Customer Reviews

Sony RM-V402 7-Device Universal Remote Commander Universal Remote Control

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

 

 

If you are having trouble getting a sony universal remote to work with a sony receiver, maybe a little research on the internet would help. When I had the problem, I soon discovered that the Command Mode setting on the receiver had to be changed from AV2 to AV1. The procedure varies by model, but I found instructions for my STR-DE685 at remotecentral.com (if you still have the original remote, it has to be reset to AV1, but these instructions can usually be found in the owner's manual).

What really attracted me to this item, besides the brand name, was the gorgeous design. I had read some bad reviews of it, but thought it might have been due to ignorance on the users part, and decided to try it out for myself.

Turns out, the reviews were right. This remote must be programmed blindly, meaning there is no feedback to tell you when you are done or if you made a mistake. No blinking lights, no LED.

After spending an hour trying to get it to control two of my components (VCR and CD player), I gave up and returned it.

I purchased an RCA 6 device remote from my local department store and it works all of the components (some were already programmed) and has feedback (blinking lights) during programming.

Don't waste your time with this item. Yeah, it's a nice design, but too bad it's not a good product.

I bought the RM-V402 from Best Buy so that I could quickly return it if the unfavorable reviews I read here turned out to be true. Were they ever! I am quite dubious that this universal remote controls anything other than Sony equipment, like my Sony Trinitron TV, for example. Here all the usual keys work properly but there are some glaring oversights. While there is a dedicated PIP key, there is no way to change the channel in the PIP window, no way to swap PIP sources, nor a way to access the MRU channel list.

If you are still considering buying this piece of vapid plastic, I encourage you to download and read the PDF of the user manual. Pay CLOSE attention to the sections labeled "Changing the Component Type" and "Searching for the Correct Code". These sections should actually be titled respectively "How to play Twister with your fingers while testing your short-term memory" and "A long and futile exercise without any feedback whatsoever". I thought it would be easy to program the code for my Toshiba DVD player purchased within the past year. Again, I was wrong. The codes didn't work, nor did incrementing through all the possible codes. Neither did the codes for my Kenwood receiver. Worst of all is that there isn't any feedback to tell you if you are even in the right mode. There isn't a single LED on this remote, and that would have gone a LONG way to giving the user the necessary feedback to know if they are in the correct mode or if their keypresses are even registering.

Avoid this abysmal device at any cost. I wish I had, so back to Best Buy it goes.

I bought the RM-V402 on the chance that it might just work and save me from shelling out the funds to buy a fully programmable remote.

All of my Home Theatre components were programmed using the codes supplied except for my Samsung HDTV tuner... which is the heart of my system (I get 30 or so great off the air HDTV sub channels for no monthly fee... perfect for me since I don't need hundreds of channels)

I called Sony's help line and spoke to several robot-like persons who tried to help me but didn't understand the concept of "off the air" HDTV... they kept trying to convince me that I had either a cable or SAT box. In any event, after several attempts of searching for a code, they eventually concluded that for my system, I would have to get a teaching remote which can learn the HDTV Tuner functionality from my other remotes. I will try this next, but may be putting off the inevitable fully programmable unit.

Also, please note... Don't throw away your old remotes. The RM-V402 will only control the main functions...

I bought this at Circuit City, because as with other reviewers, I had my doubts about universal remotes.
First off, its a pain to work. If you mess up while trying to set a code,
1) there's alot of buttons to press,
2) if you mess up you have to try to exit its 'setup mode' which involves punching lots of buttons or taking out the batteries,
3) if you mess up and do not realize that you did, you're messed up for anything you try to do afterwards,
4) when you finally do get something right you cry in relief and dread setting up the next button.

Secondly, after a few HOURS, and I would rate myself as above average on technical things, I finally got it to work with my Samsung TV, Panasonic DVD Recorder (although there's no record on the remote), and Toshiba VCR.

Thirdly, it would not work w/ my Kenwood Receiver or CD player. I expected as much for my receiver as its quite old, but my CD player should have worked! I tried every code in the book that had Kenwood next to it, regardless of component, and no go. I severely doubt this remote even works with any Kenwood component.
On the back of the box, it says it will work with Kenwood (hence me buying it), but its a lie.

Return line, here I come!
1 stars for the lying that it worked with Kenwood stuff.
0 stars for ease of use (none)
2 stars since it actually did work with some stuff...

After spending a full hour trying to get this junk to work with my Sony-Brand receiver with no luck, I'm forced to concede that you get what you pay for. It's cheap, and it fits nicely in my hand, and works fairly well with most of my other (mostly sony) electronics. It just doesn't operate my Samsung TV nor does it operate my Sony receiver. If you get frustrated easily by this, then choose something better.

Dropped a milion times. Still working without a glitch.
easy to setup and compatible.

I bought this for my mother for Christmas. She needed a new remote for her Sony SLVN77 VCR; the remote broke in less than a year! Sony must be slipping! Of course, the problem with replacement remotes is that many of them will not work the Menu. This one works perfectly with my mother's VCR Menu. The only thing it doesn't have that I think they should have included, is the Sleep button.

This thing works great. It's missing a few key things, however, like the ability to change channels and swap with PIP, but that's really just candles on a well-iced cake.