The biggest problem with the glut of AV equipment that we all buy these days is that every single piece needs a separate remote control. While Sony and others do try to allow their own–brand products to share single remotes, most consumers probably won’t make that a deciding factor in choosing, say, a DVD player or sound system. The best solution in our opinion is to use a third party all-in-one solution, like this great-looking example from Denon.
Not content with just making an all-in-one remote, the RC-7000 provides two-way interaction with multimedia equipment. The LCD will, as well as allowing you to control basic functionality, also provide information such as track names, play time and radio station data. There is also an optional wireless RF base station, so you can take the remote anywhere, within range, and still get the best functionality out of your equipment.
The remote is also programmable with a PC so you can setup shortcuts and thus have one button turn on your TV, HD DVD player and sound system and set TV to correct channel. The only downside is that you won’t be able to control the Blu-ray player in a PS3 with this remote, as it doesn’t support Bluetooth (but then what does?). The remote itself will set you back £199.99 and the base station will add another £149.99. But when you’re spending thousands on your high end audio/visual setup anyway, that probably isn’t a prohibitive price when you consider the benefits.
story: Hugo Jobling
