Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions universal remotes.....

I'm looking at getting a universal remote. One with an lcd touchscreen that will light up in a dark room.

Does anyone out there own one? Or can anybody give their opinions one any they may have tried. i'm looking to spend about 2-250 (cdn), but would think about a higher end model if it proved necessary.

TIA for any suggestions

pioneer dv-578-a
toshiba 57hx93
denon 4802r
vp100
m60's
qs8's
ep175

People here seem to adore this one and similar products from the same company. If I recall correctly, most people seem to regret purchasing an LCD remote - the tactile qualities of hard buttons seem to win most folks over.

I'll second what Mike had to say. I've owned both a Sony touchscreen, and the MX-700. While the Sony is an excellent remote, I find the MX-700 to be much more user friendly and easier to program. The MX-700 is being discontinued, so you can find fairly good deals on them like here. Don't let the "open box" aspect frighten you. Many of us, myself included, bought "open box" models and they look like new models to me. Bluedo.com is an authorized dealer, and is offering free shipping with the code you'll find on the above web page. I love this remote.

the harmony family remote looks nice i am considering it but (there is always a but) logitech has recently purchased them and that scares me a bit.

here is the link they have other remotes as well.harmony family remote

I bought a Harmony remote from a "high-end audio" salesman that has a MX 700 at his house. He summed it up this way:

The MX 700 is more versatile and will do more stuff - but it is also somewhat more labor/time intensive to set up - but once it is set up it is sweet. He estimated that he had put in 20 hours (only 1 hour or so with initial set-up) playing with his to optimize the macro functions, etc. but he is the kind of guy that likes doing stuff like that. The Harmony is less versatile, but simpler - and in about 40 minutes I got it to where it runs my Sony TV and DVD player, HK receiver, old Panasonic VCR and Time-Warner cable box without any difficulties. Plus, since our home computer is a Mac, I'm pretty sure the MX 700 was not an option.

Right, thats why they call it the family remote it does macros learning all that but is simple enough for the whole family to use.

In reply to:

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he had put in 20 hours (only 1 hour or so with initial set-up) playing with his to optimize the macro functions

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20 hours, huh? I think he just loved the remote so much that he was just looking for any excuse to spend time playing with it .

I had mine fully setup in under two hours and, beleive me, I'm no techie by any stretch .

20 Hours??? That's unbelieveable. I like to tweak as much as the next guy.... OK, MORE than the next guy, but 20 hours is a bit excessive. 2-3 hours for initial setup for 3-5 devices, including macros. Then tweaks to to round it off - maybe another 2-3 hours over the next couple of weeks. Once set , the MX-700 is a slice of heaven.

I had the big Sony LCD touch screen (RM-3100??), but I found it limiting, not powerful for macros, not user friendly and the screen was always covered with fingerprints. Plus, it took 2 hands to use.

Take a look at this review for the MX-700. If anything, they understate a bit. Also, the unit has an excellent backlight for use in the dark and the buttons are very tactile. With the macro capability, this thing can be set up to be VERY family friendly. Almost everything can be driven by a " single button turns on, switches and/or turns off all my stuff" approach and it can be done with one hand.

I heartily recommend this puppy.

WHOA - I just noticed you have a Denon receiver. There is a file for the MX-700 at Remote Central that includes EVERY Denon Receiver command. I have my 700 set up with separate devices for "RCVR" = all HT-specific, "TUNER" = all AM/FM radio-specific and "SPKER" = individual + and - controls for each speaker and the sub. I also put SUB+ and SUB- commands at the top of each of my devices screens to adjust right on the fly..

If you decide to go for one of these, I'd be happy to help you set it up. If you want to discuss it a bit more, drop me a PM.

"20 hours, huh? I think he just loved the remote so much that he was just looking for any excuse to spend time playing with it"

I think there is definitely some truth to that. I didn't mean to imply that you HAVE to spend 20 hours - just that if you like messing around with this type of stuff, that potential is there.

I have a Sony rm-av3000.I find it to be an excellent, easy to use remote.I am using it to control 5 different components plus my listening room air condtioner.It can eat up your batterys if you use back light to often,which I don't.I don't find fingerprints to be a problem .I just wipe them off every so often.