Universal Remote Control MX-500 10-Device LCD Viewscreen Remote Control with Joystick Operation

Other products by Universal

Product Details

Product Manual [2.36mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 2 x 7 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000065UDU
• Item model number: MX-500
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (132 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 5, 2002

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

This preprogrammed learning remote control is designed to simplify your entertainment experience. The brightly backlit LCD view screen actually has 26 individual pages for operating up to 10 audio and/or video components. The component buttons are strategically placed around the LCD view screen and can be renamed, according to the actual components that your audio or video system may include.

The MX-500 is ergonomically designed and weight balanced to fit comfortably in one hand. The brightly backlit LCD view screen and buttons make navigation within a darkened home theater environment a breeze. To further enhance the navigation of the remote control, the MX-500 has incorporated a multi-directional joystick.

The MX-500 Punch Through feature enables control of one component while the remote is actually in another component mode. For example, you can adjust the volume of the amplifier while actually in the DVD mode, eliminating the need to toggle back-and-forth from the DVD screen to the amplifier screen.

The macro feature allows the remote control to be programmed to send out multiple commands at once. The unit has 3 dedicated macro buttons, a "Power" button and a "System Off" button that send out up to 20 commands each. For example, the MX-500 can be programmed to turn on all the components within the home theater system at just the touch of a button!

The MX-500 also incorporates a memory back-up system designed to prevent memory loss for up to one year, should the batteries be removed.

Product Description

This preprogrammed and learning remote control is designed to simplify your entertainment experience. The brightly backlit LCD view screen actually has 26 individual pages for operating up to 10 audio and/or video components. The component buttons are strategically placed around the LCD view screen and can be renamed, according to the actual components that your audio or video system may include.The MX-500 boasts a built-in preprogrammed database of over 1, 000 audio and video component codes, and is also fully capable of learning your home theater system's audio/video components remote control codes (up to 530 functions). For those households that require more than one remote control, the MX-500 can easily be cloned via infrared from another programmed MX-500. It's that simple!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

131 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Near perfect universal remote, July 4, 2002

By	sonytoao (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews

I highly recommend the MX-500 for anyone trying to control 4+ devices in a home theater system. You can program it to control almost any device with the built-in codes or use the original remote that came with your equipment to "teach" the MX-500 the necessary codes. I use it to control a Directivo, Zenith TV, Panasonic DVD player, Mitsubishi & GE VCRs, Yamaha CD player and a Sony digital receiver.

Customization is very easy, with the ability to edit button labels (on the LCD screen) with the names or types of your equipment, and the ability to program buttons for 50 of your favorite channels (a must if you have satellite or cable service of 150+ channels). The MX-500 also permits macro programming, i.e., the ability to execute multiple commands with one button. For example, the "Power" button can be programmed to power on all your home theater equipment; the "System Off" button can be programmed to turn it all off. Three other macro buttons are provided for other customized, multiple commands.

You can also teach it, like most higher-end remotes, to "push down" certain commands, e.g., the volume buttons can be set to manipulate the volume of your home theater receiver, regardless of which device you are using (DVD, VCR, TV).

The IR range of the remote is excellent: I've changed channels across the room pointing the remote at the wall !! Battery life is also top-notch (it uses 4 AAA batteries) and the user manual is well-written.

The one weakness with this remote is that the "select" button (the black center bezel) is a little awkward to use because it's almost too stiff. I tend to use the joint of my thumb rather than the pad to engage it because otherwise I was inadvertently hitting the up, down, or left/right arrows.

End-user support via discussion forums and dedicated sites like remotecentral is excellent so you can always find an answer to a question you may have that the manual doesn't cover, as well as tips and tricks for using/programming the remote.

If you want absolute customization in a universal remote, then buy the more expensive Philips Pronto (or the costly Pronto Pro) which with available software, permit you to use your PC to edit every aspect of the remote. But if you want near perfect customization at an affordable price, then you can't miss with the MX-500.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It just works!, November 3, 2002

By	Dan Crevier (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I gave up on my Sony RM-VL1000 and got an MX-500, and am *very* happy with it. The remote is customizable in all of the ways I wanted. There are several macro buttons that you can hit on the remote without having to go through any menus. The volume buttons can be customized to pass through to your amp. It's got a nice joystick. I found the setup process to be very easy and intuitive (I don't think I'll have to reference the manual to tweak things in the future). There's good feedback on the LCD as you do things. It's easy to customize what's shown on the LCD for different buttons.

It's got a backlit display, and I like the rubberized feel of the remote.

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wife Acceptance Factor - 100%, October 1, 2004

By	John M. Stanley (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Finally! A remote that does everything it claims. We recently purchased a 55" HDTV set and my wife grew more and more frustrated with the multiple remote controls we've used for a while and even the cheapo "One for All" we've had that never quite duplicated all the functionality of our original remotes.

Take our audio receiver remote for instance. Our One for All 6131 had a code that controlled the volume, power, and several other functions. But it could not switch the input to DVD, although it could switch to VCR1, VCR2, etc. So we had to keep the original audio receiver remote handy. Same thing for the Tivo remote and the TV remote - the One for All could do most, but not all functions.

Well, the MX-500 takes care of all of that and more. Sure, it has built-in codes and those are a decent place to start. But the key difference about this remote is that it can LEARN from your other remotes. And before you think, "gee, plenty of other cheap remotes say that can learn as well" - they don't even come close to having the memory this one has. Some cheapo learning remotes can learn as few as 30-40 total functions, across all your remotes. That might be nice if you only had one or two devices and it missed only a handful of codes for each.

The MX-500 is nothing like that. It can learn several hundred commands - plenty to absorb every single function for all five of my devices with room to spare.

Not only can it learn all of your old remote's functions, you can assign them to virtually any key, including the keys next to the LCD screen that you can customize yourself.

If I sound excited about this remote its because I am - and the coolest thing - so is my wife!

The MX-500 also has awesome macro capabilities. I have a macro for turning everything on or off. I have a macro for taking the system from off to everything switched to play a DVD. I have macros for switching to watch Tivo, switching to HD Cable, switching to play Xbox, switching to play PS2 - you name it.

And the greatest thing? All I have to tell my wife or friends who come over is, "You want to watch Tivo? Just hold the Tivo key down for a second. You want to watch a DVD? Just hold the DVD key down for a second" - and it just works. You'd almost think it was a Mac instead of a remote control. <g>

Trust me - this remote is worth the price twice over.

And speaking of cost, I bought this remote at a slightly higher price and paid for overnight shipping. I checked back a couple of days later and the price had dropped by about $9. I emailed Amazon and asked them if they'd credit the difference back to my card - and they did! That's why I keep shopping at Amazon - good customer service.