This One Remote Will Do It All
Written: Apr 26 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: inexpensive; flexible; powerful; nice key selection; jp1 support yields extraordinary power.
Cons: older model -- device codes for recent devices will be limited.
The Bottom Line: If you are willing to tackle the learning curve of JP1, this remote could be hard to beat.
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| lesn's Full Review: One For All URC-8811 Remote Control |
I have an extensive home theater system and have been repeatedly frustrated when trying to consolidate all of my remote controls in a single universal remote. Most universal remotes have severe limitations -- sometimes inconsistently so. I had one universal remote which claimed that you could learn the functions for ten different remotes but ran out of memory long before I had used it to learn the functions for two. Many universal remotes have a limited number of keys so, though one might be able to use it for several devices, only a very small subset of their functions can be programmed. Nothing seemed to fill the bill -- I wanted a remote which could truly replace all of my other remotes but invariably I needed to keep most or all of my other remotes handy. That changed when I bought the URC-8811.
Right out of the box, armed with nothing but the manufacturer's instructions, one can readily see that the URC-8811, like most One-For-All remotes, stands out as more capable than universal remotes costing several times its price. It comes equipped with a large number of device codes built-in, has the ability to learn (by copying the infrared signal from the original remote) remote functions for which there are no built-in codes. It has considerably more keys than most universal remotes including four keys labeled M1 - M4 and four labeled L1 - L4 -- generic expansion keys one can use if one can find no no other suitable keys for a given function. The latter will likely happen much less often than with other remotes simply because of the rather extensive set of keys available. I particularly like the fact that the keys are laid out in different sections with distinctive layouts and certain keys have distinctive size and shapes which makes it a lot easier to manipulate the remote by feel so one could, say, be manipulating the DVD player while watching the TV screen. This is one of the reasons I have had little interest in remotes which handle all of their functions through a touch-screen. With no tactile feedback, etc., one must pretty much look at the remote to use it. In a lot of cases, I want my eyes to be somewhere else.
Another feature which is unusual in this price class is the ability to remap any key to any function. One can even have keys from several different devices available at the same time without needing to change device modes. For example, you could have the transport keys (play, stop, FF, etc.) set to operate your DVD player, the volume keys set to operate your receiver, the picture-in-picture keys set to operate your TV, etc., all at the same time.
All in all, these are some pretty impressive features for an inexpensive remote.
Interestingly, one of the most significant drawbacks of the remote is that the manufacturer's instructions barely touch the surface with regards to the remote's capabilities. For instance, the instructions tell how to program macros (a series of remote functions which can be launched with a single keypress) but then implies that macros can only be assigned to the four keys M1 - M4. In fact a macro can be assigned to nearly any key one wishes (even the lamp button). If one does some investigation on the web one can quickly find that there are, in fact, a whole host of functions and capabilities available which are not documented or which are inadequately documented in the manufacturer's directions.
One of the most impressive features of the remote is not documented by the manufacturer because, in fact, it is not quite provided by the manufacturer -- something known as JP1 capability. The manufacturer had built into the remote the ability to upgrade the remote after the fact with new device codes, key codes, etc. with the intention that, should you find that one or more of the devices you wish to control is not included in its original programming, you could send your remote back to them (perhaps along with the remote you wish to replace) and they would update the codes to include the codes for the new device(s). As one can read on the web, however, a group of clever, and unbelievably dedicated people have reverse-engineered the upgrade interface and devised tools for modifying its programming via a cable (called a JP1 cable) connected between the remote and your computer.
At its simplest, the JP1 cable can be used to make programming the remote significantly easier than entering codes through the keypad. At its most complex, however, one can even pretty much replace the software native to the remote with other software with expanded capabilities. In the JP1 community, these are referred to as extenders and they can do things such as expand the availability of memory, or add new features such as flags which can be toggled within a macro to remember state information (e.g. whether a television has been turned on).
One problem with learning functions by copying them from another remote is that it can use a lot of memory and one can easily run out of memory long before you have replaced all of your remotes. In this respect, this remote is no different from most of the others. What is different from the other remotes, however, is that using the free home-brew tools which the JP1 development community has provided, one can learn all the functions of an unsupported remote then feed the results into the tools via the JP1 cable and convert the learned functions into a new set of device/key codes which require much less memory than the learned functions. Through their generous efforts, device upgrades for a wide variety of devices which are not natively supported, are available on the internet. If you have a device which is not supported, creating the device upgrade yourself is relatively easy using their tools (and if you do create a new device upgrade they encourage you to share it with the rest of the community). As if all of the useful tools, upgrades, codes, etc. are not enough evidence of the enormous generosity of the JP1 community, the live support that some of them provide via internet-based forums puts to shame a lot of commercial support resources.
Using JP1, the capabilities of this remote seem almost endless. In my own case, my $30 remote is currently set up to duplicate nearly every function of the remotes for ten different devices as well as macros for turning on the entire system, coordinating configuration changes as one switches between devices (e.g. changing the inputs on video switchers, my receiver, my flat-screen TV, etc. while turning source devices on and off, etc.).
Being a home-brew solution, JP1 can have a significant learning curve and the tools are not all as easy to use as a commercial software package, but there is a lot of support available online, and the rewards can be great, particularly since the software is free. But even if you never venture into JP1, this remote natively has an awful lot going for it. The biggest drawback without JP1 is going to be the fact that it won't have the device codes for a lot of newer devices (particularly since the remote is pretty old at this point and is no longer being produced). The only way to expand its device codes without JP1 is if the manufacturer is still supporting it with its mail-in upgrade policy. Personally, I would recommend that despite any drawbacks or learning curve, you ought to give JP1 a try, anyway. Once you learn how to use it, you will likely be amazed at the flexibility you have available.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lesn
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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