Monster MCC AV100 Activity-based A/V Home Theater Controller

Other products by Monster

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 14 x 9 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000CQPFCU
• Item model number: MCC AV100
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 6, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Monster Home Theater Controller AV100

Unique & stylish ergonomic design.

Table-top charging station allows use of remote while charging the supplied lithium ion battery.

The AV100 Remote from Monster Cable has the capability to replace all of your existing remotes. Unlike other remotes on the market, the AV100's Component and Activity buttons send multiple commands to multiple devices automatically, allowing true one-touch control. You can control even the most complex AV systems, and extend their functionality with the special feature buttons. The unique ergonomic design of the AV100 features an intuitive layout of easy-to-read large tactile buttons. Thanks to the special illuminated backlit buttons, this remote is easy to read in the dark.

One-touch control of any home entertainment system!

Easy to Use

Best of all, there is no complex programming required to use this remote. Use your computer and the online setup wizard to easily configure home theater functions to create home entertainment activities. The Intelligent Monster Tracking Memory remembers what each component is doing, so when you switch activities your gear responds accurately. This functionality is easy enough for the whole family. You don't have to be a technophile to use the AV100. Everyone from the kids to the babysitter can command home entertainment with ease!

Convenient One-Remote Control and Functionality

The AV100 provides convenient one-remote control and functionality. This means that you can control multiple systems with one remote! Use in different rooms to control both local and main systems. With maximum versatility, the AV100 easily commands all of your AV gear.

Function Buttons

Quickly scroll through satellite and digital cable program guides.

Allows direct access to important picture controls like aspect ratio and PIP.

Allows convenient access to surround sound and DSP modes while listening.

Monster Central Control

Monster Central Control is the world's most advanced remote control setup and information source. The web-based setup is fast and easy. The remote congfigurator walks you through your remote setup by simply asking you what home theater equipment you have and how it is connected.

The exclusive online content ensures that you get the most from your remote and home theater experience. You can obtain easy-to-understand technical assistance and advice at Monster Central Control, plus important software downloads and updates.

Make the best connections by downloading the Monster Connnection Guides for everything from PVR to iPod hook-ups.

Web-based setup

Online Content

Connection Guide

What's in the Box
Monster Home Theater Controller AV100, long-lasting lithium-ion battery, tabletop charging system.

Product Description

The name Monster Cable is so synonymous with high quality and high performance. Monster Cable products are indispensable components for music lovers, audiophiles, recording studios, sound professionals, musicians, custom-installers and home theater enthusiasts.PRODUCT FEATURES:Simple online, question-based setup of AV components and lighting through Monster Central website;Simple "One Step" setup process for components and Monster Central Lighting products;Controls and integrates up to 15 AV components;"One Touch" activity based control of AV components;2.3" color display with customizable backgrounds;"Wide Field" IR capability for maximum AV control range and flexibility;Charging cradle with rechargeable lithium-ion battery for longer-lasting power;Dedicated Picture Button provides Smart PIP and optimal control for aspect ratio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Better luck next time (I hope), August 25, 2007

By	Dave L (WA United States) - See all my reviews

Opened the package and loved it immediately. Well, as soon as immediate gets, after having spent 5 minutes overcoming the nearly bullet-proof marketing packaging that is designed to resist professional safe crackers.

OK, what a cool design. The remote nests easily into the horizontal recharging station, which itself has a very cool blue 'continuity' light which indicates it's plugged in. The wall-wart is slim and oriented so it can fit into just one space of a multiple outlet strip. Also very cool.

The back lighting is gorgeous, the size and weight is just right. The buttons feel good. It lights up when you move it and can operate while charging. Wow, huh?

My AV system currently has eight remotes, and I was looking forward to getting it down to just one like you might imagine. And buoyed by the positive reviews here, I was (yes was) set to hop into remote nirvana ASAP. Last night I let the battery charge overnight, got all the equipment model numbers written down in the meantime, and woke up today ready to get 'er done! WooHoo!

Meh.

