Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I don't understand everyone else's negative reviews about the learning feature of this remote. For most of my components it took a little extra time and patience, but it got there eventually. The most trouble I had was with my Apex DVD player; the remote preset code wouldn't work and I had to program each button individually. The functions were "forgotten" a few times, but I patiently kept reprogramming and now it finally seems to have stuck. Sure, if I had paid a ridiculous amount for it, this would be unacceptable, but you ALWAYS get what you pay for. I've learned that lesson time and time again.
When I tried programming a second DVD player onto Aux, it screwed up the main player's settings. I haven't tried it again since successfully getting the first to stay in there. There are 4 Audio buttons which unfortunately only offer soft keys suited for audio operation, not adaptable to DVD players. So for now I'm holding onto my lesser-used player's remote.
The pros:
Programming wasn't difficult, I don't think I even bothered reading the manual.
I like that the permanent hard keys are play, FF, rewind, as I need those for 3 of the 5 components I am operating. The prior touchscreen remote I tried (Sima) had those as soft keys, which was annoying.
The response time for the keys seems adequate.
The blue-lit screen looks very high-tech and buttons aren't too hypersensitive about hitting the wrong one.
I love the punch-through feature for the volume keys. On the Sima I had to constantly switch back to TV to change volume.
The touchscreen material makes it very easy to wipe fingerprints off. Keeps it looking newer longer.
I love the PDA look of the unit.
I love FINALLY having only one remote on the coffee table, rather than two or three.
The cons:
The biggest con I can see is the placement of the hard keys. Being at the bottom, it is impossible to use this with only one hand. Would have been better to reverse hard keys and touchscreen (or provided longer hand grip underneath hard keys).
Not able to relabel soft keys for special functions. But from what I have read, only the top-of-the-line models let you do this. Again, you get what you pay for.
Kind of silly to have a "mute" button so prominently placed in the center of the hard keys. Our family never uses it. I wish it could have been reprogrammed for an important Tivo function instead.
Backlight doesn't stay on long enough, and impossible to see screen in the dark without it. Time will tell what kind of wear this puts on the batteries.
Overall I'd say this is a great value for the price. Some people who are more demanding with higher expectations might want to look at higher end units, though.
****EDIT****: 9 months later the remote has forgotten all my codes repeatedly and now nothing will stick. It's back to operating only the TV. Guess you have to pay top dollar to have a remote that is really and truly universal. Subtract 3 of those stars.
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