Customer Reviews

Universal Remote Control URC-WR7 7 Device Remote Control with 4 Favorite Channel Buttons

5 star:		(196)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I bought this to replace my universal remote that the dogs chewed up. This remote has several features, and lots of buttons. I like the red light up buttons as it makes it so much easier to find the button I am looking for in the dark.
My favourite thing about this remote is the many ways in which to find that pesky code. I find that often typing in the code for your brand of TV, VCR, whatever doesn't work and you can spend hours trying to figure out the proper code. There are at least four different ways (including a list of codes) to program this remote so something will work for your device. My favourite thing is the "learning" mode. You simply put it into "learning" mode and then copy the functions from your old remote to the new one and you can choose which buttons go where. I programmed my TV, cable box, and DVD player all within about 5 minutes and without having to enter a single code. Brilliant! Plus I was able to transfer the sleep function onto a key of my choice (that is the only button that seems to be missing from this remote).

My only complaint is that it is rather large, but that can be a good thing too as it's easier to spot in the couch cushions or under a blanket.

The WR7 is the best remote I've owned. I love it. So does my wife. It does everything I want (and I'm picky), is guest-friendly and geek-friendly, and it costs twenty bucks. You should buy it.

Other reviews have summarized well what's great about this remote, so I'm just going to add some geek details.

What I love:
- Separate on and off buttons. Simple, but a huge ease-of-use win. Many devices now have discrete on/off codes, and this remote finally lets you use them. A big help to reliability when you've programmed a "system on" macro.
- No LCD screen. Nice idea, but more often than not a crutch that replaces good design. Demands that you look down at the remote, takes space away from keys, and is typically butt-ugly.
- Programmable macros, even on the device keys. So you can program the "DVD" button to switch the inputs on the receiver, the "TV" button to switch the Tivo to live TV mode, etc. Similar to the much-hyped "activity based" Harmony/Logitech remotes.
- Decent IR emitter. So you hardly ever have to hit a key more than once, and macros execute reliably.
- "Punch through" capability on most keys, so that the volume up/down keys can control the AV receiver volume no matter which device the rest of the remote is talking to.
- Decent remote code database, and decent learning capability.

I've set ours up so that "power on" turns everything on using discrete codes, switches the receiver to the Tivo, sends the Tivo to the "Now playing" screen, and leaves the remote talking to the Tivo. This is 80% of our use cases taken care of. The "power off" key switches everything off using discrete codes, there's another 10% of the use cases. All of the device keys power up the relevant devices and switch the receiver inputs.

My last remote was a One-For-All 9910 that I'd JP1'd the heck out of, and this remote is better in almost all respects from a usability point of view. The 9910 was far more hackable, but for all the effort the end result was unsatisfying. Too many keys, and yet still missing some.

There are two aspects that could be improved in this remote:
- Programming "advanced codes" is a bit weak. There's a way to access any key code the device's IR protocol can support, but it's hard to use. Since my original manufacturer's remotes didn't have keys for the discrete power on/off codes, I actually relied on my previous remote (the 9910) to help learn those.
- Wish it had RF, so it could go through the cabinet doors. The after-market RF extenders are a stopgap that I'm considering, but they don't look that great and are way more expensive than the remote.

All up, I'm extremely happy with WR7. If you're up for a little bit of programming, you can make this one fine remote.

I wanted a universal remote for our home theater setup (Panasonic TV, Onkyo receiver, Tivo, and Sony Blu-ray) that didn't cost that much and didn't suck; from the reviews I'd read, most universal remotes seemed to do one or the other -- cost more than I wanted to spend (Harmony) or suck in at least one important way. This remote seemed to be well-reviewed, and it was a nice price.

It delivers: It took me 15 minutes to program it for all four devices, soup to nuts. Its quick-program function found the TV; its "scroll through codes" function found all three other devices. Then I set up punch-through audio, so that the receiver was the only audio output regardless of mode; macro power-on and -off, so that one button turns on the TV and receiver, and another turns everything off; and used the learning feature to teach it the dozen or so specialized buttons I needed from other remotes (Tivo skip back/ahead, Blu-ray open/close and chapter forward/back, etc.).

In terms of downsides, it's heavy, but not uncomfortably so (and certainly not to the point of being an issue), and it lacks some key buttons for a DVD or Blu-ray player, like open/close. Most universal remotes seem to be missing those, however, and it wasn't hard to pick unused buttons and map those functions to them.

I love the one-button backlighting, and the button layout overall is excellent. The tips in the manual are helpful -- for example, it recommends that if you have a plasma TV, you take it into another room to teach it button functions from other remotes; that did the trick for me. Having three programming modes was very handy.

