Customer Reviews

Acoustic Research ARRU449 Universal Smart Remote Control

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I loved the extra features of this product, which is why I bought it. Unfortunately the click365.tv, the company that supplies the Wifi access to the remote must have gone out of business. this is what is on their website.
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Effective 26th October 2009
The click365.tv update service for the following remote controls has been been partially discontinued:

*ESPN The Ultimate Remote
*Audiovox ARRU449
If you own one of the above remotes, the following services have been removed from your remote:
*TV Listings / Guide
*Messaging
*Headlines / Click365 (News stories)
*Weather
*Search
*Mine Sweeper
*Online back up of your remote control devices
The device will continue to operate as a remote control. Furthermore, users of ESPN The Ultimate Remote will continue to be able to access online services through the browser [...]. We have deleted all personal information from our database, including your email address (if registered) and Short ID. Email and text messages directed to your alias "[...]" will no longer be delivered. We have also terminated technical support telephone and email services.
We sincerely apologies for any disappointment that the termination of the click365.tv service for the above remotes may cause.
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They had my email address and could not let me know that the service was discontinued. They also said they deleted my personal info, but I could still login to my account via [...]. The remote still works as a remote, but there are better remotes out there. They could have at least put a browser on it so I could access the internet, but now my remote will connect to my wireless but it serves no purpose.

I have now had 3 ARRU449 remotes. I do not use them as hockey pucks. They simply work for awhile and then fail. Trying to get them replaced is equal to the reliability of the unit. Both are losers!
In defense of the unit, set up is a breeze and when it works it is wonderful. In addition it allows you to access the internet for the TV programs in your area. Would I get another one - well hopefully Acoustic Research will send one but otherwise no way. I would look for a unit with better reliability

The guide service and other options such as weather with 365tv have been discontinued. It was awesome having the guide on the remote and picking the channel to go straight to it. Now it is just another universal remote. I have three in my house. The kids are pretending they are play telephones. Booooooo to AR for not keeping this service running and booooo to Amazon for still having it as a feature.

This is a good remote. Because of the wireless feature you can see the channel guide on it's screen. Easy to set up. Only flaw is that this is a rechargeable remote and if it dies you have to reset the thing. Not a big hassle but something you have to be aware of.

I decided to buck the trend and skip the Harmony remotes for this one. All my friends have Harmony remotes, and they're fairly awesome. This one was $50 cheaper, and I was really enticed by the wifi aspect.

I've been sorely disappointed so far.

Setting up my TV took way more effort than it needed to be. Whereas the Harmony remotes are configured on the web, where they have a nice database of model numbers and pictures you can check with, the AR remote simply does what every other universal remote does -- it has a catalog of "codes", and you have to pick the one that appears to work. On the up side, these codes are automatically available on the remote, you don't have to keep entering codes, you just arrow left and right through the list, and then try out the buttons for each one. You also get to see what buttons are supported natively, so you when you're programming your cable remote, you can skip the versions that don't have the PVR functions your cable box has.

Unfortunately, there isn't any good explanation for what the buttons actually map to. I have a hi-def TV with five inputs, plus two antennas. The only button that showed on list was "input", and that button on the remote only switched between the two antennas. It was only after I gave up that I found out it could properly switch to the other inputs, but only as "soft buttons" (using the menu on the screen to choose those functions). Once I figured that out, it worked fine. But then I moved on to my cable box.

The cable box is a Motorola, from Comcast. There were only three options for "Comcast" cable boxes, and only one appeared to have the features matching mine. There are 13 Motorola matches, and a handful matched. Somehow, I don't know how, but the channel up/channel down buttons now skip channels 2 at a time. I can't channel up from channel 3 to channel 4, it goes from 3 to 5.

Of course, I only found that problem after I spent a boatload of time trying to figure out how to tell the remote *not* to scroll through the channel listings on its screen, but just let me try to channel up and channel down on my own (I'm a pro TV surfer). I never did figure out how to do that -- I "solved" it by simply telling the remote that I have no guide data.

I've also been stymied by the fact that there are no page up/page down buttons. For a modern universal remote, it seems crazy that there are no page up/page down buttons -- they exist on my regular cable remote, and I use them constantly. I could train the buttons, but I still have no physical buttons to map them to.

And I still haven't been able to get it to turn my XBox 360 on and off, even after supposedly "training" the power button. Since I use that as my DVD player, that's almost a deal killer right there.

Keep in mind, I'm a software engineer. I'm used to monkeying with devices like this, and I'm used to archaic user interfaces and such, so if I say I can't figure out how to get around the guide and simply channel up/down on the cable box, it means it's definitely not obvious.

I'm fairly disappointed. The wifi aspect is pretty cool, because being able to check out sports scores and such on the remote while I'm watching a movie. If I lived with someone, I could easily see the benefit of being able to surf the channel listings without interfering with someone else watching TV (or watching a movie, playing a game, etc).

