I bought this to replace my universal remote that the dogs chewed up. This remote has several features, and lots of buttons. I like the red light up buttons as it makes it so much easier to find the button I am looking for in the dark.
My favourite thing about this remote is the many ways in which to find that pesky code. I find that often typing in the code for your brand of TV, VCR, whatever doesn't work and you can spend hours trying to figure out the proper code. There are at least four different ways (including a list of codes) to program this remote so something will work for your device. My favourite thing is the "learning" mode. You simply put it into "learning" mode and then copy the functions from your old remote to the new one and you can choose which buttons go where. I programmed my TV, cable box, and DVD player all within about 5 minutes and without having to enter a single code. Brilliant! Plus I was able to transfer the sleep function onto a key of my choice (that is the only button that seems to be missing from this remote).
My only complaint is that it is rather large, but that can be a good thing too as it's easier to spot in the couch cushions or under a blanket. Universal Remote Control URC-WR7 7 Device Remote Control with 4 My Favorite Channel Buttons
I wanted a universal remote for our home theater setup (Panasonic TV, Onkyo receiver, Tivo, and Sony Blu-ray) that didn't cost that much and didn't suck; from the reviews I'd read, most universal remotes seemed to do one or the other -- cost more than I wanted to spend (Harmony) or suck in at least one important way. This remote seemed to be well-reviewed, and it was a nice price.
It delivers: It took me 15 minutes to program it for all four devices, soup to nuts. Its quick-program function found the TV; its "scroll through codes" function found all three other devices. Then I set up punch-through audio, so that the receiver was the only audio output regardless of mode; macro power-on and -off, so that one button turns on the TV and receiver, and another turns everything off; and used the learning feature to teach it the dozen or so specialized buttons I needed from other remotes (Tivo skip back/ahead, Blu-ray open/close and chapter forward/back, etc.).
In terms of downsides, it's heavy, but not uncomfortably so (and certainly not to the point of being an issue), and it lacks some key buttons for a DVD or Blu-ray player, like open/close. Most universal remotes seem to be missing those, however, and it wasn't hard to pick unused buttons and map those functions to them.
I love the one-button backlighting, and the button layout overall is excellent. The tips in the manual are helpful -- for example, it recommends that if you have a plasma TV, you take it into another room to teach it button functions from other remotes; that did the trick for me. Having three programming modes was very handy.
On the whole it does what it says on the tin for a great price, and is an excellent remote.
The WR7 is the best remote I've owned. I love it. So does my wife. It does everything I want (and I'm picky), is guest-friendly and geek-friendly, and it costs twenty bucks. You should buy it.
Other reviews have summarized well what's great about this remote, so I'm just going to add some geek details.
What I love:
- Separate on and off buttons. Simple, but a huge ease-of-use win. Many devices now have discrete on/off codes, and this remote finally lets you use them. A big help to reliability when you've programmed a "system on" macro.
- No LCD screen. Nice idea, but more often than not a crutch that replaces good design. Demands that you look down at the remote, takes space away from keys, and is typically butt-ugly.
- Programmable macros, even on the device keys. So you can program the "DVD" button to switch the inputs on the receiver, the "TV" button to switch the Tivo to live TV mode, etc. Similar to the much-hyped "activity based" Harmony/Logitech remotes.
- Decent IR emitter. So you hardly ever have to hit a key more than once, and macros execute reliably.
- "Punch through" capability on most keys, so that the volume up/down keys can control the AV receiver volume no matter which device the rest of the remote is talking to.
- Decent remote code database, and decent learning capability.
I've set ours up so that "power on" turns everything on using discrete codes, switches the receiver to the Tivo, sends the Tivo to the "Now playing" screen, and leaves the remote talking to the Tivo. This is 80% of our use cases taken care of. The "power off" key switches everything off using discrete codes, there's another 10% of the use cases. All of the device keys power up the relevant devices and switch the receiver inputs.
My last remote was a One-For-All 9910 that I'd JP1'd the heck out of, and this remote is better in almost all respects from a usability point of view. The 9910 was far more hackable, but for all the effort the end result was unsatisfying. Too many keys, and yet still missing some.
There are two aspects that could be improved in this remote:
- Programming "advanced codes" is a bit weak. There's a way to access any key code the device's IR protocol can support, but it's hard to use. Since my original manufacturer's remotes didn't have keys for the discrete power on/off codes, I actually relied on my previous remote (the 9910) to help learn those.
- Wish it had RF, so it could go through the cabinet doors. The after-market RF extenders are a stopgap that I'm considering, but they don't look that great and are way more expensive than the remote.
All up, I'm extremely happy with WR7. If you're up for a little bit of programming, you can make this one fine remote. - Universal Learning Remote - Learning Remote - Universal Remote - Remote Control'
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