Just bought a universal remote – Phillips Prestigo SRU9600

July 31st, 2007

I just bought one of these to try and control the 7 devices that need controlling in my ever more complex living room. Had it about 12 hours so far and my reaction is mixed.
It’s not a cheap top – you can get these things from about £12 but this one was £60 (about $120) but it looks pretty. For me the standard by which all other remotes should be judged is my Tivo. This remote sits in your hand like it’s part of your body and your fingers find the right keys as if by magic. It works from any angle and from any distance. It’s remote perfection.
The antithesis of this is the remote for my Sony surround sound DVD player. It refuses to work if the batteries are remotely flat and unless you’re within about 10 degrees.
Turns out the new remote doesn’t fix the Sony issues.
So far I’ve got mixed feelings about it – it’s great to get rid of the pile of remotes and the new sleek black bar looks good – but I’ve lost my tivo reactions. The remote is a bit incompatible (it didn’t have a setting for my Sony or my television) and the learning is a bit hit and miss – had to try a few times to get the volume down setting to take.
However it is great that I can change channels and volume with one remote and the fact that the television now seems to be behaving itself and not turning off randomly twice a day when changing channels on the Tivo is great!
More reports as I get used to this. Anyone else have one of these? Any thoughts?

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