But when it comes down to being able to really use the remote as an adequate substitute for my existing remotes, it's really falling flat. The lack of page up/down buttons is a serious oversight these days, and the automatic downloading and switching of "codes" is helpful, but it's just not the innovation offered by Harmony.

I'm going to play with it some more, see if I can't get it to work with the devices I have. I'd probably be considered a "power user", though, so my disappointment may be that it doesn't satisfy my niche uses. But for $200, I'd expect something much more akin to the Harmony remotes.

3 Stars because it does its job as a universal remote, 4-5 Stars if Wi-Fi support is restored.

This remote has worked well for me and has not had any problems other reviewers here and on other sites mentioned, for example - it has never lost its configuration even when the battery died, all devices were supported (including x-box 360), and despite the odd placement of some buttons, it is nothing that I couldn't train myself to get used to. The only problems were a couple software lockups that were easily solved by pushing the reset button in the back after which it booted back up without issue and the wireless PCB board became disconnected after a drop from the second floor (yep, that's what I said), which I easily fixed by opening the case and simply plugging it back in.

However, as noted in the previous post, the WiFi support through Click365 is no longer active. This means no TV program guide, no weather forcast, and no software or firmware updates. Acoustic Research product support returned my e-mail within a day stating they were caught off guard and learned of the Click365 service discontinuation at the same time as customers, but they are researching alternative solutions. I'm not sure how quickly something like this can be arranged or how high on their priority list this project ranks, but I figure I'll give it a couple months, then request a refund from AR if they don't have a solution in place. It's amazing how we got used to having that electronic program guide at our fingertips with favorite program reminders and such. Hope this gets fixed soon.

As a universal remote, there are others that do the same job with easier implementations, but if Wi-Fi support is restored by another company, I would still recommend this over other universals.

I bought this remote for under $100 and really thought it would be a good replacement for my old Harmony. The feature list is truly amazing for the price, but means nothing as the remote simply does not complete the simple tasks that are standard for most other universals. Having a channel guide on the remote was somewhat handy, but was far outweighed by the following:

1. The remote setup is incredibly bad. You do not enter model numbers, but instead scroll through hundreds of generic code sets until you find one that works well. I am very tech oriented and was able to set everything up, but if you are not prepared to tweak command orders, durations, and other fine details, I would recommend the easy online setup of a harmony instead.

2. The remote does not operate an Xbox 360. It will power on/off the Xbox 360 about 1 out of every 20 tries, even when "programming" the code from the Xbox DVD remote.

3. The remote "forgets" which devices are on. When done with an activity, the power button sometimes powers all devices off and other times only one device. I could not find any pattern to this occurance, but this was the untimate deal breaker for me.

4. The remote is huge and awkward to use.

5. The key layout is bad.

6. Too many menus to complete simple tasks.

7. The key backlight is not automatic like the Harmony line.

8. The wifi features are stripped down and get old really quickly.

I have since spent more for the Harmony One and have been happy. It does not have many bells and whistles, but it looks nice, is easy to setup/use, and simply works perfect.

This is the next gen of TV remote controls.
The pros; its user friendly,lots of extras,hard buttons controls and no PC needed.
The cons; None at this time

I will give you example why I call this remote the next generation of remote controls. The Acoustic Research Smart Remote Control is Internet remote control without a PC. I have two TVs a Dell and an a Samsung.An I also have Two Directv Tivo receiver and a Tivo Series 3 HD receiver.I have all these items in the same room. I was using three different remotes for years.In less than 20 minutes I am using one remote now and I have a Tv guide for Comcast and Directv on my remote.The best part I can switch between remotes with one button on one remote. This remote has a news page,sports page,weather page and even has a page were its sells Amazon products. This remote hasn't even touch its potential.Its a steal on Amazon for under $250.00.Its a Buy!

I have spent a ton of money on all those fancy and expensive universal remotes but now for half the price or less this remote leaves them all in the dust. No more switching my satellite to the guide and fumbling through 200 channels to see whats good enough to watch. Now I can simply glance at my remote and go directly to any channel. I also get the weather forecast for my local area, the news, sports news, specials at Amazon and I can even play minesweeper on the remotes display LOL.

If you're looking for a new remote you don't need to look any more trust me buy this remote. The only remote that comes close to this one is the new Philips Pestigo SRU 8015 (and I also have that one).

Back when it worked, this remote was an acceptable if somewhat pedestrian universal remote. It had some innovative features taking advantage of its WiFi connection that showed some promise. Unfortunately, the system was built with a fatal flaw: a complete dependency on a third party service which expired last year. At that point, the remote became completely non-functional (it can't complete the startup sequence).
I have contacted the manufacturer and they claimed that since the product was out of warranty there was nothing they could do. I insisted and they said someone from marketing would contact me. It's been a few months and I think that's not going to happen... So, please make sure you don't purchase this item: it just doesn't work any longer. And you're probably better off staying away from Acoustic Research and Audiovox products altogether. They seem to have a lot to learn about customer service and business ethics.