Universal Remote Control MX-350 Osiris IR/RF Remote Control ( 8056 ) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought two of these remotes with a pair of base stations for the two home theatres in my home. I have multiple components in each system, and custom built-in cabinets hide all the components except for the TVs. Since these remotes use radio frequency (RF) instead of (or in addition to) infrared (IR) pulses, I now can use my theatres while keeping the cabinet doors shut for a tidy appearance. They have multiple channels so it's possible to use many systems in the same home without interference. No PC is necessary for setting them up. There are some tips on the remote control forums online if you have a question not answered in the user's guide. Overall, worthwhile for an average user with multiple components -- especially if you need RF capability.

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Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote - universal remote control ( 966191-0403 ) Review

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(More customer reviews)I picked up this remote today at Wal-Mart, which is currently the only retailer carrying it.
Since a number of my friends have 600-series Harmony remotes, I decided to give it a go. I don't need program listings on my remote, nor a color screen. This remote does one thing, and does it well: Simplifies your life. I was previously juggling 5 remotes- not cool.
The unit comes with a USB to Mini-USB cable and a driver/application CD for Windows and (Mac) OS X. I can't comment on the Windows software, but the OS X software worked quite well. Uses some of the opensource Mozilla web technologies, too. That gets them a Gold Star, in my book.
The USB cable is used for programming the remote, based on programming data delivered from the website. The remote itself has a mini USB port on top, and an IR receiver on the bottom, for the off chance that you've found an unsupported device. With my setup, I had no need for it at all.
I can't comment on the Windows software, but the OS X software worked quite well.
Once I'd registered, and followed the extraordinarily simple "wizards" on their site, I was controlling my DirecTV TiVo PVR, Sony AV receiver, Phillips DVD player, and my XM Satellite Radio receiver. All in all, its now set up for 7 devices, all of which it controls flawlessly. No learning IR codes or punching in long digits.
My only (minor) gripe is that the DVR layout isn't the same as the TiVo remote- it has VCR-style Pause/Play/FF/RW controls. No biggie, actually.
The real test for me was giving it to my wife. She is in no way a technophobe, but she has a "thing" for things that "just work." If she has to fiddle with something, she won't use it. She picked up this remote, and a few clicks later, she "got it." I asked her to try to switch it to the DVD player, and she had no problem at all.
Outstanding remote. Very stylish, too.

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Logitech Harmony 300 Remote Control (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have a 42" Vizio HDTV, a TiVo HD Series 3, and a PlayStation 3, and for the longest time, I've been making do with 3 remotes--one for each item. It was a nightmare, but I couldn't justify the $200+ price of the nicer Harmony remotes to my wife, so we suffered through it.
When I heard about the 300, it was heaven-sent. Sure, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the nicer, more expensive models--no backlit keys, no touchscreen (or any other screen, for that matter), no activities, etc. But the individual remotes didn't have any of that, either. All I needed was one remote that could control all 3 pieces of my humble little set-up, and that's what the Harmony 300 is. (Note: to control the PlayStation 3, I had to buy the Harmony PS3 Bluetooth Adapter for another $50, because the PS3 doesn't support IR).
Set-up was a breeze. Put in the make and model numbers of the devices, sync the remote, and done! (I use a Mac with OSX 10.6.3). Without any additional input from me, the remote did just about everything it needed to. Five more minutes to make a few personal preference adjustments and to add one or two functions that weren't automatically programmed, and the Harmony 300 has replaced the 3 manufacturer's remotes, plus one cheap Phillips universal remote that would only control the TV and the old DVD player. The drag-and-drop button programming couldn't be easier.
I only gave it a 4 on the wife acceptance factor because not all of the labels match up exactly to the functions they perform from one device to the next, so there is a little memorization involved. Short of getting the all-touchscreen model, though, there's not really much anyone can do about that. You can only print so many labels on/above each key, after all.
All in all, I am very pleased with this remote. It does exactly what I need it to, and for a very reasonable price. If you have to have the biggest and baddest remote, or if you've owned one of the nicer Harmony remotes and you expect this one to be the same, it's probably not for you. But if you just want a remote that can actually control your TV and a few peripherals without paying through the nose for it, then this is the remote for you. I give it my highest recommendation.

