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How to Buy a Universal Remote

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Written by John T Delven

Sunday, 27 April 2008

by JohnTDelven

These days homes are filled with various electronic entertainment units and each one require their own remote to operate them. Universal remotes enable you to control each entertainment unit with just one controller.

Types of Universal Remotes

There are a wide variety of universal remote controls, ranging in price and functions. At the low end, the remotes will control only the TV and some associated entertainment devices. At the higher end, there are LCD touchscreen models that are able to control a large range of electronic devices such as your PC, stereo and lights.

Codes for the Remotes

Usually, a remote will have codes inbuilt and the user will cycle through them to select the one corresponding to the device to be used.

Just about every universal remote includes preprogrammed codes for a broad range of manufacturers. In addition to preprogrammed codes, remotes with learning capabilities are able to copy the signals of your old remotes, thus "learning" the proper signal to send to your A/V gear.

How to Program A Remote

However, for you new remote to work it must somehow know what entertainment gear you have and this is why they must be programed.

Because programming a universal remote can be a fairly complex procedure, it is most often performed by technically-minded individuals, although non-technical users can often operate the remote after it has been programmed. The work you put in programming the remote is paid back in spades when it comes to operating your home theater.

Programing is made easy by some remotes which allow the codes for different manufacturers to be downloaded from your PC to your universal remote. If you choose to program your new remote manually then you usually find the codes in the instruction book.

Conclusion

A universal remote is a smart way to consolidate the operation and management of your home entertainment system into a single, convenient controller. They are a great gift idea for the gadget freak in your home and you'll like it too.

About the Author:

Discount Universal Remote Controls are available for sale at John Delven's web shop, including RCA universal remotes, Philips, Motorola and Sony at web amazing prices. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.