On the whole it does what it says on the tin for a great price, and is an excellent remote.

I have programmed this remote with a bizarre quantity of devices and functions, one of which was completely customizing it to work Windows Media Center. This remote will do everything, and every single review I have read so far is wrong in stating limitations of memory or "it can't learn certain functions." Putting it in your review is fair, but it's very unlikely that this remote will have a problem with any code on any device, so do not hesitate to buy it thinking you might have that problem.

There are some remote functions that are harder to learn because when you are holding your finger down on the old remote - no matter how long - it only broadcasts a singular blip of signal. Most functions will have a continuous stream of signal so you can hold it down until the remote has gotten the code.

When reviewing the remote and claiming your trouble, perhaps tell the make and model of your device. Was it the DVD player you bought at the day-after-thanksgiving special at your local Piggy Wiggly? Some brand nobody would ever have heard of like Wackoshiba?

Someone else reported that they ran out of memory trying to program the remote. Having reprogrammed like 30 additional functions at one point, I don't believe that actually happened. (I say that with kindness.) What I think you're doing is you programmed all the devices and you then tried to remap buttons all over the place. The device handles everything you can think of by default - if there are functions you want to add in there, that's fine, but you can't possibly have more than 2 or 3 functions per device that you might want to add to the remote. It sounds more like you are moving functions around instead of adding functions that are missing because this thing does everything, on every device type, on every brand. There are no missing keys, except for one...

One person noted that there's no sleep button - you're right, except that you can probably activate a menu where there is the sleep function, and then click-click-ok and your sleep timer is set. Also, when you switch to TV, surely there's an extra button on the remote that you don't actually need for TV operation, just reprogram it to be your sleep button. For example, does "pause" work on your TV? Then program that key to be "sleep" for TV.

The real problem with this remote is in the design and I know my claim is perhaps equally obscure as the ones I call out above. I bought the remote for the lighted keys. Well, for myself and people with bad eyesight, the lighted keys will not help you to read the keys any better. Once you've learned the keys, you need the light to know where you're pressing, but it's pretty hard to actually read the keys. What is really a problem is the "light" key is all the way at the bottom so that if you are using one hand, you have to inch your way down to the bottom of the remote until you reach that key, press it, and then inch your way back up... but the real problem is I can't always do that fast enough before the light even goes out. The light is way, way too short in duration. Maybe that's because I can't read the remote easily, so it takes me too long to execute my function?

Even with the lighted keys, the light is red. It's not appropriate to backlight a remote with red light. And it's not like the button is lighted red and the label on the button is a solid color. Instead, there is a graphic stenciled on the button where the button's text is the lighted red area, and the rest of the button is coated in black ink. It causes the text label to actually be smaller, because it's an outlined stencil graphic. I've tried to use the remote with an elderly client and he could simply not make any use of the remote because he couldn't read it in daylight and he couldn't read it using the red backlight. (In the daylight, the text is dark grey from the clear rubber/plastic against the black stencil. How is anyone going to easily read that?) This style design isn't unique to this remote; there are other remotes with similar reverse printing like this. He can see solid white writing on a button, or he can see a [big] black number on a lighted button, but he cannot make out the stenciled number on a lighted button.

So I'd say the real problem with this remote is that it will take a while to learn how to use it, and until you learn how to use it, you'll need a flashlight to see what you're doing. There are some remotes you've used and you know they designed it so you would grab it in one spot most of the time and they made the relevant buttons right there where you can reach them without moving your hand around. On this remote, I'm sliding up and down the thing all day long - when I can see what I'm doing.

However - I have replaced multiple remotes with this unit - and I use it willingly. I hope they release a next generation where the light comes on and stays on when you press ANY button!

This remote is a screaming deal for the price. Stop looking at the Harmony remotes and buy this one.

My Harmony 659 suddenly stopped working after two years (I think the memory got corrupted), and I needed a replacement. Initially I was looking at the Harmony 880 and Harmony One, but couldn't get over the exorbitant prices and quality control issues. According to a couple of home theater forums online, the pro home theater installers usually go with URC or RTI remotes instead of Harmony, so I got curious. I stumbled upon this remote on Amazon. I was a bit nervous about replacing my Harmony with a screenless remote. My fears were unfounded. I was also looking at the URC R50 remote which has a huge screen, but I didn't like the button layout as much and this remote does everything I need it to at a fourth of the price.

