No comments about BenQ Projector Remote Control (CS.56060.001).

No comments about COX ATLAS DVR / PVR 5-DEVICE UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL with Picture-in-Picture (PIP). Controls: TV / Cable / DVD / Audio / AUX.

No comments about Xdm Remote Control.

1 comments about inVoca Voice Operated Universal Remote Contol.

1. I bought this for my father for Christmas. Before you can program the voice features, you must enter a programming code to pair the device's functions to your appliance (TV, cable box, vcr, etc.) Unfortunately, none of the supplied codes worked with my father's standard Sony TV. I tried to use the code search feature--that failed as well. I took the remote home and tried it on my Hitachi TV--same problem. So, I tried to access the Invoca support web site listed in the documentation--www.invoca.net; the site does not exist. I bought this device from Brookstone--they take anything back at any time; thank goodness because I'd otherwise be out $50 for a useless piece of junk.
   
   Don't buy this item. It doesn't work as a universal remote, let alone a voice-command remote.

3 comments about Philips TSU7000 Universal Remote Control.

1. A tremendous amount of work went into Philip's line of programmable touch-screen remotes. I admire the effort, and in some complex "go-into-watching-a-DVD-mode" usage situations that don't resemble mine, I know that many people are happy with it. But...
   
   If you are a channel surfer, if you change channels a lot and control inputs to your TV a lot (e.g., from TiVo to Satellite and back again), and if channel surfing is mostly what you use a remote to do, you may not be happy with this box. Why? Because you can't easily operate the thing without looking at it. It's a touch screen. The buttons cannot be felt; they have to be seen and then gingerly activated.
   
   The remote is pretty fat to begin with (to get real estate for the soft buttons), and for me at least, I never learned how to press those pretty on-screen buttons without both hands and looking. To change the channel, or to popup Direct TV's guide--things I do constantly--you have to hold the thing in one hand, and CAREFULLY tap a button with the other. In comparison, my dedicated remotes can be operated without thought--after a few months, boom, your thumb goes the button you want and the channel is changed.
   
   It's also a bear to program. I've been a professional programmer for 20+ years and found the Pronto development model confusing and just plain hard. If I could I would go back in time a year and get back the $600 and 50 hours or so I spent programming it, and buy accordian lessons instead.
   
   Nice try, but not for this clumsy channel surfer. I'd rather have three, or five, separate dedicated remotes. I haven't touched the Pronto in months.



2. Now this is the way to go if you have several components that are being controlled as in many of today's better home theater setups. Not only does it work great but looks great to.
   
   ProntoPro can be programmed via the touch screen but you will be greatly limited as to its capabilities. If computers aren't friendly to you, either buy this remote from a local dealer that will program it for your home theater setup or be pared to spend quite a bit of time at your computer programming it. Yes, you can have it 'up and running' in a short time but most likely this will only wet your appetite for more refinement in programming.
   
   The great thing about this remote is how you can customize it in so many ways no matter if there is few or many components to your HT system. Program the ProntoPro to turn on/off all of your HT components with the touch of ONE button. If the kids want to play a Nintendo game and have it in surround sound you would have to set your TV input, and set your AV Receiver input.
   Then when you wanted to watch a movie there is several more functions that you would normally have to perform by a few different remotes to do so. The ProntoPro can be programmed to carry out multiple functions with one button press. This is the most loved feature for my wife and me.
   
   In customizing the display, graphics can be downloaded from various web sites devoted to remote controls or make your dazzling work of art using third party software.
   
   Control almost anything that can be controlled by infrared signals. Can be used with RF signals but I haven't as yet had any first hand experience with it. Control room lighting, curtains, fans, and etc., nearly anything that uses a IR remote.
   
   Remote comes preprogrammed with a basic program for many features but it will need to be set for your particular components. Doing all of this sounds a bit daunting but if taken a bit at a time can be learned and improved.
   
   The manual has many pages but doesn't get into much of the deeper programming that you may want to attempt. There are third party manuals for this on the internet that can be found.
   
   The remote isn't as light as a feather. It is thicker than any remote I've used to date. My wife and I still at times use our regular remote for flipping through channels on the digital cable because it is lighter/thinner and has buttons that you don't need to look at to navigate with. So the beautiful flat display on the ProntoPro has many good points but still there is that lack of feeling a button for navigation. Although there is the basic Channel up/down, mute, volume up/down, and other hard navigation buttons on the remote that can be custom programmed as can be seen in the picture.
   
