Hi all,

I am looking to replace 6 remotes with one.

My equipment consists of:

Kenwood Amplifier Model KA-892
Kenwood Tuner Model KT-592
Kenwood Tape Deck Model KX-W892
Sony CD Player Model CDP-CX400
Sony VCR Model SLV-775HF
JVC TV Model AV32850
Apex DVD Player Model AD-1500
Motorola Cable Box (can't find a model number)

The Kenwood Equipment uses a single Kenwood Remote Control Model RC-992

I tried the Pronto Neo (TSU-500) and did not like it. It failed to learn many commands, and I did not like having to go through multiple pages to get to particular commands. My gut feeling is that the Pronto (TSU-2000) will be a lot like the Neo, but I do not know for sure.

So far the Sony RM-AV 3000 I tried out seems to come closest to what I am looking for, but I would prefer something I can program through the computer and for which discrete codes are available.

Although I do not have hands on experience with the Home Theater Master brand of remotes, I did find the MX-500 to be of interest. Again, I do not know if discretes are available for it.

Although it may not look that way, I realize there is no one "perfect" remote. But I would very much like to find something with which I can replace my coffee table full of remote controls.

Please share your experiences and recommendations with me.

Thanks,

Steve

Steve,

What's your price range?

Do you prefer hard buttons or a touch screen?

Just a few more details, please... :)

-Bruce

If you like more buttons, and you did not dislike the touchscreen, you might like the Marantz RC5200. The Neo is known to be finicky with learn commands.

if you like the MX-500 there is it's bigger brother that is PC programmable MX-700

there is also the Harmony remote that you might want to look at.

Bruce,

Sorry for the delay, I was away from the PC this weekend.

To answer your questions, I am looking to stay close to $200. Less is better, but I am willing to go higher if it will get me something that will do EVERYTHING I can do with my old remotes.

Although I prefer the feel of hard-buttons, I like the flexibility of touchscreens, so I could accept either.

My objection to the Neo (other than it would not learn many commands) was that I would have to page through several screens for one device to get to the command I wanted.

I prefer to have all commands readily available once a device is selected. The touchscreen on the Sony was very good, and allowed me to do almost anything I wanted, so at the moment, I am kind of leaning in that direction, the only drawback being its size which makes it kind of hard to use one-handed.

I am also interested in adding the activities macros, e.g. "Watch DVD", and having the remote automatically send the signals necessary. Which means I need discrete capability as well.

To sum it all up, I guess I want everything ;-)

In any case, I appreciate your response, and I look forward to your next post.

Thanks,

Steve

that eliminates the 5200 and the 700.

so either the 500 or the Harmony might be good for you.
if you register on the easyzapper site, you can create an interface and use the emulator to try it out.

Just out of curiosity Anthony, which remote do you use? Thanks for the tip on the emulator. I'll give it a try after I get my daughter to bed.

I have a Pronto TS 1000 and a Harmony. I have never tried the MX-500 but I know a few people who are happy with it and whose opinion I value (they know a lot about remotes)

Why? BTW I had it in my profile :-)

This message was edited by Anthony on 06/09/02 20:41.32.

I use an MX-500. By itself, it does about 98% of what I want. It has built in macro capability (I have built a "watch DVD" that functions just as you want, Steve). The other two percent was accomplished by buying an OFA Cinema 7 and JP1 cable to program the very few discrete codes that the MX-500 database lacked out of the box.

Recently the price of the MX-500 has come down, and some vendors (BlueDo and SRC come to mind) are even marketing MX-500/Cinema 7/JP1 cable already bundled for well under $200.

You could do far worse... I am very happy with my MX-500. -Bruce

If you like buttoned remotes and you don't mind putting in a little bit of effort to make the remote do everything the old remotes did, you should consider getting a JP1 compatible remote and discovering the powers of JP1.

Plus, JP1 remotes are relatively cheap (the new One For All URC_8811 sells for around $30, as does the Radio Shack 15-2104).

JP1 lets you create new codes for unsupported devices and it lets you map out the buttons exactly how you want them. Plus, once you get up to speed with it you will discover lots of other cool tricks that you can do to make your remote your slave, not the other way around.

Rob.
http://www.hifi-remote.com

Bruce & Robman,

Can you guys fill me in on JP1? I have access to a Radio Shack Model 15-2104. Would it be useful with the JP1 cable and MX-500, or would I need the Cinema 7?
Or do I even need the MX-500 if I have one of the others with JP1 cable?
Thanks,

Steve

Pretty much any OFA or RS remote can be used to program discrete codes, as long as you can find a setup code for your devices in the remote. With JP1, when you can't find a setup code you can just add it. Alot of people who use the MX500 have a Cinema 7 (or similar) remote also for this purpose, many of them also have a JP1 cable.

If you like the JP1 remote that you get, then maybe you don't need to the MX500, that's a personal preference. The strength of the MX500 is that you have that little screen which lets you re-label the device buttons, and any obscure buttons that you device needs (which is why it's great for things like ReplayTV and TiVo). The strength of a JP1 remote is that it can send pretty much any signal that you want, so you can program it to dojust about anything, plus of course, they cost alot less than the MX500.

The 15-2104 is a JP1 remote, so you can certainly borrow it to program discretes. If you are looking to buy a remote, I would suggest that you check out the new OFA remotes (such as the URC-881) before you buy the 15-2104.

JP1 info: [Link: hifi-remote.com]

Rob.