Can One Remote Control Do It All? Probably Not
It's time to give away my age here. Back in the day (as the young people used to say, but that phrase has been co-opted by adults), we had no remote control for our family's TV. They just didn't exist for ordinary folks. That's not exactly true. My sisters and I were the family's remote control. My mother, but usually my father, would tell me to go change the channels until he found something he wanted to watch (usually a western). But it wasn't too bad, because there were only four channels.

There are more than four remote controls in my house. One would do very nicely, thank you. But is it possible? Is there a reliable and affordable one-in-all remote control for all of one's electronic gizmos?

There are two kinds of universal remotes. One is included with custom-installed home theaters that are pre-programmed and the programmable ones at electronics stores for a couple hundred dollars. Looking at my credit card balance made me immediately decide to check out the low-end to midrange controllers from Philips, Logitech, and Universal Remote.

In addition to controlling each device, these suckers allow you to create macros so you can press one button to turn on your television, launch your DVD player and your CD player. Cool, huh? But only if they work and will cause you less aggravation than finding each machine's individual remote control.

The best looking of the three, Philips's SRU9600 ($150) has a 1.5-by-3-inch touch-screen LCD that changes depending on the device you control. You pick the type of device, use a click-dial to scroll through a long list of manufacturers, and hold down OK while the remote finds the codes. Programming it to automatically perform all of the functions to play a CD is as easy as recording a keyboard macro on a PC.

Usually, it worked fine, but had to be manually trained to work with the Magnavox DVD/VCR player by putting it nose-to-nose with my old remote and alternately pressing buttons on each device. (It felt like being part of a remote control date.)

Next up, a remote that comes with a 1-hour instructional DVD, which means you have to find your old remote control so you can watch the DVD isn't a good omen. While the disc for Universal's R7 did a good job of explaining the remote's features, you have to have a good memory and lots of patience.

The R7 has some unique stuff. It allows you to control volume on all your electronics without switching and you can shut down everything with one button. And you cannot beat the $50 price. But before beginning, meditate and set aside plenty of time to watch the training DVD.

Programming the Logitech Harmony 550 ($150) means connecting it to your PC's USB port. Logitech's Web-based software prompts you for type of device, maker, and model, and then downloads the right codes to the remote. What an easy start!

The 550 controlled most devices without problems but not all of them. The remote's LCD is about an inch square meaning you have to scroll through multiple screens and try to intuit commands like 'MoveSur+' (though you can use the software on the PC to change the names of the commands). But the aggravation factor was starting to build.

And the Harmony CD installs nagware with pop-up ads for other Logitech products (aggravation and indignation increasing).

Logitech offers free phone support, with short hold times. That's good, because you will probably get to know them.

The Philips offers the greatest control with the least aggravation. But keep the other remotes close by. You just never know.

Additional information from PC World

Remote Control Comparison

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