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The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com:
| Topic: | OneForAll Home Producer This thread has 52 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15. |
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| Post 1 made on Wednesday March 31, 1999 at 12:13 |
I am considering ordering the OneForAll Home Producer remote (URC-8090).
Does anyone have any experience with this remote regarding satisfaction or disatisfaction?
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| OP | Post 2 made on Wednesday March 31, 1999 at 21:38 |
I bought an 8090 about a year ago and used it relatively happily until I bought a Sony RM-AV2000 based on the stuff I read on RC's AV2000 forum.
Each has its pros and cons. I like the fact that the 8090 is a stick-formfactor device. Its harder to hold the AV2000 and use it in 1 hand. Its also an all-button device, which makes it easier to use by feel. The repeater module is nice as well (no need to be in line-of-sight).
Programming isn't the easiest to do, especially for advanced functions, although it has all sorts of customizations that the AV2000 can't come close to. Advanced programming support is available via e-mail, but its not perfect. I never managed to get enough functions from either of my VCRs to make it useful. If it had a learning function, I may have never bought the Sony.
Brian, feel free to e-mail me. If I discover that enough people here want more info on the 8090 (and the nearly identical 8080) and if Daniel is OK with it, I may be persuaded to write up a full review of it.
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| OP | Post 3 made on Saturday April 3, 1999 at 00:23 |
Bradley Batt Historic Forum Post |
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I have the 8090 and I am about 95% happy with it. I bought it before I even had a home theater if you can believe that! Basically the reasons that I got it is that I got DirecTV and wanted to be able to change the channels from my two televisions upstairs and didn't want to buy another receiver yet (no kids and one wife that doesn't watch all that much TV). Anyway, I found that the IR-repeated worked very well - the range is good - I only have problems from the bedroom if the remote is over the bed - I guess just too much inbetween the remote and the receiver/repeater. But, in general I can still control it from just about anywhere in the house. Another thing that I did was get some X10 wall switches and lamp modules along with an IR-to-X10 converter. Now I can use the remote to control almost all my lights downstairs - great for dimming down the house lights when starting a movie (always impresses friends, even though it doesn't cost very much and isn't that big of a deal) - now that I really do have an official home theater! Also, I can turn the downstairs lights of from upstairs with the remote - pretty handy. I have been able to control almost everything - this is where that 5% comes in... The only thing that I can't do is (1) bring up the "menu" on my Toshiba DVD - you know, where you can select options, etc. Also, I get to the setup menu, but cannot select anything - I need to do this because when I want to watch a DVD upstairs I have to change the audio out from AC-3 to PCM so that I can get audio (I have the DSS and DVD, etc. on a modulator to the rest of the house). Anyway, I may have to come back and revise my post in a few days because I just the other day filled out a form on One-for-All's website for the "advanced codes". Hopefully these will allow me to perform the functions that I want. If I changed anything about the 8090 it would be to add learning - that would pretty much cover everything. The other thing that bothers me is that you cannot change "shifted" keys like you can regular keys. For instance, the Previous Channel key is the Display key when shifted. You can remap the Previous Channel key so that when you are in TV mode, for instance, it will really be the DSS Previous Channel function, but you cannot remap the shifted key - it will remain the TV mode Display function - not way around it. Anyway, not a big deal because of the Theather mode where you select your main components - that puts almost everything you need to do in one mode... But it is still a minor annoyance. For the money (about $80 at http://www.smarthome.com/ as well as at Circuit City or Best Buy) I think that it is probably the best remote you can get. If you move up into the $200 to $300 range you get a lot more to choose from. Later, Brad
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| OP | Post 4 made on Monday April 5, 1999 at 14:50 |
Well I purchased the URC-8090 and I agree with Brad's 95% assesment. I have been unable to get the control my DVD players menus (Pioneer DV-414). I have ordered the "advanced codes" through http://www.allforone.com/, but have not recieved a reply (I submitted on 4/2/99 so I'm giving them the Easter holiday). I paid $69.95 by ordering through www.smarthome.com, which has been running a $0.00 shipping and handling promotion for Internet orders. I would like to say that it sure is cool not having to point the remote at the equipment anymore.
