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Universal Remote Control Reviews

With a TV, a Blu-ray player, a media tank and more, your living room can soon get cluttered up with remotes. Why not keep things looking neat and tidy with a universal remote control?

Régis Jehl
Updated: April 23, 2012

Our tests

Our tests are carried out on a typical audio visual set-up: a TV from 2007, an audio amp linked up to speakers, a set-top box and a media centre.

We check out how the remote recognises devices, how to adapt the remote to the equipment used, the hardware and build quality and how useful any bonus features really are (screen, backlighting and so on).

Have you noticed how your living room is filling up with remotes? A clue for you: when someone says "I can't understand how to work all this. I can't even turn on the telly!" then you know you've got a problem. But of course, any problem has its solution.

And today's is the universal remote, replacing all the remotes for your TV, Blu-ray player, media centre, set-top box and more. There are models for all budgets with more or less advanced features. We're going to be testing the whole range to find out whether price is any indication of quality and why exactly a universal remote is any better than a standard remote.

What should you expect from your universal remote?

A universal remote should be able to replace all your other remotes. It must therefore be easy to use, comfortable to hold and above all, it should do its job well! There should be enough buttons for you not to have to resort to the original zapper when you want to go into the advanced menu, for example.

But a universal remote should also make life easier. It should therefore allow you to carry out complicated operations easily, such as turning your TV on, switching it to the right video input, turning on the audio amp and then finally turning on your Blu-ray player, all at one touch of a button. Simplicity above all!

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