Universal Remote - suited to Rotel / Australia

[dmcgowan]

I hope this won't upset anyone by posting in Club Rotel but I would like to replace my (growing number of) remotes with a quality universal remote. My question is Rotel specific in that I'd like a single device that will control my current system RSX-1055/RDV-1095/RMB-1050 and RSX-965/RCD-965 and preferably is available / tested here in Australia. It would be good to ditch the Loewe TV and Foxtel remotes at the same time...

Many of you guys seem to use the Phillips Pronto but I've not been able to find a stockist here in Australia and I've been thinking about getting an iPaq with the Nevo software embedded? Anything that can be programmed via my PC and not using the learning remote approach Rotel offer would be great.

Thanks,




Darren

[Aussie Geoff]

Darren,

I've just gone through the same thing. http://www.remotecentral.com/ has useful reviews of a number of remotes. Net position on the IPAQ is mice idea but the RF Output is too low compared to something like a Pronto.

I've ended up ordering a Pronto TSU3000 from http://www.bluedo.com- $US239 and they ship to australia..... (I know Andrew hates them but the ones with the new firmware are getting good reviews.)

Second hand TSU1000 are available much cheaper - I have a friend with one who swears by it!

Geoff Costello

[Andrew Pratt]

I know Andrew hates them but the ones with the new firmware are getting good reviews

Well if they fix the NGedit software and addressed the bugs on the unit itself the 3000's do have a lot of promise.

[DSGCobra]

I agree with Andrew on the 3000. I used one for about 2 months, it was the worst 2 months ever. I found a remanufactured ProntoPro on e-bay and have never been happier. You definetly need a PC for programing, but it controls all my Rotel gear flawlessly.

[dmcgowan]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Will have to dig a bit more. The iPaq seemed like a really neat solution as I could use it for other things and some of them are supposed to have much longer range. Problem that you can't really trial it until you've spent the cash...

[Andrew Pratt]

the other thing to consider with the ipaq option is that while yes it can do other things if you take it with you your remote goes with it so your wife/girlfriend/? couldn't use the system while you have it away. Dell's Axiom looks promising as well as a remote using that software but considering you can get a used or refurb TSU1000 for under $100US they're very cost effective.

[dmcgowan]

Thanks Andrew,

Good thoughts. I was thinking along the lines of using it as a digital photo store for when we go on holidays (these 1" HDDs are really a neat idea) so it wouldn't leave the house unless we were going away anyway. At US$100 though a Pronto becomes a better idea - I'm a complete newbie to remotes - any particular sites / vendors you would recommend for this option?

Darren

[Andrew Pratt]

Ask Erik Farstad as he just ordered one. A local guy was selling one not that long ago as well so you might want to email him too.

[jc]

hi there,

anyone here heard of the sony integrated remote commander rm-av3000t ? go and check it out , was told by my peers that it's useless, but of couse i did not listen to their advise, heeeee.heeee :LOL:
lucky me , in my opnion, i think its one of the best .... though i've not used the pronto before, coz i can't get it in my part of the world , anyway it's cheap and it's also got loads of function even got touch screen control. bought it for about us$100 after conversion incl. tax.

[dmcgowan]

Andrew, Geoff et al

Thanks for your inputs on this topic. In the end, due to wanting to do a few things with it, I went the iPaq / Nevo option and whilst I suspect it isn't as capable as the Pronto it works just fine for what I wanted. I was keen for a universal remote and also to have a way of dumping digital photos to a portable non-laptop device. It was either Pronto plus a smart HDD or the iPaq and I am pretty sure I went the right way.

For anyone interested - here are my thoughts based on a few days:

- Get about a 15 - 20' IR range in front of my rack of gear (unlike some of you guys, I haven't got the home cinema idea past the expenditure review committee just yet :-( )
- The number of pre-programmed / downloadable setups was better than I imagined with coverage for all my Rotel, Loewe and Sony gear throughout the house
- The individual components don't get the entire set of commands but do get all the everyday ones. I think that I will get annoyed that I can't use it to force a DVD to play DTS but it is one drawback? I don't normally fiddle with the setup that often so it isn't a killer issue
- The macro learning is good. Again, you're limited to the simpler commands but it is great to know visitors just have to hit the "Watch DVD" button and all the bits will do the right thing for them. I am over the sadistic pleasure of watching visitors try to work out 3 remotes to watch a DVD...

