Universal remote, who has one they like
 

My Dish Network remote is starting to get intermittent (use it to control TV and Dish receiver).

I was going to contact Dish and find out how much to get a new one sent to me.

Wife says to me "Why not just get a universal remote?"

Hmmm... why not?

Anyone her have a programmable remote that doesn't cost and are and a leg that they like?

Thanks in advance!

SmileWavy

We have a Logitech Harmony.
Works well, and we have it set up for "DVD Mode", TV Mode, and Stereo mode. Each of these selects the right component and settings to perform each function. Pretty easy to set up.

Have fun, and dont try to get too fancy.

Logitech Harmony. I have used this for 2-3 years and it always works. I have a wife that can easily be confused by my home theater and she can switch between tv, dvr, and dvd's with one button. You can find them on amazon for usually the best prices. They also make a system that works with an ipad if you want to go that route.

Amazon.com: Logitech Harmony 900 Rechargeable Remote with Color Touch Screen: Electronics

This is likely overkill for the requirements, however I have a Crestron system in my home and I love it.

Logitech Harmony One. Outstanding remote. Easy to program and, most importantly, easy for the wife to use. Even has a "help" button that will correct any missed commands (like someone walking between the remote and TV while a macro is running).

I've used the cheap universals in the past and had good luck with them.

I also have a Logitech Harmony that I got refurbished from Amazon for <$100.

I like the Harmony, but it's got a bit of a learning curve and takes a bit of custom programming to make it do what you want. Once you get it set, it's great.

I have one of the Logitech Harmony remotes, but not the Harmony One. I have whatever one is just below that. It didn't seem worth the extra $40 at the time for a touch screen.

In less than 6 months, the idea of a physical remote control will seem like a very quaint idea :)

Call DISH. Tell them your remote is broken. Check mail for new one.

Logitech Harmony 650...Costco, about 45 bucks. Works great.

Getting a new TV isn't going to do much to control my other components.

I also use a Harmony One. This is the second one I have owned and I'm happy. I also gave my father one for his birthday and he and my mom like it and can use it with no problems.

Logitech harmony seem like the winner... Amazon has the 650 for $49

When my receiver (that Dish owns and I pay a monthly fee for) went on the blink they were not so generous... had to send a few nasty emails to get them to come through.

I know... tell Dish to pound sand... but they cost less than cable or Direct and antenna will not work in my neighborhood. :(

That's interesting. I have never had a problem getting a replacement component. Usually within 2 days.

Just a word edgewise... I have a Harmony too and stopped using it... works well in theory, but those things use scripts / sequences of commands. If the start state is not what they expect, they get lost and do all sort of weird $%#$.... And in a house with young kids, the start state may not always be what it should be (in terms of what device is on/off/what video channel, etc...) YMMV.

Yes, this happens all the time when my DVR turns itself on to record a show.

Just hit the Help button and it will guide you through a series of questions so that it knows the state of every device.

Had a Logitech 650 for about 6 months and it started turning the volume up constantly. Logitech gave me full credit on a Harmony one, which I've been using for 3 years now. It gets out of synch a couple of times a week and occasionally forgets which inputs to use (usually just before something I Really, really want to watch. It has a "help" button which will put it back in synch if you are patient for a minute or two. I am the only one in the house who seems to know how to do this. It is rechargeable, so you have to remember to put it back on the charger. I don't exactly like it because there is no auto-sych and if I'm out of the house it the whole system is basically useless until I get home, but I haven't encountered one I would trust to be better.

I saw and played with one the TV controllers that you talk to-- extra cool.... Watch Comedy Central. Record Being Human. Volume Up.

I can't wait.

If you guys are having issues with your Harmony set up you should call Logitech. They can access your settings online and help you tweak things to work better. Usually it is something simple like adjusting the dwell time between commands or replacing a "power on, power off" command with "power toggle".

Also if you have any friends in the home theater business they have different software that allows more custom settings.

My system uses current sensors for that very reason.

I think most of our problems are from my SO waving the remote at the wall for a second before putting it down. I don't seem to get her to understand that it needs to be pointed and held for five seconds or so. I don't know what they can do about that, but I'll give it a try.

Ordered the 650... and now I'm seeing negative comments!

Fortunately I have no kids in the house and I'm a tech so I am pretty sure I can figure it out.

Probably should have checked with Dish first... but I have a home theater and if I can get it to control that and the Dish receiver that will be cool.

You can program around that sort of thing. I've got 2 "activities" for watching TV. The first is if the TV is already on and working, and the second is if everything is off. It required adding the multiple instances of some of the devices and some custom programming, but it works well.

This is why my wife continues to use the remote that DirecTv send and I use the Harmony 890. Works well for me. We both have remotes.

Funny thing is that she hasn't tried to learn to use the thing, but she's the one that thought it was a good idea to get since it would reduce the number of remotes that we had laying around. Yeah, now we have 1 more remote.

They also have an online site where you can ask questions. They are pretty responsive.

There are 2 ways to program, the harmony software that you install, and a harmony website. I've had issues with the software running funny on my new PC, but the website works well.

Hopefully the problem with the 650 has been fixed. It wasn't an operator problem. It was be stuck on "volume up." The only way I could stop it from turning the volume all the way up was to hide it in the sofa cushions.

For sure the Logitec, got it running everything and have infra red repeaters so i can close the wood doors on my cabinets so i can still use it. I was told it will work for my Lifesize video conferencing system in my office as well, but i haven't tried it, building an ipad app for that anyway.

Expensive but worth it

Is yours IR or UHF?