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| OP | Post 5 made on Monday April 19, 1999 at 17:10 |
Matt McCabe Historic Forum Post |
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I had teh IR-only version for about 28 days (30-day return policy dictating). I think it had all the functions from all my remotes in it's built-in codes, but the functions were so randomly spread across it's mydiad buttons that it was unusable.
If all I needed was a play/stop and channel changer, it would have been fine. However, I could spend substantially less for the Sony solar-powered version that's also smaller.
I'm saving for something along the lines of a Pronto.
How come nobody talks about the Rotel? No review, no forum...
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| OP | Post 6 made on Tuesday April 20, 1999 at 15:59 |
davidv valentine Historic Forum Post |
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Just got off the line with thier support. Took 24 hours to get back to me.
Bought it, and it already needed an upgrade for my Samsung 907. I could live with that.
But it did not fully control my Kenwood VR255 reviecer (RC0607 remote). I could not change my audio and video component. Back to the store.
CC had them for $49.
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| OP | Post 7 made on Tuesday April 20, 1999 at 22:26 |
Amazingly Smooth Historic Forum Post |
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Will this unit control the Dish Network 4720? My X10 8in1 will not (at least not correctly). What about the HT mode? Can I switch between DSS and VCR and have the CH+/- keys switch too while maintaining my VOL+/- keys with my receiver?
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| OP | Post 8 made on Thursday April 22, 1999 at 23:03 |
When I bought this remote about 1 1/2 years ago I thought it was great. The macro ability and key mover stuff is great. I spent about month getting it the way I like it. Then a few months later the batteries started dying. So I followed the directions in the manual and replaced the batteries. Upon putting in the new batteries I got a memory fault, so I followed the directions in getting out of this. What I got was a remote that was the same as the day I bought. All my programing was lost. I spent the next month programming the thing again but a few months latter upon changing the batteries again I got the same result. I lost interest in programming the thing again and now it sits in the bedroom operating a single tv. I now have a SL-9000, which I checked and it will hold its settings for up to a year after taking out the batteries.
I hope you have better luck than I did.
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| OP | Post 9 made on Sunday April 25, 1999 at 11:08 |
Christine Shih Historic Forum Post |
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I just bought one and ran across a problem. It cannot work with my Pioneer PD F506 25 Disk changer. Did anyone have any luck with it?
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| OP | Post 10 made on Sunday April 25, 1999 at 21:20 |
Amazingly Smooth Historic Forum Post |
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Well, I bought one of these hoping it would solve my situation. This remote has some flexibility, but not enough. Without learning capabilities I found I couldn't do quite what I wanted. I returned mine after one night.
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| OP | Post 11 made on Thursday April 29, 1999 at 18:14 |
OneForAll URC-8080 and URC-8090  The URC-8080 and the URC-8090 are multifunction universal remotes. These are not learning remotes, but instead are marketed as upgradeable remotes. Both of these remotes are functionally equivalent being differentiated by the fact that the URC-8090 has an RF transmitter that allows the control of devices through walls. The remote itself has all of the basic buttons and features, an LCD display with the current mode and the time; the ability to program timed macros and the ability to define permanent macros. The remote has an eerie blue backlighting that is pretty cool, but produces a high pitched whine probably much like the Pronto.
Setup of the remote is straightforward initially. Simply choose your device number from the list of known devices and hit the power button to see if the device is powered on or off. More difficult is to customize the default behavior of the buttons. This requires the use of advanced function codes that must be ordered through the company. The manual, while complete, is badly formatted which makes it hard to follow when looking back and forth from the remote to the manual. The manual is updated via the OneForAll web site.
You can control up to eight devices with this remote. The remote has an additional ninth mode call Home Theater mode. To set up the remote so that this mode works correctly, one simply informs it which of the other devices you want to operate functions like audio control, channel control, playback control and cursor control. A macro can be assigned to the power button so that all of the appropriate devices are powered on or off with a single button. This is the kind of feature that allows the wife to use the remote and operate the home theater.
Through the key mover functionality, you can assign a key in one mode to a key in another mode. This allows one to allow your amplifier's volume controls to work while in CD mode (a "VOL LOCK" feature can be used to tell the remote to use the AMP volume controls in TV, CBL, VCR and SAT modes). Related is a "Mode Mover" feature that copies an entire setup from one mode to another.