This remote is incredibly easy to set up and customize. I hated using the Logitech Harmony software to update my old remote and customizing buttons was a pain. I had this remote set up in a half hour to control all of my components exactly like I want them, and it feels very responsive.

My main setup includes a Samsung PN50A550 plasma TV, Onkyo SR607 receiver, Comcast RNG110 cable box, and Sony PS3 with Nyko Blu-Wave remote/USB IR dongle. The code for the PS3 in the manual didn't work, but using the learning function on the remote, I was able to program in all the Nyko's commands in about 30 seconds, and it now controls my PS3 perfectly (except the Power On function, which requires a separate AC adapter costing at least $60 -- for that price, I can just get up and touch the Power button on the console).

Pros:
* Macro function is awesome and works just like the Activity buttons on the Harmony remotes, except you can tweak the order it turns things on and program in delays for commands. You can program the device buttons (TV, DVD, etc.) to control the device if you just hit the key once, or execute a macro if you hold the key for two seconds (e.g. holding DVD turns on my TV, amp, and sets my amp input to my PS3).
* Separate Power On and Power Off buttons are very nice. You can power on/off each device or power on/off your whole system with a macro.
* Punch through options for volume, channel, Rew/FF/Play, etc. For example, this means that regardless of which activity you're using, you can set it up so that the volume control always is done through the amplifier.
* Good layout of buttons, although I agree with a previous reviewer that the Volume and Channel buttons should be a bit lower down on the remote closer to where your thumb rests.
* Feels solid in the hand, and costs twenty bucks.

Cons: can't really think of any! I don't miss having an LCD screen at all. Agree with previous reviewer 'JLR' that the screen is usually "a crutch that replaces good design. Demands that you look down at the remote, takes space away from keys, and is typically butt-ugly."

I look forward to many years with this remote.

This remote has all the buttons I wanted in a remote and nothing I don't need. The two most obvious draws are the easy setup and low price. For my TV, DVD player, and XBOX I was able to use the quick setup which is basically pressing 1, 2, 3 .. 0 until your desired piece of equipment turns off. Each of these devices all worked on 1. For my FIOS box I had to use the standard 3 button "code" approach. Not difficult for me, but I could see someone expecting everything to use the quick setup being frustrated.

The red light is soothing and not as distracting as a green or blue. The buttons have good feedback and intuitive positioning. The documentation that comes with the remote utilizes a lot of pictures, is easy to understand (looks like it was written by a native english speaker) and includes many helpful hints.

I haven't had to use learning yet or the macros but at some point I might which were two more reasons I bought the remote.

If you want a cheap universal remote that is easy to set up and not as cheap as the $10 ones at radio shack this is a winner for sure.

After buying several high $$ remotes, being seduced by hi-tech and programmability, only to learn that I can't find the appropriate buttons by feel, I revised my shopping strategy.

I can tell in a brief look which remotes won't satisfy me. These are the ones with many buttons of similar size and shape.

The URC-WR7 has come closer to my ideal remote than any of those I've tried or read about. Once I've made my basic selection of what to watch ... TiVo, DVD, Live, or other, I have control of all functions without having to look at the remote.

Why? Because URC has provided a distinctive FEEL for the 'buttons' of all the important functions.

I'd like to have more macro power, but I wouldn't trade the ability to find functions by feel, for any amount of programmability short of the remote being capable of reading my mind.

The Universal WR7 is an upgrade from my Universal R7. I was very happy with the R7, but it had no three-digit code for my OPPO DVD player and the R7 was unable to learn the commands from the remote to my Roku digital video player. The WR7 has the OPPO DVD player code and it was also able to learn the Roku commands.

Increased functionality and ease of programming can be realized with both the R7 the WR7 remotes by using an undocumented programming method. There is no problem entering TV codes into the TV button, DVD codes into the DVD button etc. However, it you have more than one DVD player, VCR or other component, programming the Universal remote control can be challenging. The WR7 may refuse to learn remote control functions from device categories that do not match the category of the function key being programmed.

The following example shows how to enter a DVD code into a non-DVD button, but the same basic procedure can be used for any other component code that does not match the category of the button to which it is being assigned. This procedure can also be incorporated into other programming methods described in the owner's manual. The key to success is step 2.

1. Press the non-DVD component button (TV, VCR, SAT/CABLE, AUX, AUD or CD) that you want to program with a DVD code and the SEL button at the same time and hold both buttons down until the component button LED light turns on. Release the buttons.

2. Press the DVD component button. This undocumented step tells the R7 and WR7 remotes that the next three digits will be a DVD code. (If you were entering a VCR code into a non-VCR component button, you would press the VCR button before entering the code. The same method would apply when programming a TV, SAT/CABLE or CD code into non-matching component buttons.) This is a variation of "punch through" programming for sound and channels.

