Best remote tv control

The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. If your living room is your main cinema set-up and you're a big fan of electronics, chances are you've got a handful of different remotes living somewhere around the room. It's not a problem, until you want to switch from one device to the next and realise that specific remote is nowhere to be seen, best remote tv control.

The quick list 1. Best overall 2. Best budget 3. Best voice control 4. Discontinued remotes 5. What's a universal remote?

Best remote tv control

Fewer people need a universal remote control these days, which explains why the category is dying and great options are hard to find. This model has some notable flaws, but it can control a wider variety of home-entertainment devices, and it has a better physical design than its competitors. This remote can control 15 AV components, including Bluetooth-based devices, and the button layout is intuitive. But it lacks backlighting and activity buttons, and programming advanced tasks can be challenging. This remote can control eight AV components, has a logical button layout, and is fully backlit. We looked for remotes that can control up to eight devices, have an intuitive button design, and support more advanced programming. The cheapest remotes usually control only infrared devices. The better models can also control gear via Bluetooth and sometimes Wi-Fi. The Sofabaton U2 Universal Remote Control offers more features and control options than similarly priced competitors. While the U2 remote is better than everything else we tested, it still has some notable drawbacks. This fully backlit remote can control eight devices and has all the important buttons you need, including three activity controls that allow you to group devices together to watch a movie, listen to music, or watch TV.

Amazon Fire TV Cube. Not only is there no backlight, best remote tv control, but the buttons don't so much as glow in the dark. For instance, you get no quick code to lock the volume and mute buttons to your AV receiver or soundbar; you have to manually reassign the volume buttons for every source device.

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need. Logitech offers the most efficient and intuitive smart remote in the market. Tech savvy users can connect media devices to smart home devices. Read More.

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Juggling multiple remotes for TV, cable box, soundbar, game consoles, and all the other devices in your living room can get extremely frustrating. Once upon a time, manufacturers made third-party universal remotes, which connected to many devices so you could navigate them all with one magic wand. Despite the fact that we have more devices than ever, universal remotes are a dying breed. There are still a few companies that make universal remotes. If your coffee table full of remotes needs taming, the best universal remotes can still swoop in and cut out some remote clutter. To make our selections, I leaned on hands-on testing, as well as extensive research on the current third-party remote market. I checked peer reviews, user impressions, forums, and retailer comment sections to get a sense of what universal remotes are currently popular.

Best remote tv control

If you're in the market for a new remote, our side-by-side review directly compares 8 of the best universal remotes available today. Our in-depth evaluation looks at compatibility with common devices, set-up procedures, ease of use, and capabilities. Our home electronics experts know that there is a wide range of applications for these devices and that only a few of the options out there are truly universal, despite their labeling. That's where our hands-on experience can help you choose the best universal remote for your home.

Great balls of fire

Its aesthetics match the remote and will probably blend in with just about everyone's home theater set-up without taking up too much space. The cheapest remotes usually control only infrared devices. First Name:. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. Reasons to avoid - A little tricky to program. The difference is that these devices are able to imitate the signals sent by your TV's original remote, AV receiver or other device. GE Pro Capabilities 9. In addition to the basic features common on all other remotes, the GE Color Select eked out a slightly stronger capability score because it also offers a color selector that toggles the backlight color of buttons through five options: blue, red, green, yellow, and white. Subscribe now for a daily dose of the biggest tech news, lifestyle hacks and hottest deals. This new Microsoft Teams update is a small one — but it could easily cost you your job. The more a remote costs, the more flexibility it should have to control different kinds of devices. It's not actually universal, aside from the fact that it controls most brands of TV. Soundbar buying guide: How to choose the right one for your TV setup. Here's how.

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping.

You can even initiate the TV power first and subsequently switch on the cable or satellite box after a 5-second delay, or create other similarly complicated sequences. Thank You! You're all set to get the latest from Reviewed. So what's left? Its button layout and programming process are almost identical to that of our runner-up, the Insignia eight-device remote , but it lacks activity buttons. Read our full Logitech Harmony review. Best budget. We recognize that some units are more complicated and thus require more time and skill to learn, program, and navigate. Some universal remotes also have smart home controls, as well as voice search, so you can look for shows, movies, and more across multiple streaming services. The software automatically and wirelessly updates the remote with the proper control codes after you add each new device. This metric mainly considers the remote's navigation — particularly important for devices with complex functions — as well as the button layout, size, lettering, and backlighting. The GE Pro is simple to program and operate so that you can quickly get to watching your favorite program. If you're like us, your coffee table looks like the Clicker Committee is holding an important meeting at all times. Our capabilities' tests covered a broad range of features that are available on the various remotes in our test lineup.