10/24/22 - In searching for the perfect day, Timmy discovers something unexpected!
9/04/22 - That childhood favorite is back in a new Timmy video.
7/31/22 - It’s time for my second new Just Like Timmy video!
7/12/22 - Why not check out my new YouTube animation channel, Just Like Timmy!
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The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com:
| User reviews for the URC-300 "Customizer" & RF-30 from Universal Remote Control Inc. |
 | | Ratings | Reviews | MSRP (USD) |
Average: 4.19/5.00
Median: 4.83/5.00 | 12 | $200 / $150 |
The URC-300 is a 15-device learning and preprogrammed remote control that features numerous macros, a large LCD touchscreen display with customizable button labels, favorite channel macros, 5-way menu controls and an optional RF extender.
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Navigation: [ < Previous ] Now viewing user reviews page 2 of 2 for
the URC-300 "Customizer" & RF-30 remote.
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| Written by TechnoCat from Pacific North-West. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months. |
| Review 1 made on Sunday March 28, 2004 at 3:24 PM. |
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| Review: | The URC-300/Customizer is the top-end "consumer" remote from Home Theater Master. I got both it and the MRF-100 Expander RF base.
I had desired a URC-200/Automator due to a preference for hard buttons; I'm just not a touchscreen fan. I got the Customizer instead due to conditions beyond my control, but the two are otherwise essentially identical...
The 200/Automator has...
* A hard favorite page button
* Hard page up/down buttons for the LCD
* Hard buttons for selecting from the five options
* A narrower LCD with title, page footer and five options
In contrast, the 300/Customizer has
* Soft (touchscreen) buttons for page up/down
* Favorite channels is just another page
* Wider LCD with same display but two columns of four options, for eight total.
* Somewhat more memory for learning and macros, though both have far more than I'll ever need.
(From the collateral, the MX-600 has two rows of five hard button options, for ten options per page total, plus a hard page and favorite button and three dedicated macro buttons. The 200/300 can put macros on ANY buttons. The 200 and 300 switch pages to support more devices than fit on the first page; I believe the 600 puts them all on the main page.)
The URC-300 weighs less than most of my universal remotes, particularly compared to my One-For-All "Home Producer 8" 9800 (which also has an RF base), and has a much cleaner layout than any other remote I have. It feels about 40% the size of my 9800. This is done at the cost of some hard-buttons, but the pages of virtual buttons make this work better than I initially thought it would. The display is very readable in both regular and backlit mode; backlighting is a greenish-blue and comes through the LCD in reverse as well as through the buttons - very cool.
The buttons are really neat too. They -look- injection molded though they aren't; the "gemstone" coating is a nice protective layer on them (to prevent label-wear) that adds a depth and shinyness also, very much like adding several layers of lacquer to a paint job. Quite nice.
Learning requires two shots for verification. This winds up being necessary because the code library is unfortunately incomplete compared to the One For All libraries. For example, there is only one entry for "Echostar/Dish", and it doesn't handle the whole PVR. I have several receivers in the same room, running on different codes, so I had to learn quite a few codes. And even regular devices it most recognizes, like televisions, it still needs to learn some of. Fortunately there's lots of RAM available.
Once learned/selected, everything works well. The MRF-100 base is fantastic. As I said, I also have a One For All 9800 with base. The 300/MRF-100 combo has much better range (and far superior range to the RF remote in my Dish PVR), and the MRF-100 comes with six emitters on long (10') cords in case you wish to hide it rather than put it in front of the A/V system.
Even without the MRF-100, the blasting is pretty impressive, right up there with the Dish remotes I have. But including the stick-on emitters on the MRF-100, now that's a nice touch.
Programming and customization is pretty simple, aided considerably by the LCD screen. Punch through is simple and is per-device rather than global. (I wanted hard buttons so I could have two sets of volume controls per device on hard buttons. Instead I'm creating near-duplicates for each source device.)
The remote also has an exposed seven-pin (3+4) plug in the battery compartment. I find this interesting because my All For One 9800 has a six-pin plug in the same place. Maybe a cable will be available at some point.
The remote came with batteries and both the remote and expander came with tutorial DVDs (which I have not played.)
The only downsides to me are...
- The remote plus base come to $275; that's a LOT of money for no PC interface and in an era of great $50 universal remotes.
- The touchscreen is harder to use than buttons would be. (But the 200/Automator offers that.)
Bottom line: this remote is a winner. Great ergonomics, learns everything, neat multi-paged layout, fantastic look, and the RF is better than on my other RF-equipped remotes.
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