After creating the on-line ID, and listing the gear and model numbers, things started to veer off the pathway to joy. I started to discover that the Monster on-line configuration application would insist on keeping some basic settings, like:
("which input does your VCR use when playing a tape?" --What do you mean which input does it use? It doesn't use any inputs, for playback they're all outputs... Maybe they mean the receiver? ...no they didn't, but it's too late now, the VCR is now associated with a VCR2 input that is actually on the back of the Denon 2708 receiver, whoops you can't change it now!) Wah-wah. Onward!

So, it got worse. After setting up the "Activities" which as other reviewers have said, are macros for equipment sets and inputs, into the AV room we go with our Monster 100 Light Saber, ready to take on Darth Boredom and throw out those evil remotes. Heh, well, not so fast.

Turning on the DVD player was good, but when checking out the hard-wired buttons (the ones grouped together in the square with the central select joystick-button in it's center) I realized that the Next Chapter >>| Last Chapter |<< buttons didn't do anything. This was confirmed by watching the top of the display which makes a little "wave" animation when the remote is sending a command. The little animation looks like this ))) It does it when you push any of the other buttons, but shows nothing when you push >>| or |<<.

Oh, oh, kids, this is putting a damper on the celebration, so it's back to the on-line configuration deal. March back to the front room.

Finally we find the Device reconfiguration dialog. You'll see that the database has loaded >>| and |<< for your Denon 3930Ci, but it's not in the remote. So I did a manual "teach" session, back into the AV room, and at least the Next and Last chapters are in the virtual 'soft keys' but the hardware buttons, still nothing.

Now for some reason the Monster database has configured my single-disk DVD player as being a 5-disk. Back out to the computer, delete the Disk 1 Disk 2, etc, reload the remote, back to the AV room, but now the Virtual >>| and |<< are gone. The Disk 1 Disk 2 Disk 3 Disk 4 Disk 5 selections are still there. So I have lost what I gained and didn't get rid of what I wanted to lose. It gets worse!

Turns out that you can't reboot/reformat the remote. Once you stick in an equipment set, they are in there. I tried manually deleting all devices, reloaded the controller again, and nope. Did a controller firmware update which is supposed to delete everything, nope.

Four hours later, the unit is back in it's shipping box, I'm writing this, and we'll try it again with a replacement. One very nice thing is how easy Amazon has made doing an exchange. They even send you a link to a pre-paid UPS label and set you up for a reshipment at no charge when your device comes bad on arrival. This is a very nice touch.

So why does Monster have a database that has gotten a premier piece of equipment like the one-disk Denon 3930Ci wrong? Why can't you erase/reboot the remote? Does the >>| and |<< work for anybody?

Here's my advice if you're going to go this Monster 100 route.

1. Do it on a weekday. Monster has no phone support on weekends, and no email support is listed. There's a place for the link but there is no link or address.

2. Drag your computer into the AV room so you won't spend 15 trips going back and forth, or have WiFi on a laptop. Get the two in the same place.

3. Have all of your remotes with you when you set up the Monster 100 because you may need to do some "Teaching" and it's handy to refer to the original buttons when setting up the remote configuration.

4. Save the box, paperwork and packaging when the Monster 100 arrives, because you may have a similar adventure.

Finally in case some of my Review Readers might wonder if the problem might lie in user error, first please consider that I am a radio producer with 16 years in the business, proficient with digital production using Pro Tools, I own my own recording studio, built my own computer from parts I bought, and can even run an iPod.

I hope to come back to this soon to bring good news about how all is now well. In the meantime I still have my 8 remotes to keep me warm...


************************************** The Update*******************

So I sent the original Monster remote back using the handy UPS-return label Amazon thoughtfully provides us.

A few days passed, then I received an email from Amazon stating Whoops! These are no longer in stock! I checked the website and it looks like there are plenty. While we went around that issue in several emails it gave me time to think. Did I REALLY want to try another one of these?

