The folks over at S7V have Universal’s MX-450 on the test bench for a few rounds of flogging. Yes it is true, there are other universal remotes besides Harmony remotes. Not a lot of differences in your average remote, however, this one seperates itself byt offering PC-free programing, RF capabilities, and of course macro programming.
S&V Pressing and holding the MAIN button for 3 seconds puts the remote into programming mode, where five options are available: Basic Setup, Advanced Setup, Favorite Channels, User Settings and Display Tips. Initial programming begins in Basic Setup where devices are added to the system. The remote has a built-in library of codes that will control "hundreds of thousands of model numbers" according to URC. You select your device type (TV, DVD, Cable, etc), choose an icon from 29 colorful graphics (or use a blank), type in a label, select component brand, then scroll through a list of codes until the piece turns off. It is all very straightforward, and takes only a few minutes. I would greatly prefer the ability to browse components by model number. My TV is a few years old, and while several of the Samsung codes would power the set on and off, it took a while to find the correct code set that had my TV’s input commands. If you don’t feel like hunting for your remote’s code — or can’t find it in the database — the remote also offers the ability to learn codes head-to-head.
