If only my wife was as controllable as this remote..... (One For All URC-8550)

Member Name: andrewpyne

Product:	One For All URC-8550
Date:	28/08/02 (557 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: features, upgradeability, price

Disadvantages: size, internet support, erm.... size again!

You've probably heard the analagy of 'taking everything with you bar the kitchen sink' - well, this handy little(?) remote allows you to control everything except the kitchen sink! - and that's only because most kitchen sinks don't have an infrared sensor!!

I've only just purchased the controller myself and already can't live without it. One of the best feautures is its built in modem that allows the remote to become future proof. An example of this is it's native inability to control my Amstrad Digibox. However, one phonecall to the lovely ladies at One-For-All, and now I have full digibox-control.

Another great feature is being able to lock the volume control and mute function to one device. For example, I use an amplifier for my audio, as opposed to the TV volume. With the volume lock feature I can have the control set to TV, or Satellite, and the volume will ONLY go up/down on my amplifier. Great!

The list of features is endless, but another brilliant idea is having the keys back-lit. Now, when watching a movie in the dark I don't have to fumble around the DVD, TV or Amplifier controllers pressing buttons blindly and doing stupid things like hitting eject instead of pause.

Something else that's pretty sensible is the ability to program specific functions to the keys of your choice. If you want the AV function the be accessible when you press the 'play' button for example then you can go right ahead and set it.

There's even the ability to add functions to the remote that were absent on the original controller. A clever macro will allow at the press of a button for the TV to switch-up/down a channel, pause for 2 seconds, and then repeat. This allows for a 'scan' function that most TV's don't even have!!!

You can also assign more than one function to one key. Similar to the scan function (ch-up, pause, ch-up, pause etc) you can creat
e your own concoctions such as 'TV on, VCR on, Amp On, SkyBox On', Amp Volume up, Brightness Down, VCR Channel, Play' all on one key!!!! - Heaven.

I had a few teething difficulties, but these were quickly resolved on the phone. A couple of criticisms I could levy about the support are the inccorrect phone number at the back of the book (try 0808 1000306 coz that number works) and the rubbish Internet site. The support is ok if you e-mail OneForAll, but the available web-page information isn't always particularly useful.

My one wish would be that the list of codes and numbers that the OneForAll telephone support team have is made public. The database they have must be phenomenal. I simply told them the model of a brand-new DVD player that's only been out a fortnight and requested a specific function and OneForAll were able to give me the 'generic' code for my player, and then a few 'individual' codes for specific functions I wanted (as well as a 'handset-code' you can obtain 'button-codes')

Another criticism is the size. It's a monster, but then with the functionality, features, technology and controll it exudes, it's hardly surprising that it's a chunky beast.

Well, that about wraps it up really. There's an absolute ton of other features that i've not even touched on, but the above information covers everything I use.

If I had to sum the controller up in one word it would be 'thisisareallygreatremotecontrolbuyonetoday 9;

Summary: