What is best programable remote for Tivo peanut lover

[brucedelta]

I have never bothered with a programable remote since I begun using Tivo in 1999 as I just love the peanut. When I upgraded to DirecTivo the peanut could control my Onkyo receiver (volume & Mute) and Mitsubishi RPTV. So life was fine.

I recently got the proview 32" LCD for the hot tub/sunroom, and it is the perfect TV for this semi-outdoor environment. I use a HR10-250 with this set.

So now the big question? I have 2 goals, the first is to control the power and volume at a minimum on the Proview. The second is to put the HR10-250 indoors and just run a HDMI cable through the wall out to where the TV is. So I need to set up either and IR repeater of a RF remote of some sort.

I know allot of people like the Harmony series. For those who liked the peanut to start with are you happy with the Harmony or is there another device you would think is better.

If you never liked the peanut to start with please refrain telling me what you think is so much better than tne Peanut. I recognize it is not everyones cup of tea, but I want to know thoughts of those who looked to replace that look and feel.

PS - Any LCD based remote is out for me due to low light vision difficulty. This is probably what leads to my love of the peanut, I can use it entirely by feel.

[bluntedat420]

I use the Harmony 680. Coming from the peanut remote, you won't be disappointed. Don't get the 688 or the 676, the 680 has button placement quite similar to the peanuts.

[JimSpence]

Although not laid out the same as the peanut, take a look at the URC-6131.

[RunnerFL]

I use the URC-6131. Only 1 button that's not in the same area as on the peanut. The remote even has thumbs up and thumbs down. Not to mention you can get the remote for under $20...

http://ofausa.com/remote.php?type=URC%206131

[Chandler Mike]

Originally Posted by bluntedat420

I use the Harmony 680. Coming from the peanut remote, you won't be disappointed. Don't get the 688 or the 676, the 680 has button placement quite similar to the peanuts.

I just got a Harmony 659 and I love it...controls the TV, Tivo, DVD and Receiver...

Mike

[DavidS]

Originally Posted by bluntedat420

I use the Harmony 680. Coming from the peanut remote, you won't be disappointed. Don't get the 688 or the 676, the 680 has button placement quite similar to the peanuts.

I have the 676 and love it (except for a reluctant select button that takes some getting used to). I don't know the reason for recommending (above) the 680 but noy the 676 - They appear to be the same in button placement and functionality

I first bought the 659 because it was the only one available at a B&M store (other than the much more expensive 880). But the play buttons were at the bottom - couldn't use it easily with one hand. Got the 676 from Amazon and it was cheaper than the 659 at Best Buy.

[Chandler Mike]

Originally Posted by DavidS

I have the 676 and love it (except for a reluctant select button that takes some getting used to). I don't know the reason for recommending (above) the 680 but noy the 676 - They appear to be the same in button placement and functionality

I first bought the 659 because it was the only one available at a B&M store (other than the much more expensive 880). But the play buttons were at the bottom - couldn't use it easily with one hand. Got the 676 from Amazon and it was cheaper than the 659 at Best Buy.

Yeah, I programmed the 6 custom buttons up top to be play, FF, REW, skip and and repeat because I couldn't stand the buttons at the bottom.

Mike

[danvines]

I have a Harmony 659 and the URC-6131, and there is NO comparison between the two. The Harmony is vastly superior.

I have my eye on the 880 to replace the 659 (in my home theater) so the 659 can replace the 6131 in the living room.

Dan

[TrojanHorse]

I love the peanut (except for the clear & enter buttons being on the very bottom) and I have two home theater master MX-500 remotes (different rooms) that control about 8 devices... I like LCD displays, and I like macros. Even my remote-o-phobe wife really likes the MX series.

I have three peanuts laying around - it's nice to have just one remote.

[DavidS]

Originally Posted by brucedelta

PS - Any LCD based remote is out for me due to low light vision difficulty. This is probably what leads to my love of the peanut, I can use it entirely by feel.

All of the Harmonys have an LCD screen, of course, but the only thing I need it for in the 676 is to change aspect on the TV, and I could even program some other button for that if I needed to.

[pjdoogie]

I just got the 880, and although it does not have the feel of the peanut, after using it for 2 weeks I like it and the peanut feels "strange" when I use it upstairs on my kids' tivos.

One of the main reasons that I prefer it because the TV on/off button is right below the repeat button (takes you back 8 seconds) which I use a lot. I have a JVC D-ILA TV that takes not less than 2 minutes to power/cool down when you hit the off button and you must wait to turn it back on (also takes another 60 seconds). I found myself consistently hitting the on/off botton too much when attempting to repeat. The 880 layout takes a little getting used to, but it runs everything and is idiot/wife-proof.

[mczolton]

Originally Posted by TrojanHorse

I love the peanut (except for the clear & enter buttons being on the very bottom) and I have two home theater master MX-500 remotes (different rooms) that control about 8 devices... I like LCD displays, and I like macros. Even my remote-o-phobe wife really likes the MX series.

I have three peanuts laying around - it's nice to have just one remote.

