Universal Remote Roundup, Part 2

If you are using more than one remote to control your home theater it is time you started thinking about a good universal remote. A good universal is indispensable, and if you’ve never had one, shying away from the expense and sticking to whatever your cable or satellite provider gave you, it’s time to wake up. Last week in Part 1 of this roundup we looked at some offerings from Philips and Logitech. This week we’ll finish up with Logitech and move on to the meat and potatoes from Universal.

The brand new Logitech Harmony 510 is the entry level into the world of Harmony remotes. The 510 replaces the popular Logitech Harmony 550. No touchscreen, monochrome display, and no charging cradle are what keep the cost of this model down. Frankly, I always thought the lower end Harmony remotes got it right where the nicer models went astray. Logical button layout, text based LCD interactivity and the ability to control up to five components make this an attractive choice for someone with a smaller system. The Logitech Harmony 510 sells for around $90, but if you are looking for a real steal, the Logitech Harmony 550 that this remote replaces can be found online for as little as $49.


Philips makes great remotes in the Pronto line. They will cost you dearly to join the club, and you have to decide whether having a predominantly LCD based remote that forces you to look at it constantly is for you. It’s not for me, but I have no problem acknowledging the coolness factor these remotes possess. I even harbor a little jealously toward Pronto users because I would love a remote that gave me that much freedom to customize and personalize.

Logitech saw their market and went and took it. They appeal to the mass market user that wants to upscale their control. Logitech makes good universal remotes at attractive prices, and they’re in most of the big box stores where we buy our televisions. For the average user the Harmony series represents a huge leap forward in control, and the line is incredibly successful.

After writing for Connected Internet for the last year it should be clear that I have no problem owning up to a bias when I have one. I have such a bias when it comes to universal remotes. I have been using remotes from Universal Remote for the last several years, and feel they represent the ultimate in control. The offerings from Universal fit the bill all the way from Joe Sixpack with two or three components to people whose home theaters cost more than my entire home.

The remote on the right, the venerable Home Theater Master MX-500, controlled my home theater until just last month. It’s the best thing going in the $70 ballpark for the last five or so years, and was included as the OEM remote in such pieces as Sunfire’s Theater Grand Processor, Emotiva’s DMC-1 pre/pro, and B&K’s Reference 50 pre/pro. No software configuration, programming of the MX-500 was manual. This remote is built for combat, and the fact that mine survived the first three years of my youngest son’s life unharmed can attest to it’s build quality. That, I feel, is one of the key reasons I place remotes from Universal at the top of the heap: the build quality is excellent, and you needn’t be afraid that dropping one once on your hardwood floor will do it in. That isn’t the case with all remotes, so it bears mentioning.

My pleasure with the MX-500’s performance led me right back to Universal last month when I felt it was time for an upgrade. Despite the fact that I am the AV editor for Connected Internet, and have my own audiophile and home theater website AV Enthusiast, my home setup is rather modest. I have a wife, two kids, two dogs, a cat, a mortgage and two car payments. I love the hobby, but like most people, I don’t put my hobby ahead of my family. I have gotten really good at getting maximum performance out of minimum dollar, and in another couple years I will have my system to the point where I would have to spend more money than a family man with slightly above average means can justify to net any substantial increase in sonic fidelity.

My main reason for upgrading was that I wanted to simplify the macros that controlled various system tasks. I can handle a slightly complex, unintuitive control scheme, but my wife didn’t appreciate it. I glanced at Universal’s website to see what was new since the last time I was in the market for a remote, and a little homework led me to my choice.

The Universal Remote MX-810 is something of a departure for Universal. In the past, all of Universal’s remotes fell into two categories: software programmable via Universal’s MX Editor software, and manually programmable. The MX-810 was intended to be a Harmony-killer, and it sports a software programming wizard that it alone uses in the Universal lineup.

The software is intended to be foolproof and easy for anyone to use, whereas the MX Editor is more arcane. Universal’s professional series remotes aren’t intended to be purchased in a big box store or off the internet. Universal’s market is the custom installer, and that’s where Universal wants you to get your remote from. Like most software that sets out to be dummy proof, it isn’t, and getting the MX-810 to do exactly want you want requires some menu searching. It is all there however, so don’t despair. I would have liked to see the ability to manually program the MX-810 in addition to using the PC software, but that feature doesn’t exist.

Beside the fact that the Universal Remote Wizard software isn’t going to convince any Harmony users, the MX-810 delivers in all the places that Universal Remotes always have. The button layout is fantastic, and you will be captaining the MX-810 in a dark living room like an old pro in no time at all. There are actually less buttons on the face of the MX-810, which is a blessing in this case. All the commonly used functions are there as hard buttons, and more esoteric actions are relegated to the color LCD (not touchscreen but hard buttons also). This achieves absolutely intuitive control for novice and advanced users, and is the best hard button layout I have come across. The fact that my wife took right to it and thought it was an improvement is testament to the fact that Universal got it right.

The MX-810 also allows users to upload their own graphics. They don’t encourage (or make easy) making your own themes, but after looking a stock theme over and uploading my own graphics I was able to make a couple themes that were very slick indeed.

Like all Universal remotes, build quality is above average. Form factor is great, with a nice feel in the hand, and button placement becomes second nature very quickly.

Drawbacks? No cradle, but at least Universal has included an AC adapter. Recharging is as simple as plugging the remote in overnight every fourth night or so. The MX-810 also lights the LCD and hard buttons every time you pick it up, contributing to shorter battery life. You can adjust the backlightling, or turn it off if it suits you. I like it, and can live with charging the remote twice a week as a consequence.

The software (PC only, no Mac support) is not as polished as it needs to be for Joe Sixpack, but even though Universal obviously made this remote to compete with Harmony, it isn’t going to sit alongside the Harmonies at the big box stores any time soon. I think this remote was an experiment for Universal. They already have a similar, manual programming-only remote out, the MX-450. They have also released a new version of the MX-810, the MX-880, which uses the installer-preferred MX Editor software. Personally, I hope Universal doesn’t abandon the idea. If they can smooth out the rough edges of the MX-810’s wizard software, this remote really is a Harmony killer, and the mass market needs the chance to experience the superiority of Universal’s offerings. The Universal Remote MX-810 has an MSRP of $399, but look a little online and you’ll find reputable sellers offering it in the $240 ballpark.

Now that I have expressed a preference, I will say that if you buy a remote from the three manufacturers I have covered, you won’t go too far wrong. Forget the whizbang looks and gadget sex appeal, decide how much you want to spend, and find the remote in that price range that will be easy to set up and easy to use. Your remote is the single most used component in your home theater. Buy one that will do the job you need it to and not draw attention to itself and you will be happy for the next four or five years til the upgrade bug bites you again.

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