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Universal remotes, remotes that can integrate the commands of all your home entertainment gear into one magic wand, are extraordinary tools, but often more expensive that the components themselves. The most advanced systems from companies like AMX and Crestron require professional programming and cost a few thousand dollars. The web-programming based remotes from Harmony and the similar ones coming out soon from Monster and Harmon Kardon run about $300-$500. The R7 from Universal Remote Control can tie up all your loose gear for a penny under $50.

The R7 can be set up with both the pre-installed codes or it can be taught commands from your products’ original remotes. The beef most people have with programmable remotes, particularly the ones that come with your TV, is that they can be a complete bear to program. The R7 tries to solve that issue by making the programming so simple you almost never need to open up the user manual, instead it comes with an instructional DVD. Slide the DVD into your player, and watch the woman on screen walk you easily though the steps. You’ll need to open the book a few times to look up the codes for your products, but most of the instruction comes from the DVD. If the supplied codes don’t work, the DVD tells you how to teach the R7 commands, a very simple process. Teaching commands is also useful if you want to change the function of certain buttons. You can program macros (commands that do multiple functions with the press of one button) and make the volume control global for all the modes.

I was impressed with how well the programming went when I set my system consisting of a TV, satellite/DVR, HDTV receiver, DVD player and surround sound receiver. A few of the DVR functions needed to be taught, which was a painless process. However, the remote disappoints in a few areas. First, its infra red signal is not nearly as strong as other remotes I’ve used. I needed to aim the remote directly at the component to get it to work, which is a problem for viewers sitting at angles from their components. Second, the remote doesn’t have a good main button for TiVo users. If you’re a Tivo owner, then you know the importance of the TiVo, pause, play and select buttons. I opted to use the menu button as the TiVo button, but then if I want to change any settings in the TV I must also change modes. Also, there’s no good button for aspect ratio control—an important feature for HDTV owners.

Those issues aside, it’s a very handy remote and a step above the remotes that come with most of today’s TVs. Setup is easy, the buttons are nicely spaced and the backlight lets you see it in the dark. Not bad for $49.

[Written by Grant Clauser, Editorial Director for Dealerscope, E-Gear, Custom Retailer, and Picture Business]