RC User Reviews: Home Theater Master MX-500 Remote Control (13)

The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com:

User reviews for the Home Theater Master MX-500 from Universal Remote Control Inc.

Ratings	Reviews	MSRP (USD)
Average: 4.80/5.00 Median: 5.00/5.00	157	$149

The MX-500 is a 10-device all-buttoned remote control with an LCD screen for custom labels on 10 adjacent buttons. It includes full infrared learning capabilities, a preprogrammed database, 5-way joystick, macros and more.

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Now viewing user reviews page 13 of 23 for
the Home Theater Master MX-500 remote.

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Written by Derek Sava from Fairfax, VA.

The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-2 years.

Review 73 made on Sunday December 15, 2002 at 6:07 PM.

Strengths:

Brilliant button layout, easy to read and well-lit backlight/buttons, plenty of expandability, batteries last 6+ months, STRONG IR!

Weaknesses:

Nothing really. This remote rules!! Make sure you get the one with the "gem" buttons as opposed to the rubber ones.

Review:

Ok I've owned this remote for over a year so I'm very aware of how well it handles expansion of your system. First things first: if you're an avid user, choose AUX 155 i think for all the components and program the remote key-by-key. Otherwise the built in commands are OK. Teaching this remote is a breeze. Basically it learns commands as it should. You can program up to 10 devices and essentially every key can be programmed for every device (except LCD controls and system/macro buttons). There is a 5-way joystick that rules! The real beauty of this remote (and I've used Prontos, Sony's LCD, etc) is the layout of HARD buttons. I can't stress the importance of this. I literally can use this remote with my eyes closed with any of my devices, even funky devices like satellite receivers! The LCD is cool because you can get those odd keys that don't normally have the proper description (IE Disc# on cd players, IWINK on my satellite, the list goes on and on). There is only 5 characters you can use for each function, but you can always find a way to make it work. The macro functionality is also well thought out. Device selection is done through the LCD. For macros, you simply hold the function you want on the LCD for 2 seconds and the macro for that function goes through (I read that this was changed to 1 second on later revisions of this remote which would be a little better). There is also a system-off button in the upper-left of the remote that should be used to turn of everything. Three macros on the bottom are also accessible at all times which is more than enough for me at least. Oh and macros can also have variable delays within the sends (very important). Well I'm getting bored with my review but basically for sub $150 remotes - this is by far the cream of the crop... I've replaced the batteries once and had the remote for over a year. The IR is extremely strong and usually doesn't need to be pointed in the same direction of the component. Well that's about it. If you want a hard-buttoned remote, this or the MX-700 completely rule...Go for it!!

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Written by Gary Wright from San Francisco.

The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 72 made on Saturday December 14, 2002 at 5:09 AM.

Strengths:

Great handling, ease of use, quality finish. Wonderful legibility.

Weaknesses:

I have found no weakness.

Review:

I could not be more delighted with this product. I urge you to check it out for yourself. I have used a couple of Sony touch screen remotes prior to this (one was supplied with my receiver, the other was the current 3000 model), but this hard-buttoned MX-500 is in a different class altogether. The beauty of it is that it provides hard-button ergonomics with custom labels, allowing far better "feel" and legibility. Top marks for one of those rare products that give a genuine pride-of-ownership feeling. And I never thought I'd be saying that about a remote control!

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Written by Sean Starke from Austin, TX.

The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 71 made on Tuesday November 26, 2002 at 7:41 PM.

Strengths:

Fully customizable, great button layout, more features than can be imagined and all for a great price.

Weaknesses:

A stretch to find anything, but the default ENTER key should be closer to the directional buttons.

Review:

One word: Wow. I picked this remote based on reviews on this site and was not disappointed. It is so powerful and easy to setup. At most I spent about 2 hours getting everything setup for my system (tv/tuner/2 vcrs/dvd). I LOVE the macros and punch-through features, what power!

It also has a very nice look and feel. Keys are easy to find without looking, which is why I chose a button/LCD model.

