|
|
 |
|
The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com:
| User reviews for the Marantz RC2000 from Marantz. |
 | | Ratings | Reviews | MSRP (USD) |
Average: 3.87/5.00
Median: 4.00/5.00 | 13 | N/A |
The original Marantz RC2000 is an all-button learning remote control with LCD screen. It has been replaced with the RC2000 Mark II.
Find universal
remotes at: |  |
|
|
Now viewing user reviews page 1 of 2 for
the Marantz RC2000 remote.
|
|
| Written by Richard Choate from Dallas. The reviewer has used this remote control for more than two years. |
| Review 11 made on Saturday July 5, 2003 at 9:22 PM. |
| Strengths: |
| Weaknesses: |
|
| Review: | I bought this for $250 when it was the newest thing out, and it worked fine for probably 4 years. Since then, it has lost range so that you had to point directly at the equipment from about 12 to 15 feet. Finally it has reached the point where it no longer accepts programming and is going into final stages of Alzheimer’s. The page buttons for LD,VCR,ETC. sometimes don't work at all and many of the other basic function buttons (power, transport, etc.) are no longer working for all of the pieces of eqpmt. OK, I've had it for 6 years, but I still expect it to keep doing what it always did since it has been treated so gently all this time.
Some people like the weight. I don't. It just feels heavy and clunky. The lighting fairly sucks and is hard to read if your angle isn't right. For a hard buttoned unit, I want bright backlighting that you can read in the dark clearly. This doesn't meet that requirement IMHO.
I don't like having to get my little pointy paper clip to reset the unit to the "use" mode after changing batteries (which I feel like I was doing every other day). The RC5 mode is useless for almost everybody and was especially so back in 96. The "use" mode should have been the default. Remember...I paid full price. There weren't any Ebay bargains back then, so don't accuse me of being too picky. If I had paid 50 bucks like you then I wouldn't hold the bar so high.
Now that the RC2000 has basically died, I'm moving to the TSU6000, which I'm getting on Ebay for $525.00 Hopefully I will like the color touchscreen and extensive programmability (I'm a programmer). I have high hopes that it will live up to the review given it's sister unit (TSU3000) within this site. I will add that I will only use the Pronto Pro in a living room where there will be no "Menacing Thick Fluffy Blanket" and the lights will usually be at least partially on in the room. For my bedroom theatre, I could not live without a hard button remote, and I have a great one that came with my Rotel surround receiver. It is absolutely identical to the "Home Theater Master SL-9000". I don't know if Rotel owns them or what, but the remotes are exactly the same and I highly recommend it. |
|
Quality:   | Features: | Value: |
|
|
|
| Written by Jeff Carter from New Jersey. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months. |
| Review 9 made on Wednesday June 13, 2001 at 3:06 PM. |
| Strengths: |
| Weaknesses: |
|
| Review: | I have now owned this remote for almost 3 months, and have been waiting to fully utilize all of its features before writing this review.
Let me preface this by stating that this review is based on my purchase price on eBay of $80 shipped. Had I spent $200 on this (as was street value when this model was current), I would not be raving about it like I am.
After reading the other reviews, I would like to address some of the negative points that I noticed. I guess that with any product, there are 'lemons', and perhaps I just got lucky on this remote, or maybe the negative reviews are from people who weren't quite so lucky.
Lack of memory: My system is not extravagant. The components programmed into this remote are:
Yamaha HTR-5150 receiver
Sony DVP-S300 DVD player
Yamaha CDC-625 CD changer
JVC AV-32150 TV
JVC VCR (basic, 4-head, mono, don't remember model number)
Cable box
With only these components, I did not have a problem programming all of the remotes, with all of the functionality that I will ever use on them into this remote. I believe that I have an older model with 32K (the later RC2000's - still pre MKII - have 64K), and did not run out.
