good universal remote?

[AdamRagland]

just bought a denon 3802 on ebay for 150 but it doesnt have the remote. anyone have any advice or experience with any other universal remotes? my concern is that i wont be able to access the diffrent options and settings for the 3802 unless i have that remote. am i wrong?

[Willow]

Harmony, if you don't want to spend over 500$

[dane_peterson]

I loved my Harmony when I had it. Now have the 720 and am just as satisfied with this one.

[engtaz]

Harmony 550 under $80.

engtaz

[Kex]

The 720 works great IMO, and Costco have been selling it for $120 after a $50 instant store rebate. Otherwise, you can get it on amazon.com for about $150.

It has limited distribution and is not even on their U.S. website, but here's a link to Targé: http://www.target.com/Logitech-Harmony-Universal-Remote-720-966207-1403/dp/B000GD3J3G/sr=1-1/qid=1192737821/ref=sr_1_1/601-7226084-3892902?ie=UTF8&index=target&field-browse=1038576&rh=k%3AHarmony%20720&page=1
and the European model, with four extra colored buttons to control teletext TV.
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/remotes/universal_remotes/devices/370&cl=gb,en

Another popular line of remotes are the URC professional models. In theory, they should only be sold by installers, but in practice they can also be bought online, as long as you use an authorized retailer, otherwise, you will get zilch customer support from URC, zilch software upgrades and zilch help with warranty. http://www.universalremote.com/pro/products.php

[Kex]

BTW, the reason why Harmony is a good choice here is that they do not need codes to work in the absence of an original remote: The web based software uses a database of over 180,000 devices from more than 3,500 brands (and growing all the time). Other remotes will need codes and/or learning capabilities. Harmony remotes can learn commands too, but I have never had to use that feature since the database and software have always enabled me to do what I needed.

The Harmony 550 and Xbox360 remotes are also excellent but (1) require AAA batteries that need replacing because of the backlit LCD screen rather than a rechargeable lithium-ion battery; (2) have only 4 soft custom label buttons compared to 6 for the 720, or eight for the 880; (3) have a monochrome LCD screen, not color, and it can be hard to read on the 550 (bright blue with black text).

[jmuma2k]

I personally have a Universal Remote RF20. It is a great remote, easy to program and you can get it with the radio frequency converter box so that you can control components through walls, cabinets, etc. It is less than $100, sometimes you can get it for about $65 on amazon. Here is the link,

http://www.universalremote.com/product_detail.php?model=102

After using count less remotes about to around $600, this is by far the easeset to use and program, its learning mode is awesome.

Josh

[ViperZ]

The Harmony 550 and Xbox360 remotes are also excellent but (1) require AAA batteries that need replacing because of the backlit LCD screen rather than a rechargeable lithium-ion battery; (2) have only 4 soft custom label buttons compared to 6 for the 720, or eight for the 880; (3) have a monochrome LCD screen, not color, and it can be hard to read on the 550 (bright blue with black text).

AAA batteries lasted more than 2 years in my 520 (older rev of 550), so not a big deal.

Never had problems reading black on blue on 520, but it's really person dependent, I guess.

[woofiepaws]

Harmony

[engtaz]

I buy rechargeable AAA's.

engtaz

[bigaudiofanatic]

Logitech Harmony NOTHING NOTHING MORE NOTHING LESS BECAUSE ITS THE BEST!!!!! any model

[MSALLA]

I switched from the TSU3000 to the harmony 880. Never been happier. It's easy to use and real easy to program. I got mine new on e-bay for $130.00

[Kex]

I switched from the TSU3000 to the harmony 880. Never been happier. It's easy to use and real easy to program. I got mine new on e-bay for $130.00
You can get them new for that price at the moment on amazon.com. I don't like the peanut shape of the 880 and there has been some criticism of the button layout as well as faulty buttons and/or charger bases after one or two years. Logitech seems to replace faulty units without too much hassle though, even if the warranty has recently expired and there are certainly many other happy owners of the 880.

One other thing: the Harmony 720 and 880 both have a tilt sensor for backlighting whereas the 550 uses a "glow" button. Not sure about the Xbox360.

All of these remotes have the same basic abilities, so you can't really go wrong: just choose the button layout and/or styling you prefer (and get the 890 if you need RF capability: it's identical to the 880 in every other respect and costs about $230 on amazon.com)

[janmike]

Harmony 1000. Love it.

[wz2p7j]

I really like my MX500 - $75 bucks on eBay Chris

[wz2p7j]

I should mention WHY I like the MX500 - cheap if you're on a budget, great feel and backlighting, my wife picked it up and started using it with no questions - high WAF - Chris

[MSALLA]

Ya, I think this is the only product that I wish had a low WAF.Now, with the new remote, it's easy for her to use my gear:eek: I have mixed emotions about that. I'm glad she is enjoying it, but I worry.

[shawn474]

I got the Harmony 676 for 49 bucks on amazon. It is the best remote I have ever owned. Would have paid twice that had I known how easy they are and how great they work.

Shawn