The convenience and comfort of controlling the lighting and even being able to adjust the thermostat while you’re watching TV makes the Companion more than just an AV remote. You can control your AV system with your voice by pressing the remote’s Alexa button and saying commands like “Turn on Fire TV,” “Open Netflix app,” or “Watch ESPN.” While we found this remote easy to set up and reliable in executing commands, its limited button options make performing more advanced tasks challenging, and this system is totally locked into the Alexa ecosystem. The Harmony 665 does have some drawbacks. To test the remotes we call in, we set each one up to control at least two different AV systems in our home. Essentially, the Harmony Elite connects to a base station that is connected to your entertainment console, which allows the use of the remote anywhere in your home (even without direct line of sight). The remote should have a well-organized button layout or an on-screen display and include all the necessary buttons to perform essential tasks. When you press a button on the Companion remote, it sends a radio signal to the Hub, telling it which button you’ve pushed. Although we haven’t tested it as of yet, TechHive confirms that it works as advertised, and based on what you’ve described, it should come the closest to meeting your mom’s requirements. Most AV devices still rely on IR (infrared) control, where you must point the remote’s IR transmitter directly at the device’s IR receiver. Hitting the wrong button at the wrong time can cause the whole system to go out of sync until someone can troubleshoot it. If you just want a simple, great-sounding pair of wired earbuds, we recommend the Final E4000. If you’re looking for an easy-to-use universal remote to control up to eight devices, we recommend the Logitech Harmony 650. This functionality used to be reserved for high-end, professionally programmed systems, but these days relatively inexpensive remotes can do the same complex job. Our electronics experts bought and tested the top 10 universal remotes available today and put them through a rigorous side-by-side comparison to find the very best. The other remotes i use in the living room and the man cave. For a setup like this, a universal remote probably isn’t necessary, since basic control of these devices (such as browsing content, changing channels, and adjusting volume) is built into—or can be easily added to—the remote that came with your media player or TV. *At the time of publishing, the price was $170. Unfortunately, a Harmony remote can quickly go from convenient to confusing for someone who is not particularly A/V savvy (or can’t easily see the small buttons). The 32-inch Roku TV from TCL usually costs less than $200 (bigger versions cost more) and is our current pick for the best small TV. This makes it easier to navigate your home media. Also, the Smart Remote U is more expensive than the Harmony Companion, currently doesn’t include support for Alexa and Google Home, and natively supports fewer smart-home devices (you can add control via Webhooks, but that’s more complicated). This model integrates the Roku platform into the TV itself and comes with a Roku remote that controls both the Roku interface and the TV (it lacks a dedicated input-switching button, but that functionality is built into the Home screen). It can control 10 AV devices and is easy to set up via the MyHarmony desktop software. Finally, setting it up will be but a breeze as the universal wireless programming will allow you to avoid cutting into the garage wiring and you won't have to install an unsightly receiver. Once you answer all the necessary questions, you’re done. The screen then switches to pages customized for that activity, and the control options can go satisfyingly deep. You could set everything up and leave the remote with your mother while keeping the app on your phone. The remote lacks backlighting, and Logitech’s app-based setup can sometimes be frustrating, but this system still delivers the best combination of features, flexibility, and control that we’ve found for the price. The Companion may offer more functionality than some people need, which makes it a bit more expensive than a basic universal remote. *At the time of publishing, the price was $270. The Sideclick is technically a separate remote, but it has a basic layout and attaches to an existing Roku remote, so it’s functionally the same as having a single remote. The Logitech Harmony 350 is our budget pick for the best universal remote. Instead of pressing hard buttons for Movie, TV, or Music, for instance, you scroll up and down on the screen for your activity and tap that. Then, if she has a problem, she can call you, and you can fix it from wherever you are. The two-piece Logitech Harmony Companion system, which consists of a hub and a handheld remote, can control up to eight AV components, and it works with IR, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth devices, which gives it more flexibility than is available with most budget remotes. This slim universal remote clips onto the side of a Roku remote and can control TVs and most cable boxes. How to Set Up a Remote Learning Space for Your Kids, The Best Mosquito Control Gear for Your Patio or Yard, Thermacell Radius Zone Mosquito Repellent Gen 2.0. The more a remote costs, the more flexibility it should have to control different kinds of devices. The typical living-room entertainment system may include a single source device—say, a streaming media player, cable/satellite set-top box, or gaming console—plus a smart TV and a soundbar. