Anybody know a source for these things? Mine will still turn the TV on and off, but I can no longer access the Menu…
Have you thought about just getting a Harmony also you could check Amazon for them.
Mine is sony remote RM-Y192.Model not on Amazon. Is basic Harmony 300i comparable??
You can download the Harmony software and see if it has your TV in its database; it would be a surprise if it didn’t.
There are lots of “universal” remotes that will work on your Sony tv. As Sinfony noted, the Harmony series is pretty neat because you plug it into your computer and go the website and it downloads the proper codes. But there are cheaper options as well.
I would be very, very surprised if Harmony did not support your TV. Their database is very good and I have yet to find a unit that it does not support.
I’ve yet to run across a universal remote that did not support Sony codes.
That said, I’ll be the one voice against Harmony remotes. The PC-based setup is nice, but it chews batteries, the layout for the version I had (about $40, black-and-white lcd screen)put common controls in awkward places. The entire philosophy of the remote is to force you into “macros” that purportely make it easy to do things. I don’t agree, I find the macros to be inflexible, and uncommon commands are buried under clipped-text menus (ex: video-input selection that cuts off the number of the video input).
Mine burns through a pair of AAA batteries in a month. It’s currently shelved.
What remote is that? The moment they have an LCD screen (of any kind) the price is $100+.
I’ve got a 676 which I couldn’t find on the Logitech site anymore but I love it. The batteries last plenty long, 3 months usually. It’s got a black and white LCD and yeah it does clip the text on it, but it’s rare that I even use anything but the default items that appear on the screen (page up and page down mostly). Why are you changing inputs/outputs directly anyway, that’s exactly the sort of thing the remote is intended to eliminate?
I think you’re just accustomed to the functional way of thinking about entertainment systems and the Harmony remotes change that paradigm completely and approach the problem from an activity point of view. Meaning you should be thinking about what you want to do (listen to music, watch TV, watch a DVD, play a game) rather than think about what state the system needs to be in for the functionality you want (set input to HDMI 1 for my PS3, Set receiver to AUX, etc.). Once the device is programmed you really only have to hit the watch TV or watch Movie button and not think about how the system is set up, that’s the whole point. If there’s an activity you want to do that you don’t have programmed then you should program it, not go digging through the menus to manually set up the system every single time.
I’m not sure I understand how the macros are inflexible, you can program them to do whatever you want. Also the location of the items in the on screen menu can be altered too. If you really don’t like the macro stuff you can program individual buttons from the software if you want. That’s probably a pain in the ass I’ll agree but you’re expressly going against the intended goal of the product at that point.
I appreciate the appeal of the harmony, particularly for people sharing houses with the non-tech-enthusiasts, but I stand by my trusty MX500 remote. It’s a learning remote, can handle macros, etc, but the real kicker is the layout. It has a PERFECT layout. Best remote ever. I’ve been buying them for over 10 years, on my third one now.
New batteries last 3-4 months.
Stusser, I can’t disagree enough about the MX-500. I had one and loved it, and had programmed in useful macros and everything. But the Harmony is just so much better in basically every way. Layout-wise, the Harmony One is great, too. (I could never stand the old Nokia-looking Harmonies.)
I actually have an MX-500 that I’m probably going to end up throwing away, because I can’t imagine ever wanting to use it for anything ever. (And of course for non-tech people, there’s no question; they’ll never get the MX-500 programmed at all.)
I don’t mind the layout of the harmony one (although it’s not perfect like the MX500), but that’s a $170 remote and from what I hear you have to recharge it all the time.
If the harmony one was RF with an IR blaster attachment, I’d give it a shot.
Why does my sony remote have another power button on the back of the remote? I haven’t really thought of a use case other than, “tv needs to be turned off/on but remote is upside down”. I guess maybe that’s enough.
That’s the Harmony 900, which is $275 at Amazon.
$275? Does it come with Jennifer Love Hewiit providing a prostate massage? If so, I’m in!
That’s the Harmony 950.
I’m not spending $75+ to adjust the color/sharpness/ratio on my TV. My Comcast remote turns on both the TV and the cable box/dvr, but does not let me adjust the TV. No DVD or stereo…
Looks like I can get either the Harmony 300 @ amazon or the Sony at other websites for about $32. Thoughts on the cheap Harmony?
You can buy any number of super cheap universal remotes at your local Best Buy. They will all work with your Sony TV, as well as all of your other components (VCR, DVR, whatever).
I’m sure you can find one under $20.
Indeed. Any cheapass universal remote is likely to work with a Sony TV and whatever other components you have, unless they’re grey-market Malaysian imports. You’ll likely need to look up model numbers, cross-reference them to 6-digit codes printed in small type on a many-folded piece of paper, and punch those in to the remote with an obscure command sequence, and no confirmation that you did it right or wrong, and you may possibly have to repeat this a couple times for each device to get it “right”.
But it’ll work, and it’ll be cheap, which it sounds like are your primary concerns.
This one, the 659:
It’s a bit small to see, but the DVR/DVD play controls are at the absolute bottom, a very awkward place for me. I suppose I could two-hand it, but that’s really not my remote-slinging style.
To its credit, it can directly access all 8 of my inputs on my bigass Sony (even the factory remote wont do that). But, it’s deep into the clipped lcd screen, where you have to cycle through sets of programmable buttons.
And I think I agree that I just don’t like the “macro” style of doing things. Every time I try it, something doesn’t get the signal or doesn’t understand.
Got the Harmony 300 today. Looks to fit the bill fine.