Universal Remote Control MX-450 Custom Programmable Remote Control with On-Screen Macro Editing.

by Universal

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 2.2 x 1 inches ; 8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001HKLA60
• Item model number: MX-450
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 18, 2005

Product Description

The Universal Remote MX-450 is a future featured remote control with a color screen. It can be programmed to use RF control with the addition of the MRF-260 base station. This means you do not have to point the remote at the device you are controlling to adjust your settings.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy the Harmony 900. Buy this instead., September 22, 2010

By 

R. Wood "rwood1122" (Ashburn, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Universal Remote Control MX-450 Custom Programmable Remote Control with On-Screen Macro Editing. (Electronics)

Let's all agree that it does not require an advanced degree in computer science to program a remote control. In the case of the MX-450, neither does it require a "Professional" installer (whatever THAT means).

If you know or can figure out with a little bit or web surfing (a) which components need to be turned on and what inputs and outputs should be selected, (b) what is the difference between IR and RF, (c) what an IR emitter or blaster is, (d) what a delay is, and (e) that you need a Power Off macro to turn off all the devices in your system, you can easily program this remote. It might take a little bit of trial and error and a little bit of patience, but no more than any other "Consumer" remote control that I have seen so far.

Put another way: If you can read the directions and figure out how to program a Logitech Harmony remote at some basic level (and especially if you have already done so), you can read the directions and figure out how to program this one and probably in less time. You might have to start over again once or twice while you get familiar with the guided setup, but the step-by-step software is so simple that even a "professional" installer could probably figure it out :)

My experience: I initially owned a Universal Remote Corporation MX-900 which was installed and programmed for me by a "Professional" AV company that shortly thereafter went out of business. I was irritated at URC because they would not provide me with access to the programming software for my MX-900. They said it was for "Licensed Dealers Only" which is their way of saying "Professionals". It was a great remote, but I was no longer willing to pay somebody $300 every time I wanted to tweak the picture or add/upgrade a component (e.g., adding an XBox, swapping the DVD for a Blu-Ray, etc.) and a few things with the way mine was programmed were really irritating.

To replace that, I purchased a Logitech Harmony 900 and had the exact experience as everyone else who purchased it did: bad RF range and performance. I tried every creative workaround you could think of, to no avail. If the RF worked, it would be a great remote. But it doesn't.

URC adveritizes this remote as being for "Professionals", which initially scared me off, but the cool thing about the MX-450 for the DIY folks like me is that, since you don't need a PC, there is no software required to program the remote.

Correcting some previous reviews, URC offers for download from its web site support section a helpful Archiver program that allows you to update the remote firmware and ir codes database via a USB cable -- just like the Harmony remotes, but much simpler. It also allows you to make a backup copy of your remote configuration in case you have a problem later on and need to do a factory reset or restore your settings. (For the non-pros like me, I strongly recommend making multiple backups along the way as you add more and more cool macros and other programming.)

In my case, I spent about an hour surfing through the internet reviews and reading the 12 page manual before I took the thing out of the box. It probably took me another 4 hours in total to program the remote over the course of one evening. That includes my Denon AVR receiver, my Sony TV, my Sony Blu-Ray player, my AppleTV, my Xbox, my HDRadio and my wife's Wii Fit (all hidden in the next room and connected to our whole-house audio system). I used the macro feature to create six macros on the Main page that emulate Harmony-style "Activites" -- e.g., to watch Tivo, you press the "Watch Tivo" button and the remote does the rest. Favorite channels can be done in under 10 minutes. It probably took me another half-hour to install the IR emitters, the base station and the RF antenna and do the RF programming on the remote to make each component RF only with its own ir address. BTW, the URC manual for the MRF 350 base station is really easy to follow and the RF settings on the remote itself are self-explanatory.

The guided programming is not as elegant as what you can do on a PC, and I had to start programming devices or macros over again once or twice, but the learning, macro and cut and paste functions are really helpful and easy. You can do just about anything that you can think of with this remote so long as you are a little bit organized. My unit gives me RF range to almost 100 feet through two interior walls and the performance has been reliable, even during long macros.

