Dirk Diggler Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 I just got my new HT set up and have lost the remote to my NAD receiver. Dohh!! I figure it is time to get the universal. I need something that would have my NAD commands. I used a Sony a couple of years ago and had to program the receiver commands one-by-one. Obviously, I can't do this without the remote. Any suggestions?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyT Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 Maybe one of the Harmony remotes. They are programmable with codes from Harmony's website with a computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndskyz Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 Depends on how much you want to spend. A good one Harmony 880 will cost ya from 180 on up to 250. And then there are some that are a lot better than that....and they cost even more. The Philips ProntoPro/Marantz RC9500 are pretty much cream of the crop for touch screen Uni's But then again for 600 bucks..they should be. I have the Harmony 880. got it off e-bay. It's completly programable, and has macro built into it to Watch Tv or DVD or listen to CD's You tell it what componets you have in your HT and (via the internet) it updates the remote with all the IR codes for ALL your componets. So at the push of one button it can..turn the TV,AVR,DVD, on. Put the tv, and AVR on the correct Input/output for the dvd, start playback of the DVD..all so youcan sit back and watch a DVD. Same thing for Tivo or Directv..or listen to CD My wife loves it because it's so simple and replaces 6 remotes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted January 27, 2006 Author Share Posted January 27, 2006 sweet, that is EXACTLY what I need. I had planned on spending $150, but that is close. I'll see if I can find a deal. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndskyz Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 Watch the auctions om e-bay I got mine for 160 plus shipping..they MSRP at best buy for 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted January 27, 2006 Author Share Posted January 27, 2006 I just bought one for $175 shipped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundBites Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Check out the Harmony 659. They retail for $159, but i think Best Buy has them for $129 now. I got mine for $69 on epay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally flick Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I would go, as fast as I could, with the Harmony. Ive got a 680 from abesofmaine.com for $129. From what I understand, the Harmonys all have the same functionality the only difference is some of the higher priced units have hard buttons for DVR functions and of course the 800 series has the bigger display icons. They are incredible especially if you have a new system and want to add/switch commands as you learn how to use the components. Extremely easy and fast to change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowntnbkr Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I have had my Harmony 880 for a few months now and absolutely love it. The nice thing is, is if you want to jump from watching tv to a movie, it knows the tv is on and just puts it to the correct input and then turns on all the related paraphenalia (dvd player, HT) and turns off the satellite box. My only beef is that the buttons are a little small and the tendency to "fat finger" the thing is fairly common. I went from 5 reomtes to just this one. You will be very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrol Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I have had my Harmony 880 for a few months now and absolutely love it. The nice thing is, is if you want to jump from watching tv to a movie, it knows the tv is on and just puts it to the correct input and then turns on all the related paraphenalia (dvd player, HT) and turns off the satellite box. My only beef is that the buttons are a little small and the tendency to "fat finger" the thing is fairly common. I went from 5 reomtes to just this one. You will be very happy. My wife got me the Harmony 880 for Christmas (e-bay for $150 shipped) I think I have a little more work to do in programing it as I'm not quite as happy as I thought I'd be... the "fat-Finger" thing is a given BUT: 1. sometimes when I watch reg TV I want to enjoy the sound through my Klipsch speakers (like during an HDTV concert) while most of the time, like for the news, the TV speakers are fine... Can the Harmony 880 be programed for more then one "Watch TV" macro? 2. I don't know how you do it because when I'm already watching TV and push the "Watch DVD" macro, it always shuts the TV off... another problem is that if I already have the dvd player on (to load the disk) then the "Watch DVD" macro shuts it off I don't want to ***** to much because I know I need to update my Harmony 880's programing to address the replacement of my old VCR with a new Comcast (Motorola) dual tuner DVR/cable box but all of this is made a bit more frustrating because to operate my individual componants, I always have to scroll through little used commands to get to the basic ones :\ While I know my budget doesn't come close to being able to afford it, my wish is for a universal remote touch screen remote that truely mimicks each individual componant's remote on the screen, in color, while including a health list of intelligent macro's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndskyz Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Petrol Yes the 880 can be programmed with more than one "Watch Tv" You can program the remote to do anything you want. I have "Watch HDTV" and "HDTV SRS" (yes you can rename the macros too) ..Basically the same two macros..just the HDTV SRS macro turns on my AVR on sets the input to Tv/Sat so I can watch TV in Surround sound. I will say that out of the box the 880 is good. It can be a GREAT tool if you spend the time to program it. Also the main screen after one of the Macro buttons can be programmed with ANY of the functions from ANY of the componets in your HT. Example for watching DVD I have programmed one of the hot buttons with Closed Caption for the DVD, and another to toggle the SRS effect for the AVR and so on. It takes a while to get it programmed to the point to where it works the way you want it too, but it is possible. To address your issue with the remote turning off the TV when you go to change macros...again thats in programing. Also 880 assumes that the DVD is off when you press the Watch DVD macro. if the DVD is already on it sends the command to turn it on. In this case it looks as if your DVD has the same command for on and off. Again its a good remote to start with...but programming will be the difference that makes it a great remote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygmn Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 A child who likes the same movies you do and knows how to work your equipment is a good universal remote.... hehehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olorin Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Since I don't have kids I paid $165 for a used Pronto. If you want a remote that has exactly the interface you want and behaves in exactly the way you want, get a Pronto. Understand that you have to build the interface (or borrow parts of it -- remotecentral.com) and program all the macros before it becomes what you want it to be. The Pronto is great if you like to twiddle and tweak. If you prefer to just take something out of the box and use it, don't get a Pronto. Now that my Pronto is set up, I wouldn't have anything else. My wife will probably get a Harmony. Oh, and if you do get a Pronto, go directly to the charging cradle and battery pack. The thing eats a set of AAA's in a couple weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 I love our Phillips Pronto TSU-3000 that I bought new for our theater on Ebay. With the docking cradle it was around $300. However, there are less expensive alternatives that are more durable if you have kids. "One-For-All" has remotes for nearly every need and some of them are amazingly inexpensive. They have one of the most extensive product libraries I have ever seen. They claim that of you can't find the right code for your equipment, they will find it for you! We have one in our living room (about $12 and my wife loves it because it is simple to use) and our son has one in his house (about $15). They're great! http://www.ofausa.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Does anyone have one of the $99 Prontos that Klipsch is selling on their ebay store? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrol Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 No, but was seriously considering ituntil I opened my wife's gift to me this past Christmas... anyway, I found some time to tonight to play around with the setup features of the Harmony 880 my wife got for me... I now have it working exaclty as I want it to.. this thing really is SWEET! I highly reccomend it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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