   This remote, when programmed properly, makes operating a HT simple. This is great for anyone who doesn't want to sit down to eight different remote controls to switch between. Watching a DVD movie, cable TV, video game, and etc. should be relaxing, not an aggravation. Many older people or those technically challenged will like using it, IF it is programmed for ease of operation.
   
   I bought our ProntoPro in Nov 2004 for about $450 from an internet site. Try looking at pricegrabber.com. It was a refurbished unit but works and looks perfect. The retail price seemed a bit much at first but knowing now what I do, it would be worth every penny. I'm planning on buying another one as a gift for my parents to use in their HT.
   
   I rated this remote at 5 stars in spite of any negatives I mentioned because if how good it does what it is supposed to do, that is to make simple operation what was once unorganized chaos.



3. I have been a long time user of the Sony RM-AV3100 remote. It helped cut down the number of remotes I needed in my Home Theatre system. After reading many reviews on the Philips ProntoPro NG (TSU7000) I decided to spring for this remote during my home theatre upgrade.
   
   What can I say? This remote features a beautiful backlit screen and the windows software to make custom layouts for this remote is easy to use. I have used some templates that can be found on the Internet and created a very user friendly and pretty to look at interface.
   
   The remote is being used to control my Pioneer Plasma (PDP5050HD), Pioneer Elite DVD Player (59AVi), Yamaha Receiver, Toshiba SVHS, Pioneer Laserdisc player, DirecTV HD Tivo and X-10 lighting.
   
   This remote is much more configurable and programmable than the Sony remote which it replaced. I also find the strength of the signal the remote sends is enough to get through the perforated steel doors of my TV\Audio Rack.
   
   One drawback to this remote are that there is no different feel for the channel, mute and volume buttons that run up and down the side. I often end up hitting the wrong button. Another drawback is that the unit sometimes can take a little longer than would be expected to change the page you are viewing on it. Another potential problem is the plastic side where the channel\volume hard buttons are. The plastic feels a little flimsy. I can feel the plastic moving when I hold the remote or push in on the side.
   
   Overall this is a great remote that can be programmed to control any IR source. It has replaced 9 remotes for me so a universal remote in a setup like mine is a no-brainer. It also allowed for me to make custom GUI's and macros so that my girlfriend can more easily control the home theatre system.
   
   One last comment, www.remotecentral.com host a wealth of information about this remote and many files that you can download to aid in the programming of the remote.

No comments about One For All 4 Device Universal Remote Control with University of Arkansas Logo and Colors.

No comments about BreatheAudio BA-LRC1 Learning Remote Control.

No comments about HDMI 1000 Extender Kits#3.

5 comments about KeySpan Digital Media Remote Control USB To Ir F/ Mac Multimedia Device.

1. The remote works great! I can control all my DVDs with it from across the room. At first I had a little trouble configguring the remote, but now it is configgured and it works great. I would note that there is a newer version of the software for the remote out than what came on my CD. As of today (3/26/06), the latest version of the software is 2.2, and can be found at [...]



2. Be advised that this will NOT work with the airport express and you need the newer (and more expensive :( ) version of this product in order to use it with the airport express. It cannot be updated to work with it either. Because of this I had to return it.



3. This is a dandy little item at a great price. Worked right out of the box with Windows Media Player but I had to program some of the buttons to work with WinDVD (easy to figure out). You'll need to use the driver disk (supplied), even with WinXP Pro with SP2, and the drivers won't work with Windows Vista Beta 2. I use it all the time and I'm very pleased.



4. It has been a while since I bought this product. It works great. It is a little cumbersome to open applications that are not configured on the remote. Would give it 4 stars and would recommend to someone.



5. More often, gadget manufacturers make items they have to convince us we need (i.e. crappy cameras on cell phones). This is an incredible item that most need but don't know about. For anyone who uses their computer for any sort of media entertainment, as in all college students, this is a valuable gadget that frees you from your keyboard. But this can also be cued into other applications, such as powerpoint. It can even be customized to operate as a wireless mouse. And in a tiny & aesthetically pleasing design, it sets the standard for all remote manufacturers.

5 comments about Harman Kardon TC-1000 Take Control System Controller.

1. "More expensive" does not mean "better." Definitely not the case with the TC-1000.

