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Universal remote suggestions


Spudnick

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My system is some what complete. In search of universal remote to operate everything.

 

Sharp LC-80LE642U 80" TV

Emotiva XPA-2 Channel Amp

Marantz MM 7055 5 Channel Amp

Marantz AV 7701 7 Channel Pre Amp

Marantz UD 5007 Blue Ray Player

Marantz CD 6005 CD Player

Premier Series XLR Gold Plated Audio Cables

Sound 10 Gauge Speaker Cable with Sewell Banana Plugs.

NGR Audio Rack.

Klipsch RF-7II Mains

Klipsch RC-64II center

Klipsch RP-250S Side Surrounds

Klipsch RS-52II Back Surrounds

4 VTI Surround Sound Stands.

HSU VTF-15H MK2 Sub

PS3

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Thanks for the suggestion but not many good reviews on this product. Don't need something to run everything inn the house. Would like it to be some what  user friendly. My son in law is a stereo buff and suggested looking for a older model Harmony 880.

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Harmony is a good start, but the best remotes are URC, by far the best build quality, best design and best program ability. URC is designed to be a professional installers remote, programmed only by paid professional installers. But if you have good basic computer abilities they are easy to learn to program and once you become familiar with them very easy to program. With just a little learning you can easily custom program your remote to do everything you want and probably much more. URC remotes feel much better in your hand and just work much better than anything else.

 

Getting the software with a URC remote is the most important part as URC wants to keep the software unavailable to consumers and keep them as a professionally installed only product which is a shame as they are the best home theater DIY remote just not marketed that way.

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I use the Harmony Ultimate One remote.  It works fine for everything I need.  I think the accessing the On Demand features will probably depend if your cable box/provider is a supported device.  We have Time Warner and I have no problems accessing the On Demand features.  To be honest, about the only thing I can't seem to do with the actual remote itself is the 'A', 'B', & 'C' functions from the cable remote.  I am sure it can do it, but I never have taken the time to try and figure it out.  Actually, when I use the app on my phone or tablet, I have access to those buttons. 

 

I previously had one of the MX Series programmable remotes, it worked great, but it just needed the installer to program it properly.  They wouldn't even leave the manual because they had so many calls to go back out and correct what people did when they tried to change things.  The Harmony is easy to set up, and I like the touch screen on the Ultimate.  You can set 50 channels as 'Favorites' and it will display the icon for that channel.  That definitely makes it easy for anyone to find their channel with out having to remember the number

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^ Hi, Jbruno,

 

A question, please:  have noted in the product descriptions of the Harmony One that either Windows or Mac is necessary.  As I do have a wireless LAN, but do not have a PC media center, what is the application of (in my case) Windows?  Would I be able to control my various devices w/ the remote, or not?

 

Thank you.

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Thanks for the responses. Just wondering about operating the on demand with a universal remote? Anyone actually use this function with there remote?

A good universal remote will be able to do everything your original remotes can do but better and sometimes even things your original remotes can't do. A good remote won't need to be pointed a certain direction or even be in the same room as what you wish to control. Things like turning ON or OFF a complicated multi component system with one push of a button. Controlling components  behind doors or walls and in different rooms. Also control matching pairs of identical components (same brand/model) completely independently of one another.  Macros control multiple operations and components with one button push, Discrete functions rather than common toggle functions allow things like the remote knowing whether a component needs to turn ON or OFF or exactly which input you need etc.

 

A good remote will completely control everything in your system how you want or need and do it much easier, much simpler without fumbling or fiddling or having to figure out what needs to be turned ON or set to what. You can even control other things in your home like lights, curtains, display back lighting, cooling or heating and other forms of home automation.

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Rich....what models in the URC would you recommend for him?

 

My personal favorites include the MX-800, MX-850, MX-780 and MX-890.

 

The MX-800 / MX-850 are both similar older style classic design URC remotes which feel very good in your hand and are very easy to operate and be familiar with to use and do most operations without even needing to look at the remote. Very powerful IR with RF ability as well when combined with an RF base station. I find these my favorites for a few reasons including how well they are made and how nice they are to use, they are very comfortable in hand and very natural to use. These have been my favorite go to remote.

 

The MX-780 / MX-890 are similar models in their design as well. They feature a more modern styling with a color image screen display. Great design great build quality. Again powerful IR and RF capability with an added RF base station . They feel good in hand though to me the classic MX-800 / MX-850 models just seem to have a more natural feel and easier to blindly identify buttons.

 

The MX-800 / MX-850 are a little easier to program than the MX-780 and MX-890 though all are really not that complicated software programs. I think the toughest part for new remote owners is understanding just what is possible with these remotes compare to the standard remotes that come with equipment. Once you are familiar with them they are very simple to program. After owning many types of universal remotes my first URC remote was the easiest remote I ever programmed and the first remote I owned that was capable of controlling everything and doing everything I wanted exactly how I wanted to be able to do it.

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Seriously recommend the Harmony Ultimate One.  Easy to setup for many devices.  Also you can do way more with it than you can imagine.  For instance my older game consoles I have setup to change the inputs on the receiver and the aspect ratio with one button press.  Tends to be the most Wife friendly as well.

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^ Hi, Jbruno,

 

A question, please:  have noted in the product descriptions of the Harmony One that either Windows or Mac is necessary.  As I do have a wireless LAN, but do not have a PC media center, what is the application of (in my case) Windows?  Would I be able to control my various devices w/ the remote, or not?

 

Thank you.

In my experience, one uses either a PC or a Mac to configure it.  I have never tried to use it to control a PC Media server, but that's not to say that it cannot perform those functions.  My hub is connected wirelessly to my network, so it should be able to access it if configured properly.  I use JRiver on a PC to rip all of my CD's and then stream them via Sonos to a Marantz 7008, and through a Nuvo system as well.  The Marantz has the ability to connect and play from my PC, but Sonos does a much better job of getting my digital media to my system.  The Harmony apps for iPhone &iPad seem to work pretty well also.  I like that if I get into a situation where I inadvertently let the actual remote battery die, I still have the ability to control my system.  I just like the idea of redundant backups.  I never had that with my MX series remote.  It worked great when I had it, but, the one I had gave little or no warning when the batteries were low, so next thing you know your remote isn't working.  Generally one has spare batteries around the house, but more than once I had to chase out of the house to get batteries.  Very annoying!!  Good luck with your search, both have great features and I am sure the capabilities just continue to improve. 

 

One other note, part of my reasoning for the Harmony, is that my system is not in my main listening area.  The harmony, with wifi and rf capabilities solves that issue as well. 

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