I've got to tip my hat to the MX-500 as well as the consumer line from URC (URC-200 and URC-300). I love these remotes and so does my wife

Mark

[rpfotog]

I've got an answer for both questions. First, I'd suggest getting the Hot Link Pro remote repeater.

http://www.hot-link.com/hotlink.html

I use one and it's incredible. It has a small box that you situate near your components. The box has a sort of ribbon cable made up of thin wires with small IR transmitters on the ends. You separate the strands of wire and stick the tiny IR transmitters onto the IR windows of all your components. Then you'd run the included IR sensor cable from the box, through your wall (along with the HDMI cable) and into the room where you'll be watching TV. The IR sensor on that cable is extremely sensitive and will work with nearly any placement. It's completely inconspicuous and I can attest to the power and performance of the product. I've had mine for nearly a year and it has been flawless.

The HotLink sensor is considerably more sensitive than the sensors on several of my components so it really works well without having to precisely aim the remote. It allows me to hide all of my gear in a funky piece of furniture that looks like a Chinese cabinet. (I modified the cabinet's bottom and back for ventilation) No one ever sees the receiver, CD player, DVD player or TiVo...they just work invisibly. Very cool.

As for the remote...I'm really partial to the Home Theater Master MX-700...

http://www.remotecentral.com/mx700/index.html

...mostly beacuse it's the first and only universal remote that I bought for my setup. Don't dismiss this remote just because it has an LCD. I almost NEVER look at the LCD when I'm surfing because it's so close to the TiVo peanut's feel and button layout.

You program it with a PC (I'm a Mac guy but I keep a cheap Windows box around for stuff like this) using a free application called MX Editor. Or you can aim the remotes toward each other and follow the included instructions to read commands directly from the peanut into the MX-700.

The MX Editor program provides much more flexibility and options allowing you to load complete remote profiles for nearly every IR controlled device on Earth. People also create and share their own profiles online. I have a custom remote profile that I created for the HR10-250 to suit my viewing preferences but it's essentially a clone of the TiVo peanut with a few extra options.

One of the nice things about a universal remote like the MX-700 is the ability to create and run macros. For instance, I have a macro programmed for the 'On' button which turns on the Plasma display, sets its input to 'Video 3' for the TiVo, sets the TiVo to 'live tv', turns on the stereo receiver and sets the input to 'TiVo'. I have another macro set up for the DVD button which changes the TV input to 'Video 4', turns on the DVD player and then changes the stereo receiver to the DVD input. The point is that macros allow you to do many things with the touch of a single button. Very cool indeed.

I can share my HR10-250 profile if you decide to go that way. It'll save you the trouble of programming it yourself and it even has discreet (separate) on and off codes which are nice to have. Discreet on/off codes are a must if you're concealing things and creating macros. You want to be sure that it's off when you want it to be off...you know? Most remotes just use an on/off toggle which could lead to confusion and extra macro programming...but that's a whole other discussion.

best--

Rp

[Rayzfan]

OK, I'm kidding. But I never want my Harmony to leave my side of the couch. My wife gets the Peanut; I get the Harmony -- it makes for a Harmony'eous relationship.

[TrojanHorse]

I think if you include a bad pun in your first post, you should be banned on general principle.

[Guindalf]

I have the 880 and I love it. I've messed around with several others, but the Harmony is the ONLY remote that'll do everything - and do it well!

Add to that the fact that all you need to do is tell the website what equipment you have, what inputs you need for all of your equipment and upload it to the remote, it's so simple to set up even I managed it!!!


Thoroughly recommended. Take a look at www.logitech.com/harmony for details but go to www.pricegrabber.com for the best price.

[JohnTivo]

I'm going to throw in my hat with the MX line from Universal Remote Conrtol(http://www.universalremote.com/). I personally have two, the MX-700 and the MX-800. Though not as slick as the latest Harmony offering, MX's do a great job.

[falz]

I always chime in on these because most people have either a Home Theater Master, Logitech/Harmony, or some One for All variety.

I personally prefer the Sony RM-VL900:

http://www.remotecentral.com/vl900/

It's not found "new" in stores any longer, but you can get a new/refurbed one for $25 shipped online (I just got a 2nd one last month).

It's a perfect size/weight, buttons are laid out perfectly. Very good pictures on the site above.

I have one controlling TiVo, DVD, TV, Xbox, Receiver, CD, and maybe something else. It has no screen but there's just the right amount of buttons to work perfectly for everything. Plenty of memory too, all of my functions are programmed in button per button for most devices.

The 2nd one I purchased is for the bedroom- I kept picking up cheap OFA remotes but the button layout stunk on all of them that I used.

Note that I don't use thumbs up/down, and I use the "PIP" button on this remote for the TiVo button.

--falz

[JTAnderson]

I have a Harmony 680, which is the first universal remote that I've ever had that actually fulfilled the promise of getting down to a single remote. I'm also a loyal Peanut lover.

