Sony RM-VL600 8-Device Universal Learning Remote
by Sony
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List Price: Our Price: $18.95 You Save: $6.04 (24%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony RM-VL600 8-Device Universal Learning Remote
Customer Review: So Incredibly Pleased.....
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this remote with low expectations...
I have an Onkyo HT-R540 7.1 receiver from a few years ago, and the volume buttons went out on it. I have tried multiple cheap remotes to try to see if any of them would control it, and there were very few codes for Onkyo receivers. If I found a code that worked, it would only PARTIALLY work...say for one code the power button wouldn't work but the volume would...very frustrating. This remote had 9 different Onkyo codes, and none of them worked quite that well. The volume did work though :)
So I made the new Sony remote "Learn" the power button along with many other functions of the old remote. Works swimmingly. Already this remote had done what no other could.
But wait, there's more...way more.
This thing is just plain fun. The programmable macros are easy to put in and very flexible. If you just want a string of button presses, there are 4 "System Control" buttons that you can program up to 16-button sequences for, and you can also program each of the component buttons to have sequences as well.
-One instance that this works well is for when you want to program just one button to put all of your stuff in sleep mode and to a certain time--you can do it.
The thing that impressed me the most is that you can basically program any infra-red remote to work for this. You could probably even use it for your car stereo if you had the original. With the learning feature, I programmed my little HDMI-Switch remote, and now instead of having 4 remotes, I just have 1 super-ultra-cool one that does everything I need it to do, and then some. And it was $16. Super Score.
Customer Review: Low-cost, easy to use remote that has saved a lot of clutter and frustration
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent alternative to more expensive remotes. From what I can tell you mostly miss out on the LCD screen. However this remote does everything I expected it to and was easy to set up.
I have a PS3, sound system, HDTV, and cable box. I use to have the cable box remote, TV remote, and sound system remotes around when viewing. I now just have the Sony and my PS3 remote/controller (both are too specialized to replace).
First off I had no codes for any of my components. The Sony lets you search through codes and when you get to the right one you choose that. Beyond that though what was very useful was the smart way you can map individual controls to the Sony from any of your remotes. Just press and hold a key on the Sony then choose the key on the Sony you want to map to. The Sony starts blinking. Face it toward your other remote so the tops of both are facing one another. Press the key on your existing remote you want to map and wallah that key on the Sony now does the same thing. This was super easy to do but does require some 'brute force' and gets repetitive.
In an hour or so I was able to get all the features I wanted from all 3 remotes mapped to the Sony. And each device on the Sony (8 devices to choose from) when you select that device the mapped keys work for whatever you choose for that device. The * key on cable I might have set up for return to last channel watched. The * key on TV I might have set for switch between inputs.
All in all, well worth the money and small amount of time it takes to get it working the way you want.
Customer Review: WOW this is JUST what I needed.
Summary: 5 Stars
Yesterday, I got my new Sony Multi-Brand Universal Remote, a DAY EARLY! I was happy about that to begin with. That, however, just the tip of the iceberg.
For starters, I should tell you. I am quite the technophile. I have a lot of diverse equipment here in the house, and I make my living using it all. Some of the stuff I use offers solutions to the diversity of my equipment. Some of THAT stuff is WAY off-brand stuff, which is the kind of stuff that will NEVER have a code on a remote list.
That's where the fantastic learning function of this remote comes into play. What's more, even when one of my pieces of equipment IS on the list, I found my self needing more cross-functionality with other devices while I had, say, my satellite tuner selected. Ergo, I wanted to be able to use a few more of my TV controls than most while the Satellite Tuner was selected.
Of course, there was the strange factor that, my Vizio equipment, which is Sony's lower end consumer brand, does not have any built-in codes on the remote. Luckily, with some time and patience, I was able to use the learn function on the remote to add everything I needed there too.
Now, I have taken a large pile of remotes, and trimmed it down to just one. Without the learn function on this Sony remote, that would not have been practical to accomplish. Without that learn function, I would not have been able to make this remote usable for what I do with it.
Thank you Sony!
Rick Nickell
P.S. You guys market the Vizio brand, so ADD THE DARN CODES!
Customer Review: Great product
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great product. I considered buying a much more expensive "activity based" remote like the Logitech Harmony, but the reviews on this site convinced me to give this one a try first. You can set this remote up for basically the same functionality as the Logitech, although it's not quite as "pretty," and the programming isn't internet-based.
The "learn" feature is great; the only problem is that if you have a remote for a device that has a lot of really specific buttons on it (like a DVR), you might not find buttons on this remote that easily correspond. I had to do some detailed planning to figure out how to map all the keys on my DVR and receiver remotes onto this one (and there are some rarely-used keys on the receiver remote that aren't mapped). And sometimes the label on the key doesn't corresond to the function you had it learn. But it works great once you map it out. 4 complex remotes into 1 for a TV, DVD, cable DVR and home theater receiver with iPod dock.
Note also: our receiver won't accept commands for a couple of seconds after it powers up. This presents problems when trying to program macros to power up and activate several devices at once, then set the receiver to the correct input source (the equivalent of a "Watch TV" or "Listen to Music" command on an activity-based remote), because the remote issues the commands too quickly. Fortunately there is a "pause" feature that lets you insert a pause into a macro so that you can wait before sending an input source command to the receiver after powering up. Cool!
Customer Review: Gotta love this remote.
Summary: 5 Stars
When the pile of remotes became four high for our televsion, we knew we had to do something. If you want something simple that can replace a stack of remotes, this is it. First I tried enetering the xxxx codes to program the devices. I found codes for two of them, but neither of them were perfect. No problem I was able to teach the VL-600 the incorrect buttons. I had to teach the VL-600 all of the buttons I wanted for the other two remotes, but it is so easy I would not mind doing all four this way.
Teaching buttons is this easy: Two buttons get you in setup mode. Press the button on the VL-600 to teach, point the other remote at it, hold the button down you are teaching. You go back and forth, press a button on the VL-600 and then press the source button on the other, repeat. When you are done, exit learing mode.
The remote allows you to record a series of button presses as a macro, but I have not used that. I will proabaly use it to press power for all my devices at once.
Pros:
* Very easy to use
* It has enough memory to completely remap
every button for eight different devices
* It is way cheaper than other remotes (i.e., Logitech Harmony)
Cons:
* No way to save the setup to a computer.
* Missing some obvious buttons like Eject and Double FF
(You can still program these functions to any other button)
* If you have lost a remote, the xxxx codes may not be good enough.