Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I put a great deal of interest in my purchases. With a lot of extra down-time at work and an internet connection, I find myself reviewing EVERYTHING before I buy it. And only after I am very impressed and convinced by many positive reviews will I take out my credit card. But this product, the Microsoft XBOX360 Media Remote, was one exception having read many bad reviews and deciding to purchase it anyway. Let me tell you...

This remote is PERFECT if...

1. You would like one, easy-to-use remote to control both basic TV and an Xbox 360 that doubles as your DVD player.
2. The only buttons you would need for the TV are: Channels, Volume (TV speaker/output control only), Numerical channel input, Muting, *INTPUT SELECTION* (yes, it CAN switch between your TV's inputs), Return (to toggle between 2 TV channels), and Power.
3. You do not need specialized/advanced buttons found on a OEM remote or advanced learning remote for the TV.
4. You do not need to control a A/V receiver, DVD player (other than XBOX 360), or a digital cable box (Tivo, DVR, etc.)
5. You are on a budget but would still like a quality remote.

If you can say yes to all or most, then don't hesitate to grab one of these remotes. You will be completely satisfied. Especially with immediate access to the tactile DVD buttons versus the 360's annoying on-screen DVD navigation. For this feature it is almost worth the $30 alone.

P.S.
I also own a Logitech Harmony 880 for the living room which I highly recommend for anyone not fitting into the catagory mentioned above.

I got one of these and here are some tips to making this puppy work.

-The list of codes are online at xbox.com
-You don't actually need the codes anyway because you can scan for them.
-To program your remote through the scan method:
1. Press and hold tv and ok buttons at the same time.
2. The display will blink and only the number pad on the
bottom will remain lit.
3. Press the ch/pg up button until your tv turns off. Do not hold
the button down just tap it every few seconds.
4. When the tv does turn off press the tv button on the remote to
lock in the code.
5. If only some of the buttons for the tv work or they are
inaccurate repeat the process. There are several codes for
each brand of tv and some may not work for all the buttons.

-If the remote doesn't work on your xbox go the the system settings ->
console settings -> remote settings. There will be a choice of both
controllers or remote only. Select remote only and exit the screen.
At this point the controller may work. On some of the remotes only
the guide button will work at this point. Got back into the settings
and turn it to both controllers again. This should do the trick.

For my remote I had to toggle the settings on a off a few times until it works. Seems like a software problem with the xbox to me. Now that the controller works I love it. I watch a lot of netflix on my xbox and the controller works really well for it.

The difficulty in troubleshooting combined with the lack of detail in the instruction manual lead this controller to be problematic. Hopefully anyone who has one has benefited from this post.

If you use your XBox 360 to watch DVDs, I definitely recommend taking look at this remote. It makes moving through your DVD easy and "normal".

Yes, you can use the standard controller to access the DVD menu items - but it's a royal pain to move through the various menus and sub-menus to get to some of the items. Also, it's not very intuitive for non gamers to page through to the items.

In comparison, this controller is incredible easy. it looks like and acts like any other TV remove. You have the standard buttons that everybody knows how to use - play, pause, fast forward, rewind. If someone walks into the room, you don't have to page through a menu quickly - you just hit the pause button.

The controller is a nice size, too - large, easy to use buttons.

Yes, we have a wireless Xbox regular controller - we like to have a fully wireless living room. So it's not that we gain "wireless control" that we didn't have before. Really, though, with all the various DVDs we watch, it is so nice to be able to hit those control buttons to have the DVD do exactly what you need.

This is especially true with exercise videos where you're moving to specific scenes and segments, not just watching something through in a stream from start to finish. The easy-access buttons are definitely key there.

Highly recommended!

I personally do not like navigating the 360 DVD menus or activating the 360's controller when all I want to do is watch a DVD or movie, or just start some music from the dashboard. The controller is a bad interface for doing simple things, especially if you're accustomed to using a remote (and who isn't?). This remote control makes operating the 360 easier than ever, if what you want to do is watch a DVD, watch a video, listen to music, etc.