Worth it at twice the price!

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Written by Bob Cross from Sacramento.

The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 70 made on Tuesday October 8, 2002 at 12:36 PM.

Strengths:

Well designed. Easy to program. Easy to use. Very powerful.

Weaknesses:

Using the arrow keys on the central control takes a bit of getting used to.

Review:

The main reason I bought this unit was the excellent rating given by Remote Central users. When everybody loves a product, it is almost surely a winner.

This remote is a winner for sure. It fits naturally into the hand, and the controls that you use the most are just where you want them to be. It is, as reviewed by Remote Central, VERY powerful. The backlight makes opeartion in the dark a snap. In my living room, I can point the remote in any direction and it works. It is easy to edit the LCD labels, and easy to program. Very flexible with the Punch Through feature and macros. I have used some other univeral remotes, but nothing comes close to this unit.

I also took the hint from this forum and bought at Bluedo.com. Great price and fast service. I am going to get another one for upstairs.

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Written by Burke Churchill from St. Louis.

The reviewer has used this remote control for 3-6 months.

Review 69 made on Sunday July 28, 2002 at 10:05 PM.

Strengths:

Tremendous beam strength. Great learnability. Backlight. Reasonable price.

Weaknesses:

I hate having to go through two buttons to change the mode.

Review:

I just cannot get over having to punch two buttons EVERY time I want to switch modes. It is an unnecessary hassle which owners of more complex remotes endure silently. Personally, the Sony VL-900 with the backlight is my idea of a perfect remote.

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Written by Jason Paluszak from Leslie, MI.

The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 68 made on Friday July 26, 2002 at 10:55 PM.

Strengths:

Customizability, all encompassing programability, and superb ease of use.

Weaknesses:

Nothing I can find at this time.

Review:

Attention fellow Gadget lovers: You know that all too common feeling you get after you buy a what appeared to be a cool new toy and then you sit down to use it and the more you explore, the more you get frustrated with the item, with the purchase overall... and the more it enforces your fear that you probably just spent a whole bunch of dough for a whole bunch of crap...

Well, take that feeling, flip it 180 degrees, multiply by 100 and that's the way I feel about my new MX500. IT simply ROCKS!!! I'm soooo satisfied.... All this for what was in my opinion, a more than fair price tag!

I saw the great reviews out here on RemoteCentral.com and although I knew it had to be good, the "doubting Thomas" in me was looking for some little quirk, or some minor flaw that would force me to again, throw yet another remote control on the pile of others that were "supposed to" do everything! (the pile now about to be burned) ... but not this time!!! This Remote Control does everything and more. I had it fully programmed with all of my some 6 devices (as well as my x-10 components) in less than 30 minutes... Since then I have split my time between playing with it and just staring at it! ha ha

My kudos to Home Theatre Master and best regards to you all.

Jason

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Written by Cary Benjamin from Ohio, US.

The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 67 made on Tuesday July 16, 2002 at 5:27 AM.

Strengths:

+ Hard Buttons
+ Customizable Labels
+ Easy Programming
+ Punch Throughs
+ Ergonomics

Weaknesses:

- Only Five Character Labels
- No PC Connectivity/Programming

Review:

Tried a couple touchscreen remotes (RCA, Sony) and just didn't like them - too cumbersome to look at the screen for 90% of key presses. Plus they didn't offer true customization (just alternate label selection) and were so bulky/heavy. MX-500 has none of these drawbacks. Great ergonomics and ease of use, programming & customization. All of my extended device functions (e.g. surround modes, DVD controls) were a snap to setup with 20 learning slots per device. Absolutely no trouble with joystick/thumbpad (latest version with gemstones and raised thumbpad). Did set all devices to AUX 155 to fully customize labels (highly recommended if you are particular about what goes where and only seeing what is used) - takes a bit longer up front, but worth it in long run. BTW, was able to learn a Sony "Power On" discrete code despite manual saying this only works for preprogrammed functions.

Hats off to Home Theater Master for making a great all around universal remote.

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