Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Universal remote controllers

This is topic Universal remote controllers in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=000637

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 05-08-2008, 10:04 PM:

I have a universal remote I've been using for several years. It's a Pronto TU-1000, and I'm kinda sick of it. It does do almost anything you'd want, but it's such a pain to program I thinking about something else.

Does anyone have any suggestions for something that's easy to program? I don't have that many things to control. I like some of the ones made by (the company) Universal Remote. But, I thought I'd ask if any one has a favorite....

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 05-11-2008, 02:15 PM:

It appears most of us do not have a favorite.
I have remotes out the wazoo, and universal remotes do not work with combo tv/dvd player sets.
My Onkyo receiver has a remote as well as my Sony CD player, along with my TV/DVD player, my Digital to Analog TV converter and my Panasonic VCR, I have 5 remotes in this room. The Panasonic's IS a universal remote, but cannot operate the other things.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 05-12-2008, 09:13 AM:

You should be able to find a remote that will work all your equipment. Take a look at www.remotecentral.com ; it's a forum for universal remotes. Some remotes provided with equipment can't always operate other manufacturer's equipment. For example, Panasonic will make sure their universal remote will work other Panasonic stuff, but they are not going to spend a lot of money getting their remote to also work Sony.

The remote I have works my new $27 DVD player, my 20 year old VCR, cable box and air conditioner.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 05-12-2008, 09:56 AM:

I have a Philips Pronto TSU-3000 and a Logitech Harmony 670, and I definitely recommend the Harmony over the Pronto.

As you mention, the Pronto is nice in its flexibility, but it carries with it the high cost of time in programming it to do what you want.

I also find the touchscreen to be less useful than hard buttons. Even though my 3000 has more hard buttons than your 1000, it's still not as useful as the Harmony for everyday usage.

The only place where the Pronto has the advantage is the high amount of customization that can be done. For example, I have an action on the Pronto where I can begin playing a video from my DVD player (custom Home Theater intro), and when that finishes, the receiver and projector switch to the Blu-ray player and it starts playing the movie from the point where I cued up the opening sequence. With some work with Harmony activities, I might be able to get something like that working, but I haven't dug too deeply into it yet.

The Harmony is incredibly easy to use and set up. I have purchased one for our use, and in the past year, three family members have done the same. For $100, it sure beats dealing with multiple remotes and shuffling between them!

The new Logitech Harmony One looks very nice, indeed! However, at $250, it's a little expensive (but no more than my Pronto was).

Unless you like the programmability of the Pronto, the Harmony is the way to go, IMO. Find one that has a button layout that you like, and go for it. You'll find that the ease of setup is night-and-day different from the Pronto!