Let me get this right! In my bedroom, I have one TV, a couple of DVD players, one Home Theater System and very soon a Set Top Box with DTH TV. That’s 5 devices with 5 different remotes and it gets to be an entirely different ballgame when I am watching a movie with remotes for the TV, the DVD player and the AV Receiver on the Home Theater all coming into play just so that I have the right picture and the right sound when watching a movie. If you find yourself in the same situation or ever do find yourself even in the future, it’s time to get a universal remote that will control all your electronic devices/toys/gadgets in one single instrument and make life a whole lot easier. Logitech are rated the best in the universal remotes department, but are also on the very expensive side with the Logitech Harmony 1000 Advanced Universal Remote going for Rs. 27,995 INR in India. I was toying with the idea of having one brought in from the United States especially with my sister coming in very soon, but then I ran into OneForAll’s URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote at Reliance Digital going for around 2K in INR and that settled it for me. The OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote controls 5 devices at one time and also comes with a learning mode in which it will learn the functions of another remote by just pairing it up with the concerned remote. This single function alone beats having to enter codes and other details just so that the universal remote can control the said electronic device like a TV or a DVD player. All things said and done the OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote is an absolute winner especially with its price tag of around Rs. 2000 INR.
The OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote is tagged as stylish design on the manufacturer’s website, and mind you it is good looking, but it is also very comfortable to hold and fits snugly in the palm of your hand and it is so well designed that all the important buttons/functions are within easy reach and the remote can be used without having to look at it, which is where good design and function come to the fore. This single remote has replaced the remotes to my Panasonic TV, my Sony DVD player, my Philips DVD player, and my Onkyo Home Theater system. There is still the satellite navigation button empty right now, but it will be taken over by the Set Top Box of my DTH TV, which is again from another company like Tata or Airtel (still sorting through the packages). I am only mentioning all this information just to share with you that the OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote works on every device and that too from such a varied list of manufacturers and that too without any hitch or a problem in sight. Absolutely rocking product from OneForAll!
There are lots of simple, but well thought out features in the OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote. For instance when you press the volume increase or decrease button the LED for the device being controlled glows red i.e. the TV button will glow red just to indicate that the TV is being controlled. Switch over to the AV Receiver on the Home Theater and the Amplifier button will start to glow and blink red once again to illustrate which device is being controlled. This just shows someone with brains thought things through when designing and manufacturing this fabulous product. It certainly gets top marks from me in the performance department. Even the placement and the tactile feel of the buttons is excellent, they are placed just right, not too sunken down and not overtly protruding out either, but placed perfectly to give the right grip and feel so that the remote can be operated even in the dark going by touch alone.
Just grappling with 5 to 6 different remotes was not the only reason in my getting a universal remote. I also wanted to backup my existing remotes/keep them safe having had prior experiences with the dog biting off more than it could chew and then having to hunt all around town to find a replacement remote since getting up and walking all the way to the TV to change a channel is so unthinkable to our generation. With the OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote this presented a perfect solution, and now all my remotes are kept safely out of the reach of the dog and I only use this one single remote to control all the electronic gadgets/toys that are strewn about in my room. I only dread to think what the wife will do when the Nintendo Wii and the PS3 make their way into the bedroom. Hey I know what you guys are thinking, why not move the Home Theater system and the rest of the gadgets into the hall/living room or even set up a dedicated AV room, right? Well I did give that some thought initially, but then decided against it since when I am home I spend 99% of my time in my bedroom which is quite large and hence I prefer having all the electronic gadgets/toys and even the PC in the bedroom itself since I do spend so much time on the PC or else blasting some good music or watching a movie in all its 5.1 glory on the Home Theater.
Among other things, the OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote also has a programmable macro key option wherein you can issue multiple commands by pressing just one macro-key i.e. like turn off the DVD player, the TV, and the Amplifier all at the same time with the selection of a single button. It is very useful when you are done watching a movie and want to shutdown everything quickly and all at once at the touch of a single button.
After this glowing review, you might wonder any cons? Yeah, there is no backlight display or LEDs lighting up to use this remote in the dark except by tactile feel. It would have been even better if there was some sort of backlight display or LEDs that would glow in the dark or when in use so that using the OneForAll URC 7556 Digital 5 Universal Remote would be an even greater joy in the dark, but this still does not take anything away from an awesome product. Now if it only turned into an All-In-One that would turn me into James Bond then it would be perfect, but anyways I have a date with James Bond tomorrow since this time around we Indians are getting to see Bond before anyone else in the United States. I will be in tomorrow with a review of Quantum Of Solace so do check back for the same.
hi
it's just a great info about it i owned this remote it is very reliable and easy to use and now i don't have to just find my other remotes for another system…only thing i don't liked is the price they are very very high…
http://www.karlonia.com/2008/12/27/b…h-harmon…
hi
it's just a great info about it i owned this remote it is very reliable and easy to use and now i don't have to just find my other remotes for another system…only thing i don't liked is the price they are very very high…
http://www.karlonia.com/2008/12/27/b…h-harmon…
Rajiv – have just read your glowing review of the above handset! I have just bought such a handset for my tv, freeview box, dvd and video and can not get it to work! It will only talk to my TV, despite programming in the appropriate codes into the appropriate buttons! The TV / freeview box / dvd and video are all connected to each other by an external multi-scart connector.
I am sure I have followed the very simple instructions closely so am at a loss…any ideas?
Thanks
Heather
Heather sorry for the delay. I was not on online and traveling. For every gadget there are multiple codes present and usually one of the codes does end up working in one does not. Just Google for the codes and you will find them. In case this does not work out then you can use the learning feature of the remote and program it to learn for the actual remote of the said gadget. I got it working for my Sony DVD player this way in fact since the codes did not work. Try this and let me know if you need any further help.