Sony RM-VL600 8-Device Universal Learning Remote

Let's just say I love my home-theater system. That said, I hate all those remote controls. There's one for TV, one for the sound system, one for the DVD recorder, one for my old VCR, and one for cable-TV. Sometimes it's a frustrating challenge to figure out which is which. What a pain! A new Sony Remote Control comes to the rescue! Exciting and convenient, the RM-VL600 controls up to 8 components, and with the One-touch system control, synchronizing operational status on remote and alternate components is done with ease. Also a Learning function for programming from other remotes. Being in the driver's seat of your living room sofa is made easy with the RM-VL600 Remote Control from Sony. Uses 2 AA Alkaline Batteries for up to 1-year operation Dual beem for longer distance Memory back-up DVD menu Picture in Picture PIP control where applicable

Perfect remote under $25

Review Date: August 28, 2006

Reviewer: Tony Polito, Greenville, North Carolina

I bought three of these for my home last week to replace a pile of remotes in my living room, den and bedroom. For each room, I needed at least some of the buttons on each of the remotes to do this or that. No more, thanks to the "learning" function. You start out, of course, by putting in the code for each device as found in the table in the back of the manual. Under Satellite, DirecTV codes were listed but not my DishTV device. No problem. The "search for correct code" function found it after just a few keystrokes. Now, after that, some of the functions were missing. For instance, after coding in my DVD device, the Sony600 remote did not seem to have a button that would open/close the DVD tray door ... even though the original DVD remote did. No problem. This Sony600 easily "learns" what your original remote buttons do. The Sony600's DVD "exit" button didn't do anything, so I taught it to do what my original remote's "open/close" button did. How? Basically you just point the two remotes head-to-head, push the Sony600's "learn" button, push the button on the Sony600 that you want "to learn," then push the button on the original remote that you want "to be learned." Ta-da! Save the "learning" and you are done. I was able to transfer EVERY function from ALL my other remotes onto my Sony600 ... I now have one remote (in each room) that will do EVERYTHING ALL the other remotes did. AND the range is much better than the old remotes as well. Plus you can train the Sony600 to record and replay a sequence of keystrokes you make on the Sony600 ... it will replay the sequence with a one button touch (the A-B-C-D buttons at bottom are for that). I trained it to do several of these "macros" as well. For instance, I have some wireless headphones attached to the TV ... to make them work, I have to go into the TV's menu and work my way over to the place where I redirect the audio output and such. Turned on the Sony600 "learn" mode, then just performed all the required kestrokes .... TV, menu, down, left, left, enter and so on ... then saved it to the button at the bottom. It's just that simple. All that for under $25. This is an excellent investment, run out and get one today !!

Amazing value for what you get

Review Date: March 31, 2007

Reviewer: Joe Smith, NJ, USA

I was considering a harmony remote to consolidate my remotes, but I just couldn't justify the price. I've used the pronto when they first came out several years ago, so I'm somewhat familiar with what to expect with features for high end universal remotes. On to the review, I paid nearly full retail price for this remote (a whopping $23), but I don't regret it because this is a purchase that is actually very useful for me. There are lots of universal remotes on the market, but I chose this one because: 1. It is not over-cluttered with buttons. Some people may want more buttons, but not me. The more buttons the higher the level of unfamiliarity with the device and the longer it takes to get used to. Particularly if you tend to use tactile feel (rather than sight) to navigate your way around the remote like I do. 2. This is a true learning remote as many have stated. It ships with a decent quantity of default codes to program your device (it found 2 out of 4 of my devices using the included codes in the manual). More importantly, it is VERY EASY to manually assign functions to each button (within each of the eight device functions) using your existing remote. This may sound like a lot of potential functions, but this device can actually accommodate all of these user-added functions without running out of storage/memory. 3. Macros. The four buttons on the bottom of the remote are devoted to macros. I can turn-on my dvd, switch my TV input, turn on my receiver, and open the dvd tray with the touch of one button. The possibilities here go as far you want it to. 4. Battery life. This device has no LCD display, it has no CD required to set it up, or drivers needed to download. It looks like a basic remote that I wouldn't mind sleeping on or accidentally dropping. It uses 2 AA batteries (does not ship with batteries). 5. Reviews. Look at the reviews for this unit on other sites. They are consistently higher and more favorable than anything else out there, and I can see why. I rate this so highly because I thought I had to get a harmony in this day and age, but I was so pleased to see that there was such a cheaper alternative that actually suits my needs better. UPDATE: 2/19/10 I misplaced this remote after moving over a year ago, and have since purchased a Harmony 880 (mine doesn't have the faulty charge issues associated with this model). I used the Harmony for a while, but a few months ago I found the Sony remote. I began using both remotes side by side (after reprogramming the Sony with my other newer devices), and in the end I actually use the Sony and leave the logitech on its charging cradle. Here is why: 1. The Sony doesn't need a charging cradle. One pair of regular alkaline batteries lasts close to a year for me. This is no where near possible with the logitech. 2. Both devices can be manually programmed for the specific functions you want to match with the particular input. However, maybe it's my particular setup, but I actually found it more convoluted to tailor my needs with the logitech because you have you to use a computer interface (connecting cables, update, load, save, etc). With the Sony, it will be manual as well, but no need to install a program on a PC and go through additional steps just to get it to start and confirm. 3. The main drawback for the Sony, at least for me, is that it doesn't include buttons to skip or rewind to the next scene. Obviously it has fast fwd and rwd (e.g. >>, <<), just not the next scene buttons (e.g. >>|, <<|). A minor drawback, depending on your needs. 4. I have programmed the Sony with 2 different Windows media center remotes I have. In other words, I've also used this to replace the remote with 2 different media center PC's I've had (obviously the logitech does this as well). 5. Sometimes simpler is better when you don't need a slick display on your remote. I don't mean to knock on Harmony's by writing this review, I only do it because this is one of the very few electronic devices I've had from a long time ago that can still serve a very practical purpose to this day. As far the Harmony line goes, I don't see how that's a better value unless you have IR remotes for devices behind walls. Until a company can develop a remote that can combine the features of universal learning remote WITH easy to use mouse and keyboard features I feel that I need 2 remotes: one for the devices, and one for HTPC (unless you ONLY use Windows media center for your PC). For the price, it really is an amazing value if you take some time to read the manual and you know how to manually program the remote.

