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Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote
by MattLee
I have a LOT of stuff connected to my TV - each with it's own remote. At one point I had eight separate remotes and required no less than three to achieve anything! I also heard a lot of 'how do I watch TV?' or 'how do I put on a DVD?' from my partner. There had to be a better way!
I researched a lot of universal remotes ... and settled on the Logitech Harmony One. The device itself is well built and the buttons feel sturdy. It's also a very good looking remote if a little on the large side. The size can be forgiven since it has a nice touch screen portion at the top. Inside the box you also get a rechargeable battery, docking station (for charging also), a USB cable and a CD with the software.
Setup was very straight forward although time consuming. Rather than using the CD I got the latest version of the software from the Logitech site and connected the remote to my computer via the included cable. You need to create an account with Logitech but this allows your setup to be saved to their servers to be retrieved on any computer. Once you are registered, you can start specifying your devices. Gone are those stupid codes for determining what TV and DVD player you have. Logitech maintains a database of devices and you can simply search for your kit. Once added, you can now setup 'Activities' - these are macro commands for things like 'Watch TV' or 'Watch a DVD'. The software asks you a series of questions to determine what needs to be done to achieve an activity. The end result is that the touch screen at the top of the remote has a set of three activities on each page representing different activities. Pressing 'Watch TV' in my setup will do the following...
Switch on the TV and change to the correct input source
Switch on the PVR
Switch on the surround sound and change to the correct source
Brilliant - one button does it all. But say I get bored and wanna play XBOX, what happens then? Press 'Play XBOX 360' and the TV changes source as does the surround sound, XBOX switches on, PVR switches off! Excellent!
A helper on the remote also fixes any issues should a command not get transmitted correctly - always fixes the issue but is rarely required.
Another nice feature is you can turn the top screen into a 'favourite channel' list when watching TV and set logos such as the E4 logo for different channels. Unfortunately, this ends any customisation which would have been nice if we could make custom themes or activity logos. A minor gripe though!
Overall, I cannot recommend this product enough! Excellent design and build quality. Great software and easy-to-use. Rechargeable battery is a bonus. Reduced eight remotes to one and even the partner can use it!
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One for All Sky Plus
by jennikitten
This 'One for All' remote is the standard remote you get with the Sky Plus service. It's pretty well-made, although it could be lighter, and takes 2 AA batteries (which do last a really long time). The buttons are easy to press and are made of quite soft plastic.
The top of the remote is curved, and it also has a few more ... buttons than the traditional Sky remote; namely play, pause, fast forward, rewind, stop and record, so you have more control over your TV viewing. These buttons all look pretty different and are clearly marked with standard symbols so they are nice and easy to use. I have small fingers so I have no problems pressing them, and even people with large fingers shouldn't have a problem as they are situated reasonably far apart.
All of the other buttons are found on the regular Sky remote. These include the number pad (0 -9), the on/off button, the Sky button (which in my experience just takes you to the Sky setting on your TV or switches your set top box on), the info button which tells you a bit about the programme, four arrow buttons for scrolling, a back button, and volume and channel buttons. You also get the four blue Sky services buttons at the top, for things like the 'Box Office', which I don't tend to use. Mainly because these things cost money! Just above the number pad are four brightly coloured buttons - red, green, yellow and blue. I think this is a bit of a cop-out as it's unclear what they do and indeed seem to only work within the TV guide/planner screens (with the exception of the red button which you are often prompted to choose whilst watching a programme).
Despite the fact that this is called a 'One for All' remote, I've never managed to get it to control my TV functions (just the Sky functions). My housemate managed it so I know it's possible, but it seems to reset on its own somehow. There's no way it would control my old DVD and video player at all, so I'm still stuck with three remotes. But that is partly my fault, so I'm not knocking any stars off for that.
The main problem with this remote is that the white text on the buttons is fairly cheap and does wear off over a period of time, which makes the remote look awful. I guess most people will have quit Sky or been conned into a more expensive package (and a new box and remote) before this happens to them, but I find it a disadvantage. Another point to make is that my TV remote has braille associated with each button, and the Sky remote doesn't. There is no real way to distinguish between the buttons in the dark (no light up or backlit buttons either), which might be one of the reasons why they've made some of them quite distinctive shapes.
Overall, I think that this remote is good. It's not perfect, but it's not as cheap feeling/looking as it could be. However, I wish there were more varieties available, such as an all-black one to match my TV. I wouldn't consider using this if I didn't have Sky though, even if it still functioned as an 'all-in-one' remote.
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Microsoft Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote
by slender_toned
I bought one of these remotes soon after buying my Xbox 360. It is quite an ergonomic remote due to its smooth surface. It has many features but all in all, it's quite pointless to buy considering you can carry out all of its functions with the Xbox 360 controller. If you prefer the feel of a remote just for controlling media, perhaps ... it's worth buying this remote however.
The remote retails at £19.99 but nowadays it's a lot cheaper at under £10 online, so perhaps it's worth considering more. Unlike a smaller version of the controller that came with some of the first Xbox 360s, this one is a lot longer with more functions, which help to control the Windows XP Media Centre.
I do not have a Windows laptop that I use with my Xbox so this is quite pointless for me, but the controller has been used with DVDs and music. This remote has a keypad so you can use it to control your TV too, however it lacks an AV button so you cannot switch between the TV and game without using your TV remote. It doesn't support all TVs though, so you'd have to go on the Xbox site to find out more details.
The one good thing is that the buttons are backlit, meaning you can use it with ease in the dark when watching a movie for example. It has a few useful buttons such as eject, but this is a bit pointless as you still need to walk over and sort out the disc tray yourself. The remote can be used to control your DVD player too if it is compatible.
Of course the Xbox 360 is capable of playing all media, so you can mainly use it for this if you have media on your Xbox. Along with the keypad, you have Windows Media Centre controls, volume and channel controls, directional arrows and controls for videos such as skip buttons, stop, play, pause and more. The remote is full of buttons but doesn't look over the top.
It uses infra-red technology to work with TVs and DVD players and your Xbox 360. The remote takes 2 AA batteries, which mine did not come with when I initially bought it but I'm not sure if they come with the batteries today. It's lovely to hold with its rounded edges and it's not too thick so it can fit smaller hands too. I'd say it's quite a useful remote for certain people who have compatible TVs and DVD players too, otherwise it's not really worth buying as all of the functions can be carried out on the Xbox 360 controller.
Thanks for reading!
:)
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