys ...

I am more confused than ever. Let me try to check options on ebay & other sites.