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User reviews for the Sony RM-VL900 from Sony Electronics.
Sony RM-VL900
RatingsReviewsMSRP (USD)
Average: 4.51/5.00
Median: 4.67/5.00
102$59
The Sony RM-VL900 is an economical all-button universal remote that can control up to 8 devices. It has multiple macros, full learning capability on every key, plus a great ergonomic design.
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Written by blakelyb from san jose, ca.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-2 years.
Review 102 made on Monday February 23, 2009 at 3:12 AM.
Also owned:Home Theater Master MX-500
Sony RM-V8A, Sony RM-V301, the original Raido Shack for JP1.
Strengths:good features
Weaknesses:the bottons stop working after one year.
Review:It is a nice remote so I was happy for one year. Then the two and then three buttons I use often stopped working. Then I read other reviews here and quite a few had the same problem, so I did not replace it. I do not recommend this model.
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by mamoulian from UK.
The reviewer has used this remote control for more than two years.
Review 101 made on Wednesday August 9, 2006 at 11:08 PM.
Also owned:Cambridge Audio, you have it as 'Home Logic UR362'. One must be rebadged.
Strengths:Loads of buttons, a couple of macros, great learning memory
Weaknesses:NOt *quite* enough buttons.
Review:Its a great remote, the only thing it needs is a few more buttons.
It needs another row of four, could be little round ones, for the colours red, green, yellow and blue; and it needs a 'Cancel' button near the cross.

Right now I've got these colours on the screen size/teletext buttons - there's only three buttons in a row and they're not marked clearly.

Sony hasn't released a successor to this remote. Its done lesser remotes, like the VL700; and grade-above remotes like the VLM-1000 - wide with a large LCD; but no upgrade on the VLM-900.

Maybe add those buttons I suggest above, add rubber to the back and cover the corners, give it an overall backlight, oh a couple more screws wouldn't go amis - for durability.
Other than that its perfect!
Maybe colour it black? Would look cool against an ice blue backlight.
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Written by karlchwe from Denver.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-2 years.
Review 100 made on Thursday February 2, 2006 at 1:44 AM.
Strengths:Very deep learning capability.
Cheapest remote at the time that could control a VCR, TV, DVD player, preamp, CD player, where the DVD player and preamp are not the most common brands (Denon and Onkyo), though I had to teach it those particular codes.
Rubber trim makes it surprisingly easy to hold. Balances well in the hand.
Relatively powerful IR emitter (compared to original remotes that came with the equipment.)
Weaknesses:Relatively large and heavy (takes 4 AA's.) But not excessively so.
Silkscreening on heavily used buttons (like Pause, Play, Stop, etc.) is almost totally worn off after a year of use.
Not a huge number of preprogrammed components.
(Big one) It forgets what it has learned if you leave the batteries out for more than an hour or so. That includes any macros, as well as the codes you have laboriously taught the thing.
Review:The original review says it best. This is the most capable remote available for the money. No matter what equipment you have, this remote will be able to control it. You might have to spend a little time teaching it, though. The macros are gravy. It seems fairly sturdy too.

The downsides are few. The worst thing is that the printing on the most-used buttons (like Play, Pause, etc.) wears off relatively quickly, making it look cheesy, and worse, making it hard to use if you don't already know what the buttons do. You would have thought they would have made the buttons with a two-stage cast like high-quality computer keyboards, so that the printing is embedded in the rubber, not just printed on. Also, the printing on the hard plastic surfaces is also wearing off, though less rapidly.

The other worst thing is that the remote doesn't use persistent memory. Instead everything is stored in RAM that requires constant power. If you take a battery out (in my case, to use in my wireless mouse when I ran out of AA's), a capacitor will power the RAM for a while, but after a few hours the capacitor will die and the remote will forget all you have taught it. This has happened twice in the two years I have had this thing, and both times I sobbed like a little girl. Flash RAM is cheap. Why couldn't that crucial information be stored in flash?

