Things That Don't Work: The Universal Remote

I got a Universal Remote. Have any of you ever had one that worked? This one didn't. Doesn't. Won't.

I've had them in the past. But sometimes when you have an object that disappoints you, you try again a few years later. Like, a while back I tried to set up a wireless network in my apartment. It was a PC thing, with routers and PCMCIA cards and stuff like that. Didn't work at all. Sputtered a lot. Died at inopportune times. I hated it. More recently, I got a Mac with built in Airporter. Got an Airport Extreme to go along with it. Bingo. Wireless up the wazoo. Love it.

Some things, however, never change. I think I've already told you about my hate/hate relationship with Bluetooth. From the fact that my ear was not built to take the little dinglething in stride to the obnoxious anti-linking situation with whatever cell phone I seem to possess, my tooth will never be blue. I've tried three times. Three strikes is out in any game I care about.

Now there's this Universal Remote here. It's supposed to tie together my little sound system with my DVD player and cable box. I am supposed to press B, which will turn on all my components, then press CBL for cable, DVD for DVD (duh) and AMP for the sound system. Simple? No question. I put my other remotes in a drawer with tremendous satisfaction, put batteries in the Universal Remote and voila. Ready to roll.

Except it wasn't. I didn't. Roll, I mean. I pressed B. Everything went on. The TV said "Video 2 NO SIGNAL" and there was no picture. The sound was fine. The cable box was on. But I think a picture is part of the whole deal, don't you? I pressed some other buttons. Now the sound went out too.

So I went to the cabinet and got out my poor, disrespected TV remote. Cycled through the Inputs. Found the right HD button to restore the picture. Then I took out the remote associated with my sound system and got that up and running again, too. Pretty soon it was all back to normal. Then I put my new Universal Remote into a drawer. I'll take it out in a couple of months and see if I'm smart enough to get it working then. Perhaps I won't have a cocktail beforehand, like I did last night.

You want to be sharp when you're operating heavy machinery.

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Comments

[Jeff Yablon]

Are you kidding?

I agree that Universal Remotes are a disappointment. TOTALLY. But the failure you describe isn't about them (nor was your Windows Wireless story about it), but about . . . YOU.

Now with that said, I'm not picking on you. The experiences you mention are all too common and a byproduct of either poor design, designers being geekier than real people, or a combination of the two.

I say all the time that the only way advanced technology works is if it's made so simple that you can't screw it up. Funny that you cited a TV example; all that has to work on your TV is Power, Channels, and Volume; the rest is window dressing.

But your piece misses the point, and instead is an attempt at funny. With a forum like HuffPost, I wish you had taken this more seriously.

Jeff Yablon
http://answerguy.com

[bobinson]

How much are you willing to pay for a universal remote? I have found several that work but the price point starts at around $150. Setup can take the better part of an hour and requires an internet connection. Make sure the remote has a touchscreen of some kind.

[CosmicIrony]

I just got a Universal remote for about $70, used my laptop to configure it with the codes for the devices I have (TV, DVD, Tivo, sound system, CD player) based on the model numbers for each, and voila!

I press 1 button and it turns on the required components & sets me up for watching TV, or a DVD, etc. Even the advanced features of my TV etc are controllable through this remote, and it has a screen to allow for help etc.

I love it - and it even works when I've had a glass of wine or two!