I love the idea of a universal remote because right now it takes two remotes to work our TV.  One is just for the volume, the other just to change channels.  We got in this predicament because we bought a cheap flat panel HD TV and we have Digital Cable. 

See the cheap HD needs a cable converter box for the HD cable and there comes the two remotes.  My poor husband who is very technically challenged when it comes to electronics, tries to change the volumme with the cable box controller and often tries to change the channel with the TV remote which just changes the input selector and confuses him even more.

So when I found a universal remote that was supposed to handle it all, and for under $50, I jumped on it.  I also liked the idea of a touch screen for the hubs, hoping it would be easier for him to use.

What arrived was a pretty nicely sized remote, not much larger than traditional ones. It's nicely weighted and balances well.  It has just a few buttons and a wheel to make selections and changes.  Because of the touch screen, everything was nicely lighted - great for older people like us.

Annoyingly, it came with no instructions and even boasted that you could set it up without them. Uh, nope.  After much trial and error as well as locating the manual online, I was never able to get all the functions for the digital cable to work.  Still, with the turn of a wheel, I could change the channels as well as the volume from one remote.  I couldn't, however, get to our On Demand contest, view the synopisis of the show I was watching, and go back to the last watched channel.

Still, for the main functions it was working pretty good.  That is until the day it slipped between the couch cushions and I sat on it.  Now I know touch screens are delicate, but this was in the couch sideways, it shouldn't have beed so damaged by one squish that wasn't even directly on the screen. 

The screen is now unusable.  I can still use it to change channels and volume, as long as I just want to go up or down, I can't put in a specific channel number.

Would I buy it again? Nope, the screen is too delicate, I never could get it to work completely, and I'll opt for a table top system that can't be dropped into the couch next time.

Recommended: No