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Looking for Universal Remote recommendations. Details inside.

488 views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  pman555 
#1 ·
I have been using a Logitech Harmony 650 and 700 for the past few years and they've been working fine...until they just didn't work at all. I've had a 650 for about 4 months until something went wrong with the electronics and it kept resetting, thinking that everything should be off and turning the annoying "assistant" back on. This obviously causes problems with my wife and mother-in-law, who watches our daughter during the day...and I end up having to walk them through my way of getting the remote back to where it should be.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here had any suggestions for semi-budget universal remotes that will be able to replace the Logitech Harmony 650 that Amazon is thankfully letting me return for a refund. It would also need to be wife and mother-in-law friendly.

Budget: I would love to stay under $150. Even better to stay under $100.
Devices to control: HDTV, Cable Box w/ DVR, Denon Receiver.
Other devices I use, that aren't currently controlled by the 650: Wii U and HTPC.

I would love it if somehow there was an inexpensive universal remote that could also control my HTPC and replace my "easy-to-use and never fails", MCE Remote.

Honestly, I wouldn't be adverse to buying another Logitech Harmony 650 if you all think that's the best bang for my buck and the remote failing after 4 months may just be a fluke.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
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#3 ·
Xsight Touch (aka Nevo C3) from eBay is in your budget and controls a PC plus 17 other devices quite well. The programming software is far superior to Logitech's. It is about on par with the old Harmony 900 but far less expensive. It's a much more advanced remote than the 650. It's IR only, 15 device cousin (Xsight Color or Nevo C2) is under $20 on eBay.

Your current remotes can easily control your PC if you get an MCE IR dongle.
 
#4 ·
Very interesting. I'm a little afraid of eBay just because there's no recourse, but Amazon has the C2 for $50 and I have the option of returning if I hate it. But at under $20 on eBay...it could just be a throw away if I hate it.

Do you know if the C2 can control the computer's mouse as well as play/pause functionality?
 
#5 ·
I would never pay $50 for a C2, but that's just me. I've gotten over a dozen Nevos from eBay (allshop29), most brand new, for a fraction of that.

I highly recommend mouse control by other means (smartphone app or wireless touchpad like k400), but it is possible with any universal remote and an Ortek dongle. I would map all 8 directions to the num pad in that case. No matter what, mouse control on a remote is going to be awkward.

One thing I dislike about the C2 is it eats batteries. So get two sets of rechargeables, or get the C3 instead which has a battery pack and charging cradle. The C3 lasts about a month between charges, the C2 about 2 weeks, depending on usage of course.
 
#6 ·
I actually found a Xsight Touch auction ending on eBay with 0 bidders at $60...$70 including shipping. Seriously thinking about it.

Is the Xsight Touch that much better than the C2 or C3?

Regarding PC mouse, I've actually been using this remote to handle MINOR mouse movements for the past three years, so as long as this new remote can control the mouse, I'm good to go.
 
#7 · (Edited)
That Ortek is exactly what I was talking about. You'd have to learn all directions on whatever universal remote you get. We have a JP1 upgrade device for it, but I've never attempted to load it on an Xsight.

C3 is better than C2. Touch is 100% identical to C3. Likewise Color is identical to C2. All were discontinued a few years ago, hence the low prices and limited availability.

Edit: Fixed typo
 
#8 ·
That Ortek is exactly what I was talking about. You'd have to learn all directions on whatever universal remote you get. We have a JP1 upgrade device for it, but I've never attempted to load it on an Xsight.

C2 is better than C3. Touch is 100% identical to C3. Likewise Color is identical to C2. All were discontinued a few years ago, hence the low prices and limited availability.
So you would actually recommend the C2 over the C3/Touch?
 
#9 ·
Another option may be the URC MX-450. It's pre-programmed and also manually learns from the original remotes, and it has Archiver software that updates the devices on the remote and stores all your settings. You can edit macros too which is a huge plus. It is not programmed via the PC though, but it's super easy to configure manually.

I recently got one off Ebay as a backup and so far i've configured it to control a total of 9 different devices in two rooms and it's working perfectly.

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