# Best universal remote for R15



## jaguar325 (Jan 2, 2006)

In addition to an old DTiVo box, I use an R15 shared amongst two TVs and am getting tired of dragging the remote back-and-forth. I tried setting up the second TV as an AV2 device, but the software won't let me select a TV for that function. Plus, at the risk of sounding like one of the "I love my TiVo so much I can't imagine life without it" people, I have to say the DTV remote leaves a lot to be desired. Can anyone give me some advice on a good universal remote that they know works with the new R15? In particular, I'd like to be able to control the DTV box, 1-2 TVs and my Yamaha A/V receiver. The latter is important because I use it all the time and the R15 remote doesn't do much besides change the volume. Also, my wife likes the feel, button layout, and readibility of the TiVo remote so I'd like to get something to make her stop complaining about the R15 remote being too hard to use.

Thanks!


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## koji68 (Jun 21, 2004)

I use this:

http://snipurl.com/lm6b

Logitech Harmony 880.

It is web programmable and also a learning remote. It has worked for all my gear.

I seen prices as low as $180 new on the web. Check shopper.com or pricewatch.com

I'm sure it will work with the R15 but I don't know for sure since I'm a Dish customer.


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## Edmund (Apr 17, 2003)

The only non-PC programmable universal remotes with a code for the R15 are from URC/HTM, they include the R5, R7, and mx-650. 

Cheaper remotes from One-For-All, need to be upgraded wth the code for R15, which is SAT 1377. Some OFA remote are phone upgradeable, they include the urc-8910, 9910, and 9960. Other OFA remotes need to be mailed in, they are the urc-6131n, 6820, 8820, 10820, and 6690. the last four remotes have enough learning memory for you to teach the R15 commands.


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## stens (Dec 10, 2005)

koji68 said:


> I use this:
> 
> Logitech Harmony 880.
> 
> ...


The Harmony products work fine with the R15. I have the 688, which isn't quite as fancy as the 880, and isn't quite as expensive (~$115). It's got pretty much the same feature set, though.

The web programmability is nice, in that it allows "activity-based" programming of the remote buttons. For example: I hit "Watch TV", which turns on the R15, the Mitsu TV, and the Panasonic home theater and correctly sets the inputs. Volume controls control the stereo, play/record controls control the R15. If I hit "Watch DVD", the R15 turns off, and the play/record controls now control the DVD player in the Panasonic. If I hit "Play Music", the TV and R15 are off, and the Panasonic input changes to accept Airtunes from my computer. Very neat.

You plug in your components on the website, and most of the controls are already in the database. Any that aren't, you can input.

One additional point: the remote can control EVERY feature of each piece of your equipment. I can change the picture, inputs, etc. on the TV, do anything to the sound on the stereo (ProLogic modes, equalizer, subwoofer, etc.), and control all features of the R15. The Harmony truly replaces all of the separate remotes.

The biggest plus is that the Harmony remote is the only high tech device I've introduced which my wife actually thought was good.


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## jaguar325 (Jan 2, 2006)

How would you rate the Harmony (compared to others) in terms of intuitiveness and feel? My wife uses her TiVo remote as the benchmark for all remotes. I tried telling her it's just because she's used to it but, have to admit, there are times I agree with her (and I am not normally one who buys technology based on how easy it is to operate).


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## stens (Dec 10, 2005)

The Harmony is pretty intuitive. It's as easy to use as the individual remotes and reduces clutter. The simple activity buttons really are nice, especially if you've accumulated gear over several years from several manufacturers as I have.

I'm sorry but I can't rate the Harmony against other universal remotes, as the only other universal remotes I've used are ones that came with my equipment...mostly Sony stuff that came either with TVs or with my old DirecTV receivers. I simply can't tell you it's the best out there. It works very well for me...but there could be other options that might be better. There are quite a few reviews out there by people who do rate the Harmony against other universal remotes. Google "Logitech Harmony" and you can find some pretty good independent reviews and comparisons. They'll gives all the pros and the cons.


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## Mr. Furious (Feb 9, 2006)

I have the Harmony H880. The only other serious universal remote I've used is the MX-500, which my FIL has. I greatly prefer the H880. The MX-500 is great from a functionality perspective, but it's kind of bulky, and somewhat more difficult to program.

The H880 has a really nice feel, and it's comparable in size and shape to the TiVo peanut remote. It's easy to program, the color screen is great, and it has a very high WAF (wife acceptance factor). My wife and my MIL use the TiVo peanut instead of the MX-500. I use the MX-500 when we visit, but I'm sorely tempted to take my H880.