Battery life:
The settings for the backlighting are the key to battery life. I turned off the setting that turns the light on whenever the room darkens. If I need the light to come on, the light key is blatently located on the side of the remote, and is easily findable in the dark. I also set the light to go off after 4 seconds when a key is pressed, which is more than enough time to see what you're doing. I haven't changed the batteries yet in the 3 months I've been using the remote.
Lack of dedicated channel up/down keys: Point well taken. Hey, I only paid $80 for this thing. You cant expect to not have at least one pet peeve for that price. Actually, it's not that big of a deal to program channel up and down in the 'LCD labeled' buttons. I'm already used to it, and don't mind it a bit.
IR Range: My living room is about 22 X 14, and I haven't had a problem from anywhere in the room, and am very impressed at the range of angles that I can hit my components at. My entertainment center is set up with some components under the TV and others on top. Even if I am standing right in front of the TV, I can use my macros with the remote pointing at the TV and hit all of my components with commands. It almost has too much range, in that I've leaned on a key or two while the remote is jammed in between the couch cushions and accidentally activated a command.
Button size/shape: If the buttons were bigger, the unit would have to be bigger. I like all of the hard buttons, and quickly adapted to the placement of all of them, so I don't have a problem with the shape of the buttons either.
IR codes from non-standard remotes: I guess all of my remotes are 'standard'. I have not attempted to enter a code which didn't take.
Size: Yes, it's bulky, but once again, the tradeoff for having all of the hard buttons is a big, heavy remote. It probably could have been balanced better, as many reviewers think the Home Theater MX-500 is, but I have never held one of them, and they are not available at any kind of comparable price at this point.
A few of my own points, both positive and negative:
Some sort of PC based interface would have been nice, but programming really didn't take very long. The key was logically thinking out the 'LCD labeled' buttons and programming in their names before programming the actual keys. When programming in a remote, though, you can really buzz through all of its keys quickly. A PC based interface would also allow backing up of memory, but once again, for $80, what do you expect?
This remote feels rock solid. I guess the converse of this is that the remote is heavy, but it's not too heavy, and doesn't feel the slightest bit flimsy. As for the battery cover, no problems yet. Hopefully my kids won't get to it anytime soon.
The ergonomics are geared towards someone with bigger hands than myself (or most other human beings, for that matter), but once again, the tradeoff for all of the hard buttons is size.
Macro functionality is very good. I was able to use the demo of OmniRemote on my Palm Pilot, and shelled out the $20 for ORdesktop, to get some discrete codes from this website to teach to my RC2000 and use within my macros. A few minor issues I have with the macro keys are that with the 4 reserved macro keys, you need to hit the key, then the 'Play' button to execute them, which I guess helps avoid accidentally setting off a macro. All of the device buttons can be set up to be macros as well, but to do that, you need not only to hit 'Play' to execute them, but you need to hold the device button down for 2 seconds to even get to that point. I would have set the remote up that if a macro was programmed into a device key, the key could not be used like a regular key also. More macro keys would have been nice as well, perhaps a 'window' full of them in the 'LCD label' window.
Bottom line, I love the remote. It does everything I need it to do, and handles my entire system. Are there a few things I would change about it? Sure. What purchase does anyone make of a product like this that they couldn't think of a dozen or so things they would change about it? All of the modifications I have thought of and mentioned, however, are very minor, and do not give me the slightest bit of "buyer's remorse".
Hopefully this helps any potential buyers. Please do yourself a favor and check eBay for this item. |
|
| Quality: | Features: | Value: |
|
|
|
| Written by Chris Boylan from New York, NY. The reviewer has used this remote control for more than two years. |
| Review 8 made on Wednesday May 30, 2001 at 10:03 PM. |
| Strengths: |
| Weaknesses: |
|
| Review: | This is my second comprehensive universal remote. My first was an NEC LRC-910 which was also a learning remote, with loads of buttons, but unfortunately the buttons on the NEC unit were all the same size with no lighting!
