One for All URC 8910 Universal Remote Control Review

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(More customer reviews)After considering the highly respected Unifier URC-100 by Universal Remotes (which sells for nearly $100) I decided, on a whim, to give the OneForAll 8910 a shot. I was replacing an older, simpler Sony universal remote because I'd recently purchased a Samsung Home Theater unit (DVD/Tuner/Receiver/SurroundSound) and I knew I'd need a new universal remote to have any chance of success with this new breed of component.
First lesson - the "learning" function of the 8910 remote really does work, and is very simple to use. The LCD screen at the top makes all the difference - it walks you through the process and lets you know exactly what's happening. No guesswork involved. So, even though there was no code included with the remote for my new Samsung Home Theater Unit, I was easily able to "learn" the most important functions. The catch is that the remote can only hold about 25 commands total in its "learned" memory - so you're not going to "learn" all the buttons from several remotes.
Second lesson - the "upgrade" system really works! I was dubious, but I called the OneForAll customer support number early one morning, and the phone was answered so quickly I thought I'd dialed a wrong number. A very friendly and capable service agent immediately looked up my Samsung unit, had me type in a code and my remote reponsed with an error message. So he said, "Right, I'll have to upgrade you. Please hold the back of the remote to the speaker on your telephone headset." There's a modem microphone hidden behind the plastic, and after playing modem tones for about 10 seconds, the remote's screen blinked "success" and instantly the appropriate code for my Home Theater System was accepted. Worked perfectly. Almost like magic (and this was actually over a cell-phone). I've heard other stories of remotes needing to be mailed in for the upgrade, but this is a 5-minute, over the phone system that really works. The database is constantly updated (my Samsung unit is very new to the market, and they already had it programmed) so you can call and "upgrade" your remote each time you get a new component.
As for my older components (RCA TV, Toshiba VCR, etc) the pre-installed codes worked fine. The macro functions and volume-lock features work as well as any other universal remote I've encountered.
But there's even more...
Third lesson - This remote has a JP-1 connector! If you're so inclined, you can order a special cable for about $15 and download software that will let you completely program and customize this remote using your Windows PC. Program any command to any button. Thanks to the "learning" feature, you can input a command from a component's original remote, then map that command to any button, or download command sets made by other users off the internet specifically for your device. This means that even unusual units such as home security systems or wireless home-network media centers can be controlled fully - not just STOP and POWER ON. (I've just finished setting up my 8910 to work with a Netgear MP101 Media Player.) All this programming is direct to the unit's main memory, not using the "learned" memory space, and thus overcoming the 25-learned-button restriction. Granted, it requires a little work and the software isn't easy, but that's the wonderful thing about this remote: It will work out of the box for most devices, can be easily "upgraded" over the phone by OneForAll, and if you really want, it can be completely customized by programming and downloading command schemes from your PC.
These are features I never imagined would be available in a $35 remote. Not to mention the fact that the buttons are quite well laid out, the backlight is crisp and clear, and while it is large, it's comfortable to hold.
I've gone from being dubious to being astonished at how powerful this unit is.


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10-22-2007 - Brand New Item. Description - ONE FOR ALL URC8910 8-DEVICE A/V PRODUCER 8 ;LEARNING IR HOME THEATER REMOTE

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One For All URC 9960 Kameleon 8-Device Upgradeable Universal Remote Control Review

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(More customer reviews)I own the RadioShack branded incarnation of this remote, after having previously bought and returned the older 6-in-one Kameleon.I have also read through tons of manuals for different AfO/RadioShack and other models, before finding that this is really the only one that will suffice for me.
That said, while some things were improved in this 8-in-1 Kameleon (over the 6-in-1 and other All-for-One models), some things also got worse.
The good:
* You can send "raw"/advanced IR codes (000 - 255) to your devices, and thus be able to control features not enabled by default. In some cases, you may be able to control the device in ways the original remote could not! For instance, you can send a discrete ON (code 022) or OFF (code 026) signal to nearly all Panasonic devices; or switch the input channel directly to e.g. Video 3, or "AUX", rather than repeated "TV/Video" keypresses. This is very useful for macro programming. You can even assign such advanced codes to particular keys, if you don't use them for anything else. For a list of various advanced codes, check out "http://www.hifi-remote.com/".
* You can program 5 macros, on keys M1 - M4, and on the "Power" key. For instance, if you have a home theatre system, you can program M1 to switch your HDTV to your cable/satellite video input, your home theatre to the cable/satellite audio input, and leave your remote in the "Home Theatre" mode. Similarly, assign M2 to DVD video in on the TV, DVD mode on your home theatre, etc...
* The ability to download new codes over the telephone is really, really cool. As shipped, this remote did not support my HTiB (a Panasonic HT-SC810V), but after a call to RadioShack customer support I now have this supported as well.
The not-so-good:
* The Power macro only works while the remote is in "System" mode. Otherwise, it controls power only to the selected device, e.g. your TV or your DVD player. So to turn on/off your entire system, you need to press "System", then "Power" -- if you forget to do so, you will find that the various devices are "out of sync", and you need to toggle power for individual devices. (This is unlike the 6-in-1 Kameleon, where the "Power" macro worked regardless of what mode the remote was in. In fact, the 6-in-1 would allow you to program a macro on nearly any key, not just M1-M4 + powerd).
* I simply don't like the soft keys. I wish AfO had any models with similar functionality in a regular push-button remote. Models like the 8811 come close, but no cigar without the ability to program a macro on the power key.
* I had a very difficult time trying to "learn" functions from my original remote. It simply would not accept the code very easily. That's OK, I'd rather add the function by way of assigning the appropriate advanced code to the keys, as this eats less memory, and is more versatile. (For instance, "learned" funtions cannot be copied to other keys via the Keymover feature).
* The tilt switch does not work all that great. Sometimes it is too sensitive, turning on the remote after a nearby person breathes - othertimes you have to shake it to turn it on. You can also turn it on by pressing on the pad -- that means another keypress.
Someone else described a way to disable the tilt switch by opening up the remote and physically remove it. That's unneccessary. The manual (at least the RadioShack manual) describes very clearly how to do this programmatically:
- Hold down the "P" (i.e. "Setup") key for 3 seconds, until the IR indicator blinks twice.
- Press "Other"
- Enter the code 9-8-5. The IR indicator blinks four times (to indicate that the switch is off), or twice (to indicate that is on).

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