3. Enter the three-digit DVD code and press the lighted component button (it will blink three times) and save the code. You can also try several different codes as outlined in the "Three-Digit Code Entry Method" or the "Auto Search Method" in the owner's manual, before saving the code. Any missing functions can be learned from the original remote control.

Some functions assigned by the three-digit method, such as zoom or slow motion keys that must be held down to activate cycling, may not work exactly like the those of the original remote control. Re-learning these commands from the original remote may resolve these problems.

The Universal R7 is a great value in moderately priced universal remote controls. Its successor, the WR7, is an even better value.

First, I should indicate that we went through 3 high end universal remotes, and had luck with the simple items, but couldn't control everything with one remote. In particular we have a Toshiba DVD recorder with a VHS deck which has a remote with the most complicated interface of any of the products we own. We considered buying the logitech-harmony 300 remote ($36.72). After investigating, we realized it didn't offer a backlit option. Even the harmony 700 ($105)only has partial backlighting. The Harmony One has better backlighting features, but is priced at $164.77. At this price, I just couldn't even begin to justify the cost.

In the end, after 3 previous tries, we decided to give this URC-WR7 Universal Remote a shot. It's not perfect, but relatively close. It immediately conformed with our TV, and dvd player. The Toshiba recorder required us to use the "learning mode". This is a great feature, however it's a delicate process. Although it doesn't take a great deal of time, it's more than entering a few codes, and may take many more than one try. In fact, in our case, after several attempts we ended up at least a few buttons shy of perfection each time. What do we mean? Well here are a few examples: The Channel down worked, channel up no. The number 7 on the keypad is dead. The DVD menu button didn't work. Weird stuff like this. Right now, after nearly a dozen tries, we are still one button shy of perfection, and decided it was good enough. This our primary reason for 4 instead of 5 stars.

Here's what we're able to work using this remote:

1) TLC LED TV
2) Sony DVD player
3) Timex MP3 alarm clock (Using Learning Mode)
4) Toshiba DVD Recorder / VHS dual deck. (Using Learning Mode)
5) Goldstar Air conditioner (Yes, although we weren't originally planning on including this in the entourage, it actually controls this too when using the learning mode).

**We Tried to program a Hampton Bay ceiling fan remote, but this seems to be on an unreadable frequency level. Worth a try.....

More pluses:

1) Although a somewhat harsh red tone, the backlighting is genuinely bright enough for us to read even without glasses.
2) It's a Good Size, and is very similar to the Time Warner Digital remote we've seen in the home of friends.
3) It has a safety feature of sorts to prevent de-programming if sat upon.
4) This was one of the more reasonably priced universal remotes, and it genuinely works.

The primary lows:

1) The learning mode takes time and patience, but in our humble opinion, it should be worth it.
2) The choice of red for backlighting may be a bit strong for discerning eyes.

We'd recommend, but if you're considering buying for your parents, you may want to consider planning on programming it for them. Just a piece of advice based upon our personal experience.

Works very well and has a lot of features at a reasonable price-point. I almost gave this a five-star overall rating. Sure wish there was a four-and-a-half star rating, because four stars isn't quite high enough. The main reason for not giving it a five-star rating was because of ergonomics and a few quirks in programming I have yet to overcome. I gave it a so-so rating on ergonomics because, to my mind, it is not very well-balanced. I'm no engineer or designer, but it seems to me, if they could get the battery compartment more centralized, remotes in general would be easier to use.

As to the programming issues, I bought this Universal Remote to replace the remote for a Toshiba flat-screen TV that the dog decided would be a good replacement for his chewy. The Universal Remote quickly picked up the majority of the remote codes with the easy to do "point" programming. The only odd thing that it does after programming it that way is that it uses the "select" button as a shortcut to the advanced sound settings rather than as "enter." "Select" works as an "enter" key for all other remote options (DVD, CD, etc.). I have yet to find a way to program this or one of the other buttons as "enter" - which is kind of a critical button. In defense of the remote, if I had the original Toshiba remote I might be able to "train" the Universal remote from it. But, no luck since the Toshiba remote is a goner. I also haven't gotten it to work on an older Hitachi theater system. But it works great on a new Sony blue-ray player.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this remote and figure that any short-comings I have experienced are probably due to "operator error." Again, for the price, it has a LOT of features. I bought mine through Amazon and got a great price and their usual speedy service.

Don't be afraid to buy this remote.