benminer's Full Review: Sony RM-VL700 Remote Control
The home theater setup in my apartment pretty simple. TV, Receiver, VCR, and DVD player. So a grand total of 4 remotes. I suppose I could deal with having 4 remotes on the coffee table, but I hate clutter.
There are 2 types of universal remotes. "Learning" and "Not Learning". A non-learning remote has codes you type into it based on the manufacturer of your equipment. In my experience, these work OK, but not great, and it never works with every single function. (for example it might work with the volume and tone controls on your receiver but not with the more advanced functions.) A learning remote comes with pre-programmed codes, but it also can be taught most any signal from any other remote. So all you do is line the 2 remotes up front-to-front and teach your new universal remote the commands from your old remotes. It can take a while if you have a lot of things you want to control, but it's worth it because you're going to get every (or at least almost every) function to work on your new remote.
Not too long ago you had to spend at least $100 to get a learning remote, but not anymore. The Sony RM-VL700 is one of the only learning remotes with a MSRP of under $40. The fancier models can control more things and also have macros, which allow you program several commands into just one button. (for example you could have one button to turn on your entire system).
The RM-VL700 comes in either black or silver. Mine is silver, and it matches the WEGA line of TV's. It's shaped and weighted very nicely, and feels good in your hand. Like all full-sized remotes it's a little too big to use with only 1 hand, but the most common functions can be reached with your thumb. The only keys that light up are the 5 at the top to indicate which component you are controlling. I wish it glowed in the dark like the remote that came with the TV.
It was set-up right out of the box to work with the WEGA TV. My Onkyo receiver worked with a pre-programmed code, although I re-assigned a few buttons. My Philips DVD player also worked with a pre-programmed code, although I had to teach the remote the "disc menu" button and also the directional arrows. The RCA VCR did not work with any of the codes, so I had to teach the remote every function. It took about half an hour to get everything set up.
Like I said before, I wished it was backlit or glowed in the dark, but other than that the only problem I've run into is that I can't teach it the "adjust sound" and "late night mode" command for my Onkyo receiver. It's not a big deal though because I don't need to do it that often.
The one annoying feature with this remote is that you have to "unlearn" a button before you can assign that buttom to something else. It took me a few minutes to realize this, because at first I thought it wasn't working right. If it was up to me it would automatically overwrite a button if you programed something new to it, but Sony makes you go through an extra step. But it's really not that big of a deal, and it only takes a few extra seconds.
All in all I am very happy with the Sony RM-VL700. There are much fancier remotes if you want to spend more money, but for $35 I don't think you can go wrong.
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