Worf101

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $82.00 from Used ebay

Summary:
Like previous reviewers I have a multi-brand, multi remote jungle in my living room. My system is as follows: TV: 1992 Mitsubishi 35-inch Behemoth AVR: Onkyo 898 VCR: JVC something or other. DVD: Denon 3200 CD: Yammie 675 All these thing have remots that, to put it charitably, don't play well together. After reading the reviews here I decided to go with a slightly used Sony 3000 and see if I could actually find a "universal remot". If you detect cynicism in my tone, you are correct sir!!! I've been down the "universal remote" road before and been burned more times than Sunday Breakfast. So needless to say I approached the Sony 3000 with less than enthusiastic vigor. Manual- Sucks, worst written piece of drivel I've ever seen. Back and forth, back and forth to get things done. Written by a chimp. As counterintuitive as you can get with a manual. Remote Fit and Feel - Solidy without being porky and you can make it do things without having to point it at the TV or things. You can "cock" it up for easy reading and still punch the touch screen and have it work. Definatley not a one-hander but good overall ergonomics. Tounchscreen keys can be a little small for the sausage fingered among us. Set-up - This things marvelous if you have Sony products, if not, it's less than great. The presets provided managed to work out as follows: TV - Outstanding didn't have to add a key. Receiver - So so, will have to keep the Onkyo's remote around to do calibration and alike. DVD - Not bad, preset did most of what I wanted right off the bat. VCR - Poor, the three year old JVC should be covered more closely by presets but not so. CD - Good, most keys came right off the preset. Adding function and keys by the "learn" method is easy and well done. Setting macros and mulit-functions weren't bad either. If I didn't have a technical background and weren't a bit of a "grognard" (I built my last two computers) I'd have thrown up my hands with this days ago. I cannot see "Joe NASCAR" figuring this thing out with the manual as it's written. You have to be able to read, comprehend and then be a little compusavvy to make this thing work.

Strengths:
Ergonomics, layout, fit, finish, most of the presets actually work and the "learn" function does what it's asked to.

Weaknesses:
Manual is awfully counterintuitive. Some touchpad keys are a little small for grown ups.

Similar Products Used:
Too many to mention

Price Paid:  $119.00 from j and r

Summary:
My multiple - brand and multiple - component home entertainment system needed a dose of user-friendliness so that my wife didn’t always have to ask me how to switch between broadcast TV / DVD / VHS. Based on the reviews here, this product seemed to be the ticket (macro capability), and the price wasn’t too bad. Programming macros in the RM-AV3000 was a chore, because the user manual is poorly organized, and one has to jump around between different sections of the manual to find out how to accomplish a single task. For example, to replace a factory preset, you have to first erase the factory preset, then reprogram it: Go to Page 32 for programming info... then, See page 37, then go back to Page 32. It would have been better if the preset could just be erased and reprogrammed in one step. The same thing happens when you want to change a program you’ve created - except the procedure to erase your program is different than erasing the factory preset! Go to Page 32 for programming info... then, See page 35, then back to Page 32. All of this is unnecessarily complicated - but is typical for a lot of home entertainment products. When are the manufacturers finally going to get rid of nonintuitive, nested setup menus? Unfortunately, this product is among the worst I’ve seen in this regard, and this is one case where you do not want to lose the user manual. Thankfully, there is a Quick Reference Guide that takes a tutorial approach and is a helpful supplement to the manual. It was annoying to find that none of the “JVC” component code numbers supplied (in a separate booklet) worked with my 2-year-old JVC VCR (I have several other, older JVC VCRs, and all the remotes are all interoperable, so there is no excuse for not providing a working code number). Fortunately, the learning mode worked very smoothly. The factory presets worked for my Sony DVD player (no suprise). The optical output of the Sony remote was stronger than the remote that came with the JVC VCR. I managed to lock up the unit. I tried to program the functions from a Hauppauge WinTV PVR remote, using the learning mode to replace the factory satellite presets (STB) of the Sony remote. The unit seemed to learn the remote codes ok, but pressing the newly-programmed channel up button on the Sony caused the transmit indicator to display continuously, and none of the other buttons responded. I had to pull the batteries (which means having to reset the clock) to get it to function again. I was able to reproduce the problem, and trying to reprogram the unit again didn’t solve the problem. The touchscreen backlight isn’t needed in a well-lit room. The touchscreen smudges very easily. Cleaning it is a problem, because applying pressure to the touchscreen activates functions, even if the unit was previously powered off. The unit has the same form factor to a remote I have for an old Sony big-screen CRT, but has a “heft” that conveys an impression of quality. This makes it a pleasure to handle and operate. All in all, the RM-AV3000 accomplished what I wanted. My wife can press one button to select broadcast TV, one button for DVD, etc.. And it eliminates the clutter of the other remotes. However, the difficulty of programming it almost counteracts the joy of using it.

Strengths:
Attractive, hefty unit gives impression of quality. Decent signal output, better than many original remotes.

Weaknesses:
Display smudges easily. User manual poorly organized and confusing. Codes supplied for other products don't necessarily work.

Similar Products Used:
Manufacturer - supplied remotes only.

Price Paid:  $147.00 from www.ecost.com

Summary:
Excellent product! An expensive product if brand new, however, mine is refurbished (www.ecost.ca) - Sonystyle list price is CAN$299 - I paid flat CAN$147. I used remotes that claim to be "compatible" with many products - but this remote sets itself far above the rest with few exception. I'd recommend this if you have the cash. Everything about this remote can either be pre-set or programmed or learned. Too many macro functions are available - 33!. 18 components can be controlled. The LCD is not the technology that should be used in this remote - however it does work well. Maybe the future AV-4000 with 320x320 pixel & USB support and software that designs custom labels & buttons?

Strengths:
Everything can be programmed and re-labeled. Bright backlit screen. LCD panel easy to read. Touch screen is nice to use - even if you have fat fingers.

Weaknesses:
There is no way to delete single characters short of substituting it with the space character - very frustrating if more than one deletion required. LCD panel buttons are pre-configured, with Sony's CLIE technology - this should have a no-brainer. Shame on you Sony.

Similar Products Used:
VL-900, RCA all-in-one,

Price Paid:  $199.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Works as advertised. The learning and macro functions were outstanding. This remote "learned" codes for peripherals that other could not.

Strengths:
Programming and intuitive operations

Weaknesses:
Erasing codes and macros sometimes does not work

Similar Products Used:
All in one Kameleon.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Its a great remote, its good looking and quite easy to use after it is programed. Is kinda hard to program and gets kinda confusing while programing. Sony says batterys last 5months, not true,more like 2 to 3 months. I think its worth $200.00 and cleans up unwanted controllers. I have everything down to airconditioners programed in to remote!!!

Strengths:
Great controller,gets rid of unwanted remotes, easy to use after programed

Weaknesses:
Hard to program, battery's dont last long.

Similar Products Used:
mitsubishi remote.