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(More customer reviews)Philips SRU8010 Prestigo Icon Universal Remote
Overview:
I am writing this review on behalf of my wife. This will be the first universal remote my wife actually will use. She loves it. I have scaled Mount Everest. The unit is long (9" x 2.25"), but the length accommodates the bright, backlit screen at the top, which is the one feature she loves the most. For much more detail on the screen and button layout, you can download the user manual here:
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(Note that the picture on the front of the manual shows black number buttons with white numbers, but our unit shipped as silver buttons with black numbers, which actually stand out more.) After you have programmed all your preferences and macros, memory is maintained while changing the 3 AA batteries--but the manual does not indicate how long memory is maintained without batteries. Here is how the setup goes.
(1) Devices first. After first putting in batteries, a Setup Wizard comes on screen and easily takes you through an initial process of getting your basic devices (TV, cable box, DVD, receiver, etc.) and functions (On, Off, etc.) operational. A multitude of codes are stored in the Philips unit for almost any device and configuration (even TV/VCR combinations). Be sure to know what you want to name a device, because you cannot change the name once you have gone through the setup procedure. (Well, you could, but you would have to start from scratch, completely reinitializing that device, including loosing all manually programmed buttons and all macros particular to that device.)
(2) Favorites second. Then, you set up your channel favorites. Very helpful before you get into your favorites setup would be to draw up a list of your channel numbers, the broadcast name, and the order that you would want them in. I know this takes a little time, but, believe me, the effort will pay off, because changing the order of your favorites once they have been set is most tedious. The Favorites have nice, readable icons (hence the word "Icon" in the remote's model name) in a large database covering not only the major broadcast and cable channels, but also channels of which I was not even aware. The icons show up beautifully on the bright, backlit display at the top of the remote. Once inside a particular Favorites list, pressing the small "Side Keys" next to a channel on each side of the display accesses that channel favorite. Your can have up to ten customized, namable Favorites lists, with each individual list having 36 channels stored. Wow. That's a bunch of channels and flexibility for all family members. You even have two dedicated Favorites list buttons on either side at the very top of the remote, one "His" and the other "Hers." Super! Just what the doctor ordered at our house. This Favorites feature of the remote is probably the most user friendly and nicest part of the remote.
(3) Learning third. Those remote control functions that still do not work once a device has been setup can be learned (and you will always have some function on some button on an old remote that YOU want that nobody else cares about). You simply get the Philips unit ready, specifying which button on the Philips you want to program with that function, point your old remote at the bottom of the Philips unit (not the top), and punch that button on your old remote. The Philips returns a "Successful" if the IR code has been received, or lets you try again if you did not have the two remotes lined up properly. Sometimes all the main buttons you need for that device work straight out of the box using the Philips programmed code number for that device. On occasion, though, one button you need does not work. Say, for example, the Philips code number for your VCR gives you all your transport buttons (Play, Stop, Pause, Advance, Rewind), but, inexplicably, the Record button does not work. No worries. You just program the Record button manually using the learning function on the Philips unit and the Record button on your old VCR remote. Works like a charm every time. For those buttons that represent oddball features on your old remote, you just will have to remember what substitute function you put on that Philips button. When you have multiple devices and remotes, trying to remember too many "customized" buttons that do not correspond with the screen icon on the one surface of the Philips unit when constantly switching from one device to another gets to be difficult. Here I think the KISS principle may apply ("Keep it simple, stupid"), at least for me.
You have two physical places to put the learned functions: (1) the "Main Keys," which is Philips's terminology for most of the buttons on the surface of the unit, including the Power button itself, and (2) the "Side Keys," which are not actually on the side of the unit itself, like the name might suggest, but the ten smaller buttons arranged vertically on the sides of the display screen, five on the left, and five on the right. Any button, Main Key or Side Key, can be one simple IR command or an entire macro.
Special Features:
This remote has many nice features that you can read about in the downloadable, pdf manual. I mention two in particular.
(1) Punchthrough. A nice feature of universal remotes these days is called "punchthrough." This is lingo for being able to operate the volume on you receiver, for example, regardless what mode the remote is in, whether "Receiver," "TV," "Cable," "DVR," etc. So, if you are in TV mode watching a movie, the volume buttons on the Philips remote still control the volume of your receiver, not your TV's volume. The Philips volume buttons (and mute) "punch through" all the other devices to the receiver's volume control. Four control categories on the Philips remote can be set to "punch through" to a particular device in this manner: Volume, Channel, Play (transport functions), and Quit.
(2) KidSafe. Another feature of the Philips remote that parents will appreciate is called "KidSafe." This feature uses a password-protected function to limit access to favorite groups, settings, or any forbidden menu. at least from the remote. When using the remote, the kids watch only the channels you allow, with access only to volume and mute, and cannot mess with any settings of the remote.
Minor Complaints:
(1) Codes: Be aware that inexpensive home-theater-in-a-box units (HTIB), even those from major brands, are not well represented in the device codes of the Philips unit and mostly have to be programmed manually--doable, but inconvenient. I was trying to simplify from a very expensive and complicated setup that my wife never could enjoy on her own, nor could friends visiting for the weekend, without me there to insure every little button and device was set up just right. Could not even watch the news, for goodness sake, without an act of Congress. I finally wearied of all that and capitulated to a HTIB that reduced the number of individual components and a morass of remotes. However, several important functions of my inexpensive HTIB, though a major name brand, I had to program manually on the Philips remote.
(2) Buttons. The buttons on the remote are big and easy to use in the daylight. However, the "Main Keys" buttons, most of the buttons on the surface of the remote, are not backlit. I did not realize how dependent I had become on my backlit remotes. Watching a movie in a dimly lit room makes some specially coded buttons that are not the obvious Play, Stop, Menu, etc. buttons a stab in the dark that can ruin a good movie moment if you happen to hit the wrong button trying to guess. This complaint is NOT true of the beautiful, backlit display screen on the Philips remote and its "Side Keys." Also, the Mute and Last buttons are nowhere near the volume and channel buttons, a poor user-interface decision. These buttons are both small and located all the way down under the number keypad. You can "get used to the position," but why have to? This placement is completely illogical, perhaps a compromise made necessary because the volume and channel keys actually are unnecessarily big in the first place. Room could have been made for a Mute key underneath a smaller volume rocker, and ditto a Last button underneath a smaller channel rocker. This suggested placement would have been a minor change to achieve a major goal of much more user friendly from the git-go. (My wife already has asked numerous times, "Now, remind me, where is my Mute button?")
Major Complaints:
This Philips universal remote is really good, one my wife will actually use for the first time in our married lives, but getting the device up and running not always is a bed of roses. I will feel better about the remote as time distances me from the initial battle to get the unit set up fully with all necessary macros running smoothly and predictably. I would be embarrassed to admit the actual number of hours I put in getting every single glitch worked out, but I hope you will not think me a dufus. I am quite technically and gadget proficient, having owned a ton of electronic, stereo, recording, theater, and studio equipment. Hopefully, you will see more why I had trouble as I work through the following list.
I realize that not every problem I had is purely the fault of the Philips remote. One problem is timing. Timing on macros is a huge consideration of which some consumers may not be fully aware. The reasons are numerous. For example, different TVs have different warm-up times, especially older DLPs and plasmas. You have to wait on the TV to warm up before the TV lets you have control through the remote. You have to estimate this pause in the sequence of working out a macro into which the TV turning on is configured. Even more complicated, in some macros the TV has to come on first...Read more›
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Philips Prestigo SRU8010 Icon Universal Remote Control
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