Looking for a Universal Remote?


Does your wife and/or family complain that they can't figure out how to control the audio/video gear? My wife has been saying, "I just want to turn one switch and have the TV work -- I don't want to have to use three different remote controls, figure the thing out, etc etc. So, I went shopping for a universal remote control that could solve this.

I recently bought a Universal Remote that works so well I want to spread the news. It is called the Home Theater Master MX-500. It cost me $100. I read a bunch of rave reviews so I bought one, got it home and freaked out. My first few components loaded in really easy because it recognized a three digit code supplied in the manual, but when it wouldn't recognize the others, I figured I was screwed. This is a learning remote, but I had immediate nightmares about getting bogged down, screwing it all up, etc. 15 minutes later, with only a few glances at the manual, I had the thing all figured out. This thing is layed out so logically, it is really easy. Somebody was thinking when they designed this thing. You can combine functions from different components to work together. For example, you can fix it so you can turn on the display, choose TV, use the up and down to flip through the cable channels and the volume to raise and lower the volume on your pre-amp --- without having to switch between CATV, TV, PRE-AMP, etc. I set it up so that no matter what component you're using, the volume will control the volume on the pre-amp. You can do the same with your DVD player. When you switch to DVD, you can set it so the display will automatically switch to DVD, the DVD buttons will control your DVD player and the volume buttons will control the pre-amp. So, all you have to do is choose whether you're watching TV, DVD, or listening to music. It can handle 10 different components, it can learn any remote you throw at it. I've had several "universal remotes" and I usually find them a pain -- the family never adopted them-- and I don't want to sink $1,000 into one of those super duper universal remotes. Now, I can't see why anyone would need to spend more -- this thing really works. The family loves it -- and I also get a kick out of it. If you're scouting around for one of these things -- check it out.
rsbeck
There is a great site for remotes called Remote Central. At the site you can find reviews on many remotes and files available to download to program the most popular programmable remotes. The review for the Home Theater Master MX-500 is here. Bob.