The RC2000 is a completely different animal, with a fairly generous memory, the ability to label special purpose buttons via an LCD display, and a pretty straightforward - if not perfect - user interface.
When I first got it, I thought it was a bit of a battery hog, as it went through a set of 4 AA alkalines in about two to three weeks. But I found that I was able to adjust the length of time the backlighting came on, and this at least doubled the battery life. Also, I now use NiMH batteries which last almost as long as alkalines and are rechargeable, so this makes life easier.
For those who say that this unit loses its programming with every battery change, I say you're retarded. If this happens on your unit, then it's defective. What it DOES do is reset itself back to RC-5 mode after you change batteries (RC-5 mode only operates Philips/Marantz components), so you have to hit the recessed "mode" switch with a pencil or paperclip to get it back into "Use" mode to restore your settings. It would be nice if the unit remembered the last mode it was in and restored this when batteries are changed, but it doesn't, so you do have to reset it to Use mode after a battery change.
At the time I bought it (2+ years ago), it really was able to replace all of my remotes (at the time, that was only 8 remote controls plus a remote light dimmer). And this was a GODSEND. The NEC was pretty limited in its functionality, but the Marantz, with its custom label capabilities (up to 5 characters each) is very flexible and intuitive.
Also, I like the fact that the Marantz RC-2000 has actual BUTTONS. The thing that bugs me about LCD touch-screen remotes is that you can't use them in the dark by feel - you have to turn on the lighting in the remote or the lights in the room. Not so with the RC-2000. The buttons are logically shaped. Not having large hard-coded channel up/down buttons is a little strange but you can program these into the upper buttons and clearly label them using the LCD display so it's no biggie.
The only real ergonomic problem is that the play controls (play/rew/ff/etc.) are at the very bottom of the unit. Since the unit is fairly bulky, this makes it awkward to try to operate these lower buttons with one hand - the weight is unbalanced. But you get used to it.
I did eventually run out of memory on the unit, but this was after entering in advanced menuing and programming functions of two VCRs, plus advanced functions from one DVD player, one LD player, one DAT recorder, one TV, and an FM tuner, plus basic functions from a tape deck, and a CD player. Also, the programming time, for me to add advanced functions of 8 remotes, took a few hours. It would be nice if the unit had the ability to select a code for basic functions of your remotes (like most universal remotes have), then add the more advanced functions via learning and labelling. But this is really a one-time hit for each new remote, so it's not a big deal over time.
The only thing making me seriously consider upgrading to an RC5000i is that the RC2000 simply cannot learn some of the functions of my Sony ES preamp remote. The Sony ES preamp has a two-way LCD touch screen remote which is absolutely terrible. A MUCH worse battery hog than the Marantz unit, and really terrible in its ergonomics and functionality. But because the Marantz cannot learn many of the functions of the Sony ES remote (like source selection and surround field selection), we are forced to use the Sony preamp remote for some functions.
If I can get a hold of a Sony ES one-way remote that has standard source selection and preamp selection codes, I'll probably program these into the RC2000 and hold onto the RC2000 for a while longer.
But, as much as I dislike touch-screen remotes, the RC5000i looks pretty sweet so I may end up biting the bullet (around $400 for the RC5000i) and upgrading after all.
At $249 list, the RC2000 was a little steep, at $150 (price I paid) it was a bargain. At $100 or less, which you can find it for now on eBay and other places, this unit is a total STEAL!! The RC2000, Mk. II does address my two major beefs - placement of the transport controls and low memory. But if you're sick of having 10 remotes on your coffee table and are looking for a single replacement that does pretty much everything you need, I'd say either the RC2000 Mark I or Mark II would be an excellent choice. |
|
| Quality: | Features: | Value: |
|
|
|
Now viewing user reviews page 1 of 2 for
the Marantz RC2000 remote.
|
|
|
|
Return to the user reviews index...
