Hi All,
I guess one sign of the new millennium must be remote controls multiplying to critical mass. I need to control a Zenith TV, Toshiba DVD, Denon receiver, Quasar VCR, and a Motorola Digital Cable box (not as much of a priority). Most of these came with remotes that are capable of controlling other units, but there is always 1 or 2 that they can't do, or of they can't do enough functions (the Denon won't do the Zenith, the Cable box won't do the DVD etc.). I would love to find something that would be able to keep all the programming instructions when the batteries run dead. Any ideas? Thanks

There are a great number of remotes that will meet your needs. The first step is deciding if you prefer touch screen or hard button for your remote. People swear by (and sometimes at) the Phillips Pronto ($200+ USD; extra $50+ for charger) and others like it for touch screen remotes. I was thinking of going that way a couple months ago (even had the green light from my wife!), but then I stumbled across the Radio Shack 15-2104. It is $40 US, but was on sale for $20. I figured I'd take a shot, and it has been great. It's a hard-button, and controls all my gear (can control up to 8 components), and can be set up to do at least four 15-command macros. There's a great deal of functionality in this remote (even beyond what's discussed in the manual), including two-color backlighting. It's worth its price at $40, and is a relatively inexpensive way to clean up the amount of remotes laying around. It can learn any special functions from your original equipment remotes as well. Since I've had this remote, I haven't felt the need to go all out for the more expensive Pronto or other touch screens.
Here's a site dedicated to Radio Shack and One For All remotes:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/index.shtml

Other remotes of note (reviews, forums, etc) can be found at:
http://www.remotecentral.com/

have fun, and good luck!

lando

I agree. The Radioshack line of remotes that are discussed on hifi-remote are great. I have the 15-1994, and am itching to build a JP1 box to connect it to a computer and program away. Even without this time-consuming mod it is a great remote that is very highly featured for the price.

That's some good info lando.
I actually toyed with the idea of buying the Onkyo touch pad remote (called the CHAD) when i bought my receiver, but for an extra $600 or so Cdn, i decided to stick with their 'free' version.
Lotsa room for macros and multiple components with complete individual button programming or punch codes. So far so good.

But geez that touch pad was such a nice looking toy.

I was close to buying to software to use my PDA as a remote but my PDA took a dump on me and the remote that came with my receiver is about worthless as tits on a bull when it comes to programming it. I use an a/v Producer 8 by a company called Hudson that I got at Best Buy. It's a somewhat basic home theater remote and is kinda bulky but it works great for me. It also takes a good beating as I have a hardwood floor which isn't kind to falling electronics. I wish I could shuffle the keys around a bit as I hate the playback keys on the bottom and I hate buttons in the shape of numbers.

Daniel

In reading my earlier post on the RS-2104, I found a typo... it can control 6 components, not 8. Oops!

chesseroo,

The CHAD is a slick remote... Onkyo's version of the Pronto, and IS a slick looking toy. Quite a potential "Wow" factor for your friends. In the end, I decided that once everything is on, I use mostly channel + or - or DVD "menu", "play" and "next/previous chapter functions". Not that the Radio Shack remote is limited to these functions, but I finally came to the realization that spending 20% or more of what I did for my entire my speaker package on a remote didn't make too much sense for my particular situation. The RS remote is durable, ergonomically pleasing, and simple to program/use. The remote that came with my Onkyo receiver is good too, but doesn't have a backlighting function and is a touch on the "long" side.

Gotta go... don't want to sound like a RS salesperson, and it's our Anniversary! Heading to Baltimore for IMAX, Aquarium, and Cheesecake Factory! Have a great weekend.

lando

Well on that note, i found the Baltimore IMAX to have crappy seats that hurt your back after 20 minutes but the aquarium and the cheesecake factory are excellent!!
CRAB CAKES FOREVER!! (unless we fish all the crabs from the sea then we're screwed)

I just picked up the OneForAll Cinema 6 at Radioshack for about $30 Cdn. It's not bad at all...though it didn't have specific codes for Arcam, it "found" the codes for both receiver and CD player in less than 3 minutes. It also has 4 learning keys, that can be used for different things with each device (24 learning buttons it all). The only 2 things I have left to do are figure out how to get it to program a VCR, and give it the old "technically challenged spouse" test.

It was reviewed in the Soundstage archives, and the reviewer didn't report any major reliability issues. Maybe I'll post a full review once I have the thing tweaked.

Sounds like you're getting serious by delving into the "technically challenged spouse" tests.
That's some dangerous and often uncharted territory.

The RatShack remotes are a good bargain, especially if you like the idea of all hard buttons. The down side is that they're not very spouse/novice-friendly, since you have to remember which button does what in each device mode.

A customizeable touchscreen remote will far exceed the hard-button remotes when it comes to user-friendliness if you're willing to put the work into setting everything up. I had a Pronto for a few years, and later upgraded to a Marantz RC-5200, which is essentially the same as a Pronto but has additional hardkeys, including cursor keys (a big plus). Here's a link

The funny thing is that I was looking at the Radio Shack remotes when I started this thread. I guess I'll be taking a much closer look after your responses. Thanks