Customer Reviews

URC R6 Learning Remote Control

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was really excited about getting this remote because it was a decent price, looked good, and had the ability to learn functions for remotes that weren't coded in. I'm tired of the pile of remotes I have on my coffee table, and I wanted to be able to store them away while I had a single remote do most of what I needed.

Unfortunately it's not listed anywhere in the specs that I could find, but the memory on board is only good for about 30-40 buttons. I have a few devices that either had no codes available, or didn't have all of the commands listed. This includes my Samsung DLP, my Samsung HT system, and my DVR, none of which had full command sets pre-programmed in, so all of them needed to have the commands added through the learning function.

I only bothered to have the R6 learn the commands I actually used on the remotes, but even before I was half way through programming the codes for my home theater system, the component button would just flash an error command.

I dug around online to figure out what the problem was and finally found the 30-40 button limitation not listed on Amazon's site. 30-40 buttons is not enough to program in more than one or two incomplete or non-existent remote profiles.

If you're not sure this remote will have all of the codes you need in order to use it on all your devices, look into the R5 or R7 models instead, which are listed at URC's website as having memory for up to 160 commands. I'll be returning this and looking for another learning remote.

Works with Comcast DTA Box (Pace DC50X)
The Comcast/Pace DTA uses a newer IR "xmp" protocol that many learning remotes will not recognize (including my URC MX-1000). An older Magnavox 13 in. color TV in one of the spare bedrooms could not be controlled by the remote supplied with the DTA, but this URC R6 solved the problem in that it was compatible with both the TV and the DTA.

This is a high quality and versatile remote. I purchased it on Wal-Mart for $20 and I am very happy with my purchase. It will control most of the functions on your devices.

PROS:
High quality feel
It is made out of good quality plastic and the buttons have a nice feedback. The device keys light up when pressed. Clean design and layout.

Easy to program
I use it to control the main functions on my TV, DVD, Home Theater and Cable Box. The basic device functions worked after punching a 3 digit code listed on the manual. I had to program the rest by placing the original remote in front and following simple instructions. The whole process took less than 10 minutes. The remote will not loose your setup if you remove the batteries.

Macros
It can be programmed to run a set of instructions by pressing only one button. For e.g. with the click of one button turn on the TV, Stereo and Cable Box.

CONS:
Don't expect it to control every single function on all of your electronics because it does not have all the buttons or enough memory to do so. You will need to purchase a more expensive remote to have this capability.

I bought one of these today from Wal-Mart for about $20 (as did another reviewer here). Generally, it seems to be easy enough to use, and easy to program, and the learning function works well. However, I am not satisfied with the way it works. There's no apparent way to re-assign a device key, for example to control two TV's using "TV" and "AUX". Even after an exhaustive search using the remote's code-search function, there are no codes for my Sony HCD-241 stereo/HT system that can control anything more than power and volume.

My One-for-All URC-8810, for which I paid about the same, could handle all of the above, and knew how to control my stereo fully, too.

The website is poorly made - it leads you around in circles as you browse and has no apparent "find my codes" search function.

If you have anything that's fairly uncommon, or you have more than one device of a particular type, look elsewhere. This remote probably will not suffice.

Just got the URC-R6 yesterday and am very happy with it.

Comcast just switched us over to digital requiring DTA boxes, and the "universal" remote they supply with the Pace DC50X DTA was able to control neither of our old TVs -- a Panasonic PVQ-2012 TV/VCR combo and a Westinghouse LCD LTD-17v1SL.

I understand that the Pace DTA uses a newer IR "xmp" protocol that many learning remotes cannot handle, but the URC-R6 proved to be compatible with it.

The URC-R6 had a preset for the Panasonic, but I could not find one for the Westinghouse or Pace DTA. However, I found it very easy to teach it all the buttons from the Westinghouse and Pace remotes.

Everything is on one remote again and working like a champ. I've got the Westinghouse on the TV button, the Panasonic on the VCR button, and the Pace on the Cable button. Usually for us, the remote can stay on Cable mode, and I've programmed the Panansonic's On/Off code onto Cable (the Pace box itself doesn't turn on and off, and it does volume control). Also, the URC-R6 has a "MacroPower" feature that allows several devices to be turned on/off with one press of the remote's power button, and if you want, it allows "punch through" for volume controls that allows one device's volume to be controled while in another device's mode, though that's not necessary in my setup.

This remote works on my xbox, phillips tv aiwa stereo and sat. receiver! Iset it up in about ten minutes and it worked perfectly. I bought this AND the xbox media remote. I did not know it had xbox support and wound up returning the media remote. Iwould have thought that console support would be a major selling point. The book also says it will work for ipod docks and such.

I agree with other reviewers. I bought this elswhere as an impluse buy to replace a lower end Philips learning remote [model pmdvd6t]. It has a good look and feel. The buttons have a good response. However, I need it to learn the entire button layout for 3 devices that don't have codes or incomplete commands. Like other reviewers have pointed out. It bombs after a very short number of memorized keys. I haven't counted, but 30-40 seems right before reaching the memory limit. This surprised me a lot, considering my lower end Philips didn't have this problem.
I've found that any of the Philips remotes have a greater learning capacity than this remote.

I wanted it to work for me, but due to its memory limits, I returned it.

I have a 32" Olevia LCD, a DishNetwork HD-DVR, and a Kenwood Receiver. In a matter of minutes, I had this remote controlling all of these items. I actually bought mine at Walmart, but I was so happy with my purchase I had to write a review. Very easy to use. The "learning" capabilities are great. Buy it!

I'd looked around in the past for a universal and/or programmable remote, but didn't want to pay $50 or more for an incomplete solution. What's the use of a universal remote if you still need to get the old one out?

I wasn't expecting much from a $20 universal remote, but in 5 minutes I had it controlling everything, even some older components that no remote to date had yet been able to control.

There were two items I thought would end up being minor frustrations, but, turn the page of the thin manual and voila were the instructions to address it:

1) do I have to always select the cable box to change channels? nope, nor do I have to always select the receiver to change volume. there are "groups" of buttons for volume, channel, and menu/guide functions, which can be "punched through" to always go to a desired component. You can also do this for individual buttons as well.

2) Oops! the mute function (in the volume button group) actually needs to go to a different component. "punching through" didn't work for that button by itself, but I was able to "teach" the button for the punch through target to do the right thing.

I even have a few buttons I can program to replace the cable remote's shortcut keys (things like "on demand"). I wasn't expecting it to be able to navigate the cable box's guide and menus, but it did so without a hitch.

I have a mish-mash of different components--LG Flat Screen, Vizio Sound Bar, Roku, Sony DVD, Cable Box. A couple of their remotes are small and perform odd functions. The R6, unlike others I've tried, handled them all. For the popular devices, programming could not be easier. You point, press a couple of buttons and all the functions work--no searching for codes. For the small, newer ones without pre-installed codes, I used the learning function to assign the individual buttons. It was an easy process and worked perfectly for everything. Nice, logical design. Great features too, like macro power on/off and pass-through for volume and channel changing.
While more expensive remotes probably do the same thing, I can't imagine needing anything more, especially when this was $20. Highly Recommended.