I highly recommend this as an alternative to other high-end RF remotes for DIY folks like me.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Remote, February 16, 2010

By 

DaveP "dpags" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Universal Remote Control MX-450 Custom Programmable Remote Control with On-Screen Macro Editing. (Electronics)

The MX-450 is an excellent higher-end remote. While this model is geared more towards pro installers (the similar consumer model is the Universal Remote Control URC-R50) it is still relatively easy to program via it's on screen setup and does not require advanced manual PC programming like my previous URC MX-700 did. There is a large database of built-in codes for all types of devices and automatic searching for your equipment, though I used the unit's learning functionality to do most of my programming so I could place the button locations directly. You can have up to eight pages of six functions each on the LCD section plus the hard buttons for up to 85 functions per device (this unit can control 18 devices). Very nice.

The unit is well-made and feels balanced and solid when in hand. Ergonomics are excellent with it's curved sides and thumb-recesses. I've never been a fan of base-charging remotes, so the use of four standard AA's is a plus for me. I've gotten about 4-1/2 months of fairly heavy usage with my first set of batteries and that includes a ton of initial button and macro programming for a complex system. The 2" LCD color screen is sharp and bright and the rest of the hard keys are nicely illuminated (intensity levels and timing can be adjusted) with multi-colors via button push or a Light button on the right side of the remote. Note that you can NOT import a background picture like the product page shows, though there are various built-in button/icon graphics available as well as a bunch of popular channel logos for the Favorites list. There is a USB port in the battery compartment area that allows you to backup your configuration to a computer file with the downloadable software from URC's website. As of now I believe that is the only use for that port.

I am using just the standard infrared transmitter and not the RF, and signal pickup response is very good with my equipment. If the unit is "sleeping" and you want to use one of the six buttons for the LCD functions those require an extra click to wake up the screen first. Buttons are solid and have decent resistance to them. Full 255 step macros with variable delays can be programmed on to all the buttons except for (I believe) "Main" and the two "Soft" navigation keys.

If you're looking to save some cash you can go with the previously mentioned R50 which gives you pretty much the same programming and device functions minus on-screen macro editing (a big minus for me, as you would have to delete the macro and start over if you screwed up or want to edit). You also lose the USB port and backup function, RF-signal transmitting capability and a nicer finish (the buttons are the rubber type vs. the 450's hard button and the backlighting is just full button red vs. the 450's multi-color lighted label type).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars mixed feelings (updated after i delved into some programming), November 17, 2010

By 

Damon J. Lebeouf "Damon & Kelli" (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Universal Remote Control MX-450 Custom Programmable Remote Control with On-Screen Macro Editing. (Electronics)

i have very mixed feelings on this remote.

we had our home theater professionally installed by a locally owned a/v company. they showed us this remote and told us this is what they go with in the majority of the installations. i said "ok."

Good: this thing is rock solid. great construction. well built. not cheap crap like the harmony units. once setup, the thing works really well, and with the macros you can do basically anything you want with it. in our current setup it controls a PS3 (yes, you can control a PS3 with it), satellite radio, satellite tv, secondary speakers on our back deck wired into the receiver and switching input to a wii (cant control a wii as far as we know, but why would you want that?). as far as build and functionality goes, it gets 5 stars. i really like the remote a LOT. it makes complicated functions really easy.

Bad: as others have said, there is NO documentation ANYHWERE on how to program this thing. ive looked all over the net and cant find a thing. im the kind of person that likes to work on my own stuff, i like to know how everything works, and it bothers me to no end that i cant program my own freaking remote control. i dont even want to delve into it because im sure ill screw something up. i dont even know where to begin with it. i dont mind at all having the same wonderful company that installed our whole home theater come out and redo something when i need it done, but i would really like the option to know how to do it myself, or at least have some documentation to point me in the direction. if i want to change one tiny function i dont really want to have to pay a service fee for them to come out and do it, ya know? reprogram the remote from scratch? ya ill call them.


cliff notes: excellent remote regarding build and functionality, NOT end user friendly AT ALL regarding programming.

****update****

ok, so i decided to try and do some programming. i didnt start from scratch. perhaps if i did i would have had even better results, but i just did some editing on what i had. we pulled the satellite receiver out and put in a mac mini for internet streaming and dvd ripping. setting up a device is fairly straight forward, not that hard, and setting up macros are SIMPLE. i thought it was gonna be tough, but you just literally start making a macro, the remote has a little "record" icon, and you punch in what you want to do on the remote for what you want the macro to do. hit done, and its finished. i did, however have problems getting volume control of our denon receiver to work after i got the new device setup, so after an hour and a half i called my installer and he told me what to do. i still really dont understand, but it works now so horray. again, if i would have started off fresh from factory defaults im betting i would do better now as there is a built in help guide that has been turned off on mine.

after all that, im bumping it up to 4 stars from 3. programming really isnt that hard.