The main thing I like about it is that you just pick it up and use it, just like any remote. You don't need to activate a controller, and you don't have to go through the hassle of turning the controller off (or wait for it to turn itself off after it sits idle for several minutes...draining your batteries) after you've done messing around in the menu. It's also much easier to navigate DVD playback controls while the movie is playing -- if you've ever tried to get to the "Advanced" menu of the DVD playback menu while a DVD is playing, you'll appreciate this remote: what usually takes several button pushes and thumbstick touches to accomplish now takes only one or two button pushes of the remote.

If you use your 360 for other things other than gaming, this is a required accessory. If all you want to do is mess around in the dashboard (searching for movies, TV shows, games, game demos, downloadable content, etc.), it does a great job and makes navigation more natural. This remote makes the 360 feel more like a sophisticated entertainment center than just a gaming box. At this price point, it can't be beat.

The remote does what it says, but it's not the greatest remote available. A couple of gripes...

1) The TV button is a toggle switch, you hit it once and it controls the TV, hit it again and it controls the XBox 360. If you forgot whether or not you hit the button you have a 50/50 chance of changing the channel on your TV or your media center. Microsoft needs to have one button you push to control the TV and another to control the 360.

2) The universal remote codes don't work 100% with my Vizio 32 inch TV. The buttons control the channel, volume, and mute but won't control the input. This is really annoying and I blame it on the TV manuafacturer more than the remote, but the remote ought to be as smart as my TiVo remote which had each function programmed individually.

As soon as I put in the batteries that came with remote, I was able to quickly program the remote to recognize my Samsung HDTV. It does not work my Dish HD DVR but that's fine since the Dish remote has more features than this does.

I also use my XBOX 360 to watch my DVDs. The xbox controller eventually times out. You have to restart the controller, then bring up the menu on screen and hit pause. By that time you're well past where you wanted to pause. I don't have to go through that hassle any more. The biggest plus with this product is that ALL BUTTONS ARE BACK LIT!!!!! No more switching on a light hunting for buttons. I recommend this unit but don't expect it to work all of your components.

This product does exactly what I purchased it to do. No it doesn't have many features that you cant accomplish with controller, but not having to "wake up" the controller every time the phone rings and I have to pause the movie is really what I was looking for. Whether or not its worth the money is your decision not mine or any other reviewer. It does what it says it will do, and I'll leave it at that.

its simple, you can use your controler to do most of the fuctions this remote can do but, it takes a lot more time. Same differance with highspeed and dialup. If you have dont mind taking a little longer to get things done then use the controler. personally, I like my 360 remote!

Netflix through the xbox has doubled the entertainment value of my box. My wife struggled with controlling Netflix with the game controller. This purchase has solve that problem. It works wonderful.

+Works great on DVDs and it works just as easily on the Netflix
+Powers on and off the box quickly without going through X-box Menu

ill start this review by saying, this remote is great, the quality and solidity of the remote feels good, the numbers are backlit green which is a huge plus and it works with my xbox!

i see some of these negative reviews out there of people being lazy. because the instructions don't come with TV codes, but if you have an xbox obviously you know how to work a computer, and xbox has a lot of tv codes on their website albeit not all. I have an insignia TV and xbox doesn't have any codes for the remote, so i did a quick google search and found out the right code.

All in all the remote is great, you can do everything you want faster without having to use the controller which is annoying. My remote works from across the room no issues there as some have reported.

one complaint i had about this whole experience from buying from amazon, was that the remote is the size of a bottle of a small bottle of shampoo, and they sent it in a box the size of 2 xbox's. pointless? wasteful? yes.

I recommend that you DO buy this remote if:

1) You want to stop using the controller for movies, netflix, browsing etc
2) You would like to get rid of your tv's OEM remote and control your xbox at the same time

i recommend that you DON'T buy this remote if:

1) you are expecting a remote that can control all of your electronic equipment (DVR, Cable Box, TIVO, surround sound system)