If you read my blog about attempting to use individual apps to control my system, you’ll find this one to be in the opposite direction. Universal Remote as you can tell from their name, specilizes in smart remotes. They have been a favorite at Audio Advice for years. A recent introduction, the MX890 has been extremely popular lately, so I decided to take one home, program it up, and give it a spin.
I’ve probably had as many “smart” remotes at home as just about anyone on the planet. I am a total geek for these things! My first one was called the CORE remote by a company called CL9 founded by none other than Steve Wozniak. It was the first attempt to consolidate things, and it actually worked, but you had to remember in your head what the buttons did as they were just numbers and symbols! This was way back in 1987 and is by all historical accounts, the worlds first programmable remote control. Interestingly, the next one was a joint venture between Harman and Microsoft, called the IRIQ. This one had a scroll wheel that would just frustrate the mess out of you! The list goes on and on. I think I have had over 30 different models I have used in my house over the years.
Early remote controls
The Core on the left and the Microsoft IRIQ on the right
All of that is to give you a little background on my perspective on remotes. I expect a remote to feel good in my hand (one hand, not two), have as many functions I use repeatedly as hard buttons, and be really easy to understand. Bonus features are it lights up when I pick it up or move it, a nice recharging cradle so the batteries do not show up dead when you are trying to turn things on to catch something on TV, and a really bright screen with great graphics
Well, I have to say, the new 890 nails everything on my list, and then some! One of my favorite parts is the way they ergonimally designed the back. It has three rounded indentions for your index finger to rest as you move your thumb around the various sections on the remote. Its screen for icons is just super bright. The backlighting is super easy to see in a dark room and comes on the second you touch it. And unlike the iPad which can be a bright spotlight in a dark home theater until it goes to sleep, it goes totally dark when you put it down! I’ve just never had a remote feel so good in my hand.
Check out the great ergonomics of the Universal MX-980
A great feature of all the Universal Remotes sold by Audio Advice is their optional RF base station. This is a unit that picks up the signals from the remote via radio frequency vs line of site IR. This has huge advantages when one button press is executing a series of commands we have programmed for you. In some systems, the “watch TV” button may be doing 10 or more commands to get everything just right and you would not want one of those interrupted by not pointing at the right unit.
With the 890, a base station and our custom programming, you can be out for well under $1000 and have one of the best remote control I’ve ever personally tested. Take the frustration out of using all your great gear and let our team put one of these in for you!
more details:-http://sigav.com/lighting/controls/
I’ve probably had as many “smart” remotes at home as just about anyone on the planet. I am a total geek for these things! My first one was called the CORE remote by a company called CL9 founded by none other than Steve Wozniak. It was the first attempt to consolidate things, and it actually worked, but you had to remember in your head what the buttons did as they were just numbers and symbols! This was way back in 1987 and is by all historical accounts, the worlds first programmable remote control. Interestingly, the next one was a joint venture between Harman and Microsoft, called the IRIQ. This one had a scroll wheel that would just frustrate the mess out of you! The list goes on and on. I think I have had over 30 different models I have used in my house over the years.
Early remote controls
The Core on the left and the Microsoft IRIQ on the right
All of that is to give you a little background on my perspective on remotes. I expect a remote to feel good in my hand (one hand, not two), have as many functions I use repeatedly as hard buttons, and be really easy to understand. Bonus features are it lights up when I pick it up or move it, a nice recharging cradle so the batteries do not show up dead when you are trying to turn things on to catch something on TV, and a really bright screen with great graphics
Well, I have to say, the new 890 nails everything on my list, and then some! One of my favorite parts is the way they ergonimally designed the back. It has three rounded indentions for your index finger to rest as you move your thumb around the various sections on the remote. Its screen for icons is just super bright. The backlighting is super easy to see in a dark room and comes on the second you touch it. And unlike the iPad which can be a bright spotlight in a dark home theater until it goes to sleep, it goes totally dark when you put it down! I’ve just never had a remote feel so good in my hand.
Check out the great ergonomics of the Universal MX-980
A great feature of all the Universal Remotes sold by Audio Advice is their optional RF base station. This is a unit that picks up the signals from the remote via radio frequency vs line of site IR. This has huge advantages when one button press is executing a series of commands we have programmed for you. In some systems, the “watch TV” button may be doing 10 or more commands to get everything just right and you would not want one of those interrupted by not pointing at the right unit.
With the 890, a base station and our custom programming, you can be out for well under $1000 and have one of the best remote control I’ve ever personally tested. Take the frustration out of using all your great gear and let our team put one of these in for you!
more details:-http://sigav.com/lighting/controls/
No comments:
Post a Comment