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## DesignDawg (Jan 8, 2006)

I'm going to throw another vote in for the Harmony 880. We love it, it works great with the R15, and my wife is supremely pleased with it. Babysitters also love it. With the complexity of my setup, "training" the babysitter used to be a huge ordeal, usually ending up with them just giving up and watching whatever channel was on when they got there. If they wanted to maybe watch a DVD, FORGET IT!
As for the "intuitiveness" of the remote... It's all about what you're used to and muscle memory. The H880 catches a lot of flack for the buttons being rectangular, and thus "not distinctive" to the touch. --But after using it for awhile, I'd say that's a 100% non-issue. Sure, switching from any remote to this one is going to introduce a learning curve.
I recommend it, simply put.

Ricky


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## kb9vrg (Feb 8, 2006)

I have a Harmony 659 and bought it purposely because of the R15 compatibilty. I really have enjoyed this more than the many different OFA remotes that I've had in the past.

It is a little more cantankerous with the internet than I'd like it to be, but to be honest, it's a heck of a lot easier to program than the other remotes I have.

My wife absolutely loves it too -- she was hesitant with me spending $100 on a remote until she saw the "Watch a movie" and "Watch TV" buttons and said, "Oh, so I hit that and it turns everything on for me?"


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## ISWIZ (Nov 18, 2005)

fyi,

There is a $50 rebate coupon for the 676 and 880 "for Tivo users". If you have a Tivo

http://images.pricegrabber.com/rebates/44306.pdf


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Thanks for that link ISWIZ. I had entered for the giveaway Logitech was having and was suppose to be mailed a rebate form. I went out and bought one but never received the form.

BTW, the 880 is a great remote. Works with all my devices and my wife really loves this one.

Thanks again Dave.


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## ISWIZ (Nov 18, 2005)

Glad to help!

I just ordered the 676 as the backlight on my MX500 went out and I didn't want to spend the $$. With the rebate it's sweet.


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## tall1 (Aug 9, 2005)

kb9vrg said:


> I have a Harmony 659 and bought it purposely because of the R15 compatibilty. I really have enjoyed this more than the many different OFA remotes that I've had in the past.
> 
> It is a little more cantankerous with the internet than I'd like it to be, but to be honest, it's a heck of a lot easier to program than the other remotes I have.
> 
> My wife absolutely loves it too -- she was hesitant with me spending $100 on a remote until she saw the "Watch a movie" and "Watch TV" buttons and said, "Oh, so I hit that and it turns everything on for me?"


It is nice that the 659 is inexpensive as far as a universal remote goes and it does so much. I did have one of the hard buttons go bad and as kb states, it is cantakerous; takes some energy to add/change stuff but you can program it to control just about any IR device. I have 4 DVRs (comcast and D*), 2 DVHS's, Display, CD Player, QAM/OTA Tuner, DVD Player, and an AV Receiver setup on the 659; works flawlessly.

I've had the 659 for 2 years and I beat the heck out of it hoping it breaks so I can upgrade to the 880 but the damn thing keeps going and going  You won't be disappointed buying the 659 and I setup the color buttons for the R15 as hard buttons and it works fine.


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## matty8199 (Dec 4, 2005)

ISWIZ said:


> fyi,
> 
> There is a $50 rebate coupon for the 676 and 880 "for Tivo users". If you have a Tivo
> 
> http://images.pricegrabber.com/rebates/44306.pdf


How are they going to determine if you have a Tivo or not? There's nothing on that rebate form that you send to let them know you have one, it only asks for the proof of purchase from the remote and the receipt...


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## ISWIZ (Nov 18, 2005)

Gee, I don't know


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## donnaml98 (Jan 10, 2006)

Does the Harmony 880 have a back light? So you can light it to use in the dark?


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## Mr. Furious (Feb 9, 2006)

donnaml98 said:


> Does the Harmony 880 have a back light? So you can light it to use in the dark?


Yes, it does have a backlight. It also has a tilt sensor so that it lights up as soon as you pick it up.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Mr. Furious said:


> Yes, it does have a backlight. It also has a tilt sensor so that it lights up as soon as you pick it up.


Does it turn on when you don't pick it up? My Kenwood remote lights up with no one near it. It's cool because it doesn't have buttons untill it turns on, but sucks cause it drains the batteries because it's always turning on. Thank god for rechargable batteries.


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

I almost bought the 880 yesterday, found it for $199 new, then with the $50 rebate for being a TiVo customer it put it in my price range. I didn't do it because I want my new TV first.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Kanyon71 said:


> I almost bought the 880 yesterday, found it for $199 new, then with the $50 rebate for being a TiVo customer it put it in my price range. I didn't do it because I want my new TV first.


Where did you find it for that?


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

I picked up my 880 brand new on Ebay for $174 plus the $50 mail in rebate [$124 total]. Best investment I ever made.