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Logitech Harmony 300 is the remote that's simple to set up, easy enough for anyone to use, and gives you better control of what's attached to your TV.

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Philips SRU4105/27 Universal Icon Remote (Silver) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this remote because of the low price and ability to store favorite channels using pre-programmed buttoms with channel icons. Setup was easy with the codes for my TV, DVD and VCR. Both DVD and VCR functions are limited with no open drawer or eject ability.The unit does have a nice "learn" feature for older remotes or no code listing.
The major problem is the remote cannot store "-" channels which Comcast and other cable providers use for digital/HD channels i.e. 3-1, 56-3,,,so I am unable to store favorite HD channels. Attempting to program the HD channel number causes the error light to flash and using the button puts my TV into a PIP mode. Standard analog channels work fine.

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URC MasterControl RF20 Universal Learning Remote w/ RF Capability Review

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(More customer reviews)This remote is highly capable but has a bit of a learning curve--after about 4 hours of fiddling around with it and re-reading the manual, I've got a slick little setup that lets me simply push a "Movie" button or a "Game" button and everything turns on and goes to its proper setting. The navigation buttons control the DVD player, the volume buttons control the amp, and when I'm done, I hit Off, and everything turns off. Very cool.
Other than learning to program it (which is not as easy as it could be but thankfully need only be done once), there are only a few, minor gotchas.
- Tip #1: I highly recommend you not bother with pre-programmed device codes and just go straight for "learning mode" instead. The pre-programmed codes generally make on/off and volume work, but anything else (navigation keys on dvd player, source buttons on amp) is pretty sketchy. Save yourself time trying to figure out what works and what doesn't--just program all your keys manually. Also, the process for setting pre-programmed codes ruins all your nicely-renamed soft-keys (see Tip #2).
- Tip #2: Rename your soft-keys before programming them. This will make the learning process more intuitive and you can put all the useful keys on the first page and erase the obscure ones you never use.
- Tip #3: Take advantage of the ability to hide pages--the less random stuff your user has access to, the easier it'll be to use. I even erased the text on the unused keys and set the left over unused device buttons as "dummy macros" which return the user to the first page of the Main menu.
- Tip #4: Why program real devices? I created "virtual devices" as my first two soft-keys and then also tied them to a macro. The first device is labeled "Movie" and is tied to a macro that turns on the DVD player, TV, amp, and sets the amp to the DVD input. Then the remaining keys in my "Movie Device" are programmed for appropriate devices--the navigation keys control the DVD player, but the volume keys control the amp. The second soft-key is likewise labeled "Game" and functions similarly. Lastly, I set an OFF macro to turn everything off and kick you back to the Main menu.
- Tip #5: The remote has a rather poorly-named feature called "punch through" which can help you accomplish this (its really a re-mapping feature which maps buttons from one device into another). It's useful for making things more convenient--you can change the volume on the amp without having to leave the DVD player menu. Just map the Amp's volume controls to the DVD device.
Cons
- The only buttons that can be set to macros are the soft-keys, and the ON/OFF keys when on the main menu. It'd be nice if you could set any key to a macro no matter where you are. For instance, I would rather have used the actual OFF key for an Off macro in my "Movie" device but instead had to make a soft-key be my OFF macro.
- The manual is not too clear but two or three times over the more complicated items (like macros and "punch throughs") and you'll get it.
- Using pre-programmed codes is not very dependable and also blows away any custom labels. Just use learning mode instead.
- You can't hide any of the Main menu pages (there are two pages with 5 devices each for a total of 10 devices--but if you only have 5 devices, it'd be nice to be able to hide the other page).
- This isn't the RF20's fault, but beware that many devices don't have discrete ON and OFF commands--only a toggle. So if you set a macro to turn off three of your devices but one is already off, you may end up turning it on when you turn the other two off.

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Controls up to 10 Audio/Video components / Provides 453 Macros buttons (up to 190 steps each / Thousands of built-in pre-programmed codes / Power - 4 AAA Batteries (included) / LCD Display Size - 0.88 x 1.88 inch / Learning Function / Backlit Keypad / Size - Depth 1 x Height 8.5 x Width 2.5 inch / Weight – 7.1 oz. (with batteries)

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