INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Are you - or, more likely, someone in your household - experiencing remote overload Do you have more remotes than you have devices in your
If you're a home enterainment fan, there are probably a half-dozen in your living room right now
it would perhaps be fitting to get into what exactly the best universal remotes do
remote of your TV, AV receiver or whatever device you own that uses an infrared signal.Wondering why you should buy one There are two main
instructions for your hardware
Manufacturers like Panasonic and Sony have only used a couple different patterns of instructions over the last decade or so for most of
You can just cycle through them until you find the set of instructions that lets you operate the TV in question
databases that let you just select the TV or receiver you have on your mobile device
Just like most things in the tech world, it just comes down to that classic use-case question: are you replacing a lost remote or do you
example, may turn on your cable box, audio receiver and TV, change the receiver to the right channel and switch your TV to the right HDMI
Another classic is to turn all of your equipment off with a single press of a button.Who makes universal remotesThere are two main players
Logitech makes all the best high-end remotes, in the shape of its Harmony models, while One for All is the best brand for more inexpensive
The Doro HandleEasy lets you change volume and channels
It has been around for years, but is a great lo-fi gadget
They need to have a feature called an IR blaster, which enables them to transmit the same signals as a normal remote control.These used to
be somewhat common, but have become quite rare, with the feature regarded as unloved and generally useless in the phones that had it
Current phones with an IR blaster include the Honor 9 and Huawei P20 Plus
Some Xiaomi phones have one too
phones to feature IR blasters were the LG G5 and LG V20, while the last flagship Samsungs with IR were the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, and those
came out almost three years ago
know people who owned phones with IR blasters a few years ago, but who ended up spending a significant amount of cash on a universal remote,
or Sure, as these have a smarter interface than most built-in appsControlling consoles and smart homesA weakness that the vast majority of
This is because they use either Bluetooth, RF or Wi-Fi instead of IR
The Logitech Home Hub is compatible with Microsoft and Sony game consoles, and a wide range of smart home gadgets including Philips Hue
the Broadlink RM and RM Proare hubs that can control IR and RF (Pro model) devices through a mobile phone app
the right hardwareOne day we'll be able to control everything over Wi-Fi, but until that day it's reassuring to see that universal remotes
Elite, Ultimate, Touch, Ultimate One and 950 models, all of which have screens
EliteFor AV adepts and smart home aficionados, this is the best universal remoteActivities automate your routinesCompatible with loads of
But for anyone who wants one remote to control just about everything, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything that is both this functional
and relatively easy to use out of the box
differently-shaped remotes laying on your couch, then the Logitech Harmony Elite might be a luxury worth splashing out for
Despite the occasional hitch, it's a powerful remote that can wrangle your audio/visual madness, plus it looks and feels pretty good doing
