By Bob Gatton
Is there only one person in your house who can shuffle between multiple remotes and can actually get a DVD to play, with sound and picture, on the first try? Does your coffee table look like a remote control display at a store? If so, you might want to consider a universal remote control.
I have seen far too many nice media rooms, with good quality equipment, where there are five, six, or more remotes needed to control all of the equipment. If you have a good system, make the investment and get a quality universal remote control that allows you to control all of the components. It should not be considered as an optional accessory. It should be considered as necessary as any other component in the system.
There are two types of universal remote controls. The first is a basic universal remote where you can control all of your equipment from one remote, but it is simply combining the functions from multiple remotes into one. For instance, if you want to watch a movie on a DVD, you would probably need to do something like this:
- Select TV on the remote, then turn on the television, then select the proper input.
- Select Receiver on the remote, then turn it on, then select the DVD input.
- Select DVD on the remote, then turn it on, then press play.
It's handy to be able to do this without the shuffling between a TV, receiver and DVD remotes, but in the above example you would need to press nine buttons to turn on the display, the audio system, and start the DVD playing.
The second type of universal remote is called an activity-based remote. On most of these, you could go through all the button presses in the example, but you could also program the remote to do the entire chain of commands with one button push. This string of multiple commands is called a macro. And programming many of these is not that difficult. Some have 'wizards' on either the remote or on your PC that walk you through the process. When it is done on the PC, you attach the remote to the computer and download the programming to the remote.
When you go shopping, ask for help to make sure you get the features you want:
- Illuminated or back-lit buttons. Nothing is more irritating than having to turn on a light to make a minor volume adjustment when watching a movie in a dark room.
- A comfortable fit in your hand. If possible, try it before you buy it.
- Easy-to-find frequently used controls, usually volume up/down and channel up/down.
- Enough capacity to control all of your equipment. Some basic universal remotes can only replace three or four different remotes. It won't do the job if you have more pieces than that in your system.
- A radio frequency option. The vast majority of remote controls use infra red light to control the different pieces in your system. IR can work very well, but it is limited to line-of-sight. An RF-capable system can go through cabinet doors and walls. Everything but the display can be hidden in a cabinet or closet and you can still operate it with the remote.
- A preprogrammed remote or a learning remote. A preprogrammed remote has a built in library of commands for virtually all components. Most learning remotes also have a built-in library, but they also let you teach the universal remote the commands that the library does not contain.
- Ability to "remember" the programming when the batteries die. Most will, but it is something to check.
- Keep the original remotes. Some rarely used commands are usually not included in universal remotes. You won't need them very often, but from time to time they are handy to have.
Life is too short to be juggling multiple remote controls. Buy a universal remote control to save yourself some time.
See all articles in the Home Theater/Media Room Series
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