Sony Universal Remote Looks Impressive But Disappoints
Written: Dec 29 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sturdy, will impress your friends. May cut back on remote clutter.
Cons: Display useless w/o backlight on, not compatible with some component functions.
The Bottom Line: Good idea with so-so execution. Tedious to set up and may not easily allow all functions of some components.LCD is small and very hard to see without backlight on. Pricey.
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| mccorma's Full Review: Sony RM-AV3000 LCD Touchscreen Remote Control |
I received the Sony RM-AV3000 as a birthday gift after my in-laws observed me juggling half a dozen remotes. While the Sony looks impressive, it leaves a lot to be desired.
The first disappointment is the LCD display. I find it totally unreadable unless I turn on the backlight in normal room lighting. Even with the backlight on, the cool blue display is not that readable, and the labels on the LCD buttons are incredibly tiny (I estimate font size as 4 or less). The duration of the backlight feature is programmable, and I have mine set to stay on for 30 seconds after the "light" button is pressed. According to Sony, using the backlight "seriously affects battery life". Oh well. Perhaps a different, brighter color for the background, say yellow instead of the blue, would improve things. The LCD buttons also are very small and it is easy to unintentionally press more than one at a time.
Programming the Sony to work with my variety of components was an adventure also. The users manual is tedious and very hard to follow. Surprisingly, there is no function button under the LCD screen for cable TV. I found the "STB" (satellite TV) button displayed some of the functions of my digital cable box but not all. Programming additional functions to the LCD buttons was a time consuming adventure and I never did get all of them. Changing the "labels" of the LCD buttons to display the function of the customized button was especially frustrating. The manual is very poor in the explanation, and most of the display label choices did not adequately describe the function.
Setting the "VCR" button to work with my garden variety Panasonic similarly did not go well. None of the four codes supplied for the Panasonic gave me more than half of the available functions of the VCR. I added a couple more through the customization process, but simple ones like the key to set a timed program had to be "learned", and again I ran into the problem with none of the available label titles being accurate.
The Sony seems sturdy, although I doubt it would survive a fall to a hard floor that probably would not ruin a more mundane remote. Also, you will learn quickly to wipe your hands before using the Sony, or the LCD screen will soon be fingerprinted and greasy. Best to use one hand for snacking and the other for surfing in this case!!
Sony has an admirable idea with the Remote Commander, but the execution still needs some work. Maybe it works better if you have a stable of Sony components as it seems to be geared more towards their own products. I am not sure what competition there is for the Sony, but I think that you might want to check it out before shelling out the steep cost. Maybe the best choice is to keep juggling all your remotes and wait for the next version.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
mccorma
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Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Financial professional, age 52, male.
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