"ChrisM" wrote in message
...
In message ,
Colin Stamp Proclaimed from the tallest
tower:
On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:44:06 GMT, "David"
wrote:
My Marantz RC for 10 units RC 2000 is showing it's age, goes back to
1995, been a good buy. It came fully programmed for Philips
products, and was able to learn by head to head all other makes.
What is available today?
What are you using can you recommend yours?
Any comparison sites?
Any on topic advise welcome.
I have a Logitech Harmony 555. It's an excellent remote if you like
fiddling. You configure it by plugging it into an internet-connected
PC via a USB cable. The online database takes care of most AV gear but
it'll learn from original remotes too.
Initially setting it up took me hours and hours (mainly because I
needed to get my head around the way the software works) but now
that's done, it's quick and easy to make little changes to get
everything arranged exactly as I want.
I found the "activity based" nature of it annoying at first, but now I
can see the point of it and it actually makes a lot of sense.
Cheers,
Colin.
What do you mean by 'activity based'?
Is it like macros to do certain things across several devices, rather than
just selecting a single device and controlling it individually??
Kinda. An Activity based setup allows you to do something like...
Click "WATCH TV".
This might switch on the tv, digital satellite box and amp... so in this
sense it _is_ a macro.
From then on (whilst 'in' that activity), the Volume Up/Down buttons might
relate to the amp, the Channel Up/Down buttons might relate to the satellite
and perhaps you'd use another button to access the tv setup menu. Or
something.
Actually, this is the kind of thing I've set up on every multi-remote I've
ever had, but Harmony seem to think they invented the notion.
Where they fall down (apart from other places) is when you then want to
"WATCH VHS" or "LISTEN TO MUSIC" or some other activity while the other one
is already activated.
Such things usually mess up half a dozen settings/ devices, perhaps
switching on the video, selecting the wrong EXT channel on the TV and
switching to some un-asked for mode on the amp.
Now I know that in an ideal world these niggles can be ironed out (and
Trendy Uncle is no doubt waiting to pounce from his quiet land of
netherworld), but in my experience each ironed niggle begets three others,
like a butterfly in Argentina.
Harmonys are nice looking multi-remotes that will allow you to use it with
95% of everything you need to do with it everyday. You might be able to get
100% depending on your perseverence and your particular devices, but I
personally know 3 others who use one (various brands -all do much the same)
and none of them feel 'safe' enough to remove all other remotes from the
room. ...Something I've never had a problem with on the Pronto or the old
marantz.
-Kevin.