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Universal Remote Control’s MX-6000
The more complicated your collection of A/V equipment, the more you need a universal learning remote control to corral all the commands. These days, for me, complicated means disparate.
My DVD player is a PlayStation 3 with a Bluetooth remote control. My VUDU box, for on-demand video, is an RF device. My TiVo HD uses an IR remote. Music comes from infrared-based sources: Apple TV, the Tivoli Audio Net Works radio for Internet radio, and a Delphi satellite radio tuner that I don’t have a remote for. My gaggle of remote controls speaks three different languages.
I didn’t realize how much I needed a universal remote until Jim Novak, senior product manager of Universal Remote Control, programmed the new MX-6000 ($2,100 with base station, programming not included) for this review. Using my pickup-sticks method of turning on A/V equipment using various remotes, I never can remember which video source goes into which TV input, and now I don’t have to. When I hit TIVO on the MX-6000 touchscreen, the TV switches to the right input, and the remote’s display shows buttons marked LIVE TV or LIST for recorded shows. If I tap VUDU, the TV switches to that input.
I found I wasn’t listening to XM Radio very much because I had to remember that XM was on the CD input (my receiver doesn’t have assignable inputs, so it’s hard to remember what’s plugged in where). I also had to bend down to the tuner module and press a button to turn it on. Novak found the IR codes for the Delphi tuner in the URC database and programmed them into the MX-6000. Now when I tap the XM logo on the touchscreen, the TV shuts off, the Delphi tuner module turns on to the last channel I was listening to, and the A/V receiver switches to the CD input where the Delphi is plugged in. The same thing with Apple TV. The MX-6000 knows that the Apple is plugged into the DVD input, and it makes the switch automatically when I hit the APPLE TV button.
The MX-6000 didn’t develop this intelligence on its own. It required a trained installer working with a PC program. “Remotes don’t do anything by themselves,” Novak told me as he painstakingly assigned command strings to macro buttons.
Just to get a video command to work correctly, he had to do trial and error commands to determine the number of seconds it takes my TV to boot up before it can accept a command to switch inputs. If the command to switch inputs is issued before the TV is fully on, the command won’t take. And in the case of the Tivoli radio, Novak had to take the credit card remote back to the lab to learn the button presses, particularly the quirky press-and-hold feature of the MENU button.
Product: Universal Remote Control MX-6000
Price: $2,100
Pros:
- Controls almost anything
- Programmable touchscreen
- Wi-Fi connectivity
Cons:
- Hefty price tag
- No Bluetooth control for PlayStation 3
Thanks AVResce,
That was the information I wanted, and probably should have been in the original article.
Just to reiterate, to Electronic House I think the sort of information you provided should have been mentioned in the article itself. I couldn’t see why I would want a $3000 remote from the article, now I can. It looks like I should consider this for the new house, as we are planning on getting a complete home automation solution built with it, and now I know why my Harmony won’t cut it.
Paul,
What I’m trying to say is URC has remotes in the price range of Harmony as well. This is the MOST expensive. As far as features the 890 doesn’t have: Wi-Fi, Customizable Touch screen, 2-way iPod info, Whole House Control (not just 1 room w/Lights, Thermostat, Alarm, I.P Cameras, and Internet DVR), Multiple RF Addressable Base Stations ($150-$600)(RS-232 & Video Sensing on the MSC-400). This remote is meant for the Automated home, not just a living room. A typical installation for us with this type of remote would also include several other remotes around the house in the $300-$600 range. This is a CUSTOM product, not for a consumer to take home. I’m not trying to bash Harmony, we sell those as well. The MX-6000 approaches the customer who wants Crestron like features without a hefty price tag.
AVRescue:
Sorry friend, but on reading the review, I have to agree with Mysimplemind. This article did not remotely (bad pun) convince me to to buy $3,000 worth of remote and programming vs my $300 harmony 890.
Perhaps the problem is that the article is short on system details, but I think I have a more complicated AV setup than Rebecca, and I can control my system flawlessly.
I am having a hard time getting a sense of a ‘typical customer’ for the Universal MX-6000, as I can do everything with my harmony 890 except control my Nintendo Wii: which I couldn’t do with the Universal remote either.
I get RSS feeds from my Ipod Touch, and my iPhone, and my blackberry, and my pc….. so I don’t really see that as a feature worth getting on a remote. I can even do most/all of the iPod functions through my AVR’s iPod dock.
I’d like more information as to what this remote can do that most can’t do before I’d totally discmiss it, but again the article didn’t clarify it for me.
Harmon isn’t even in the same league. Please don’t compare a remote based on $. That’s like saying a Civic is better than a C430.
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Nyko makes an IR remote for the PS3 called “Bluwave”. It retails for $20.00 or less, it can be found on amazon.com, I picked one up for $12.00 at Circuit City’s liquidation sale. The Bluwave is an IR remote that come with a USB IR dongle. Get one of these and have your universal remote learn the commands from the IR Bluwave remote and now you can control your PS3 with your IR universal remote.