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. The Logitech Harmony 650 is our pick for the best universal remote. Finally, you could go a third route and get an all-in-one TV. The best universal remote control. Looking for a universal remote? The rubberized texture on the front and back eliminates fingerprints and reduces the chances of the remote slipping out of your hand. If you answer no, the Harmony 665 asks further questions, such as “Is the AV Receiver off?” If your answer is yes, the remote sends out a command to turn the receiver back on and then once again asks, “Did that fix the problem?” Yes turns off help; no initiates another question, and so on. Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, four-device-capable “universal” replacement remote. However, if you’re looking for advanced whole-house control, with lots of complex lighting scenes and independent control of different sources in different rooms, a do-it-yourself universal remote may not be up to the task. Stepping up to the Elite gets you a completely customizable color touchscreen and full backlighting, plus the ability to control more components (up to 15) and to integrate even more smart-home devices into your system. One remote that we think might work out well for you is the Sideclick. The Elite model controls up to 15 devices and adds a customizable touchscreen for even more flexibility. The final step is to load your newly configured remote settings into the Hub and make sure the Hub is placed wherever you’d like it to reside. There’s always going to be a bit of a learning curve with any desktop or app-based software, but if you need a certificate in C++ to program your remote, that’s too difficult. Setup is easy, and the system reliably controlled our gear without any major problems. The best universal remotes can control more than just the TV obviously. It’s capable of controlling up to 10 AV devices, it features an easy-to-read, backlit color display, and the built-in Remote Assistant function is great for troubleshooting. Depending on the types of components you have—perhaps a TV, a Blu-ray player, a receiver, and a cable box—Harmony suggests a number of possible Activities, such as “Watch TV” or “Listen to Music” (you can also create your own custom Activities). This suggests that Logitech isn’t all that committed to the desktop software going forward. The remote is a sleek, stripped-down design with important buttons like home, microphone, volume, back, menu, and more (but no backlighting). The more commands that are included in the activity, the more chances there are for this to happen. Finally, the Elite—like the Companion or any Hub-based Harmony remote—can work with a handful of smart-home devices, including Philips Hue and LIFX lights, Nest thermostats, SmartThings and Insteon hubs, Sonos wireless speakers, and even the IFTTT app. Adrienne Maxwell is the editor of Wirecutter's audio/video team, covering everything from headphones to TVs. The bigger RCA remotes even have programmable macros that let you power up several devices with one button press, but they aren’t capable of the kind of switching or complex control the Harmony remotes can accomplish. It can control up to 20 IR devices, has a rechargeable battery, and has Spotify and Sonos support built in. The Companion remote has a logical button layout and includes important functions such as Menu, Exit, and Guide, and color buttons. Many of today’s universal remotes also incorporate some degree of smart-home control so you can adjust your lighting, temperature, and security system, or even control multiroom music systems like Sonos. The remote should be generally easy to program. Anytime you wish to add new devices or make changes to how the system works, you’ll need to reconnect the 665 to your computer. *At the time of publishing, the price was $130. A Harmony remote was my first thought, but what I really wanted was a simple approach, something as close to the 12-button Roku remote as I could get. The system works with IR, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth devices, including a variety of smart-home products, and the free iOS/Android control app provides a second method of managing everything. If for some reason your TV doesn’t turn on or the receiver doesn’t switch to the correct input after you select an activity, pressing the Help button causes the Harmony 665 to immediately emit an infrared command that, ideally, rectifies the situation. It’s common for lower-priced universal remotes to only work with IR devices. If you can never remember which is the DVR button and which is the Guide button, you’ll struggle to