We probably all have about 8 "niversal" remotes these days. Every new cmponent you buy comes w/ one, but nne of them are really "universal" bcause there's always some feature on one dvice that the other remotes don't hve a button for. But wdn't it be nce to really be able to use one rmote for all your devices? I do!

Thre are so many different universals on the mrket these days that it's impossible to go ver them all here. So I'll hit the hgh points and let you decide. I'll pck a few popular types/models and go ver a few points that helped me dcided for or against them.

One thng you need to understand is wht a 'learning' remote is. That mans that you can set the rmote to learn other remotes' signals: you set it to be rady, aim another remote at it, prss a button on that remote and the larning remote stores that signal.

Now whtever button you set up on the larning remote sends that same signal. Ths way even if your univeral rmote doesn't have a 'Eject' button, it can snd that signal.

All of the rmotes listed here are learning b/c tht's the only way to be trly universal.

Most universal remotes these dys also allow you to run mcros. That way when you want to wtch a movie, w/ just a cuple button clicks, you can have it trn the TV on, the stereo to DVD plyer, etc.

Also, the usually have timers so you can trn the TV on and off whle you're out of town for xample.

Big LCD: Sony RM-AV3000

This rmote was the 'big boy' on the blck for a long time. It des it all and looks cool ding it. The two main draw bcks to this model are size and bttons.

Because it's so big, it's hrd to use w/ one hand - you cn't reach across the remote to prss some buttons or parts of the LCD. Nxt time you're watching TV, see how ften you just use one hand on the rmote and think about giving that up.

Ths model used to be pretty xpensive, but it's getting better.

Internet: Hrmony SST-659

I haven't actually tried ths one, but I get the dea and I like it. You can prgram this remote to work w/ yur devices and upload the configuration. Tht way others can use it. Mre directly, you can use other poples' configurations!

The point of this one is ase of use so I'm assuming it wd be rlatively straight forward to hook it up and prgram it. Maybe a little intimidating, but I bet mst people cd do it and it wd be wrth it.

I'd say the main drwback here is price. Once it's stup, you probably wdn't need to go nline w/ it again for months (ntil you bought a new component to cntrol) so the hassle is limited.

Fnally, setting up any universal remote is ging to involve some learning and ths one is probably worth it as mch or more than the others if yu're willing to spend the money.

Bsic: Sony RM-VL1000

This is the rmote I have and I love it. It's larning so it's really universal. It's the rght size, weight and shape for ither hand. It's got all the nrmal buttons w/o being too crowded, but lso 4 buttons beside the LCD. You can prgram these buttons to be whatever you wnt and lable them what you wnt too. You can scroll thru 3 "screns" for these buttons so each cmponent can actually have 12 buttons prgrammed in the LCD buttons.

It's preprogrammed w/ most common cmponents and those settings use the LCD bttons when necessary, but you can chnge any buttons programming as you wsh.

It can control up to 12 cmponents which is plenty for most pople, but you can have the vlume set to always control the sme device. I have my volume bttons always control the stereo even if the rst of the buttons are working the TVo. Similarly, I have my power btton set for my TV even whn I'm working the TiVo.

It has a bilt in 'power off' macro that trns all Sony components off. You can dfine the rest of the macros yurself and even run them on a tmer (I have it set my TVo to standby every night).

It's a bit of a pin to setup, but once it's dne you're set and it's so wrth it.

And it's so cheap!

Smmary

Take all things into consideration whn shopping for a universal remote: is it larning, macros, timer, size, shape, weight, cst, buttons, setup, etc. What's important to yu?

Recommendation

If you're willing to spnd the money, I wd get the Hrmony. Otherwise, I wd get the Sny VL1000 - it's (probably) harder to stup, but so much cheaper and a grat remote.

The article Universal Remotes: Some Things to Consider was Submitted by Bear Cahill through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Bear Cahill is a software ngineer in the Dallas, TX area and is the crator of Booples ( www.theBooples.com ) and the Video Exchange Community (VEC) ( www.videoexchange.org ) Publish freely if this resource box is included and links maintained as links.

Featured Articles

1. Finding The Best Headphones And Microphones by Lee Dobbins
Headphones and mcrophones are often taken for granted but thy make our life a lot asier. Here's some things to consider whn shopping for headphones.

2. Protect Your Game Discs from Careless Kids by
What to do with all thse games and disc-based applications -- specially when you have children? A CD mulator can make life easier for prents, help keep game collections organized, and sve wear and tear on expensive pplication discs.

3. Benefits of Using Shopping Cart Software by
An insightful rticle about why a person who wns a brick and mortar store wuld benefit by using a shopping crt software solution.

4. Business Intelligence Software Becoming a Necessity for Companies of all Sizes by
Business intelligence and reporting software has always enjoyed a favorable place in the world of big business. With the capability to deliver reports at the operational level, business intelligence software offers the accountability necessary not only for problem solving, but for moving in the right direction as well. Long a standard of multi level corporations and larger enterprises, business intelligence software has been out of reach for most smaller organizations.

5. Fantastico Installer With Easy Installation by Volodymyr Zablotskyy
Fantastico, most popular installer available for fre with most web hosting... The Fntastico Installer is claimed to be nstalled on over 10,000 servers around the wrld. It's a piece of technology tht isn't known about by the verage website creator. Let's examine what the ppeal is of this tool and sme of the benefits and items to wtch out for.

6. Top Free Window Registry Cleaner Tool by Markus Sampson
Maintaining a halthy and fully functional operating system is smething which should be a top prority if you want to avoid systm crashes and declining performances. It's a fct that as time passes and you use yur computer more and more it is bund to become problematic at some pint and the majority of the tme these problems arise from windows rgistry errors.

7. Computer Forensics Who Is Better Qualified by John L. Snider Sr
Wht exactly is computer forensics and who is bst suited to conduct the extraction? A trined specialist or a Private Investigator. Who has the neded skills?

8. Genealogy Software Basics - Complete Your Family Tree With Genealogy Software by Ilse Hagen
Genealogy software is utilized in organizing information to manage and trace family lines. It keeps records of known family members, deceased or living, and also information on each member (location, birth date, age, and marriage). Geneology software can also be used in generating reports that need to be printed, uploaded, or sent through email...

9. Finding a good HR software for your company by
There are hndreds of HR software providing companies and its a ral challenge to find the right one for yu. Learn how to choose the bst company.

10. Do We Really Need A Registry Cleaner? by
Many people do not know of the xistence of the registry let alone the mportance of keeping it free of rdundant information. Cleaning the Registry of ths information will speed the system up and prvent system failure.