On Tuesday, January 25, 2005 1:36 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
I see that Jarod recommends the Radio Shack 15-2116: http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/remotes.php
Anybody else have a favorite universal remote? CNET has a roundup here (updated 7/04): http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7900_7-5114325.html The two editor's picks are quite a bit more than the Radio Shack remote.
Any tips on selecting a universal remote? I'm just getting started and have just looked at the $10 ones at Circuit City (which looked like junk).
The Radio Shack remotes are extremely capable devices and work really well into any budget. I repeat: these work exceptionally well with MythTV and beyond.
I'm also using the Radio Shack 15-2116. It has enough logically laid out buttons and funtionality to do everything I wanted. One nice thing about this remote is that it has JP1 capability. JP1 is an interface on the remote that allows for remote programming and backup via a parallel port, Windows app and special cable. You can get similar functionality in the really fancy remotes, but IMHO, its not worth the price premium. Plus, the 15-2116 doesn't scare away the wife =)
However, the next step up from the JP1-style programmable remotes are the RTI's, Universal Remote Control's and Philips' products. There are others worthy of mention but they can all be examined at Remote Central's fairly honest reviews and extremely helpful forums. I choose these because they can be also be easily integrated into custom routed-IR designs. http://www.remotecentral.com/
My personal preference for a one-handed hardbutton, PC programmable, IR/RF-addressable are the URC's. MX-800 with the RF base included if you can still get em, MX-850's are shipping receiver optional with improved navpad and packaging. Wife acceptance factor is extremely high with these and the regularily updated database of IR codes is massive. Any serious RF performance flaws that were encountered last year were quickly addressed with the ver 3.0 RF base. They even let us RMA swap every unit we had previously installed.
On the flash-n-showy side are the touchscreen remotes. We do our fair share of Pronto's and they can really let the programmer express some creativity, but here are the drawbacks that make us lean toward URC's: two-handed operation is bad for power surfers, the backlighting usually lights up the whole room, the user interface requires looking at the darn thing to use it, programming and screen design can become a massive time sink, and a historically poor WAF. That said, Prontos let you design greyscale or color touch screens and program linear macros to fire off IR commands either learned or downloaded. Pro's: there are boatloads of other peoples' configuration files shared on the net.
We are just about to start a full-on dedicated theatre for a very tech-capable client and will be incorporating a URC MX-3000 touchscreen unit for the first time. It has had tremendous positive feedback and users are now contributing templates, configurations and more advanced widgets like a DVD-changer manager with IMDB lookup.
I can sell RTI but choose not to because I have my hands full with URC, Philips, Xantech, Russound, Escient, ad nauseum. RTI has a very happy and loyal following of users and plenty of shared configurations as well. Note: they maintain very strict control of their software distribution. RTI product should be purchased through an appropriate dealer.
As always, if you buy through the internet, expect internet-style service and support.
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