Universal Remote

[edtorious]

I wish the voom remote has also control for any home theater receivers out there. I need it to control the volume for my surround sound system. I only used the TV control on the voom remote to turn on and off the TV. Should I get a universal remote? Has any of you tried that Harmony Remote from Logitech? I saw on their list of compatible devices that they have Voom. Their remote is kind of expensive though. Any suggestions?

 

[CDH]

Yes, like many others who hang out on this forum I have a Harmony 688 remote. Yes it is expensive, but it enabled me to go from six different remote controls down to one. If you take the time to configure it properly (which for me meant altering quite a few of the default settings for response times, etc.) then it is great.

One complaint that some people do have is that the buttons on the remote are pretty small and don't have a great tactile feel, but I don't mind at all.

CDH.

 

[The Stone Man]

My suggestion would be to spend the money for a Harmony remote. It is well worth the money, in my opinion. You can control all your components with one remote, and put away the device independent remotes.

There are a zillion old posts about people and their Harmony remotes. I have the SST659 and it has worked for over a year without any problems. I think I paid $199 when it was brand new, but I've seen them now for under $100. It is so much more convenient that I can't imagine NOT having a universal remote.

 

[TheTimm]

I'll throw in my two cents...

Not really a big issue with me. I use the Voom remote for what it's for, and to turn the tv on and off. Another remote controls my receiver and my DVD/CD changer. Yet another controls the DVD/DVD-A player. And even another if I wanna do anything fancy with the tv ( I rarely do ). They've kinda become extensions of my hands/fingers. When I wanna do something I don't even have to think about it -- my hand just automatically grabs the right remote and the fingers go to work. I can see the benefits of using a universal, but the bouquet of remotes doesn't bother me.

 

[hudson]

Harmony 688

I just bought the harmony 688 remote. I think it's great! I used to have four different remotes and had to switch all the inputs on the stereo, tv, and had to turn on the dvd player. Now if I'm watching voom, I hit one button to watch a dvd. It switches all the inputs and all I have to do is stick the dvd in. I bought it online for around $154.00. Go to dealcatcher.com and put in harmony 688. You won't regret it!!

 

[branchbouncer]

Does anyone know if you can control 2 stb's(Voom,D*)2 DVD players and two tv's with the one remote or,since there is only one tv button,dvd button etc,that you would need 2 universal remotes one for each set up.

 

[riffjim4069]

Does anyone know if you can control 2 stb's(Voom,D*)2 DVD players and two tv's with the one remote or,since there is only one tv button,dvd button etc,that you would need 2 universal remotes one for each set up.

I'm sure there are a number of universal remotes that can meet this requirement. My latest remote is a Home Theater Master MX-700 from Universal Remote. This thing pretty much does everything! Highly recommended, but it is expensive.

 

[dougmcbride]

I also use an MX-700. Currently the number of remotes replaced for me is up to 13, if you can believe it. Retail on the MX-700 is pretty steep if purchased from an authorized dealer, but these same dealers also offer "open box" (I think they open the top flap of the box then immediately shut it again to get around HTM's discount policy) that are for all practical purposes, new. Also about 1/2 the price - about $180.

Seems as though if you want a "hard button" remote (as opposed to the touch-screen variety) both the Harmony and Home Theater Master brands are the most popular. Check out http://www.remotecentral.com for reviews, customer impressions, support, etc. if you are looking for more info.

Good luck,

Doug

 

[Couch Patato]

I have a Harmony 680. It has more dedicated buttons for a DVR like skip forward, skip back & so on. It is perfect with my comcast 6412 DVR. I've sure it will be great for the up coming Voom DVR as well. The the buttons are the Jewel type. I have no complains. You might want to wait & see what the new 880 is going to be like. It has a color screen, rechargable lithium ion batteries & will be priced the same as the 688. I got mine at Bluedo.com Their are prices very good & they are an authorized dealer.

 

[dougmcbride]

Bluedo.com has a great reputation, as does surfremotecontrol.com. These are also the places where you can find the "open box" deals.

Doug

 

[edtorious]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Maybe I will give this Harmony remote a try but I will wait for this new model 880 to come out. Thanks again.

 

[jclampit]

If you're on a budget, those cheap learning remotes (from WalMart, Walgreen's, etc.) can often do just about everything your Voom remote can, and can also control your other devices. 5 remotes down to 1 for less than $15.

The 2 I've tried so far were able to learn everything from the Voom remote except the colored button functions. (And it might be able to learn those functions too. I just didn't see any appropriately labelled buttons to assign those functions to, so I never tried to add those.)

 

[edtorious]

If you're on a budget, those cheap learning remotes (from WalMart, Walgreen's, etc.) can often do just about everything your Voom remote can, and can also control your other devices. 5 remotes down to 1 for less than $15.

The 2 I've tried so far were able to learn everything from the Voom remote except the colored button functions. (And it might be able to learn those functions too. I just didn't see any appropriately labelled buttons to assign those functions to, so I never tried to add those.)

You made a good point jclampit, I wonder how the people who own the harmony remotes configure those colored buttons function for voom. Were they able to configure the harmony remote to be able to access those colored buttons functions? To all who has Harmony Remote please advise. THank you.

 

[Ilya]

You made a good point jclampit, I wonder how the people who own the harmony remotes configure those colored buttons function for voom. Were they able to configure the harmony remote to be able to access those colored buttons functions? To all who has Harmony Remote please advise. THank you.

You can configure them as custom buttons (on the LCD display) or you can map some of the unused buttons. I actually do both.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Has anybody seen the new Logitech® Harmony® 880:

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=9933

WOW this thing looks cool.. I want one!

 

[jclampit]

You made a good point jclampit, I wonder how the people who own the harmony remotes configure those colored buttons function for voom.

Btw, I just programmed the colored buttons on my learning remotes. Works like a charm.

 

[scottie_h]

I wonder how the people who own the harmony remotes configure those colored buttons function for voom. Were they able to configure the harmony remote to be able to access those colored buttons functions?

I have an MX500, not a Harmony. All I did was create LCD buttons labelled Green, Red, etc on my Voom menu, then 'learned' the buttons. Works like a champ!

 

[Ty2083]

You made a good point jclampit, I wonder how the people who own the harmony remotes configure those colored buttons function for voom. Were they able to configure the harmony remote to be able to access those colored buttons functions? To all who has Harmony Remote please advise. THank you.

I have the Harmony 659 and was able to program the VOOM codes very easily. The website that has the wizard has all the codes already in place. As for the colored buttons, they are included in the LCD area under the Devices=VOOM section. The only problem is that all the selections for each device are in alphabetical order, so you will have to keep pressing "Next" until you find the appropriate color you are looking for. This can be a bit inconvenient, but they are there.

 

[piperut]

I have a One-for-All URC-881B00 remote. It works with the Voom receiver, my Panasonic theater Sound system (mostly), and a few other thngs. When you go to a universal remote, you lose some of the funtions. Like the Panasonic sound system - the 5 disk changer won't advance. The Akai TV, you have to use the menu instead of the fast access buttons that were on the remote. My DVD recorder I am unable to use the record button. (I have to use that remote for that.) Anyway, I am down to two remotes from 6. This helped a lot.)

This remote was about $30. I did have to send it to the company to have the codes programmed in. That was a bit of trouble.

I might have to look into one of these harmony remotes if people think they are all they are cracked up to be.

roland

 

[patrickpiteo]

I have two hamony's the 659 and the 680.. love them I i can not wait till the new 880 comes out. I did have the MX500. A great remote but eth harmony can be configured much easier on the PC IMHO...