   Things I do not like about this remote:

   - Pressing a button on the lcd screen doesn't always result in the desired action. Actions seem to bleed from one area to the next, even when a narrow object is used as a stylus.

   - Some buttons do not work, period. Example, the number 8 does not work at all to change channels on the ReplayTV setup.

   - The display time-out resets itself to a default of 10 seconds, like every hour or so. Not enough, and I still haven't figured out how to permanently set it.

   - The brightness frequently sets it self to the least bright setting for no apparent reason. Like a sullen teenager, it must get tired of being told what to do, so it rebels by showing you a blackened screen.

   - Buttons on the remote are not labeled consistently with the original remote. A problem with most universal remotes, this one seems to have been translated from another language.

   There's more, but I'll spare the excess whining.




2. I purchased three of these remotes as part of a whole-house audio/video install when our home was being constructed. At first I thought they were pretty nifty, being that I'm a techno-geek and generally love anything with batteries. I thought the programmability would be great.

   And it would be, if it weren't for the fact that this remote is heavy and very difficult to use. With an LCD touch screen remote you get zero tactile response to tell you whether you successfully pressed a button or not and you spend half your time re-pressing buttons or accidentally pressing them twice. Further, since you have to look at the screen to see the button to press (you can't feel for it like a normal remote) you end up trying to gently place your finger over the desired button while looking at it before you reposition the remote to aim at your television. If you want to enter a three digit channel number this means you (1) Tilt the LCD screen toward you to line up over the first digit, (2) Tilt the remote to aim at TV, (3) Press button, then repeat these three steps for the other two digits - 9 motions to enter three numbers! Remotes with physical buttons allow you to develop a "feel" for button locations so you can operate the remote without looking at it - great for dark home theater settings.

   So, after trying to adjust to these clunky remotes I've finally replaced them with the Home Theater Master MX-500. This one is a great combination of programmability, including physical keys that can be renamed through LCD labels, and the kind of tactile response and solid construction that demanding techies appreciate.

   Check it out at ...

   If your home theater has 8 or fewer devices, I also recommend the Home Theater Master SL9000. I used that one before adding some components to my system which prompted moving up to the MX-500.




3. The PC software used for programming the remote is very easy to use and a nice surprise coming from the kings of bad user interface design--Microsoft. You will have no trouble setting it up nor will it be difficult to modify the setup at a later date. Unfortunately, the remote itself eats batteries (I use NiMH rechargeables, but they still only last a month or so) and the touch screen is balky (it has trouble accurately sensing pressure at the edges in particular.) You can do anything with this remote, but its just not the panacea I had hoped for. I would not recommend it, nor would I condemn anyone for buying it. If you have very, very complicated home theater needs, it will certainly be able to meet them.



4. I bought this remote in the hope that my wife would actually learn how to turn on the home theater system. It hasn't fulfilled that purpose for a vaiety of reasons, some having to do with flaws in the product itself and some having to do with the design of the components that it is supposed to operate.

   In a nutshell, the product flaws are (1) dim, almost unreadable display; (2) poor control design, (3) voracious appetite for batteries and (4) unpredictability of operation.

   Item one is self-explanatory. You just can't see the display in many light environments. Item two has to do with the scroll wheel. The product design requires you to scroll to your selection then depress the scroll wheel to select. Well, about half the time when you depress the wheel, it turns slightly causing you to accidentally select the next menu item up or down. This is really frustrating. Item three: self-explantory.

   Item 4 refers to the fact that no matter how much you fine tune the programming, its impossible to get the thing to go through a set of macros (e.g., turn on TV, turn on amplifier, set amplifier to DVD, set TV input to amplifier... etc.) successfully with any reliability. Sometimes it works, sometimes you end up setting some of the components manually.

   Also relevant to this category are the difficult to use touch screens. With no feedback you don't know whether you've activated the button or not.

   On the plus side, the PC programming is very easy to use.

   In short, I regret paying so much for a product that has not lived up to its promise.




5. I saw this offered ... which seemed like a good deal after reading a few reviews and seeing it sold elsewhere. Now that I've used it, I'm pretty impressed with the ability to progam and synchronize it with my PC, as well as find codes for download from the internet from other people who have the remote.

   I have two problems with this remote though, one is the dim LCD and the second is that Harman Kardon and Microsoft have discontinued manufacturing it and ceased developing software updates for it.