Unless you absolutely need vid switching with the 525, connect directly to the TV as others have stated.

As for the remote, who doesn't have a good universal these days? My trusty JP-1 Rat shack 1994 controls my Sony RPTV, AVR-525, Panny RP81 DVD changer, Sony DirecTivo and RCA vcr. I've got a macro setup to properly turn the appropriate TV input on and select the appropriate audio input for the 525 depending on what source I want to use. One touch turn on, one touch turn off.

Frank