Finally I decided to just throw in the towel on this MMC-AV100 and wait for the Philips TSU-9200, which was announced at the time to be released in the USA "in the Fall of 2007". If I'm not mistaken, that's pretty soon (I'm writing this on November 4th.)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great remote, fantastic support, May 9, 2006

By	Guy Jackson (Aurora, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a gadget freak, I was looking for something to replace my Harmony remote. That's when I found the Monster MCC AV100. I have the new MacBook Pro intel dual core. When I got the remote and installed the software, it wouldn't work. I notified support via email. It turns out that there was a problem with the software with the new intel macs. It took them about two days to fix the software, and they sent the new software via fedex next day air. The new software works perfectly. It takes a little time to "tweak" the remote to set it up the way you want it. But it's all self-explanitory. And the best part. No more buying batteries. The chargeable battery is worth it's weight in gold. This is by far the best remote I've ever own. The only complant is that some of the buttons on the bottom of the remote are quite small and tough to reach. Especially the "page up" and "page down" buttons. But that's easily taken care of by re-assigning the buttons. It's kind of pricey, but if you have a decent home theater set-up, why not spend some extra money on a decent remote?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Monster Remote AV100, August 11, 2006

By	Don (Florida) - See all my reviews

Overall I'm very satisfied with the remote capabilities, and relative ease in setup.

The remote is used to control a plasma monitor, AV Receiver, digital HD cable box with DVR, DVD, and DVD/VCR combo unit. The multiple remotes were driving my wife crazy (and me too). The AV equipment I have is of good quality but I could not bring myself to buy one of the high end remotes, for about $400, and then have to pay an additional $400 to have someone program it. Future changes would still depend on someone doing the programming and cost more money. The Monster controller was a good solution. It has one-button capabilities and was something that I could set up and modify.

The basic setup went pretty smoothly. Monster's web based "set up wizard' was easy to use, and the component database with the various codes seemed extensive. The user guide included with the remote however was about as minimalist as possible. There is a user manual that can be downloaded from Monster's web site but all I received was a web site error message when I tried. Maybe if I had the user manual, I would have better understood the relationship between the "activities' and the related components. Once I got the basic system working, it took a lot of experimenting with the setting to customize the remote. The component and activity settings are buried a number of screens deep on the web site. It was confusing to decide whether to use the trouble shooting screen or the activities screen.

After setting up the cable box and the TV, I went to use the cable guide to pick a station. I could not figure out how to move up and down or side to side within the guide. I felt like an idiot when, by accident, I realized that the Monster remote select button also functioned as a mini joystick. It moves up and down within the guide. I am sure that information was in the user guide that I was not able to download but I did not see this information on the web site or anywhere else.

The remote advertising indicated that the remote's surround mode button would access the surround sound and DSP modes. I have a Yamaha RX V1500 receiver and none of the surround sound buttons appear when I use the surround mode. I will have to set them up or have to use the remote's component control button to access the buttons for the AV receiver (all 14 pages worth).

Another issue relates to the AV receiver and its multiple zone capability. The receiver's primary zone is used for the cable/TV/DVD in the family room. I have zone 2 powering speakers outside, and zone 3 powering speakers in one of my rooms. The receiver can play the cable/TV in zone 1 and in zone 2 use the receiver's turner to play FM. The codes for the Monster remote do not recognize the other zones. I needed to use the learn code function to get zone 2 to work. I still haven't figured out how to control the volume in zone 2. This is a major pain for people with AV receivers with multiple zones and needs to be fixed.

I am still having problems switching the monitor's inputs (AV1 to AV2) when I start an activity. Even though the activity says to switch to AV2, the monitor does not recognize the command. I am still playing with time delays in sending the codes but do not have a solution yet.

The last gripe that I have is that Monster's web site has a download titled "Setting up your monster controller" and it indicates a 24hr turnaround on contacts to their customer service. I used their web site for the contact and three contacts later am still waiting for an answer to any of my requests. This is a problem since Monster sets the expectation of a quick turn around and then does not deliver.

Problems aside, I still think that this controller was the way to go. It truly has one button capability and allows me to make changes to the remote's functionality. Most of the issues I have will not be a problem for the majority people. Monster's support is still a little rough around the edges. I am confident that I will get the remote to handle my needs.