please recommend universal remote that meets my needs.
Jan 31, 2007 at 4:20 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 10

music_man

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hi.

i am looking for a very small very basic universal remote. it must be very easy to use blindly. i prefer that it does not light.

all i want from it is: play,stop,track advance on the sony scd-1. volume up/down,mute,input select on the krell kav400xi.

any of the most basic $20 remotes would suit me but none of them do audio it seems. the ones that do audio are too complex to use while i am half asleep or too big for my night stand which is already covered with headphone gear.

suggestions?

music_man
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 4:31 AM Post #2 of 10
Harmony 880

It controls anything that can be controlled. Eastsound CDP? NP...scroll, seclect Eastsound from menu and upload. EastElectric? np scroll down and select EastElectric and upload. life made easy. It works with NAD, Rega, and Ayre...LOL..all I had to do was just select the brand name and model number. I don't know how they keep up with stuff like this, but they do, and I am happy.

have fun.
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 4:51 AM Post #3 of 10
Seconded -- Harmony makes great remotes. They can do pretty much anything you want them to do and have a huge database of devices. You could even have it control your fans, computer, lights, etc. I have a 550 and a 720, both of which are excellent. The newer 720 is nicer with slightly newer features, but the 550 is often on sale now and is a bargain. The 880 is a nice remote too, similar in function to the 720, but is peanut-shaped instead of rectangular.

I'd really recommend any of them. They're a little more expensive than the cheap universal remotes, but they're easy to set up and can control everything I've tried with them.
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 5:28 AM Post #4 of 10
i think you guys missed the point by about a mile
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i wanted something very small and very basic that will do just the most basic functions on the integrated amp and cdp. no lights. big buttons, space between them.

i know all the reasons to have a good remote like that. simply not what i was looking for at the moment. like i said the $20 remotes are exactly what i want but they only do video. i just need an audio version of that cheap remote.

i really could use the harmony. i could replace 8 remotes in just one room. the problem is the ease of use while not looking at it. can it be used "blindly"?

music_man
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 10:04 AM Post #6 of 10
the problem is finding one just like i described. all of those attributes in one remote don't seem to exist. which baffles me. i want like the most basic remote you could imagine. if krells credit card remote was sturdier and controlled the sony i'd be set.

i did see something funny at walgreens though. it is a remote the size of a phone book. i guess no one would lose that one lol.

music_man
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 12:16 PM Post #7 of 10
Well, I haven't found cheap little remotes that control audio components very well, which is why I suggested the Harmony remotes. I can use them blindly, but then I know where all the buttons are and what they should be doing.

My only other suggestion would be to just buy a cheap remote that can "learn" IR signals and teach that remote all the functions you need it to do, even if it doesn't map exactly to the functions each button is supposed to be doing.
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 3:51 PM Post #8 of 10
i guess those are my two choices. the harmony could consolidate a lot of remotes. i could learn to feel where the buttons are. i like the sat/dvr remote because it is tailored exactly for the process of using that system. so that might leave me with one of the sony learning remotes.

not a big deal. all i need is volume,mute,source select,play,stop,track foward-backward. the sony's are just a lot bigger than i wanted. it will have to do i guess.

thanks for suggestions guys.
music_man
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 9:12 PM Post #9 of 10
Check out this website devoted to remotes...
http://www.remotecentral.com/

I personally use a cheap $30 Sony remote. It is fully programmable (i.e. learning remote) and therefore can be set up to control almost any component.
 
Jan 31, 2007 at 10:39 PM Post #10 of 10
Quote:

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i am looking for a very small very basic universal remote. it must be very easy to use blindly. i prefer that it does not light.

all i want from it is: play,stop,track advance on the sony scd-1. volume up/down,mute,input select on the krell kav400xi.

any of the most basic $20 remotes would suit me but none of them do audio it seems. the ones that do audio are too complex to use while i am half asleep or too big for my night stand which is already covered with headphone gear.



Having a good remote is more important than you might think.

Kontai69 gave you THE reference for remotes: RemoteCentral. That's the Head-fi of remote controls. One thing I learned as a heavy remote user, and particularly browsing in RemoteCentral years ago looking for a good universal remote, is that the remote is very important for maximum enjoyment of your systems.

When using any component in your entertainment system there is of course interaction between your vision and your screen and/or components' faceplates. But the most frequent conscious interaction actually occurs between your hands and your remote(s).

There are plenty of human-machine interaction issues related to using a remote control effortlessly and easily. If there's anything annoying (to you) in your remote, you'll have to get another remote, or simply live with that annoyance every single time you need to use it. Notice what that means: if you keep using that remote, you'll have to expect some annoyance every time you are expecting entertainment (!) A good remote that you like and enjoy is really important, saves a lot of annoyance and frustration in all your hours of interaction with your equipment.

Initially, when looking for a universal remote, I had in mind something like you do now: a simple universal remote. Went for a best value One4All, recommended by RemoteCentral. Used it for a couple of months and then started getting frustrated because programming/teaching it was like programming a 20 year old computer in assembler (and I'm a computer scientist) You needed special key strokes, pressing of buttons and what not to program or teach that One4All anything. No user interface whatsoever is really frustrating, at least for me. There was just some blinking of a led, which stands for basically a luminous bit, that was all the interface you had to deal with. Aweful.

After much research I decided to get a Home Theater Master MX-500 Universal Remote:

Home_Theater_Master_MX-500.jpg



If you have some time read this amazingly comprehensive review of the MX500 in Remote Central. About 13 pages long! But shows what an excellent product this is. That remote is chosen by some high-end component manufacturers to go along their products (e.g. Sunfire among others)
(I have absolutely no connection to these manufacturers, in case all of this sounds like a sales pitch)

Definitely I agree with that review, this remote became instantly a blessing for me. It is one gadget I have found nothing to complain about, on the contrary, it's a gadget that has exceeded my expectations. Have programmed/taught it to control absolutely all functions of my Marantz A/V receiver, my Toshiba DVD player, my Panasonic plasma, a Philips VCR, my Canon digital camera, and still have room to control many other components if I want to. At some point it also controlled a Sony TV, a Sony NS500 DVD player, and my Playstation 2.

After getting that remote, I gave the One4All as a gift to a friend, and there's been just one and only one remote operating in my house since. All other new ones that come with any equipment have gone to a box as soon as I have use them (if needed) to teach the MX-500 any commands.

I highly recommend it to you, or some similar type of remote, despite your initial minimalistic criteria for choosing a remote.


PS. In any case I'd like to add, looks like you definitely need a learning remote Music_man. Just a programmable one won't probably have codes for a component brand that is outside mass markets, such as Krell.
 

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