Ever drive a car where the controls just didn't feel right? Recently, my wife and I were shopping for a small SUV, and we looked at the Honda CRV. But at nearly 6-foot-4, I was unable to get my knees under the steering wheel. It might be the best SUV in the world, but ergonomically, it just didn't work for me.
|
What We Think
|
| All three of these highly programmable remotes would be great additions to your home, but the MX-3000 touchscreen is in a class by itself |
The solution, of course, is to replace all of those separate remotes with a single, smart control. Universal Remote Control (URC) is no newcomer to this world. Since 1991, it's manufactured 200 million remotes under its own brand and for equipment manufacturers. For this review, I played with the Genesis MX-900 and the Medius TX-1000 — two remotes similar in price and performance, but with completely different form factors — and the flagship MX-3000, which I have a lot to say about.
SETUP Though URC intends these remotes to be professionally programmed and installed, the programming software is available on their Web site. All three use similar Windows-based programming architectures that I would rate about a 6 out of 10 in difficulty. Still, to extract all the capabilities from an MX-3000, I'd highly recommend going with a pro.
While programming the remotes, I was continually impressed with little touches to make an installer's life easier: programming shortcuts, support for two-step IR codes (like those used by some XM satellite receivers), and the ability to add push-and-hold programming for any button, for instance. The programming process usually involves three steps — program, download, test — which are repeated over and over until everything is working correctly. Since downloads are handled via USB, they're fast and painless.
The downfall of many macro-based remotes — where multiple commands are spit out to initiate activities like "Watch DVD" — is that if all the commands aren't received by the correct piece of gear, the system gets out of sync. With the line-of-sight infrared (IR) technology used in most remotes, commands can be missed if the remote isn't pointed at the entire stack of electronics for the duration of the macro command. But with the addition of the MRF-300 ($199), one of URC's optional radio frequency (RF) base stations, all three of these remotes allow full system control without "pointing."
Using RF instead of (or along with) IR offers several benefits. First, you can control gear that's in a closet or behind cabinet doors. Second, you can wander around the house and retain control. Up to 15 uniquely addressable MRF-300s can be installed around the home, and you can also select whether components respond to IR, RF, or both. (As for me, I put one MRF-300 by my main system and the other in my bedroom.)
During programming, each MRF-300 is named and assigned an address. Controlling multiple identical components (such as DSS or cable boxes) from the same RF station is easily accomplished through six individually addressable IR outputs. The MRF-300 uses industry-standard 1/8-inch IR emitters, and has ample output to drive double-headed emitters, allowing a single MRF-300 to handle up to 12 components. Installers will like the built-in RF interference "sniffer" that helps find the best location for the RF receiver.
All three remotes support control for up to 255 devices, with up to 255 pages within a device. That means there are over 65,000 programmable pages, for virtually unlimited flexibility! I created pages that served as a TV warm-up macro, counting down from 10 seconds while my DLP HDTV warmed up. You can also have different page layouts for different members of the family or different areas of the house.
|
The Short Form
|
| GENESIS MX-900: $449 / 8 x 2.3 x 1.3 IN / 14 OZ (W/BATTERIES) MEDIUS TX-1000: $499 / 6.5 x 5.4 x 1.6 IN / 31.4 OZ (W/BATTERIES) MX-3000: $999 / 4.8 x 7.1 x 1.1 IN / 10.4 OZ (W/BATTERIES) universalremote.com / 914-835-4484 |
|
Plus
|
| •Optional RF operation for house-wide control and installation flexibility •Large number of programmable pages •Friendly "Watch/Listen" menus (MX-900, TX-1000) •Ability to import/program interactive graphics/sound files (MX-3000) •Sophisticated "if/then" programmability (MX-3000) |
|
Minus
|
| •Wimpy speaker makes it hard to hear WAV files in noisy rooms (MX-3000) •Requires two-hand operation (MX-3000, TX-1000) |
|
Key Features
|
| •Operates 255 devices, up to 255 pages per device •PC programmable •IR or RF control (with optional base station) •Monochrome touchscreen with multicolored backlight (TX-1000) •3.5-in color touchscreen (MX-3000) •Programmable button graphics/WAV sounds (MX-3000) •Rechargeable battery with docking station (MX-3000) •Prices MX-900, $449; TX-1000; $499; MX-3000, $999; MF-300 RF base station, $199 |
GENESIS MX-900 & MEDIUS TX-1000 For both the Genesis and Medius remotes, you program your macros to fall under two main menus: Watch (activities that involve your video display) and Listen (activities that don't). This greatly reduces the learning curve, as well as the number of buttons that appear on the screen at any given time.
With its contours and layout reminiscent of a flipped-open cell phone, the Genesis MX-900 wand-style remote should feel at home in just about everyone's hands. I found the buttons logically arranged, and there were enough "hard" buttons to accomplish 90% of control tasks. For nontraditional commands, like my Escient's "Movie" button, there are six programmable LCD buttons per page that can be labeled with up to seven characters each. The remote is fully backlit in a cool, light blue (duration is adjustable up to 90 seconds). It runs on 4 AAA batteries.
The Medius TX-1000 is designed to sit on a coffee table or else requires two-handed operation. URC calls it their baby-boomer solution because it eschews most typical hard buttons in favor of 12 "soft" touchpanel buttons per page that are large and easy to read. Each button can be labeled with up to six characters. The TX-1000 is fully backlit, but you can program up to 256 different colors for different users, zones, or devices. It runs on 4 AA batteries.
MX-3000 Honestly, when was the last time programming and using a remote were actually fun? The MX-3000 is so utterly programmable that you're limited only by your imagination and the amount of time you're willing to invest. I had a blast programming it and playing with programs that others had created and posted on the Web at sites like RemoteCentral.com.
Being able to import graphic and sound files to accompany any page or button is what makes the MX-3000 so customizable and fun. The 3.5-inch, 320 x 240-resolution color screen produces terrific images and let my inner geek run wild. I finally settled on a Star Wars theme. Each page I created had different graphics from the films, and touching parts of the screen played various WAV files. For instance, I transformed a light-saber JPEG into the 0-9 buttons for my CD player, which produced the sound of a saber powering on and off whenever they were pressed.
Another killer way to use the remote's graphics and memory is to download cover art for your DVDs and CDs. Touching a cover can then initiate a macro to turn your changer to that disc and start playing it.
Beyond just looking good, the MX-3000 incorporates some powerful programming logic that the other remotes don't. These come in the form of if/else commands: For instance, if your system is in DVD mode, do one thing, else do something different. These commands are very potent in the hands of a skilled programmer.
BOTTOM LINE All of these remotes would make great additions to your system. For the overall "Wow!" factor, you can't touch the Universal Remote Control MX-3000. For daily use, I preferred the MX-900 to the TX-1000 — I tend to keep the remote in hand while channel-surfing, so it worked better for me. All in all, though, I'd be pleased to own any of them.
Back to Homepage
What's New on S&V