Overall, my impressions are that this is a good idea for those who want to do a couple of things with the box they buy. I suspect the Prontos are a better remote but they only do the one thing.

Once again, thanks for your input. It made me think about what I really wanted and not just do an impulse buy on it.

Thanks,




Darren

[Bill Blank]

Has anyone sat down with the remote that came with their RSP-1066 or 1098 and tried programming that thing? I admittedly have not but it got rather good reviews over at RemoteCentral. The thing I don't like about our remote is the hidden buttons, some of which I feel should not be under cover.

I'm looking for a less-than-$200 solution to eliminate the day-to-day watch a movie, watch TV, listen to a CD that's also got macro abilities for the wife.

I've been looking at the Philips Pronto TSU500, the Home Theater Master MX-500, UCommand 515, and One For All Kameleon 8 but would the trusty old Rotel be the easiest solution?

Bill




Rotel RSP-1066
Rotel RMB-1075
Rega Planet 2000
Denon DVD-2900
Mitsubishi WS-55411
Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v3
Paradigm Reference Studio CC-470 v3
Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v3
Velodyne CT-120

[DelRay]

I programed the RR1050 remote that comes with the 1068 to work my sony cd player. Worked all the controls just fine for the player. It's farely easy to do. However, I couldn't get the 1068 to switch from a device input to cd. Every time I went from, say video 1 or video 2 to cd, nothing would happen. It would stay on video 1. I then deprogramed the cd player and everything went back to normal. Now I'm having trouble selecting the multi input. I keep the ext button pushed down and nothing happens. To play dvd-a discs, I have to push the ext button on the processor. Anyone else with this problem?

[Andrew Pratt]

DelRay do a hard reset on the remote and see if that doens't fix the problem.

[Clive]

kameleon

The Kameleon turns-on by motion and drains batteries, few complaints very, very sensitive to motion. Not sure if it can be turned off :stupidpc:

[Preacherman]

Just a quick question...It the Kameleon any good?

[Andrew Pratt]

Deacon here's a review for you

[Preacherman]

Thanks Andrew...Well, I'll keep looking.

[number17]

I had the Kameleon for 2 days and couldn't wait to return it.

It's worse than what the remotecentral.com review says ...

First of all, while the remote looks cool on the web and in photos, it looks very toy-ish in real. Seems like its biggest strength is gone as soon as I took it out of the box.

The feel of pressing the buttons is terrible. I had a brand new remote and already some of the buttons were stuck and takes a few seconds to restore is original position after being pressed.

The motion sensor is WAY too sensitive. I was watching a movie and everytime some bass comes through from my subwoofer the remote lights up. That said, the motion sensor CAN BE turned off.

But here's my biggest problem. It doesn't replace my other remotes completely.

The Zenith / LG codes were all right and it can eliminate my DVD remote.

But it's pretty bad for its SA code for my cable box. A lot of the keys don't work and need to be learned / programmed.

And it's worse for the TV. You'd think TV should be one device that they'd get it right but no. While all the buttons work fine with my toshiba TV, a lot of the features that I often use are missing. For example, there's no "Input" button in the Kameleon remote. I guess you could replace one of the programmable button with it, but then you take away 1 otherwise useful function.

For my Marantz receiver it gets even worse. I can control power, volume up and down, and that's pretty much it. The numeric buttons supposingly switches from one input to the other, but somehow the "DVD Input" is missing from it. You also cannot switch between different DD/DTS/DSP modes.

And if you think you can program / learn all these missing features, yes it is true, you can. But you lose all that when you replace battery, which is going to be very frequent because of the ultra sensitive sensor.

In the end, I think the Kameleon is a perfect example of style over substance. If you don't mind adding 1 more remote to your remote pool which replaces your other remote only 50% of the times, and you think the Kameleon looks extremely cool then this might be the right remote for you.

For everybody else I'd suggest don't even bother. It's a waste of time.