TX-1000 Medius Build Quality

When I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing a universal remote, I said what I always say, "Sure, send it." But honestly, I had mixed feelings. There is something empowering in having a pile of remotes that only you can decipher. It is somehow satisfying to have your wife call you on the cell and being able to fix the problem with a few words. There is a sense of serenity in knowing your in-laws won't be able to control your system without you so you don't have to worry about them hogging your home theater for an I Love Lucy marathon. On the other side, a universal remote is really the ultimate in cool. If you want to impress your friends and they've already seen your 65" plasma, a fully configured universal remote controlling everything via RF is the way to go. You'll be able to change the channel from the garage. You'll be able to press one button and have all the appropriate equipment turn on, all the rest turn off, the lights dim, and the popcorn maker start... well maybe not that last thing but the rest舰

Build Quality

The TX-1000 Medius is a substantial remote 舑 in both shape and weight. You could hold it with one hand but you probably won't. Even if you did, the main arrow buttons are in the middle at the bottom and not exactly within reach. Plus the remote is top heavy so you will probably prefer to hold it from the sides. The Channel and Volume buttons are easily accessible as is the Light button. The Listen and Watch buttons are also easily accessible with one hand. For the most part, I ended up either with the remote on the armrest or chair next to me or it was on my lap. While it is heavy and large, it feels well made. There is a light grey molding that offsets the two-tone black and dark grey color scheme I find to be extremely attractive.

The large screen on the unit is an LCD touch screen. Technically, it is 12 little touch panels. Each of these 12 areas can be programmed and labeled with up to 6 characters. The screen itself is defaulted to a blue backlighting. That backlighting can be modified by changing the levels of red, green, and blue to the user's desire. You can change the color of the screen globally or you can specify the color for each device individually. The touchpad is sensitive enough that one doesn't feel the need to jam at it but it doesn't activate at a stiff breeze.

The MRF-250 is very light. It has six IR blaster outputs at the back and an antenna. The bottom is removable allowing it to be attached to a wall. Under the bottom plate is a little rotating switch that is used to change the address of the unit (more on this later). There are six IR emitters provided on 10 foot cables. The front of the unit is an IR blaster as well. The entire URC system operates at 418 MHz so it's well away from your 2.4GHz cordless phone and 802.11x wireless network frequencies.