Universal Remote Control 7-Function Learning and Preset Remote

...

Logitech does and I should've spent the extra $50 apiece and bought theirs. 2. Their customer service, knowing that they had sold a remote that wouldn't work with Dish Network, could have offered to exchange and upgrade it (at my cost of course), but they didn't offer that. My advice, buy your remotes from someone who guarantees compatibility. I have a couple of paperweights that I intend to resell used here or on Ebay or craigslist at a loss

Universal Remote Control 7-Function Learning and Preset Remote

...

good in my hand - The remote feels solid and well proportioned in my hand. I have fairly large hands though.

Excellent value - I am amazed that this remote is so inexpensive, given some of the other ones I've tried.

Learning function is easy to use - when you need to program something manually you can, and it's easy to do.

Punch through for volume/mute - you can set it up so you can adjust the volume or mute the TV or stereo when you have any function selected. That way you don't have to constantly shift back to the TV or receiver every time you need to tweak the volume. This is critical!!

Bad:

Range seems lacking for a big room - I only noticed this at my parent's house. They have a much larger room and some of the equipment is placed in such a way that the remote sensors are not in easy view. The standard TiVo remote seemed to have more range/power and you could at least bounce the signal off the walls to get it to work. This remote seems to be a little underpowered. It works great in a smaller room (8-10 feet away), but 15-20 feet seems too far for this remote to control our TiVo unless you have a very direct line of sight. All of the other devices work just fine though at that range, so it may just be the unfortunate positioning of the TiVo.

Preprogrammed codes are limited by button type - For example, the SAT/Cable button can be programmed for Satellite/Digital cable and DVR's. We have a satellite, digital cable, and a TiVo. I used a preprogrammed code for the digital cable box and it worked great. I figured I could then just program the TiVo code onto the "AUX" button. No luck. I could only program the TiVo to use the SAT/Cable button. I had to manually program the entire TiVo remote into the AUX device using the learning (took about 5-10 minutes - it's that easy).

No Macros - there are macros for power, but no way to have it perform an arbitrary sequence of steps in the way you can with the Harmony remotes.

Bottom line - I haven't found a better value for a universal remote yet - but I'm still looking for the perfect one.

Universal Remote Control 7-Function Learning and Preset Remote

...

good in my hand - The remote feels solid and well proportioned in my hand. I have fairly large hands though.



Excellent value - I am amazed that this remote is so inexpensive, given some of the other ones I've tried.



Learning function is easy to use - when you need to program something manually you can, and it's easy to do.



Punch through for volume/mute - you can set it up so you can adjust the volume or mute the TV or stereo when you have any function selected. That way you don't have to constantly shift back to the TV or receiver every time you need to tweak the volume. This is critical!!



Bad:



Range seems lacking for a big room - I only noticed this at my parent's house. They have a much larger room and some of the equipment is placed in such a way that the remote sensors are not in easy view. The standard TiVo remote seemed to have more range/power and you could at least bounce the signal off the walls to get it to work. This remote seems to be a little underpowered. It works great in a smaller room (8-10 feet away), but 15-20 feet seems too far for this remote to control our TiVo unless you have a very direct line of sight. All of the other devices work just fine though at that range, so it may just be the unfortunate positioning of the TiVo.



Preprogrammed codes are limited by button type - For example, the SAT/Cable button can be programmed for Satellite/Digital cable and DVR's. We have a satellite, digital cable, and a TiVo. I used a preprogrammed code for the digital cable box and it worked great. I figured I could then just program the TiVo code onto the "AUX" button. No luck. I could only program the TiVo to use the SAT/Cable button. I had to manually program the entire TiVo remote into the AUX device using the learning (took about 5-10 minutes - it's that easy).



No Macros - there are macros for power, but no way to have it perform an arbitrary sequence of steps in the way you can with the Harmony remotes.



Bottom line - I haven't found a better value for a universal remote yet - but I'm still looking for the perfect one.

Universal Remote Control 7-Function Learning and Preset Remote

...

only appear to have rather obscure icons for some of these extra functions, although I'm sure the more expensive models provide user-definable labels. But they are a lot more expensive than what I could justify for a remote control! To be honest, I thought I would miss not having a unit that lit up with a flash LCD screen, but actually this is not the case. And I know I will save on batteries in the long run too.

The remote can control up to 7 components and comes with a manual and an instruction DVD, but the remote is so easy to program I didn't need to refer to the DVD at all, but it's a nice support addition. I'm pleased it has a learning mode as two of my components weren't supported in the pre-programmed code list, but it had no problem learning each of the component's functions. That said, I was able to program my TV, DVD, Satellite, CD and Stereo in about an hour and have it fully operational. I was even able to program the remote to control the air conditioning unit in AUX mode. I really like the backlight function too. When you press the Light key the text of each button is lit up in red, thereby providing a perfectly adequate ullimination for night-time control if needed. You can either choose to turn off the backlight by pressing the Light button again, or it will automatically turn off after 10 seconds since the last key stroke.

If there was any one criticism it would be that there is no easy way of knowing what component mode it's currently in without having to either remember it since you last used the remote or by having to re-select the component button again to make sure. (Although the current component button does light up when you select the other buttons). It would be great if the appropriate component button lit up when the unit sensed movement; for instance, when picking the remote up. But in the end this only saves one extra button push at worst, and is only mentioned more as as a suggestive feature rather than an absolute neccesity.

This universal remote control looks stylish, works really well and is extremely inexpensive for what it does. I would highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a good solid all-purpose unit not fussed on having a flasher and more expensive LCD model.

Universal Remote Control 7-Function Learning and Preset Remote

...

coffee table.

Programming it is a piece of cake: Aim it at the component, hold down the component & select buttons together for 3 seconds, enter the 3-digit code from the manual. If the code doesn't work, enter another one. When finished, press power. I forget the method for learning at the moment but it is equally easy. The remote comes with an instructional DVD if you prefer that over the manual.

The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because the left side of the circular directional pad on my remote, which is plastic, takes an excessive amount of force to register a button press. This is not a huge problem for me because I use up, down, and right much more than left. Still, it is an annoyance.

I'm sorry to hear about the experience of the reviewer below, but every batch of every cheap electronic product has a few dead units in it. There's a small risk in every purchase that's part of the price we pay for being able to pay so little for electronics - it's an intentional tradeoff. Even Sony remotes come DOA - they're all made in the same Asian factories to the same quality standards. Any half decent store will exchange a broken remote for a working one for free. I would encourage the reviewer below to do so because he's missing out on a very good remote.