Setting Up Your Home Theatre:
Everything That You Should Know
When you have a complete entertainment system, having too many remote controls will be inevitable. Then comes the dreaded instructions list, written with a pen that doesn’t work, and in handwriting worse than your doctors. – Step 1. with the Samsung remote, press the power button. Step 2 – Pick up the Denon Remote and press power, but first make sure the Samsung TV is on HDMI 1. Step 3 – Throw the remotes across the table, scrunch up the instructions, and maybe let out some profanities. Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to be so difficult. With the right Universal remote control, your troubles will be over.
One thing everyone wants is ease and efficiency. With the increase in the use of smart devices in AV (and throughout the rest of your home for that matter) Things should be easier to use right? Well not really, a “smart” remote control, is still just another control. What happens when you put 10 Smart controls next to each other…Terminator 6, that’s what. Arnie will burst through your door telling you to come with him if you want to live, Sarah Conner yelling “hurry up” from behind the wheel of the stolen car she’s parked in your driveway, all because you wanted to utilize every button from every “smart remote you have. Ok, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you see what we’re getting at here. One Universal remote good = Good, multiple remote controls = Bad.
WHY GET A HOME THEATRE?
Not all universal remotes are the same. There are some off the shelf products that will take you through a wizard-based setup that you may have mixed results with. If your system is very simple, and only using major brands, then you may have some success. Generally though, when we visit people’s home’s, me will often find these in the drawer with all the other remotes. Then there’s the next step up. Most good AV installers will have a universal remote control that they like and will recommend. While these will be a bit more expensive than off the shelf products, they will be fully customizable so you can be sure they will always do what they are supposed to do. The two major Universal Remote control brands we supply and program are RTI www.rticorp.com and URC www.urc-automation.com These are just what we like, fairly priced, and reliable, but there are plenty of other brands to look at too like ELAN, Crestron and AMX to name a few.
CONTROL YOUR SMART HOME
Besides IR controls, there are universal remotes that can be connected to the Wi-Fi. This gives them the ability to work with your Smart Home Assistants, like Alexa and Google Home. Now you don’t even have to pick up the remote, you can control your AV with your voice.
BENEFITS OF HAVING A UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL
By now I’ve made it pretty clear just how much a universal remote control can do for you, but let’s just go over the main benefits one more time;
NO MORE CLUTTER
A lot of devices mean a lot of remotes. Let’s be real, it’s already frustrating enough looking for the right remote for whatever device you want to use, it’s even more frustrating seeing all of them making a mess on your coffee table. You can have them all placed neatly in a container of some sort, but we all know that’s not going to last long. Sooner or later they will all be sprawled across the table again, or stuck between the cushions, or buried in the backyard, and you’re back to square one. With a universal remote, you can hide away all your other remotes for good. No more mess, no more stress.
SIMPLICITY
As discussed, the main benefit of getting a universal remote is simplifying your life. When sitting down to watch TV after a long day of work and even that seems too difficult, you know you have a problem. Remember, what you have is an “Entertainment” system. If it creates more frustration than entertainment, then it’s not doing its job and your money has been wasted. Bite the bullet, get a Universal Remote Control system, stop being frustrated, and start being entertained again.
