Post by dkennedy on Jul 11, 2005 4:47:42 GMT -5
Fancy remote can do it all - with one catch
July 10, 2005
by Bill Husted, Durango Herald
Finding a good universal remote control has been my Holy Grail for a while.
Well, I've found one that's perfect in almost every way. Yet I can't recommend it. I'll tell you why in a minute. But first let me explain why I need such a device.
My den has enough gadgetry to equip a nuclear submarine - HDTV, cable box, amplifier for the sound system, Web TV box, DVD player and an aging VCR.
I have six remote controls for all those gadgets. Changing channels or switching to the DVD involves roaming the den to find the right clicker. Several of those remotes claim to be able to control my other gadgets - and if you are willing to settle for turning them on and off, they do - but none is satisfactory as far as a single replacement for that gaggle of remotes.
So when Philips Consumer Electronics came out with a really fancy remote - the touch-screen RC9800I/17 - I decided to try it. The remote is supposed to be versatile enough to control everything, yet easy to use.
Let me start by singing its praises.
It's small and beautiful: The remote resembles a palm-sized computer and oozes elegance. If this remote doesn't impress your friends, you hang out with people who wouldn't blink if Tom Cruise walked into the Waffle House arm-in- arm with Katie Holmes.
It really works: Unlike the other remotes I have tried - and those number in the dozens - it can control even the most esoteric features on all my gadgets. Most remotes do fine with basic functions but fall down when it comes to tinkering with little-used settings.
It's easy to use, even for a klutz such as myself: Philips didn't exaggerate. Setting the remote up for my gadgets took a lot of time, maybe an hour, but the process was easy to follow. And like a lot of guys, I never read the manual. I've tried earlier models of fancy remotes, and setting them up to control my gadgets had about the same difficulty rating as replacing a roof.
It does amazing things: For instance, the remote communicates wirelessly with my computer network. When I first set it up, I didn't see the importance of that. But now I love the feature. I can even look at photos that are stored on my computer, right on the remote's color screen.
It does even more amazing things: When you buy the remote, you get a subscription to a TV guide service that lists all the programs in your area, whether you subscribe to cable or satellite TV or use over-the-air broadcasts. With that service, the program showing on each channel is displayed right on the screen. Even cooler, you can search for specific types of programming using the screen of the remote. If you want to find movies that are showing, just put a check mark by the movie box and a list of what is available pops up on the screen.
One push does it all: I can push a single button and the remote will turn on my DVD player, then switch the TV to the right input for DVD, then turn on the home theater amplifier I use when viewing movies. When I go back to regular TV, another single push of a button switches off those gadgets, turns on the cable box and switches back to the built-in speakers on my television. And I get to choose how it is programmed. So if I want to use the home theater sound system when I watch regular TV, the remote will follow my wishes.
What I'm trying to say is that this is the holy grail. It has everything I could want in a remote control and more.
The problem is that "more" part.
The remote retails for $600.
I could buy a very nice TV for that. I know the world is full of people who have so much money that $600 isn't enough to make them blink.
Even if I had enough money to keep an investment banker gainfully employed, the notion of paying $600 for a remote would make me feel a little dizzy. If I were that rich I would hire someone to change channels for me.
So this remote - regrettably - isn't for me.
On the other hand, I think some of my readers are able to go to the kind of restaurants where you get more than one fork. And it really is a terrific gadget. So if spending $600 for a remote seems sensible to you, I recommend it.
But if you visit the Husted home anytime soon you'll still have to step around the six remotes in the den.
Bill Husted writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . He can be reached here .
July 10, 2005
by Bill Husted, Durango Herald
Finding a good universal remote control has been my Holy Grail for a while.
Well, I've found one that's perfect in almost every way. Yet I can't recommend it. I'll tell you why in a minute. But first let me explain why I need such a device.
My den has enough gadgetry to equip a nuclear submarine - HDTV, cable box, amplifier for the sound system, Web TV box, DVD player and an aging VCR.
I have six remote controls for all those gadgets. Changing channels or switching to the DVD involves roaming the den to find the right clicker. Several of those remotes claim to be able to control my other gadgets - and if you are willing to settle for turning them on and off, they do - but none is satisfactory as far as a single replacement for that gaggle of remotes.
So when Philips Consumer Electronics came out with a really fancy remote - the touch-screen RC9800I/17 - I decided to try it. The remote is supposed to be versatile enough to control everything, yet easy to use.
Let me start by singing its praises.
It's small and beautiful: The remote resembles a palm-sized computer and oozes elegance. If this remote doesn't impress your friends, you hang out with people who wouldn't blink if Tom Cruise walked into the Waffle House arm-in- arm with Katie Holmes.
It really works: Unlike the other remotes I have tried - and those number in the dozens - it can control even the most esoteric features on all my gadgets. Most remotes do fine with basic functions but fall down when it comes to tinkering with little-used settings.
It's easy to use, even for a klutz such as myself: Philips didn't exaggerate. Setting the remote up for my gadgets took a lot of time, maybe an hour, but the process was easy to follow. And like a lot of guys, I never read the manual. I've tried earlier models of fancy remotes, and setting them up to control my gadgets had about the same difficulty rating as replacing a roof.
It does amazing things: For instance, the remote communicates wirelessly with my computer network. When I first set it up, I didn't see the importance of that. But now I love the feature. I can even look at photos that are stored on my computer, right on the remote's color screen.
It does even more amazing things: When you buy the remote, you get a subscription to a TV guide service that lists all the programs in your area, whether you subscribe to cable or satellite TV or use over-the-air broadcasts. With that service, the program showing on each channel is displayed right on the screen. Even cooler, you can search for specific types of programming using the screen of the remote. If you want to find movies that are showing, just put a check mark by the movie box and a list of what is available pops up on the screen.
One push does it all: I can push a single button and the remote will turn on my DVD player, then switch the TV to the right input for DVD, then turn on the home theater amplifier I use when viewing movies. When I go back to regular TV, another single push of a button switches off those gadgets, turns on the cable box and switches back to the built-in speakers on my television. And I get to choose how it is programmed. So if I want to use the home theater sound system when I watch regular TV, the remote will follow my wishes.
What I'm trying to say is that this is the holy grail. It has everything I could want in a remote control and more.
The problem is that "more" part.
The remote retails for $600.
I could buy a very nice TV for that. I know the world is full of people who have so much money that $600 isn't enough to make them blink.
Even if I had enough money to keep an investment banker gainfully employed, the notion of paying $600 for a remote would make me feel a little dizzy. If I were that rich I would hire someone to change channels for me.
So this remote - regrettably - isn't for me.
On the other hand, I think some of my readers are able to go to the kind of restaurants where you get more than one fork. And it really is a terrific gadget. So if spending $600 for a remote seems sensible to you, I recommend it.
But if you visit the Husted home anytime soon you'll still have to step around the six remotes in the den.
Bill Husted writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . He can be reached here .