Since you are here you are most likely tired of having your sofa and coffee table full of remote controls for the tv, bluray, dvd, home theatre receiver and so on. And since you ended up here you are looking for a solution i.e. some sort of universal remote that can do all those and even all the ones you might buy in the future.
The answer is of course the universal remote control, there are about as many of these as there are normal remotes. But they all function pretty much the same way. The can be programmed to work with different bands and there for control different equipment. There are two main types that we shall discuss here.
Upgradable and learning remotes.
These are the first ones to hit the market, they work either by "teaching" them how the original remote worked by "recording" the various signals from the original remote. The next type is where you get a book of codes with the remote. These codes are one for each model you would like to operate.
These types of remote are still on the market and are generally really cheap. They do work and if you don't mind the rather cumbersome programming and teaching phase they can be a good and cheap way of getting rid of some of the many remote controls you have around the house.
They do however offer a limited number of units they can operate and they are now the low end of the marked. So make sure that if you go for one of these that you get a known brand.
Touch screen and USB programmable remote controls.
This is the current generation, they are generally a bit more expensive but the features these offer is simply amazing. What you need to get these working is really only a computer and a list of your current home theater system's components.
With the remote is a USB cable and a small software that you install on your computer. Then is only a matter of selecting your models and setting up the functions you use most frequently. Hit the "program" button and you are ready to go. Market leader in this segment is Logitech, their software is easy to use and I would really recommend looking at one of these. Even if you are on a tight budget these are well worth a look. And they are easy to find good deals on.
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