URC RFS200 PowerPak Bundle w/ MasterControl RF20 and PowerBlaster by Universal Remote Control, Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $70.49 You Save: $99.50 (59%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $50.00 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of URC RFS200 PowerPak Bundle w/ MasterControl RF20 and PowerBlaster
Digital camera Review: Awesome!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Honestly, I really had my doubts with this but WOW.. it is great! I put everything in a cabinet and can control them all- woohoo!!
The way it works.. you put a little RF/IR receiver inside the space where you have your components, if needed attach 'eyes' to IR sensors on your devices. Your remote sends RF & IR signals to receiver & receiver transmits RF to your devices (thru eyes when/if needed).
Surprisingly, I only had to use a few of the special 'eyes' to get some things to work. I'm not sure if the remote has a super powerful IR but most things work without them. Or maybe some RF signal is bouncing around inside my cabinet. But, the things which did need the eyes.. took a few seconds to afix to front of each component and they worked instantly (once I found the IR sensor on the components :). Oh yeah.. the sticky part of the 'eye' gets attached on top of IR sensor on device.. not on front of cabinet door or anything. That wasn't really clear in the manual.
As for ease of programming the remote.. there are codes for many peripherals which worked great. The one item of mine which didn't have a code (a DVD/DVR combo device)was fairly easily "learned" by their remote, but a little time consuming. Ok.. so entering the codes, etc, was not difficult but time consuming.
You can also set up 'Macros' to turn things on & off at once but I had problems with this. The macros worked but I only wanted a few things on at a time and I couldn't figure out how to not invoke the master on/off macro when I was trying to turn on/off various devices which I didn't need on all the time. For example, I would use On Macro for TV & receiver. Fine. Then I'd turn on Bluray player at some point and later want to only turn it off. When I hit 'off' it would invoke the 'off' Macro and everything would go off. Anyway, I'm sure someone with more patience than I could figure it out.
If I could just break my habit of pointing my remote toward the cabinet (remember RF, RF.. no line of sight needed!!), I'd be a full power user.. (sans Macros)!!
Digital camera Review: Best I have had yet
Summary: 5 Stars
Out of all the remotes I have had this is the best yet. Like others said, the manual is lacking and it took me awhile to figure out the macros but once past that learning curve it was smooth sailing. It did anything that I wanted it to do and accepted all the learning codes I sent it. Great.
I have the RF20 where it will start the TV or projector with Directv or Blue-ray as the video source,and switch in between the sources without having to shut everything down and then back on to the source I need. I do suggest that if you have a lot of components that you do the learning from your old remotes and edit your text. Also look at hiding pages that you don't need. For 80 bucks, you cant go wrong.
Digital camera Review: Best RF remote kit for the price!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't believe this thing is so cheap! For the money, you can't beat it - Macro functions, learning ability. I've installed remotes like the Monster RF remote (which is the same as the Logitech Harmony with a different shell and web interface) which cost 4 times the price, and this one had less programming bugs since it's all manually done as opposed to software. There are 2 days of my life I'll never get back thanks to Monster/Logitech! All because they didn't have a new piece of gear's codes entered properly in their online database...
All that to say, this remote does exactly the same thing the more expensive ones do. Sure it's not as fun to program as the ones that do so via software, but it just freaking works!
Like all RF remotes, the batteries go pretty fast - FYI.
I'm a HUGE fan of Universal Remote's stuff and this one is one of my favorites for sure! I install this stuff for a living, so I know what I'm talking about. :)
Digital camera Review: Best remote I have ever used.
Summary: 5 Stars
I needed a RF remote and decided on the RF-20 from Universal and love it. Really easy to use and program. I have used other RF remotes and this one by far is the best. No problems with signals. I have devices in another room and it never misses a signal.
I did have an issue while programming because of the cable remote I have. Tech support was very helpful and solved it.
Would buy this again w/o even thinking about it.
Digital camera Review: Best universal remote I own!
Summary: 5 Stars
I received the RF20 universal remote control PowerPak for Christmas and couldn't have asked for a better gift. I am impressed with the remote's ability to control all of my A/V devices, especially some older units where previous remotes didn't work or I could not find codes. To bad it doesn't come with a code for Wii. The learning feature for this remote is outstanding and I was able to simply condense 3-4 remotes into 1. I spent several hours on programming but didn't mind, as I like to do it myself. The instructions were written well but can be a little confusing and it even comes with a DVD. I agree with other writers who stated the backlight is a little dim but how many universal remotes today come with this feature for this price? I particularly enjoy the On/Off macro feature, which allows the remote to turn everything on and off with one button. The layout is similar to the satellite remote we own and certainly adds to the ease of use. Overall I am exceptionally pleased with the remote and looking forward to using some of the more advanced features.