Featured Remote Control Reviews

Thanks to all that great gear I review, I have another problem on my hands: getting all those devices to talk together. That requires a pretty decent remote. You see, while the average consumer upgrades once every couple of years, I have to upgrade every couple of weeks. And that kind of amps up my remote control needs. So needless to say I need a good remote. A couple of months ago we ran through a couple of batches of Bluetooth and IR remotes. But we only touched upon what we consider to be the next generation of remotes, the most powerful - the WiFi remote. This is a system that connects into your existing WiFi network and then allows your iOS or Android device to control your equipment without the confusion or hassle of Bluetooth or the hit-and-miss or line-of-site issues of IR.

Universal Remote Control's MRX-20 network controller is a brand new whole home network control system and what they've done this time around is offer an alternative to the MRX-10, wrapping a video processing system into the mix. So you can sit there on your couch and actually overlay your system control on top of video. The new GUI lets you select from cable or satellite TV, Blu-ray, AppleTV or other source device and select that from within the Entertainment menu. You can also access lights, surveillance, photos and more. URC has added two new gyro mouses that are compatible with the MRX-20, the simplified TRG-100 for a simplified interface, and the TRG-200 which gives you a much more robust control interface for advanced users. To access, for example, cable TV, you just activate the gyro mouse and point the remote where you need it - it kind of works like the popular wii remote.

This is a weird review. We are looking at an assortment of iPhone-based remote controls. Some may not even look like remote controls, but they are. So for this video, we're not reviewing a product per se, but more of a genre. Let me tell you first how it came about. There are a myriad of iPhone-based remote controls on the market right now. We don't have all of them here, but we've sampled quite a few and we've formed more than a few opinions on the topic. I wanted to do this review because, well, the remote control market is a mess right now. Most companies don't quite get it. And the range of "not getting it" goes from "could use a little work" to "completely clueless". With that said, let's review the types of iPhone remotes...

Information on the Sunfire Universal Subwoofer Wireless Kit is very thin right now. But at $80 each for the transmitter and receiver and the ability to pair two receivers with a single transmitter, color us intrigued. We know they are using 2.4Ghz transmission with 16-bit resolution and a 48 khz sampling rate. Sunfire claims 100% signal accuracy up to 25 feet given their digital transmission. Without more information about how many transmitters you can have working in the same room and how they are combating interference, our excitement will have to be subdued. At least until we get our hands on a kit.

The problem with custom install products has, traditionally, been cost. But the ELAN "Killer Combo" of the HR2 remote and HC4 Media Controller is much more than that. It is a home control system and it runs only $1860. That means you'll be controlling not only the volume and channel, but also the lights, heating, security systems, and more. Compete with i-app support, IP interface for control from anywhere with a connection to the Internet, and up to four system support, ELAN looks to make you a customer with this deal. Will it work?

I've presided over many advanced devices in the audio-video world. Peel, a new Silicon Valley company that hit the scene this year with the help for some well-placed venture capital, is aiming to undo even the legacy of Logitech's Harmony - if they continue on the path they're one. Peel has developed an iPhone, iPod, iPad-based remote control system that literally revolutionizes the way you'll want to consume TV. So what makes the Peel special? Simple. It allows you to effortlessly set up your system, and then it organizes your options by genre, presenting you with iconic images of what's on TV and asking you the simple question: "What do you want to watch?". And it doesn't even have to ask the question, really, because it's all right there - in front of you. It's intuitive. In fact, it's stupid-easy. Head-slappingly so, in a way that makes you look around and wonder: Why TV hasn't been this way for the past 5 years?

Universal Remote's RF20 is one of the solutions for basic home control. Now there are several things that make this remote stand out, but the most visual thing is that it has a backlit LCD screen that can be customized to control up to 10 different devices. The remote comes pre-programmed to operate virtually all brands of equipment. It can also do macros, which is like having the remote issue a bunch of commands to your gear in a row so that it turns itself on properly and starts playing a DVD, for example. Read on for more...Remote controls are funny. You don't realize how important they are until you use a really good one... that's not yours... then you get remote envy. It's not pretty.

We'd love to tell you that you could (theoretically) throw away your Denon remote if you have a "Network 11" receiver but that just isn't the case. The app is free and it works over your network (which is cool) but it has only very basic functionality at this time. If you have a AVR-4311CI, AVR-A100, AVR-3311CI, or AVR-991, download it now (update your firmware if it isn't working on the latter two). If you are on the fence about a purchase of one of Denon's newer or older receivers, this shouldn't really sway your decision. Likely as not you'll still be using the remote from time to time.

Philips Pronto previewed its new TSW9500 in-wall control panel. The TSW9500 is the first in-wall solution offered by Pronto and has been designed to utilize the same configurations that have already been created for the TSU9800 and TSU9600. With the TSW9500, integrators now have the option to add a stationary in-wall Pronto control panel to their systems, which is ideal for home control solutions such as AV equipment, lighting, IP-based cameras and shades.