I'm looking for a good universal remote to control all the features currently handled by my three remotes (cable box, tv, dvd player).

I'm trying to stay under $25 so, according to most reviews, that gives me three quality choices: Sony RM-VL600 ($21), Harmony 610 ($18), and Harmony 620 ($25).  All three are currently on sale.

From the reviews I've read it seems all three have their pros and cons.  One thing that concerns me about the Harmony remotes is it seems like you can't turn just one thing on/off at a time, it has to cycle through them all.  Haven't read enough about the Sony to see if that's the case with it or not.

My TV has a sleep function that I use a lot because I typically go to sleep watching TV.  On that remote you hit 'menu', 'timer', 30/60/90 minutes.  Would love to be able to do it with whichever universal remote I purchased.

I guess I'm just hoping to get some opinions on any of the above remotes and possibly how they compare to one another.

Thanks for any help you can give.

BCubed

It's not going to happen, at least not within your budget.

First off, you didn't mention the brands or models of the equipment that you have, that makes it hard to make any recomendations.

Second off, DVD layers and cable boxes generally have more buttons,(i.e. more functions), than basic universal remotes give you. That means that you won't be able to get ALL the features that the 3 remotes currently give you on a basic universal.

Sorry about that...Panisonic 50" Plasma, Sony Upconvert DVD player, Charter Communications cable box.

BCubed

The Sony should do what you want. I had one running my system but several of the buttons gave out after heavy use. I don't have the manual, but I believe it had a sleep button on it. You could teach this button to access your TV menu if you could not program the remote to turn off your TV. You can select each component to turn off/on and it had system buttons that you could program to automate things.

Suggest you go to the Sony website and see if you can still down load the manual. You also might want to consider waiting for the new Sony RM-VLZ620.

Not quite sure what you mean by all the functions of your equipment.  Do you mean functions (like discrete on/off or inputs) that aren't included in the OEM remote?  Or are you just worried about the universal providing each functions?

Remotes made by Universal Electronics can be user programmed to the individual button level to provide any function the component supports.  Furthermore, nearly all buttons can be shifted (by preceeding any button press with a press of the Setup button) so that the number of buttons is effectively doubled.  You can buy an excellent new one for $20, or even cheaper on Ebay, etc.  Consider the RCA RCRP05B ($20 at Best Buy or Walgreens) or the OneForAll URC-8820 (<$20 at Sears).

Or, if your Charter remote is one of these, then it can be programmed to do what you want.

Your TV and DVD are pretty standard, and the function numbers are well known.  We can tell you how to program the unusual functions if you are interested.

My Charter remote is most similar to the one on the left (thank you for the link). The one thing I can't seem to get it to do is pull up the menu of the TV so I can get to the sleep timer (that I use about every night). Actually I guess there are two things I can't get it to do: open the DVD tray.

Would prefer to get a different one with 'macros' so I get my tv to set up a sleep timer with the touch of a button.

I'll definitely look at the two you mention. May end up buying a couple, setting them up, and then deciding which one will work best for my needs.

Again, thank you for all of your help.

BCubed

"Most similar" may not be good enough. If your Charter remote has 3 buttons at the top with Setup as the center button, then you should be able to make it work. If it doesn't have a Setup button, then it is a URC remote, and isn't programmable.

Use Setup Code TV 0650 (if the remote doesn't blink twice on entering 0650, use 0250 instead)

Check to see if the menu key works.
If not, you can test for the appropriate EFC.

1) Press Setup briefly
2) Enter 40757 (00103 if using setup code 0250)
When the 5th digit is entered, the remote will send the signal to the TV.

Another code to try is 64053 (00194). Some plasmas have a sub menu 06709 (00226).
If you have any doubt about the procedure, try it first with 03381 (00213).  That should send Vol+.


If any of these work, you can use the 994 EFC keymove command to assign them to the Menu button. See these instructions.

You can assign macros to nearly any key by using the 995 command.

The new remotes that I mentioned will probably work out of the box for Menu using 0650 or 1941, but you'll need to enter any macros.

Well, I've bought four remotes: Sony RM-VL600 ($21), Harmony 610 ($18), Harmony 620 ($25), and One for All URC8820 ($18).

I've decided to try them one at a time and find one that is easy to program and does exactly what I want.

I tried the Sony first and had it doing exactly what I want within 15 minutes. Does everything my other remotes do (after adding a 2 or 3 items - such as open/close DVD player; macro to turn TV and Cable box on; macro to turn on TV and DVD player). Still learning what all the buttons do but it will now do everything I was hoping and I'm down to one remote.

Still may open up the One for All and one of the Harmony's but the Sony was quick, easy, and effective.

I appreciate everyone's help!!!!!

BCubed

The Sony 600 series are some of the best values in remotes - they do way more for their price than other comparitively priced ones.