Emotiva MX-500 Universal Remote Control
Pros
- Completely backlit
- Easy to program and reprogram
- Fully customizable
- Wide IR dispersion
- Great ergonomics
Cons
- Quirky pre-programmed Emotiva functionality
- No way to store or download remote control settings
This remote control is very close to my personal favorite, the Universal Remote MX-700 . It provides a wonderfully-ergonomic interface, with easy-to-reach buttons and a fully-programmable LCD interface. The fully-backlit remote lights up with a pleasant blue-green glow when the "Light" button located on the remotes right side is pressed and remains lit for 10 seconds or until the button is pressed again. Nearly identical to the MX-700, this remote differs slightly in the amount of programming and macros it will handle, the absence of a serial connection for computer-programming, and a slight rearrangement of several of the buttons. While the remote is exceptional, and I'll go into more detail in a minute, the IR receiver in the Emotiva is a bit lacking. I had the review sample located at the back of the room, along with my DVD player, cable box and other devices. While I was able to bounce IR commands off of my front Carada Criterion Series front projection screen for all of my other devices, the Emotiva simply would not pick up a signal until I pointed the remote directly at the unit. The Emotiva is at the top of the rack of equipment, meaning that it should be the easiest device to get within IR range; nevertheless, I found it to be very demanding and finicky in this respect. Those users placing the Emotiva at the front of the room should have no problems.
Source Switching
The MX-500 comes preprogrammed for the Emotiva but is not without its quirks. When returning from a device to the Main screen, the remote's Power button will still control the last device, rather than the Emotiva (regardless of how many times you hit the "Main" button on the remote control). This makes powering off your system take an additional step or two to actually select the EMO source and then activate the Power button (in addition, the "Off" button doesn't turn off the Emotiva either, rather the "Power" button toggles both on and off functions. When in the Main (top) level of the remote, pressing one of the available sources does not select that source on the Emotiva, instead you are merely brought to that device's screen where you can now control it via the MX-500. I found this to be extremely cumbersome as I would have preferred a macro so that the Emotiva would immediately select that input and have the remote ready to control the device. Here are the required steps to play a DVD (from everything being off) using the MX-500 (after your DVD player is programmed into the remote):
- Press the EMO button from the Main screen
- Press the "Power" button to wake up the Emotiva DMC-1
- Select the DVD source from the LCD screen
- Hit the MAIN button on the MX-500
- Hit the DVD button on the M ain LCD screen
- Press the "Power" button on the remote
- Press "Play"
Here are the sequences of steps I think there should be (requiring pre-programmed macros):
- Press the "Power" button to wake up the Emotiva DMC-1
- Press the DVD button from the Main screen (macro which selects the input and then goes to that device control screen)
- Press the "Power" button on the remote
- Press "Play"
Overall, I'm picky on remotes. I just feel that there's been enough time,
feedback, and complaints for everyone to get it right. On the
MPS-1 I think Emotiva did a pretty good job of getting most of the way
there. The
MX-500 is an excellent platform, and with
a few minor exceptions, this remote is almost perfect in its simplicity, ergonomics, and ease of use.
If anything could be added it would simply have to be more functions. There are more available screens
on the
MX-500 - let's use them. I'd love to see
on-the-fly trims for the Surround Back channels, and a way to dim the lights from the remote. While
we're offering suggestions, I'd also think the DMC-1
would benefit from having more options for switching and changing surround/DSP modes for the current
input. Currently, pressing the PL-II mode on the remote engages Dolby Pro Logic II, but will not
alternate between
Music and
Movie modes, which would be very helpful. This comes into play quite a
bit when switching between PCM
audio from a cable box
(Movie mode usually preferred) and
PCM
audio from a CD/DVD player (Music mode usually preferred).
Using Zone 2 Functions
Zone 2 is able to be engaged and disengaged from the front panel. However if you have Zone 2 Disabled via the setup menu and you hit the Zone 2 button while the unit is off, you'll have to wait 10 seconds for the unit to exit that mode before you can do anything else (including power on the Main Zone).
When Zone 2 is enabled - wow. Hit the Zone 2 button on the front of the unit and you will now be controlling the Emotiva for Zone 2, including powering it up, selecting inputs, etc. Better be quick, though as the Zone 2 button only allows you three seconds to switch inputs or make adjustments before jumping back to control of the main Zone. I found this to be an oddly quick delay since a 10 or 15 second automatic return to the Main Zone would have been more appropriate (and toggling the Zone 2 button could be used to effect a quicker change). The remote control allows access to many Zone 2 functions, such as changing the inputs, and functions via macros to get around the 3-second delay problem. And here you see the inherent reason for the quick delay. Without it, the remote control's accessing of Zone 2 functions might inhibit Main Zone remote functions while the unit remains in Zone 2 control mode. The solution would be to establish separate delays for front panel vs. IR-initiated Zone 2 functions.
From the Emotiva's Setup Menu Zone 2 can be configured to select from the Last source or a fixed source on power up. Like the main Zone, you can also set the power up volume mode (Preset, Fixed, or Last). You can also set the Max volume - a feature that is so sensible you wonder why all manufacturers do not utilize it.
Zone 2 does have its share of quirky features. For example, when attempting to access the M ain M enu, it allows access and exiting of the M ain M enu as well as vertical navigation through the Top Level. It does not, however, enable horizontal navigation to allow any submenus to be entered or settings to actually be changed - you'll need to switch back to Main Zone device control to do that. There is also an undocumented feature labeled ZONE2 OSD POP UP that doesn't seem to have any effect whatsoever on the main Zone or when using Zone 2.
Zone 2 can receive all inputs except the analogue 8-channel inputs as those are optimized to provide analogue-only high-quality source content through the Emotiva to the Main Zone. If you have a DVD-Audio or SACD player connected to the system you will want to take a separate 2-channel (stereo) mix of its output (available in many players) and route that to a separate input on the Emotiva so you can send that 2-channel information to your Zone 2.