The layout of the buttons is fairly aesthetic and usable. The "Shift" key for accessing secondary button functionality is a long ways from some of the buttons (like the VCR Stop button "Shift-STOP=Eject"). However, there are not very many spare buttons to use, making you struggle with what button to use for the DVD function "Angle" so that you (or your wife) will remember it later. This lack of buttons may be preferable to you over a remote that has a 9x20 matrix of buttons. The number and the VCR buttons are shaped such that they are easily found by touch.
Macros can be assigned to unassigned (or unused) buttons. You can't create a "shifted" button macro, but you can overload a button (that has no "shifted" function) using the "magic" button. You can create a timed macro that is handy for recording off from a cable box or a satellite receiver. Additionally, the remote will perform "Sleep" functionality for you by performing the Power function in Home Theater mode.
The equipment I have is a Samsung TV, Hitachi VCR, a Zenith Cable Box, Pioneer AMP/Tuner, Pioneer CD Changer and a Pioneer DV-414 DVD Player. All of the equipment was usable using with the remote. However, some features of the original remotes were not available. This requires one to go the OneForAll web site and order advanced function codes that correspond to your equipment. The web site has a form for one to enter information about your equipment. However, instead of supplying you the information right away from a database, you have to wait until a support technician gets around to sending you the information.
After 5 days of waiting, I finally received advanced functions codes for all of my devices. Applying the advanced functions is fairly easy, but is very boring if you are adding several functions all at the same time.
Since this is not a learning remote, I found that the remote did not know how to operate my DVD player's cursor functions. After a few e-mails to tech support it was decided that I needed to upgrade the remote. The upgrade procedure involved obtaining a TAG# from support and then sending the remote to Universal Electronics with a brief letter specifying what needed to be done. The turnaround on this was a disappointing two weeks (I sent via USPS Priority mail, it was sent back via First Class).
After I received my upgraded remote, I tried to get the cursor keys for the DVD player working. The cursor keys were still mapped wrong, which meant asking for another set of advanced function codes. Thankfully, this only took one day to receive and they actually worked. I was finally able to get my DVD player working correctly. 
The RF capability of the URC-8090 is very nice. Being able to use the remote without pointing is something that doesn't take long to get used to. The range is about 50-70 ft (100 ft under optimal conditions) and will not operate RF devices. Additionally, when a timed macro runs, you don't have to be careful that the remote is pointed at the devices. The manual warns that you may have troubles when using the remote and the RF unit at the same time. I have not had any trouble with double signals being sent to my equipment from the remote and the base station.
The remote is not supposed to remember anything if the batteries are removed, so it is recommended that you document the device number, key assignments and macros. However, I did remove the batteries on purpose as a test recently. All of my devices were remembered, but various key setup and macros were forgotten.
While this remote does not have the complete customizability of a Philips Pronto, nor a learning capability, it is a good remote and does offer some good feature for the price. The best price I have found on this remote was through Home Automation Systems, Inc. which offers free shipping and handling very often.
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| OP | Post 12 made on Sunday May 2, 1999 at 15:40 |
I just got a Pronto & am selling my Home Producer (8090).
13 months old; no problems
$50 plus shipping
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| OP | Post 13 made on Friday May 7, 1999 at 13:27 |
Had the unit for about a year. It's OK. But I can not get it to hold all the number keys for my Sony DSS. It won't recognize the 4 key.
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| OP | Post 14 made on Friday May 7, 1999 at 20:38 |
I own both the rotel touch screen and the home producer 8080 the IR version and as a personal preferance I'd give the rotel the advantage only because it is a learning remote which i really like. The home producer is also good but if you need to get the extended functions from one4all you might have to wait... and if your unit is not listed then you might have to send it to be upgraded which can take a few weeks. But otherwise it is a great remote. I gave the 8080 to my parents and they love it's simple yet has all the functionality they need and beleive me they are not technically inclined.
After all of this it looks like i am upgrading and getting the Pronto which means i would sell my rotel.
I have had it for about 8 months and it is flawless, i still have the orginal clear plastic sheet on the touchscreen as not to 'mess it up', and all packaging and instructions. If any one is intrested please let me know.
$145 plus any shipping costs.
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| OP | Post 15 made on Wednesday May 12, 1999 at 17:59 |
I just ordered the 8090 from OnSale ( www.onsale.com) for $44.50 plus $4.95 shipping. For the flexability (while not _super_ flexible) and the RF capability, this seems like a bargin.
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