It doesn't have a huge number of preprogrammed code sets. I had to teach it the codes for my Onkyo preamp and Denon DVD (none of the preprogrammed codes worked.)

It does take a lot of batteries, and they don't seem to last particularly long. And it is a bit heavy, though the soft and "sticky" rubber trim makes it very easy to hold. If I had to buy one now, I would get Sony's VL710, but this is now and that was then.
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Steve W from Sac, CA.
The reviewer has used this remote control for more than two years.
Review 99 made on Wednesday October 5, 2005 at 10:49 PM.
Strengths:Does nearly everything, every button fully programmable many times over - plenty of memory.
Weaknesses:Buttons on the rubber pad lose conductivity after use - a real shame.
Review:I love this remote. It is cheap, fully programmable, does macro functions, double tap or long hold commands, etc. The only downside is the rubber pad. The person who saddled this fine remote with such a lousy button pad should be taken out behind the barn...
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Written by falz from Madison, WI.
The reviewer has used this remote control for more than two years.
Review 98 made on Sunday July 31, 2005 at 7:19 PM.
Strengths:- Great button layout (esp. for pvr use)
- Very easy to navigate by feel
- Simple to program, especially with the instructions on this site
- Macro function on component buttons w/ a second delay works GREAT to switch to a different input, while you can set the remote to control a different device without having to cover up the IR
Weaknesses:- No backlight, as everyone mentions
- could use 2 more buttons, something central for TiVo button (I use PIP for it), and something obvious for DVD audio switching
Review:I've had this remote for 3 years now, works great. Text on a few buttons have worn off, but that's fine.

My living room remote controls an HDTV, DVD, TiVo, Yamaha receiver, and Xbox.

In the bedroom (TV, TiVo and DVD) I've always had kludgy cheap One for All remotes with poor layouts. Finally I decided to pick up a second remote for the bedroom, since I know the layout.

They don't appear to be available in store anymore, but I was able to get it for $28 with 2nd day shipping online, which is about half of what I paid for the original one.

Highly recommended remote- you'll notice that every review of it is quite favorable, minus backlight, and a few people that have button problems (I have not experienced ANY problems like this)

A note on programming it- originally when I used learning on some buttons, I'd do a short press of the button on the source remote. Sometimes this would cause some buttons to learn a shorter sequence than others, but still work.

If you use learning, HOLD DOWN the button on each remote until the Sony indicates it's done- so 5 seconds or so for each. My initial thought would be that it would learn a 5 second signal, but it does not. I'm unsure if other brands of remotes learn best this way, but this one does for sure.

Highly recommended.
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Written by jeffryallan from British Columbia Canada.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 3-6 months.
Review 97 made on Saturday March 19, 2005 at 7:45 PM.
Strengths:Complete control of my System. Mitsubishi tv and vcr, digital cable box and samsung home theatre, the receiver of which includes radio,5 disc dvd with cd and jpeg picture ability. Remote handles all menus for these and I can control everything from adjusting sound dispersion to selecting jpeg pictures! And room for three more toys!
Weaknesses:Only complaint I have is problem with
turning off digital box when in a macro [See tech. support forum].Only other complaint, understand its been discontinued
Review:A great remote for the price,like hard buttons so can use by feel, not having to squint at some screen. Does everything I require. Do I sound like a Sony commercial?
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Written by Jaydee from Tennessee.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-2 years.
Review 96 made on Tuesday December 7, 2004 at 1:13 PM.
Strengths:Ease of use, ability to learn.
Weaknesses:Not very sturdy, case is broken but it still works well.
Review:This is a great remote, even though with the price dropping seemingly daily, it is becoming a better and better deal. I paid $99 for mine, now it can be had for less than $35. I only have two complaints, the first is that there were no codes for my cable tv box and I had to teach all the commands. The second is that after a year of use the case seperated at the top where the two screws are. It was one of those mysterious accidents during which none of the family is around and it just "happened". If I was to buy a remote today for less than $50 I would definitely recommend this one. My next one will be a AV3100.
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