Quite possibly the perfect remote

Review Date: April 3, 2007

Reviewer: SaintViper, United States

Several years ago I picked up a Sony RM-VL900. I was amazed at how versatile it was. Easy to program, it did everything, and my wife could easily understand how to use our complex home entertainment system because of it. At the time, I reviewed the remote and gave it 5 stars which it still deserves even 4 years later. To this day I have friends that swear by the other universal remotes they own, yet they always seem to have a pile of original remotes handy to cover stuff their universal remotes can't do. With the Sony, all my other remotes are put away and most haven't seen the light of day since I used them to program the Sony. There's simply no need for them anymore. 4 Years later and my VL900 is still serving me well, but the printing on the buttons has worn off making it difficult for others to use. I looked for a replacement but they don't make it anymore. I considered a high end Harmony remote at several hundred dollars, but after trying one out realized that the LCD screen actually makes them more complicated to use for novices than the Sony. In addition, one of the best features of the Sony is the shape and layout of the buttons. I can easily navigate my Sony simply by feel because of the excellent button shapes and layout. The Harmony remote has buttons that are all squished together. It looks nice but can't be navigated by feel as easily. At first I didn't even consider the RM-VL600 because at the price. I assumed it was an inferior non-learning, non-macro remote. Luckily I took a look at it and quickly realized that not only is it very similar to the VL900, but actually sports some improvements. There are 3 extra buttons compared to the VL900, and one extra dedicated macro button. Just like the VL900, the VL600 allows you to program macro commands into the component selection buttons for a total of 12 macro buttons. And the 600 was able to learn every command for all of my components just like the 900 did. Each button can be individually programmed to do any command you want. For some components I didn't even use the pre-programmed codes because I knew I'd be creating a very custom setup. The remote handled it without a problem. The only drawbacks I could find with the remote are that it isn't tapered like the 900 was and the 900 was heavier which I liked. It also doesn't control RF devices. I've gotten used to the non-tapered shape and lightness off the 600 (2 batteries instead of 4). As for the RF, the cheapest remote I could find that controls both RF and IR components costs twelve times as much as this remote, so that can hardly be considered a drawback of this remote considering the price. In summary, for a simple to fairly complex home theater setup, this is one of the best remotes you can buy. It's easy to set up despite not having a pc interface, very flexible to handle a lot of different setups, and once set up, it's easy and comfortable to use. The fact that is costs less than half as much as the extremely capable remote that it replaces is an even bigger bonus. This remote easily performs as well as or better than remotes that cost ten times as much.

Too cheap to complain too much

Review Date: April 16, 2007

Reviewer: orangekay, San Francisco, CA United States

This is easily the cheapest fully programmable remote you're likely to find out there, but there are some tradeoffs. It's not very comfortable to hold, the buttons are in weird places, and Sony still doesn't think people need a full set of DVD playback controls for some reason (there's no difference between track forward, fast forward and frame forward in their minds). But if you're like me and don't want to shell out $200 for some backlit Logitech LCD nightmare just to change channels, it'll definitely do the trick.

Powerful Solid Learning Remote at Low Cost

Review Date: August 30, 2006

Reviewer: JHL, NY USA

Was looking for universal remote from Harmony 6xx series & One For All 89xx series but I don't see the need to install software/cables in order to program a remote....(a remote is suppose to make our life easier, not more complicate..) Surprisingly, at only twnty & change Sony come out with such a powerful & solid built remote you are not missing much comparing with other remotes that charges hundreds more while offering similar functions. not to mention that there's no need to install sofware or cables to program the remotes. It quickly swallow the pre-program codes for my TV & Home theater system, also easily learned the codes from Satellite receiver and 2 lesser known DVD players, then I created a macro (it allows up to 12 macros)to accomplish multi tasks. Now I can just press DVD button for 2 sec, it will automatically switch to proper DVD input setting on TV, turn on the Home Theater Receiver & switch to DVD setting of receiver, then turn on DVD player, open the tray..etc) I then apply similar macro to "watch cable tv", "watch satellite tv" and "listen to CD" ...etc, that pretty much covers 99% of the need for average user. It only uses 2 AA battery & not so heavy/punishing if dropped on floor accidentally. The remote has enough built in memory capacity to learn almost any buttons of any device. The memory will not lost even if you take the battery out. I also like the large Channel/Volume buttons layout which resembles OEM remote comes with panasonic plasma TV. the Rubber buttons also response well & feel better than the 'hard buttons' on other brand. Although it does not have backlite (except for 8 device buttons), the brushed aluminum face plate looks neat and reflect enough light source to all buttons. In summary, function wise it rivals those programmable remote control that cost several times more, it's a very solid remote with nice keypad layout & resembles those name-brand OEM remotes & most of all.. "EASY" to learn and use.