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Universal Remote Advice
boykster:
You can easily snag an older model Pronto off of ebay for under $100. I keep an eye out for ProntoNeo's (I use them in every room except the theater - 6 in use plus 3 in reserve) and the last few I bought were either new old stock or lightly used "like new" units. I pay no more than $50 for them.
A bigger one - TSU1000 or TSU2000 might push closer to $100, but maybe not...de;pending on age/condition.
The pronto I use in the theater is a TSU2000: it has 7 hard buttons. Mute, vol+/vol-, ch+/ch-, and 2 hard keys below the screen that are programmable. The prontos I use in the rest of the house are TSU500s and have the same 7 hard buttons as the larger remote, but also adds a cursor/directional pad with an OK button in the middle + 1 more hard button - and the layout is a bit different.
I've seen the big Harmony touchscreen, and played around with it, but I don't like it. You can't use it with one hand. Its very nice, but I like how I can pick up and operate my current remotes with one hand. I've considered upgrading to a newer color remote for the theater but haven't found one that I really like that is worth the $$$ and extensive reprogramming that it will take.
Edit: wow, I just checked out the latest small remote by Pronto - the TSU9400...holy crap that's a nice looking remote. Too bad they're $500-600!!! :o
Howard_Casto:
--- Quote from: lcddream on January 12, 2008, 01:29:29 am ---
well it has a "punch through" mode for the main area so for instance if you want your volume to always control your receiver on the main area, it will "punch through" to your amp volume.... instead of having to switch to your receiver device....same for all buttons.
it is fairly customizable
--- End quote ---
So does my cable box, but it only helps a little. I don't think you understand the level of idiot proofing I need to do. Play needs to play the dvd player except when watching a vod movie, in which case it needs to control the cable box, except when watching 360 streams, where it needs to control the 360. The thing is, I'm dealing with people that are so technologically retarded that they don't get why you have to press "dvd" before the play controls work on the dvd player. Also I don't think the mx is "smart" meaning if I setup a "play dvd" button and then a "watch tv" button if you switch back via "watch tv" while watching a dvd it's gonna turn off the tv!
I'm really sold on the logitech's software it's just too bad there isn't a single solitary logitech remote with a decent layout.
Also, while it certainly eliminates the missed signal problems, I'm not sure I'm sold on the ir-blasters soley on account of looks. Our cable box has an ir plugin in the back which I could hack to work with the blaster, which is great, but most of my other devices, including a very nice looking lcd tv with the ir port way up on the base do not. I might get flogged if I go taping stuff to the front of the devices with wires running everywhere. I'm certainly looking into it though.
shmokes:
Well . . . not much you can do about the TV, but if you're running an IR blaster you can hide all those unsightly wires and go one step further by hiding the components altogether. Since you don't need line of sight anymore for the remote to work, you can get rid of sight altogether. No matter how attractive your components are, I guarantee they're not as attractive as they'd be closed away in a cabinet or behind a wall, completely out of sight.
Howard_Casto:
--- Quote from: shmokes on January 12, 2008, 11:49:22 am ---Well . . . not much you can do about the TV, but if you're running an IR blaster you can hide all those unsightly wires and go one step further by hiding the components altogether. Since you don't need line of sight anymore for the remote to work, you can get rid of sight altogether. No matter how attractive your components are, I guarantee they're not as attractive as they'd be closed away in a cabinet or behind a wall, completely out of sight.
--- End quote ---
Nope, not an option I'm afraid. Because we recently switched to a lcd tv, we also recently replaced the tv stand with one designed for a flat display. Like all stands for flat tvs the shelving area on the bottom is open without walls or doors. Unfortunately it wasn't cheap either, so I doubt I could get away with ditching it. Heck just the power cords to my wii and 360 look awful on the thing. :(
shmokes:
Have you considered murder? If you were to put your wife inside a cabinet or behind a wall the issue might become moot :P
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