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Click It Good
Aesthetically, I might have picked a winner on the first day of my investigation: One For All's Kameleon ($90). The Kameleon's primary claim to fame is that it has no visible buttons. Instead, the remote's face consists of a blue electro-luminescent display that does nothing until it senses motion. Then, it shows the appropriate buttons for whatever device you're trying to control.
This feature can be a bit jarring. Every time I walked by the coffee table, the darned thing turned itself on. (Okay, I could have turned off the motion detector.) While watching TV, I could easily access the channel up and down buttons; if I switched over to my audio/video receiver, I could change the audio source.
Unfortunately, in the Kameleon's case, looking great does not equate to working well. With a standard remote control, you can eventually use the device by feel. If you watch enough TV, you learn exactly where the channel buttons are, thanks to tactile clues. But when all buttons are virtual, there's no way to tell exactly where your finger is on the remote. For me, this shortcoming eliminates the Kameleon from serious contention.
Universal Remote Control's Osiris MX-350 ($150), on the other hand, is finger-clicking good. The buttons are well spaced and pleasingly firm to the touch. An easy-to-locate light button lets you navigate the remote in a dark room.
The Osiris can control up to ten devices. It has a crisp LCD, though you'll likely spend a lot of time scrolling to reach the screen containing the commands you want. I found the incessant navigating pretty frustrating, but I did manage to cut down on it by customizing the screens that I wanted to see for each device.
If you're simply looking for a remote to control a cable box or receiver, a TV, a DVD player, and a basic audio/video receiver, the Osiris is a terrific choice overall. An optional $99 base station (the MRF-250 RF) converts the remote into a radio frequency-based device. This eliminates the primary drawback to infrared devices (the remote's need to "see" the device that it's controlling), and it enables you to control devices from a different room or even to store your components in a closet.
One For All
$90
A: The icons located at the top of the remote make switching between home entertainment devices easy.
B: Without raised buttons to provide tactile clues, you'll have to keep your eye on where you click.
Pro: The Kameleon combines an aesthetically pleasing design and a very reasonable price.
Con: The device's reliance on an array of digital buttons makes touch-based operation impossible. And the unit doesn't support the degree of customization available on the higher-end models.
Universal Remote Control
$150
A: You'll use these buttons to scroll through commands for complex devices.
B: The light button is easy to find, even in the dark.
Pro: Well-spaced, nicely raised buttons make this universal remote a pleasure to click.
Con: Menu layout requires a lot of scrolling--or some rather cumbersome customizing--to access many of the home theater system features.
