iPhones and iPads are now nearly as important a part of our AV systems as the Blu-ray player, and those bright and shinny screens look like they’d make great touchscreen remotes, right? We’ve seen several iDevice-based home theater remotes, and reviewed a few here (read our review of the Gear4 Unity Remote here).

Audioholics check out a number of app-based remotes and breaks them into three categories and explains their pros and cons:

• IR: Hey, everything works on IR right? But sometimes the hardware can be awkward to live with and the software integration lacking.

• Bluetooth: The idea sounds good—no goofy dongles to plug into your iPhone, but Bluetooth connections can be buggy and they tend to be battery hogs.

• IP (or Wi-Fi): These hold the most promise because the connection can be more solid and the required IR emitter hardware has a long battery life.

Ultimately the success of any of these systems depends on the software—how buggy or well-integrated is it, what does it do that your hardware remote doesn’t do? Audioholics’ Andrew Gash took a look at several types of iDevice remotes and offers some advice in a humorous video. Check that out here and comment on the thread here.

For another take on apps for controlling your home theater, check this out.

or this: How to Control Your Home Theater with an iPad.