Product Review: Universal Remote Control , Model R7

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From Matthew Torres, former About.com Guide

Product Review: Universal Remote Control , Model R7

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The Bottom Line

Universal Remote Control's pre-programmed and learning R7 doesn't have a LCD screen. It doesn't make noises or talk back to you. Exactly what does it do? It works and that is the most important feature with this inexpensive and practically-designed universal remote control.

At the time of this review the R7 was priced $39.99 at several Pricegrabber e-tailers.

Pros

Buttons are large, easy to read and press
Has all buttons needed to operate any device
Reasonably priced
Easy to program and operate

Cons

Doesn't look like a high end product - no LCD screen
The finger pad doesn't illuminate when pressing any button.

Description

The R7 has a gray casing with light gray accents. The buttons are large and legible.
Line of sight signal strength is 30-50 feet. The battery cover won't come off when dropped.
SimpleSound and MacroPower special features can control all devices at the same time.
The learning function is capable of 160 IR commands at 15kHz to 100kHz frequencies.
It uses two AA batteries, is 2 1/8" x 1 1/8" x 8 3/4", and weighs 6.9 oz.
The R7 has a one year warranty from the date of purchase.

Guide Review - Product Review: Universal Remote Control , Model R7

Universal Remote Control brand R7 is a reasonably-priced pre-programmed universal remote control with learning functions. It commands up to seven devices:

Stereo
CD player
VCR
TV
DVD player
Cable/satellite receiver
Auxilliary device

Overview

The R7 has hundreds of pre-programmed codes for most TV/Video manufacturers. It also has SimpleSound and MacroPower. They gives the user control of every programmed device at once. The R7 has a learning function that allows it to learn individual commands from any TV/Video device's remote control that doesn't have a pre-programmed code.

How Does It Rate?

Let me get the bad news out of the way:[

The R7 doesn't look fancy.
It doesn't have a LCD screen
The user must press the 'light' button to illuminate the key pad.

These aren't deal-breakers.

The good news begins with how it works. The R7 is easy to program and work. The owner's manual is easy to understand. Within minutes I programmed my two Samsung televisions, satellite receiver and CD player with the pre-programmed codes.

I then programmed an Oppo Digital 970HD DVD player with the learning function, which took about ten minutes to complete...it worked like a charm. If that failed I could've used the auto-programming function as a last resort.

SimpleSound and MacroPower were also easy to program and use.

The Bottom Line: The R7 is a simply-designed universal remote control that is pound-for-pound one of the best universal remotes on the market. This is something I would buy.