It's not perfect. I probably make more wrong button presses than I used to with the Peanut; usually involving the skip-to-end/ff or skip-back/rew buttons. But for the most part, it is very usable without looking at it.

Now, here's the interesting part. For the last couple of weeks, I've had most of my home entertainment center dismantled. I have only the HD TiVo hooked straight to the TV. So, I switched back to the peanut (to avoid reprogramming the Harmony for this temporary situation). I find that I now probably prefer the Harmony to the peanut. Probably 90% (or more) of the button presses that I do during normal TV watching, I can do on the Harmony without moving from the center section. With the Peanut, I frequently need to move from the center section to the top section. And, I have to think about it.

I've looked at the Harmony 880, and I'm pretty sure that I would prefer the 680 button layout to the 880.

FWIW, I've owned the Core remote (an interesting device), some Memorex branded thing from Radio Shack (holds the longevity record), a Pronto (not really usable due to lack of hard buttons) and the Harmony. I'd say all but the Harmony have a WAF close to zero.

[bluntedat420]

Hmmm...the differences between the Harmony 659, 676 and 680?

I mentioned I liked the button layout of the 680 vs. the others, and here's why (I took these from the Logitech website):

The 659:


The 676:


The 680


On the 680, the play/pause/ff/rew/replay/skip are surrounding the 'OK(select)' button. I prefer this to having the play buttons either at the bottom or toward the top of the remote. The main difference between the 676 and the 680 is the placement of those buttons. On the 680, they surround the OK and the directional ring. On the 676, the OK/ring are surrounded by buttons like Pic, Sound, and a few other buttons used far less than play/pause/rew, etc.

I know the pictures don't really tell the whole story, but the OP was looking for a remote most like the TiVo peanut remote. I haven't yet seen a peanut remote where the play buttons (play/pause, etc.) are below the numbers. I have also found the 680 for just over $100 from newegg.com (just got one for my parents and they had no problems using it -- they aren't the most tech-savvy people, so I did the initial programming). I also love how the navigation "circle" is so close the the play buttons. My thumb doesn't have to move very far to swap tuners, switch shows, or set up recordings(which I just noticed JTAnderson mentioned).

BTW, I have no experience with the MX-series remotes.

[buckeyenut]

Another vote for the 680. It has the most logical button layout comaparible to the nut (see pictures above). I've used this remote for over 8 months and have absolutely no complaints. You can also find this remote online for less than a hundred bucks now.

[ellinj]

Just got my 676, everthing works well, the only thing I don't like is the feel of the select and arrow buttons around the select.

[Guindalf]

Open and shut case, I think.

Choose whichever model you want, but make sure it's in the Harmony family!

[hockeynut]

MX500 here. I love it!

[mczolton]

Originally Posted by hockeynut

MX500 here. I love it!

The nice thing about the MX-500 and other remotes from URC is that the buttons are easy to find and use in the dark. I never have to look at the remote - unless of course I need to use the commands on the LCD.

Mark

[DavidS]

Originally Posted by DavidS

...I don't know the reason for recommending (above) the 680 but noy the 676 - They appear to be the same in button placement and functionality ...

Originally Posted by bluntedat420

The main difference between the 676 and the 680 is the placement of those buttons. On the 680, they surround the OK and the directional ring. On the 676, the OK/ring are surrounded by buttons like Pic, Sound, and a few other buttons used far less than play/pause/rew, etc.

Right you are. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the buttons are as you describe.

To the OP, choose which ever one meets your own preferences.

[ryttingm]

Another vote for the mx-500.

However, your situation also requires an rf remote for controlling the HDTivo through the wall of the house. I just recently replaced my mx-500 of 3 years (which I absolutely love) with an mx-600 which is identical to the mx-500 and it has RF capability. It was an easy switch for me since I could "clone" my mx-500 setup onto the new mx-600. Some of the higher model URC remotes like the mx-700 mx-800 and mx-850 also have RF capability, but you'll find the mx-600 at a much more reasonable price. I just purchased my mx-600 off newegg for 135 dollars and this includes the RF receiver as well.

[CorrysD]

I have and love the Harmony 680, as well, and in order to fully "peanut-ize" it, I remapped the center OK button to the pause button!

[Spiky]

Y'all must have small hands. I use the MX-500. The peanut drives me nuts for being awkward and small. I've fiddled with the Harmonys, but decided against them for now for size, esp the 880. They would probably be better for grandparent use, but I haven't wanted to drop extra on remotes functionally similar to my MX-500s. And the OFA 6131 gives new definition to the phrase "tiny buttons", but it is quite capable for a very reasonable price.

I should point out that the reference above to "URC-6131" is incorrect. URC is the MX-500/700 company (product line: Home Theater Master), UEI (dba OFA) is the 6131 company.

[Edmund]

Originally Posted by Spiky

I should point out that the reference above to "URC-6131" is incorrect. URC is the MX-500/700 company (product line: Home Theater Master), UEI (dba OFA) is the 6131 company.

The URC-6131 model # is correct, UEI has been using the prefix "URC" since the 80's, and continues to this day.