TV Remote controls - Options?

CruisnGrrl

CruisnGrrl

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I have 5 remotes on my coffee table... I'd love to just have one. Things i have to control with the remote are a projector, surround sound unit, dvd recorder, wdtv live and the tv. other devices hooked in to the surround system are a wii, game cube, xbox and a ps2 but they don't need to be controlled by the remote. I know the logitech harmony remotes are one option, is there anything else out there?

i'm not sure a logitech is even smart enough for this...
if i wanna use my nintendo i need it to set the surround to vcr (the wii doesn't have svid, everything else except the wdtv is svid, it's hdmi) and turn on the tvif i want to watch a dvd it needs to set the surround to dvd and turn on the projector
if i wanna use the xbox, ps2, game cube or wdtv it needs to set the surround to satellite, turn on the projector and if it's controling the wdtv control the wdtv
 
The Logitech Harmony line can definitely handle that. You create "Activities" where you can tell it which input everything should be in to watch a specific device.

I would recommend either buying an older model somewhere (Amazon, eBay) or getting a current higher end model (Harmony One). The current low and mid range remotes have terrible IR transmitters compared to the previous generation.

I bought a 650 to replace our 550, and whereas the 550 could be pointed almost anywhere in the room and still work, the 650 has to be pointed directly at each device (yep, it was fully charged).

There are other options, but IMO, non provide the same ease of use as the Harmony line.
 
Yup, you can tweak pretty much everything with a Harmony remote. I don't know if anything comes even close - Logitech has committed a lot of resources to it.
 
DaveTheCanuck said:
I bought a 650 to replace our 550, and whereas the 550 could be pointed almost anywhere in the room and still work, the 650 has to be pointed directly at each device (yep, it was fully charged)..
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I just replaced our 670 with a brand new 650. The 670 was about 180$ I believe when we bought, whereas the 650 was only 45$ at best buy.

If you need a universal remote I can't recommend anything else. For the price it is amazing.
 
I have a Logitech harmony 600 I picked up for $30 on blowout last year, absolutely love the thing. Controls everything, though I don't have any gaming systems hooked up.
 
Another +1 for Harmony remotes. I've been using them since before Logitech bought them out. While the customer service waned after Logitech took over the product is still great.

Once you tweak it to the way you want it you'll never have to touch it again until you buy a new device for your home theater.
 
There's only one option... Harmony remote

I have a 880 but the ONE is better.
 
I have had the Harmony 880, 670 and now i'm on a ONE which I bought from XS Cargo before Christmas for $99.00. I love my Harmony remotes. They just work properly.
 
+1 on the Logitech remotes. I have an 880 upstair and a One downstair, both work great, and can be programmed for anything infrared.

For a PS3 you'll need the infrared adaptor though....
 
DaveTheCanuck said:
I would recommend either buying an older model somewhere (Amazon, eBay) or getting a current higher end model (Harmony One). The current low and mid range remotes have terrible IR transmitters compared to the previous generation.

I bought a 650 to replace our 550, and whereas the 550 could be pointed almost anywhere in the room and still work, the 650 has to be pointed directly at each device (yep, it was fully charged).
Click to expand...
I would take it back and exchange it. I dont have any issues with the IR on the 600/650/700 series of Harmony remotes.

Splash said:
There's only one option... Harmony remote
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There are quite a few options. Harmony is just the cheapest and most used in the consumer market.








You have a few options but Harmony will the cheapest and will handle your setup.

The Harmony 600/650/700 are cheap and work well. However, they only allow 5 devices to be programmed. This means you will have to do the activities for all your gaming systems manually. It will do it, it's just harder.

I would recommend grabbing a Harmony One if you can find one. They are being replaced by the Harmony Touch so stock will be limited. It is a nicer remote than the 600/650/700. It works better, looks better, allows more devices, and has a charging cradle. It would make the programming a bit easier because you can add the consoles in(even though you wont control them with the remote).

I program HUNDREDS of these things a year. I can answer any question you have on them. The software and remotes have their quirks and I know them all.

Are you using a surround sound reciever? or a home theatre in a box style unit?
 
Harmony One here as well. Do it!
 
have you tried the lesser known Bunmanchi 2000 ?
it also is capable of handling 5 remotes
and also has a space available for cell phone/ cordless phone.

harmony remotes sell as high as 300 dollars
i can get you the bunmanchi 2000 for $78.46

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N3WMAN said:
I would take it back and exchange it. I dont have any issues with the IR on the 600/650/700 series of Harmony remotes.


There are quite a few options. Harmony is just the cheapest and most used in the consumer market.








You have a few options but Harmony will the cheapest and will handle your setup.

The Harmony 600/650/700 are cheap and work well. However, they only allow 5 devices to be programmed. This means you will have to do the activities for all your gaming systems manually. It will do it, it's just harder.

I would recommend grabbing a Harmony One if you can find one. They are being replaced by the Harmony Touch so stock will be limited. It is a nicer remote than the 600/650/700. It works better, looks better, allows more devices, and has a charging cradle. It would make the programming a bit easier because you can add the consoles in(even though you wont control them with the remote).

I program HUNDREDS of these things a year. I can answer any question you have on them. The software and remotes have their quirks and I know them all.

Are you using a surround sound reciever? or a home theatre in a box style unit?
Click to expand...

surround sound system is a dedicated 5.1 receiver. old RCA RT2250, it didn't cost a lot when i bought it, but looked at replacing it because i have to wait 5 minutes for it to warm up before i can use it and said **** it i'll plan ahead and turn it on before i need it. all the gaming systems don't take remotes except the xbox but i don't usually use the remote with it anyways, the WD system replaced the xbmc functionality on the xbox.
 
has an IR on it and the smart remote app takes care of the sowtfare, actually has a pretty good hardware list pre configured
 
jeffprime said:
has an IR on it and the smart remote app takes care of the sowtfare, actually has a pretty good hardware list pre configured
Click to expand...
Redeye?

CruisnGrrl said:
surround sound system is a dedicated 5.1 receiver. old RCA RT2250, it didn't cost a lot when i bought it, but looked at replacing it because i have to wait 5 minutes for it to warm up before i can use it and said **** it i'll plan ahead and turn it on before i need it. all the gaming systems don't take remotes except the xbox but i don't usually use the remote with it anyways, the WD system replaced the xbmc functionality on the xbox.
Click to expand...
Having it take that long to warm up will cause issues with the remote. It should work fine once it is warmed up but the initial turn on will be annoying. Consider replacing the receiver first. Even a base model Onkyo would be 1000 times better. Even the better models are going for cheap if you know where to look.
 
N3WMAN said:
Redeye?


Having it take that long to warm up will cause issues with the remote. It should work fine once it is warmed up but the initial turn on will be annoying. Consider replacing the receiver first. Even a base model Onkyo would be 1000 times better. Even the better models are going for cheap if you know where to look.
Click to expand...
Just has a buzzing sound until warmed up
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