When it comes to universal remote one usually thinks of the Logitech range of harmony remotes. And why not? They are sleek, have all the frills and most importantly, they are very functional. If they have one drawback it is this: they are quite expensive (unless, you come across those grab-it-quick deals like the time on eBay when it was going for 1.5k . yes Rs. 1500/-). But for those of us who do not want to spend in excess of a thousand, there are options available. The PROTOUCH Universal Remote UR-501L is one such remote.
This remote is not the only option in the below 1k category though. There are a number of no-name Chinese remotes and a few entry level Philips ones as well. I had wrongly assumed earlier that the Protouch remote was a Chinese make. I stand corrected. It is made in India which is a good thing. I had earlier purchased a Philips universal remote which could control only three devices: TV, DVD and STB. It is a very basic remote and while it works with most brands, it has extremely limited functionality. For example, it worked for basic functions with my Panasonic plasma TV, but I could not change the aspect ratio with this remote. Neither could I access the SD card function. The problem was that there was no way to assign functions to particular keys. It either worked or it did not. So I got a Protouch 501L.
The first thing about the 501L is that it lacks aesthetic appeal ( I wasnt looking for any, by the by). Its not the kind of thing you look at twice. But looks can be deceiving and this was the case for the 501L. As the cover boasts, it works with more than 800 brands. In all probability your brand will be included in the remotes database. But in the unlikely event that it isnt, there is still a workaround. The remote has a feature called the intelligent learning function, and I cant begin to even tell you how useful this feature is. This feature allows your universal remote to copy any function of your old remote (provided, of course, that the old remote is working). This also implies that you can customize your remote any way you want. Thus I was able to program the 501L in such a way that I copied all the functions of my Seagate Free Agent Theatre + remote to the universal remote (the FAT+ is not listed among the brands). So it is safe to assume that this remote will work with all brands across the spectrum. The remote can control up to 5 devices.
If I had to look for faults I'd say that the number buttons are very small. The buttons are all marked with an ink which looks like it is going to fade quickly over time (I may be wrong though, and I will be very happy to be proved wrong in this case). The buttons could have been back-lit but at the price I am not complaining. The bottom line is that for the price, you cant get any better.
This remote is not the only option in the below 1k category though. There are a number of no-name Chinese remotes and a few entry level Philips ones as well. I had wrongly assumed earlier that the Protouch remote was a Chinese make. I stand corrected. It is made in India which is a good thing. I had earlier purchased a Philips universal remote which could control only three devices: TV, DVD and STB. It is a very basic remote and while it works with most brands, it has extremely limited functionality. For example, it worked for basic functions with my Panasonic plasma TV, but I could not change the aspect ratio with this remote. Neither could I access the SD card function. The problem was that there was no way to assign functions to particular keys. It either worked or it did not. So I got a Protouch 501L.
The first thing about the 501L is that it lacks aesthetic appeal ( I wasnt looking for any, by the by). Its not the kind of thing you look at twice. But looks can be deceiving and this was the case for the 501L. As the cover boasts, it works with more than 800 brands. In all probability your brand will be included in the remotes database. But in the unlikely event that it isnt, there is still a workaround. The remote has a feature called the intelligent learning function, and I cant begin to even tell you how useful this feature is. This feature allows your universal remote to copy any function of your old remote (provided, of course, that the old remote is working). This also implies that you can customize your remote any way you want. Thus I was able to program the 501L in such a way that I copied all the functions of my Seagate Free Agent Theatre + remote to the universal remote (the FAT+ is not listed among the brands). So it is safe to assume that this remote will work with all brands across the spectrum. The remote can control up to 5 devices.
If I had to look for faults I'd say that the number buttons are very small. The buttons are all marked with an ink which looks like it is going to fade quickly over time (I may be wrong though, and I will be very happy to be proved wrong in this case). The buttons could have been back-lit but at the price I am not complaining. The bottom line is that for the price, you cant get any better.
