Univeresal Remote from US...Or India ?

[kapilg]

Guys,

Planning to buy a Universal Remote from USA next month for

Current Gadgets

1) LG LCD
2) Denon 2310 AVR
3) WD TV Live Plus
4) Oppo 83 BDP
5) Cable set top box

Planned

1) LED/Plasma/Projector

I do not know much about Universal remote, however tried to go through various threads to get started. As per my current understanding, I have below two options

1) Go in for an economical option - USD 19 - Universal Remote WR7 Learning Remote Control WR7 - B&H Photo
2) Go for Logitech Harmony - Lets say 700 (for USD 99) Logitech 700 Harmony Advanced Universal Remote in Universal Remote Controls at JR.com
3) Go for USD 80 - Universal Remote RF-20 Master Control Universal Remote RF20 -

What I want to understand is

1) Do these remote controls matches with original remote controls exactly - no compromise on any functions or is there a limitation?
2) Can these remote switch the power ON/OFF on various devices
3) What will I be loosing on if I take the $ 20 remote (option 1)
4) Are the prices for these remotes better in US or in India
5) What options do you recommend from above remotes OR are there better options.....

Will await suggestions, recommendations......

 

[ontherocks]

AFAIK....
Universal remotes are not universal in the sense that you can use it to control any device in this universe. They only work with certain brand/model of devices. If the remote is from US, it would probably work only with brands available in the US.
These remotes come with a manual which states with which brands/models they would work/detect.
I had one such remote and had to throw it away before I came to India because of the above mentioned limitation.
But if you are going to use it with devices which are used in US as well, you may go for it. Just make sure you read the manual for list of brands/models.

 

[kaypaji]

Hey Kapil,

When it comes to universal remotes, there are a lot of options out there depending on your budget. Based on your choices, I would pick the Harmony 700 (if you can add $20 to your budget, the 880 from Amazon would be a better pick) There are also so refurbished ones which you can buy from Amazon - 880 and 550 are both good options.

I have 2 harmony remotes at home already (900 and One) and just bought Spidey's 880 which he had for sale on this forum. Harmony is, by far, the best universal remote you could hope to buy. They have excellent usability and a huge online database of components which I am sure will have all your existing devices, and will be updated for new devices making it future proof. As far as your specific queries are concerned:

1.You can control ALL the functions from the original remote. However, for indepth use especially for your AVR, it might be easier to use the remote supplied with the Denon. I assume you wont need to do this more than once every other month or so.

2. Yes they control the power on all devices

3. I have never used the remote you mentioned. However, I am sure you will have to manually make the universal remote learn a lot of the commands from your existing remotes. In addition, the Harmony software creates Activities which allow you to control multiple components at the same time without switching from device to device on the Universal Remote. For example, if you create an activity called Watch Cable, you can set up the remote so that all devices used (in this case, the TV, AVR and STB) get powered on and the AVR / TV are changed to the correct input. In addition, while using this activity, the numerical keypad will change channels on the STB and the volume buttons will control the AVR. Under a different activity, say Watch DVD, the forward and rewind buttons can control the DVD player, while the volume can be controlled by the AVR. It depends how you want to set it up, which is very easy using the Logitech software.

In a cheaper remote, you will have to continuously switch between devices that you want to control at each press of the button. Trust me, with 5-6 devices, this can become a pain in the a**.

4. Prices are definitely better in the US.

5. I have already answered this above. However just to re-iterate, I would pick the Harmony 700 out of the list you provided (it is limited to 6 devices however.. you wont be able to add more devices once you have purchased your projector). Given a choice, I would rather purchase either a refurbished 880 or 550 from Amazon ($80-$90 on Amazon). If you dont mind spending more, you cant do better than the Harmony One for IR, and 900 for RF (no line of sight needed).

Lemme know if you need more help.

Cheers

 

[kapilg]

Kaypaji,

Thanks. That was a quick and detailed one.

Can you please elaborate on IR and RF (comparision, prices, functionality....)

Also on refurbished ones - what are the drawbacks apart from the point that its a secondhand piece.

On Logitech, can you please inform be broadly the appropriate models with their approx cost and functionality.

Thanks again

 

[Kittu]

You can also buy the 880 from here

http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/11872-harmony-880-advanced-universal-remote.html

 

[kaypaji]

Kaypaji,

Thanks. That was a quick and detailed one.

Can you please elaborate on IR and RF (comparision, prices, functionality....)

Also on refurbished ones - what are the drawbacks apart from the point that its a secondhand piece.

No worries..

IR control requires line of sight - as in you need to be able to see the IR port on the receiving component for it to accept the signal. With RF, the signal is sent by the remote via radio frequency which does not require line of sight. You can have all the components hidden behind cabinets etc. (even in a different room) and still be able to control them.

Apart from this, features will be similar to an IR remote. From the Harmony lineup, the 900 and 1100 are the RF models and are quite expensive (upwards of $250). Unless you absolutely need RF, I dont think its worth the investment imho. I should have done more research before I bought my 900, there are other ways of going around the "hidden behind cabinet doors" issue such as using IR extenders etc. for a lot less dinero.

AFA refurbished piece is concerned, these are inspected by Logitech and then sold through dealers such as Amazon. I dont thhink you should have any problem with the device at all - Amazon has excellent customer care and will take care if, in the very rare instance, the device is faulty on arrival which I highly doubt it will ever be.

 

[BLASTO]

It cannot get better than this!
Logitech harmony 525 @ 1500/-

eBay India: Logitech Harmony 525 Advanced Universal Remote MRP 4295 (item 180552326325 end time 01-Sep-2010 00:59:45 IST)

Grab it before it is gone.

 

[idlebrain]

In a cheaper remote, you will have to continuously switch between devices that you want to control at each press of the button. Trust me, with 5-6 devices, this can become a pain in the a**.

I am exactly facing this horrible situation with my current All in One Remote...where I need to toggle between diff. devices for any operation.
In fact I didn't know there is such Activity available in Universal remote which can avoid from changing devices. Will check my remote manual for this..if not definitely need to go for better one.

 

[Vj@HiFi]

I got myself a Sony Universal Remote RM-VL600. Actually I have two, the first I bought for some $7 the second one for about twice that. Well why did I need two, did the first one die? No No, I needed two for the two rooms with different equipments.

This is a good (though ridiculously cheap) universal remote and I have been able to make all my stuff work through this single device including a BPL CRT TV.

One can teach this remote 'activities' as described in a post earlier.. Essentially a series of commands which will synchronize the devices you turn on and use the relevant buttons for required functions on different devices, the process is a bit cumbersome but doable. At $7 I can take the pain once, cant I. Its not fancy, no lcd screen etc., but does the job well.

Here is a link to the devices it can control by inputting the relevant code, for others you can make it learn (Sony eSupport - RM-VL600 - Remote Codes and Programming)

If you must buy in India, then Blasto's recommendation is not a bad buy at 1.5k

 

[kapilg]

Guys,

I can extend upto Rs 5000 for a good remote. Getting from US is not a problem as I am visiting there for a week in next month. But I think ebay can be still a better deal.

I do not know which Logitech model will fit into this budget !

 

[kapilg]

OK.

As per Blasto's suggestion, pulled trigger for Harmony 525 (Rs 1500). Should arrive in 5-7 days. I am sure it will meet my requirements.

Thank you all for suggestions and support.