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## Edmund (Apr 17, 2003)

Edmund said:


> The only non-PC programmable universal remotes with a code for the R15 are from URC/HTM, they include the R5, R7, and mx-650.
> 
> Cheaper remotes from One-For-All, need to be upgraded wth the code for R15, which is SAT 1377. Some OFA remote are phone upgradeable, they include the urc-8910, 9910, and 9960. Other OFA remotes need to be mailed in, they are the urc-6131n, 6820, 8820, 10820, and 6690. the last four remotes have enough learning memory for you to teach the R15 commands.


Just found out that OFA urc-6960 6-in-1 Kameleon has SAT codes 1377 and 1378 Preset. 1377 is the R15 DTV code(00001), and 1378 is the R15 AV1/AV2 code(00002).


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## Guindalf (Nov 19, 2005)

Just make sure your 10-month-old German Shepherd doesn't get hold of your 880!


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

cabanaboy1977 said:


> Where did you find it for that?


One of my friends at work ound it for me. I will ask him again to send me the link and let you know.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

RunnerFL said:


> I picked up my 880 brand new on Ebay for $174 plus the $50 mail in rebate [$124 total]. Best investment I ever made.


How are you getting the $50? Doesn't it want a reciept for the for the rebate?


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Kanyon71 said:


> One of my friends at work ound it for me. I will ask him again to send me the link and let you know.


Thanks.


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## mwm (Mar 26, 2006)

I've been using Universal Learning Remotes since before the
terminology was settled (I remember being surprised when I bought a
"Universal Remote" that couldn't learn!). I avoid the so-called
"Universal Remotes" like the plague - they almost always fail to
capture critical functionality. I started with learning remotes that
didn't have a database, and have used things from the high-end Sony
2000s to cheap boxes with slide switches and square buttons.

My old remote came out of the boxes after a move pretty much
dead. Non-functioning buttons and similar problems. It was also about
five years old, so the labels had rubbed off more than one button and
it didn't have codes for my newer kit.

I'd seen the "activity" based remotes before, and skipped them. But I
couldn't find anything else that looked acceptable, so I bought a
676. I absolutely love it. The activities replace all the macros I usd
to put on the other remotes, with much saner labels. The combination
of soft and hard keys means I don't have to label all the buttons, or
struggle with figuring out which hard button to put some esoteric but
much-used function on.

I have one worry - no, two. First, the set of batteries it came with
had a very short lifetime. Second, I haven't got all my kit set up yet
after the move. I'm afraid the 676 just won't be adequate once that's
done, and I'll be forced to buy an 880 or 890.


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## Mr. Furious (Feb 9, 2006)

One of the really nice things about the H880/890 is that it recharges its battery when it's in its base, so you never have to worry about replacing the batteries.


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## stigmata (Mar 20, 2006)

I recently purchased a cheap (but effective) RCA Universal Learning remote. It was $20 from Wal-Mart and I was able to program it to operate a bunch of my obscure Japanese equipment. It performs about 75% of the R15's functions, unfortunately the ones its missing are the playback options (pause, stop, etc). Oddly enough skip back and skip forward work.


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## ApK (Mar 6, 2006)

Because of my new DTV gear, I've had to replace all my beloved Marantz RC2000 (original mark 1 models) because they cannot learn D11/R15 commands.

I also have a Marantz RC2000 Mark 2, which DOES work with the new gear, and I still think it's about the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I replaced two of the Mk 1's with Harmony 676 remotes (less than $50 each with Best Buy visa promo and rebate) and they work fine, but they have a few minor idicyncracies and two major design flaws that make me wonder how people so dumb keep their jobs.

The major flaws: 1. The position of the backlight button. Positioned right where you can hit the number 2 by mistake, changing your channel and losing your live buffer if you want to record what your watching. It should be on the side, or in distinct location, easy to find by touch.

2. The stupid direction circle around the ok button. Push it slightly off position and you're going the wrong direction, push it slightly too hard and you push the OK button. Idiotic design. Descrete buttons, people...get a clue!

The minor idocynracies are stuff like my old yamaha reciever has most of the commands mislabled in the database so I either have to manually learn them or reconfigure by trial and error...the "Watch DVD" activity doesn't account for that you usually have the box turned on when you put a disk in, and there's no default convienient access to the DVD players' power toggle command...the fact that changing one command requires an internet session and a 5 minute upload...there is apparently no codes in the database for the 'AV1/AV2' mode on the DTV boxes, so if I want to control my other recievers, I'll have to program them manually.

It works well once it's proberly configured, though and it's nice and small.
For the price I paid, I'm happy with the 676, but if I had paid full price, I'd have returned them and gotten some more RC2000 Mk2's off of eBay.

ApK


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## Layne123 (Mar 29, 2006)

Harmony 688. I use it with rechargeable batteries and got it because it's "Great for digital video recorders." Takes me about an hour/year to set it up (as I change/add/remove equipment from the HT), and it has all the features I could want moving forward - learning, web-based setup, etc.


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