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bzarcher(This is the one thing, aside from some presents for others, I bought today and I finally got it figured out, so why not talk a bit about it?)
If you've visited the house, you probably noticed that I have 3 "universal" remotes on the coffee table. One that came with the TV (But doesn't recognize our reciever or the DVR), one that came with the Dish Network (that doesn't recognize the TV), and one for the reciever (because the Dish remote won't change reciever inputs).
Frankly? That sucks. But because the TV is a best buy house brand (Insignia), finding a workable remote for all 3 was a serious PITA.
Oh, and did I mention the remote for the PS2, or the 360 controllers I was using when I want to watch a DVD?
Yeah.
So, while browsing around during Buymas, I got my attention grabbed by this, especially since it was on a pretty good sale at Best Buy.
Looking at the 'Compatible with over 5000 devices!', Alex and I decided to give it a shot.
To my surprise, the damn thing actually works pretty well, but setup is a little annoying.
To program it, you have to put software onto your PC (or Mac), and connect the remote by USB.
You also need to have the model numbers for your A/V devices, unless you can put a laptop and the remote in your living room and do an IR search while it's connected to the PC with the included USB cable. Either option's doable for me, but I decided that finding the model numbers was a little easier.
Once it's programmed for the first time, it asks you to set "activity" pre-sets. These basically let you hit a button that says "play 360", and it turns on the 360, TV, and reciever and sets it to the 360 channel. Or "Watch Sattelite", and it does the same thing for the dish, etx, etx.
Plan for setup to take about 20 minutes, by the way.
Once this is all done and uploaded to the remote, if you're lucky, it should tell you to go and try the remote to make sure it works with all your devices.
If you're not lucky, it asks you to hook the remote back up to the USB cable and does a BIOS upgrade on the remote for about 20 more minutes. (Yes, a BIOS upgrade. I've never, ever had a remote with BIOS before. It's exciting.)
The remote lights up with a nice, easy to read green light that's very visible in dark or dim rooms, and has a screen for the various multi-function keys that changes depending on the device. Buttons are pretty responsive and it seems sturdy enough.
Honestly, my only concern is that since it runs off AAA batteries, if I have to replace the batteries will it need re-programmed? I guess we'll see. :D
If you don't have a bunch of devices in your living room, you'll probably not care about this, but if you're dealing with a lot of different remotes right now, I'm giving it a decent reccomendation as long as you find it for ~$60. (I think that $100, no matter how nice the remote, is a little steep.)
If you've visited the house, you probably noticed that I have 3 "universal" remotes on the coffee table. One that came with the TV (But doesn't recognize our reciever or the DVR), one that came with the Dish Network (that doesn't recognize the TV), and one for the reciever (because the Dish remote won't change reciever inputs).
Frankly? That sucks. But because the TV is a best buy house brand (Insignia), finding a workable remote for all 3 was a serious PITA.
Oh, and did I mention the remote for the PS2, or the 360 controllers I was using when I want to watch a DVD?
Yeah.
So, while browsing around during Buymas, I got my attention grabbed by this, especially since it was on a pretty good sale at Best Buy.
Looking at the 'Compatible with over 5000 devices!', Alex and I decided to give it a shot.
To my surprise, the damn thing actually works pretty well, but setup is a little annoying.
To program it, you have to put software onto your PC (or Mac), and connect the remote by USB.
You also need to have the model numbers for your A/V devices, unless you can put a laptop and the remote in your living room and do an IR search while it's connected to the PC with the included USB cable. Either option's doable for me, but I decided that finding the model numbers was a little easier.
Once it's programmed for the first time, it asks you to set "activity" pre-sets. These basically let you hit a button that says "play 360", and it turns on the 360, TV, and reciever and sets it to the 360 channel. Or "Watch Sattelite", and it does the same thing for the dish, etx, etx.
Plan for setup to take about 20 minutes, by the way.
Once this is all done and uploaded to the remote, if you're lucky, it should tell you to go and try the remote to make sure it works with all your devices.
If you're not lucky, it asks you to hook the remote back up to the USB cable and does a BIOS upgrade on the remote for about 20 more minutes. (Yes, a BIOS upgrade. I've never, ever had a remote with BIOS before. It's exciting.)
The remote lights up with a nice, easy to read green light that's very visible in dark or dim rooms, and has a screen for the various multi-function keys that changes depending on the device. Buttons are pretty responsive and it seems sturdy enough.
Honestly, my only concern is that since it runs off AAA batteries, if I have to replace the batteries will it need re-programmed? I guess we'll see. :D
If you don't have a bunch of devices in your living room, you'll probably not care about this, but if you're dealing with a lot of different remotes right now, I'm giving it a decent reccomendation as long as you find it for ~$60. (I think that $100, no matter how nice the remote, is a little steep.)
