Looking for a new Universal Remote Control Recommendations (1 Viewer)

[sfyalek]

I have a Universal MX450 Universal remote control but stop working. I am unable to reboot it because the company only allow the professional license installer to run the software.

I am trying to find a new Universal Remote Control with macro function so I can control my Panasonic projector, NAD AV Receiver, the motorized projector screen, Apple TV, Oppo Blu-Ray Player. Any suggestions will be truly appreciated.

 

[splintyg]

Any recommendations on current universal remote controls? Macros to switch between the blu ray player, cd player, turntable and Chromecast would be nice, as would back-lighting. I have an older Marantz receiver (SR7008), Sony blu ray which I use for Netflix and Amazon Prime, while my wife uses the Chromecast. We also have a Sonic Frontiers cd player and an LG plasma tv.

Reviews on Amazon seem to be all over the place, so I thought I'd reach out to my favorite forum for some advice! TIA

 

[DaveF]

URC is good if you have the Complete Control software to program it yourself. Or an affordable, quality installer to do updates for you, I suppose.

Logitech Harmony is capable. But Logitech is exiting the space, so there‘s that risk for long term support.

and there’s a bunch of smartphone based niche products if you want to investigate those.

it’s not a great time for enthusiasts

 

[dpippel]

URC is good if you have the Complete Control software to program it yourself. Or an affordable, quality installer to do updates for you, I suppose.

As a long-time URC user, let me just chime in and say that the Complete Control app is a, um, complete PITA to use. It's complicated, clunky, unintuitive, and the codebase is OLD, but it is very flexible. I recently switched over to a Logitech Harmony Elite, despite their announcement, and IMO it's much easier to use than anything in the URC ecosystem.

 

[sfyalek]

URC is good if you have the Complete Control software to program it yourself. Or an affordable, quality installer to do updates for you, I suppose.

Logitech Harmony is capable. But Logitech is exiting the space, so there‘s that risk for long term support.

and there’s a bunch of smartphone based niche products if you want to investigate those.

it’s not a great time for enthusiasts

Thank you for the information. I looked into Logitech too. It concerns me when I realized that they are exiting the URC market.

 

[DaveF]

It’s a weird time buy a high-end universal remote.

If your hardware is stable for the foreseeable future, you don’t need harmony updates, so Logitech abandoning support may not matter practically.

I think Harmony still sells their lower cost models. And $60 isn’t a lot to risk.

URC - I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy a URC remote on the gray market, and try to get the software, and hope to learn it from scratch. If you already have a URC remote setup you can build on, and have the software, it’s totally manageable. And minor edits to an existing remote setup are easy once you’ve learned a few basics.

Beyond that…? There’s stuff out there but I don’t follow the niche / speculative side of remotes.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I have inquired HERE...if anyone has any experience with a new line of URCs by a company called SofaBaton.

They seem to have come out of nowhere with a smartphone/bluetooth design (substantially different from Harmony) and no ability to create "activities" like Harmony was famous for.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have inquired HERE...if anyone has any experience with a new line of URCs by a company called SofaBaton.

They seem to have come out of nowhere with a smartphone/bluetooth design (substantially different from Harmony) and no ability to create "activities" like Harmony was famous for.

I posted my experience with this remote in that thread, Mike.

 

[danielanderson4500]

You can also look up on the internet. Plenty of recommendation lists exist.

 

[Rob_Ray]

If you have an iPhone or iPad, I recommend a universal TV remote app I have used for the past three months. It works very well and smooth.

 

[seditious3]

I am also an Apple user, so if you plan to use your Apple devices as a remote control, I suggest a universal TV remote app I have been using. It works very well and smooth. I have never had connection problems or any delay in button action. If interested, you can download the app from the website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/universal-remote-tv-control/id6467252904.

 

[Robert Saccone]

What remote apps are folks using on their iPhones?
Thx

 

[DaveF]

If you solely use an AppleTV (with TV and perhaps an AVR), the aTV remote is sufficient and competent. (That’s my fallback plan if/when my Harmony Elite dies, and it’s been getting quirky lately.)

For my main theater, I use a URC MX780 and I hope it lasts forever because the alternatives are not great and very expensive.

If you use an iPhone app, I assume you need an IR Blaster kit that connects via wifi or Bluetooth?