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Universal Remotes<br />
Juggling half a dozen remotes can kill your channel-surfing<br />
buzz. Stop cursing at the clickers and grab one of these<br />
universal replacements. —R.B.<br />
EDITORS’<br />
PICK<br />
Video Gear<br />
Logitech Harmony 1000<br />
$500 • logitech.com<br />
The Harmony 1000 combines a tablet-style<br />
touchscreen with easy Web-based setup. OK,<br />
maybe not easy, but manageable: Just pick your<br />
hardware from the huge online database, then<br />
download routines to control it all. An optional RF<br />
receiver eliminates line-of-sight issues, which is<br />
great if your components reside in a closed cabinet.<br />
Just be prepared: This remote requires two<br />
hands and a lot of screen interaction, a challenge<br />
for those who just want to kick back and click.<br />
WIRED Elegant design, with a beautiful color<br />
screen. Setup software takes the sting out of<br />
programming. Controls lights and appliances, too.<br />
TIRED No DVR-specific hard buttons. Doesn’t<br />
fit well in the charging station yet must hang out<br />
there frequently owing to so-so battery life.<br />
Monster Central AVL300<br />
$500 • monstercable.com<br />
This monstrous remote controls both hometheater<br />
components and home lighting. If<br />
the dummy-proof setup software and activitybased<br />
onscreen menus look familiar, it’s<br />
because Logitech had a hand in both. That’s<br />
a good thing: The AVL300 ranks among the<br />
easiest and most versatile remotes available.<br />
But the atrocious button layout had us thinking<br />
Monster should stick to cables.<br />
WIRED Affordable multiroom control.<br />
Activity-driven menu for effortless operation.<br />
RF receiver can IR-blast up to eight devices.<br />
TIRED All the up-down controls rely on sideby-side<br />
buttons. Chunky lo-res screen doesn’t<br />
match high-end price. Setup software gave<br />
us trouble in Windows Vista.<br />
Universal<br />
Electronics NevoSL<br />
$1,099 • mynevo.com<br />
Who’s really in charge at your house?<br />
Whoever’s holding the NevoSL.<br />
This remote controls PCs, media hubs,<br />
and, of course, home-theater gear.<br />
Customization is its claim to fame:<br />
The setup software offers unlimited<br />
backgrounds, buttons, page layouts,<br />
and personalization options. But<br />
unless you’ve got a few days to spare<br />
and some programming <strong>sm</strong>arts,<br />
you’ll want an installer to get you<br />
up and running. That’ll bump the<br />
Nevo’s already sky-high price into<br />
the next galaxy, but it’s worth it for<br />
this kind of customized control.<br />
WIRED Colorful 3.5-inch touchscreen<br />
can be operated by finger or<br />
stylus. Built-in Wi-Fi for access to<br />
media libraries. Tweak the interface<br />
to your heart’s content.<br />
TIRED More expensive than some<br />
HDTVs. Too large for comfortable<br />
one-handed operation.<br />
X10 IconRemote<br />
$80 • x10iconremote.com<br />
First you reach for the IconRemote, then you<br />
reach for the Xanax. Though we loved its His<br />
and Hers channel-lineup buttons, blazing color<br />
screen, and setup wizard, we just couldn’t get<br />
this sucker to work right. It lacked codes for half<br />
of our stuff and didn’t map the buttons correctly<br />
for the rest. The IconRemote can supposedly<br />
learn commands from other remotes, but ours<br />
was a stubborn Bart Simpson of a student.<br />
WIRED Large, easy-to-read buttons. Includes<br />
lockout option to thwart kid access. Displays<br />
network logos for easy channel hopping.<br />
TIRED Buttons aren’t backlit. Wouldn’t learn<br />
commands. Didn’t control our fairly standard<br />
home-theater components well. PC support only<br />
for media-center machines with remotes.
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