I'm trying to find the right remote for my 60ish father-in-law for Christmas. He's got an A/V receiver, TV, digital cable box, DVD player, and VCR, plus a remote to go with each of them.

Every time he visits our house, he is completely stymied by my universal remote (MX-500), for several reasons:

1. He needs his glasses just so he can read the button labels.
2. He often doesn't notice what mode the remote is in before he starts mashing the buttons. As a result, he ends up sending commands to the wrong devices.
3. He gets hopelessly lost when part of a macro doesn't reach its destination, leaving one or more devices in the wrong state.

I'm wondering if there's a good universal remote that has buttons that are easily readable, yet has enough of them to control everything (numeric keys, directional keys, transport controls). It should also make it hard to get confused as to what state the equipment (and the remote) is in.

He really likes the remote that came with his AT&T Broadband cable box, because it has readable buttons and plenty of them. But it won't control the rest of his gear.

I'm intrigued by the Harmony remotes and their ability to track device states (and the help mode that guides you through getting them back into the right state when something goes wrong), but I'm concerned that the size of the button labels and the LCD screen may hinder readability for him.

Any suggestions?

John E

the LCD letters are small, but he brightness might help. Try asking GregoriusM to compare the displays of the MX-500 to that of the Harmony. I think he has both. Then you can decide if it is acceptable to your Dad. As for device states and the help, I think they will help your dad a lot.

If you don't consider the LCD acceptable I would recommend a Pronto, you can put very large lettering on it, and you can use different icons.