Philips SRT8215 Universal Remote

This remote seems to work so well I'm almost waiting for it to go wrong! Had the Harmony 1000 and had to return it as although in principle it was very good it was completely unuseable and so inconsistent, sometimes it worked but mostly it didn't. It couldn't understand the inputs on my reciever properly as they have both assigned and a toggle. It also played a cheesy tune whilst it took what seemed like an age to fire out the commands, this remote by Philips is better in so many ways and about half the price (at the time, duno how much the 1000 is now, not sure still available- 1100).

I'm using mostly Pioneer gear with a Samsung Virgin box. The pioneer stuff worked almost perfectly from the outset and just took a matter of editing and rearranging things to my taste. The Samsung box didn't really work at all but I would estimate it took about 3 mins to teach the remote every command by pointing the original remote at this one. Afterwards it worked flawlessly.

The software for programming the remote worked perfectly and was extremely quick, easy to follow and responsive. The minute I plugged the remote onto the end of the cable the programme opens up (I'm using windows 7). It lets you know when its safe to unplug the device without losing your settings. It makes it very easy to just plug it in, change a few things and try them out.

The speed of the commands for the activities/macros is instant although if this causes a problem (it didn't) you can add delays. It gives you the ability to edit almost everything. Example tv to input 1, delay 1 sec, reciever to input 2, delay 2 sec, tv aspect ratio to full etc. This remote worked correctly every time for me, I'm sure results could vary depending on your equipment and requirements but after my previous experience using the very well reviewed (but imo rubbish) Harmony remote I was seriously impressed!

There's a couple of things that were slightly problematic, the touch screen icons are quite small and I can sometimes press the wrong button, however I simply left the top left icon empty on every screen so as not to hit the back button by mistake, this solved the problem without much inconvenience. You can add channel logos for shortcuts to those channels however my freesat channels were 4 digits long and the controller only allowed 3 digits. The Virgin box worked fine for this as the channel numbers were only 3 digits long. I have a relatively small favourites list for the freesat anyway so wasn't too bothered, only really use it for bbchd and itvhd, otherwise Virgin box.

The controller looks great, has a good layout of hard buttons which are all editable (in function only obviously) and then the extra touch screen buttons which are fully editable, name, location etc. The buttons have a nice feel and bottom line they worked perfectly every press.

You don't get a charging cradle but I don't see that as a real issue as it's just another plug socket for me to find.

I gave this remote 5 stars as I literally have not needed to pick up the original remotes and pretty soon will be packing them away. It's a real joy and my only worry is it forgets the settings or something as there's no way to back them up (as far as I'm aware). That aside, seriously recommended!
Equipment I used: Pioneer krp500a. Pioneer vsx919ah. Pioneer BDP51FD. Samsung Virgin box.

This remote is an excellent product.

I bought it because my old media centre remote buttons had started to wear, Before this I had tried an older model of remote that I had to send back because it did not understand RC-6, fortunately this remote does.

Anyway lets highlight some of my favourite features,

The Good

- This was one of the easiest remote set-ups I have ever gone through, granted you have to download a nice GUI programme then plug in your remote to your pc, but to be honest this is preferable to other attempts to make stand alone programmable remotes which usually involve pushing a series of unmemorable button combinations, so for me pc set-up is a plus.
- Expanding on this, this is the first time that I have not had to programme a missing feature or button, Phillips remote control database seems quite complete, for Windows Media Centre 7 set-up I simply selected it as an option.
- The button layout is nice and intuitive, all basic button you'd expect are solid keys (play, fwd, menu, guide, number pad ect...). While some of the more obscure buttons of your original remote will exist as touch screen buttons across multiple pages, the order is customisable.
- Key presses are responsive.
- For the most part a high quality build and finish
- 3 x AA batteries, I actually like standard batteries in products, it makes them easy to replace, rather than battery packs that wear out after a year and then you can't find a replacement. I'm Still to find out how long the batteries life is, but already I can see they have thought about power saving, the lcd-touch screen stays off until you need to use it.

The Bad

It is not all good, there is a few things I would of like to see changed.

- This remote came with no IR receiver, so for PC use you'll need to purchase a separate receiver.
- I'm in two minds whether I actually like the push feel of the "OK" and D-pad buttons :) , no, seriously.

This remote replaced an old OneForAll Kameleon - visitors and the OH were struggling to understand it!

I had the following requirements of a universal remote:

- Looks like a remote (familiar buttons etc). We have been taking standard remotes out of the drawer for visitors. The Prestigo will hopefully stop this, as it has all the familiar buttons, and there is not too much reliance on the touch screen (i.e. Harmony touch).

- Runs on standard rechargeable AA batteries. I've tried a charging dock and we just ended up with a dead remote. It's much easier to just keep a spare set of rechargeables on the shelf. The Prestigo seems to be one of only a few remotes that still uses standard batteries.

- Is intelligent. I read the OneForAlls don't remember the state of any components. This would hamper "activity" based programming. It took some work, but the Prestigo activities have turned out to be very powerful. States are remembered, discrete inputs signals for my TV were found automatically, you can set the amount of time a signal is sent for, etc... Lots of thought has been put into making this remote easy to use AND powerful.

In addition to the above, the Prestigo has left me pleasantly surprised for many reasons. It is a modern, attractive looking remote. The buttons are logically placed and sufficiently backlit. It's no larger than a normal TV remote. Through some creative programming I have a "soft" button always on show that controls my dimmer switch. It impresses visitors, at the risk of me looking like a bit of a geek.

Issues: Very few worth mentioning. You have to plug into the computer to make all but the most minor of changes. The computer software can be clunky, e.g. not allowing you to delete an accidentally learned button. You can't set a turn off command to be longer than a turn on command if they use the same button (specific example being a Playstation 2, I overcame this by teaching the Power button to a soft button). I guess you can't think of everything.

In conclusion, this suits my needs extremely well, and I am very happy with my purchase.