operate the remote in the dark. However, some popular AV devices don’t use IR remotes, such as Sony’s PlayStation 4, Sonos’s wireless speakers, Philips Hue lighting, and certain Amazon Fire TV devices. You have to connect the remote directly to your computer via the supplied USB cable and use the MyHarmony desktop software to add devices, set up activities, and customize the LCD screen. The best USB Wi-Fi adapters 04.12.20 View. It can control up … You can purchase the Harmony Hub as a standalone unit (without a remote) and just use your mobile device with the free Harmony iOS/Android app as your remote control. The main reason why people enjoy them so much is that they enable you to control all of the components of your home theater system with a single remote. Q: I came to this page looking for the "ultra simple" use case. If you're tired of managing a separate remote control for each of the components of your home entertainment system, it might be time to invest in a universal remote control.With a universal TV remote that’s compatible with your smart TV and other electronics, you can simplify your system, declutter and end the days of searching for lost remotes between your home theater seating cushions. If you answer yes, the help screen goes away. The Hub also comes with a wired IR blaster that you can point to reach components in another direction, and it has a 3.5 mm jack for adding a second blaster if necessary. The best universal remote control is the one that gives you more options to integrate the various devices for an easy operation. The best simple universal TV remote for your not-so-tech-savvy parent with a Roku is the Sideclick, which lets them keep using familiar controls. If you don’t want another handheld device but like the idea of universal remote control, you might consider an app-based control system. © 2021 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company, TechHive confirms that it works as advertised, The Smart Home Devices the Wirecutter Staff Uses. While the occasional new competitor still pops up (and you can read about them in the Competition section), Harmony is the king of the mountain—so selecting the best universal remote is largely a matter of selecting the right Harmony device for your needs. You can also incorporate voice control when you integrate it with an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant speaker. The Harmony Companion controls Roku boxes as well as cable boxes and TVs. Like the Harmony Companion, this remote can control IR, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi components (including some smart-home devices), but it doesn’t need a separate hub to do so, which is a nice perk. But a growing number of devices, especially game consoles (like the Sony PlayStation 4) and streaming media products (like some Nvidia Shield TV and Amazon Fire TV products), are controlled via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, so you’ll need a universal remote that supports those technologies. Caavo Universal Remote. If your home entertainment system is more complex than the typical media player/TV/soundbar combo and you need a universal remote to control all your gear—including a few smart-home devices—we recommend the Logitech Harmony Companion. A good universal remote not only eliminates coffee-table clutter and the remote shuffle, but also reduces button pushes by combining multiple actions into one button press. Once you’ve added all of your devices, the system guides you through the process of creating Activities. Best Universal Remote. © 2021 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company, For theater enthusiasts and serious smart-home tinkerers. A Harmony remote, however, is still worth considering, because it’s the only option that actually consolidates all the remotes into one. A cheaper option would be this RCA streaming remote, which can handle the TV and the Roku but not the cable box. The Logitech Harmony Companion can control up to eight AV components and features activity buttons to simplify control of your whole home theater. The Wirecutter’s editors answer reader questions all the time (much more than once a week). Learn more. Logitech has introduced newer software called Harmony Desktop for Catalina users, but it only works with non-Hub remotes like our budget pick, the 665. But your mom might want to hold on to the cable remote for viewing the programming guide, entering a specific channel number (the Sideclick has no numbers), or ordering pay-per-view shows using the menu system. There are tons of universal remotes to choose from, so making the selection for the best may be hard. The Sevenhugs Smart Remote U was very close to becoming a pick. I have three of the logitech harmony remotes 550,670, and now the 650. The most important ones (such as volume, pause, and play) should be easily accessible. A: You can find a few budget-friendly remotes designed specifically for seniors, but none of the ones I turned up in my research are perfect, because they’re geared toward a two-piece TV and cable-box setup. 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