Universal Remote suggetsions?

[HtV]

I have a harmony 525 (I think it's a european 520). It works very well, but the buttons are a bit small I think. Ofcourse that's a personal thing. Maybe I have thick fingers.

[madcat]

Yeah, I do agree that there is room for improvement on the tactile side of the button feel. Also, I still have to sometimes look down to know what I press.
But what harmony did with the Universal part, and the activity based - I think it's a killer. Until now, it was (for us) always just many remotes packed into one device, whereas you are just switching between them, instead of picking one up every time. this is the first one my wife is actually using (and we've been through few in during the years).

[darisb]

I'll second the vote for the MX-500. My wife likes it too. It's well balanced and rugged. We have two big dogs that like to wrestle and chase each other around the livingroom while we're watching TV in the evening. They've knocked it on the floor several times and there isn't a mark on it. I'm thinking about buying a second MX-500 so we can both have one, except I'm going to take the batteries out of her's so we can watch what I want to watch.

I really like the macro function. I can turn on everything just the way I like it with the press of one button. I can also shut everything down by pressing another button.

Regards,
Daris

[madcat]

I really like the macro function. I can turn on everything just the way I like it with the press of one button. I can also shut everything down by pressing another button.

this sounds so simple today when I use Harmony. Just turning on or off the things is the beginning. All comes to the correct input, keys are being sent. But what if you missed one IR command? someone was standing infront of you when it was sent? then it knows how to try and help you fix it.
Also, the Harmony DB of codes is online, and ever growing fed by the usage of users, so the chances not to find your devices there are very slim.

[sub]

I really like the macro function. I can turn on everything just the way I like it with the press of one button. I can also shut everything down by pressing another button.

this sounds so simple today when I use Harmony. Just turning on or off the things is the beginning. All comes to the correct input, keys are being sent. But what if you missed one IR command? someone was standing infront of you when it was sent? then it knows how to try and help you fix it.
Also, the Harmony DB of codes is online, and ever growing fed by the usage of users, so the chances not to find your devices there are very slim.

You can do these types of things with the MX-850 etc aswell. Admittedly, it doesnt have the diagnostic function that the 880 does for when things go wrong, but I found I never used this on the 880 when I owned it.

My remote 850 is setup with actions like 'watch DVD', 'watch GB-PVR', 'play xb360', and automatically switches inputs on the Amp and TV, then switches the remote to the appropriate controls for that device. If anything goes wrong, like person walks in front of the remote, then you can just press the same button again and it sorts it out (luckily my setup doesnt rely on power toggles etc).

[carpeVideo]

You guys all must have more money than me - my first showstopper was $150, $100 less than these remotes :0)

I got this one for 30 bucks:

http://www.ofausa.com/remote.php?type=URC6690

It worked my receiver, cable box, tv, and dvd out of the box. It has a MCE remote capability, but apparently they are not all the same so I got it to learn my Fusion Remote. It's definitely worth a try for the budget minded.

[zaphod7501]

You guys all must have more money than my - my first showstopper was $150, $100 less than these remotes :0)

I got this one for 30 bucks:

http://www.ofausa.com/remote.php?type=URC6690

It worked my receiver, cable box, tv, and dvd out of the box. It has a MCE remote capability, but apparently they are not all the same so I got it to learn my Fusion Remote. It's definitely worth a try for the budget minded.

It's also a JP1.2 remote, so with a $20 cable you can add custom devices; add discrete or missing functions; remap buttons; create complicated macros; and make it control your infra-red dog walker.

[madcat]

My remote 850 is setup with actions like 'watch DVD', 'watch GB-PVR', 'play xb360', and automatically switches inputs on the Amp and TV, then switches the remote to the appropriate controls for that device. If anything goes wrong, like person walks in front of the remote, then you can just press the same button again and it sorts it out (luckily my setup doesn't rely on power toggles etc).

Is it also "state aware", that is, for example, if your TV doesn't have discrete on/off signals, it "knows" the TV is on because you are in 'watch GB-PVR' so no need to send ON/OFF toggle when moving to 'play xb360', but if it was in "Off" mode then it should send the ON/OFF toggle?

I'm not trying to make it into a pissing contest... pure curiosity. I'm happy with the 880 (except what I said about the button feel, and some minor limitations to the way graphics is displayed), but always interested in the other things "out there"...

[Smoker]

For me I really don't need a really complex or high end remote. I simply have a tv and gbpvr to control. No STB, stereo, dvd, vcr, home theater etc.

So it sounds like the jp1 remotes are the cheaper way of going. But I am reading that the idc connector for a jp1 cable is not that easy to come by.

So what are some recommendations ? for a jp1 cable and for a jp1 remote ?

[madcat]

For me I really don't need a really complex or high end remote. I simply have a tv and gbpvr to control. No STB, stereo, dvd, vcr, home theater etc.

So it sounds like the jp1 remotes are the cheaper way of going. But I am reading that the idc connector for a jp1 cable is not that easy to come by.

So what are some recommendations ? for a jp1 cable and for a jp1 remote ?

So why not just go with the MS Remote? Works great with GB-PVR. It can learn the TV Power and Volume +/-, so you'll be all set.
Even comes with 2 IR blasters, in case there's something a bit more complex to achieve (or for future use).