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Junior

Universal Remote

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I figure i'd start here since i spend the most time on this forum. 

 

What do you guys use for universal remotes? Sick of having 3 remotes on my night stand. I need to control the TV, Cable box and xbox one/Apple TV. Tried using my ipod touch for the apple tv and xbox but its not easy when you dont have physical buttons to press...

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Might want to give this one a good look. I have been using two of these for over a year and they work great. A little bit of setup but once done it gives you very simple control of your system. Plus it gives you the ability to use a smart phone or ipod to control your components as well. post-7568-142119717622_thumb.jpg

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_596SMRTCTL/Logitech-Harmony-Smart-Control.html?search=harmony+home+control

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I love my Universal brand Genisis. universalremote.com.

 

They hook up to your PC to program. Input make and model of your device and your done. Plus you can also get it to do stuff that the original remote can't do. It also does macros so you can push one button and it will turn on all the devices and switch inputs. One button to turn off all devices also.

 

They are expensive but when mine was 4 years old and well out of warranty a few buttons stopped working. I contacted the manufacturer got an RMA shipped it back to them and they returned it a week later as good as new.

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Can you program sequences in the remotes? Like to Watch TV turn on TV, and go to input 1. Or play Xbox would be turn on Xbox, go to input 2 and turn on Xbox?

I have mine set up that when I hit "play dvd" it turns on the DVD player, switches to Hdmi 2 and automatically makes the remote the dvd remote.. And the change to watch tv changes it all back with DVR controls, etc.. With Harmony, you put in the models of the devices you have and it figures out the right codes automatically.. It has special software that does much of it for you

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Can you program sequences in the remotes? Like to Watch TV turn on TV, and go to input 1. Or play Xbox would be turn on Xbox, go to input 2 and turn on Xbox?

Yes and much more. Harmony rocks. Only down side is that unless they updated the application one PC can program one remote. Which is f-in stupid.

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The universal that came with my Bose sound bar and sub controls everything. But it was also $1600, that's a little pricey just to get the remote I would say. Although the sound quality is phenomenal...

 

http://worldwide.bose.com/productsupport/en_us/web/cinemate_1sr/page.html#listview=function_remote_control

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Sorry to somewhat hijack, but my Galaxy S5 had the built-in app for being a remote, and it was nice (if limited) until it started doing push notifications, so I disabled it.  I tried looking for others, but many were either too basic for my needs or you had to pay for them, and I didn't want to pay just to try them.  I'd love to hear suggestions for specific apps.  My setup is....complex...

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The universal that came with my Bose sound bar and sub controls everything. But it was also $1600, that's a little pricey just to get the remote I would say. Although the sound quality is phenomenal...

 

http://worldwide.bose.com/productsupport/en_us/web/cinemate_1sr/page.html#listview=function_remote_control

Bose is so overrated,you can definetly get a better sound system all separate for half the price, as far as remotes harmony has my vote, I've had my harmony one for about 5 years and never had a problem.

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My issue with most of the harmony remotes I've had is the contour of the bottom. It's rounded off and bigger towards the bottom, it loves to slide off an armrest. I had an older harmony that was an Xbox version and it had a more flat bottom. It stayed put.

 

That's really my only complaint.

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Bose is so overrated,you can definetly get a better sound system all separate for half the price, as far as remotes harmony has my vote, I've had my harmony one for about 5 years and never had a problem.

Christmas present, and I wasn't taking it back. I don't enjoy sleeping on the couch for a week if you understand where I'm coming from. But it does sound pretty good I've gotta say.

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Over the years I have had three Harmony remotes and they work great until they die.  I find they are over priced for what they do.  I find the best remote is the one that came with my new Samsung 4K TV that works sort of like the controller on a Wii, where you point it at the screen sort of like a mouse.  I also use apps on my iPhone to control my Cable Vision multiroom DVR as the app works better than the control page they have on the cable box.

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I dunno what you mean by overpriced, the non-minimal harmony remotes are around $60

Well like any technology the prices drop over time.  At one point some of their remotes were as much as $400, and the cheapest one was $99.  The problem I always had with them is that the buttons that you used often would tend to stop working after a year or two.  If they are only $60 now for a decent one then that is not bad.

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I've had a Harmony One for years with minimal probs like replacing battery which is changable via back cover. Also, motion sensor stopped working but could care less.

It's a discontinued item but can still be found in 'new old stock'.... I also found a guy that will repair them at a fair cost and make it like new.

All in all, any new high end ones are not cheap and not as comfortable to hold and if you are use to having buttons which I like, a lot of them have been moved to the screen...

Here is the repair site..: http://www.harmonyremoterepair.com/

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