cmdr's Full Review: Universal Remote Control SL-9000 LCD Remote Contro...
My experience of universal remotes has been limited to the unit that came with my Harmon Kardon AVR-7200 receiver and is also included with other models from that brand.
That sleek silver unit looks like it was designed in outer space. It works, after a fashion, but, aside from difficulty in programming it suffers two major flaws. Firstly it had difficulty learning important command modes from my Toshiba TV's zapper and, most frustrating of all, it will not lock into a sub-mode.
If that sounds difficult to comprehend, imagine how it plays out in practice.
For example: say you're watching a VCR recording (yes I still use a VCR!) and you want to F.F. through some commercials. First you have to press the VCR mode button then press the button that now conforms to F.F. If you don't enter another command within five seconds the remote returns to receiver mode and a press of the "play" button will switch on the DVD player (defaulted "transport mode").
The only way to ensure remaining in the VCR mode was to keep pressing the VCR device button every three seconds or so. I've lost count of the times I've forgotten to do this and, pressing buttons in a panic, ended up dimming the lights, turning up the volume to eleven or boiling the kettle by accident.
I'm reasonably "tech-patient" so I battled forward but, given the above and the fact that we couldn't ditch the Toshiba wand as well, my dearly beloved was starting to develop an aversion not only to remotes but to my precious home theatre in general.
Enter the MX-500. I was familiar with the look of this device having encountered it in various DVD related fanzines but, due to its $200.00 price tag, I'd always considered it out of my league. A toy for the Linn and Krell Crowd. But, having faffed about unsuccessfully with some cheaper alternatives and considered investing in JP1 software to make them work I was relieved to find that the MX-500 was now available at the more sensible price of $80.00 or so.
The customer reviews seemed almost unanimous. This was the one that could do it all and do it easily and they couldn't have been more right.
The MX-500 supports programming by the familiar code method or by an additional and extensive ability to learn commands from other R.C's. And boy does it just plain WORK!!!
The first clue I got was that it contained a code that actually turned on my Samsung SIR-T451 HDTV receiver. No other remote's Samsung codes had even been able to make it lift a sleeping eyebrow. Wow! Even those reluctant Toshiba codes were learned faultlessly first time around.
In fact all of my domestic devices were covered by codes which worked in some way or another. On some, the mapping (which button affects which function) could have been better but, with the ability to enter up to 530 additional learned commands, it was easy to set up each device's page to my exact requirement. Even difficult units like my Alesis Masterlink professional CD recorder were a breeze to control.
You can punch through functions like receiver volume and TV channel up/down to other device pages so that those controls are always at hand or you can do it the hard way like I did by learning those commands to each individual page. With those 530 "learns" on tap you're unlikely to run out of command memory. I estimate that, even with my inefficient programming method, I used only (at the very maximum) 200 learned steps.
Macros allow you to programme a series of commands to be sent with one one press of a button. Setting up macros on the H/K remote usually required a global video conference with a team of dedicated experts from Silicon Valley, Dubrovnik and Australasia. I'll miss my chums in the scientific community because with the MX-500 you just have to press a few buttons and it works. I can now switch my whole system on with one push or change from watching DVD to HDTV (including all receiver and TV input change commands) with similar ease.
I admit I've come late to this party. The MX-500 has been superseded by more recent models but it's still available and at a most reasonable price. It is, in its way, the Gibson Les Paul of remote controls. That electric guitar has been around in one form or other since 1952. It does what it's supposed to do, looks great and performs consistently in challenging environments. That's the definition of a classic. A definition which the MX-500 wholly deserves.
As for domestic harmony. My better half can now happily switch between esoteric Italian movies on our second "region-free" DVD player or access seasoned debate from a BBC radio netcast, all accomplished with a sigh of contented ease. I now feel confident enough to request that we ditch the dreaded VCR for a snazzy Pioneer DVD/Hard Disk recorder. Judging by the glow of satisfaction I sense emanating from over my shoulder, I think the answer will be "Yes dear, why not?"
MX500 Universal Remote Control MX-500 with LCD Viewscreen PC Programmable IR/RF Replace up to 40 remote controls "Watch and Listen" Activity Based...More at Compuplus.com
The MX-500 is ergonomically designed and weight balanced to fit comfortably in one hand. The brightly backlit LCD view screen and buttons make navigat...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Controls up to ten devices Preprogrammed for over 1,000 audio/video components Learns up to 530 commands via infrared from device remotes Send out mul...More at Amazon Marketplace
Controls up to ten devices Preprogrammed for over 1,000 audio/video components Learns up to 530 commands via infrared from device remotes Send out mul...More at Amazon
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