User reviews for the Denon Aktis RC-8000 from Denon Electronics. Ratings Reviews MSRP (USD) Average: 2.90/5.00 Median: 2.83/5.00 42 $449 The Denon Aktis RC-8000 is a touchscreen learning remote control with multi-direction joystick. It features an optional RF basestation, high-resolution backlit screen, control of up to 23 components and a USB port for PC connectivity. Message Forum Add Your Review Find universal remotes at:

Written by userman from San Jose, CA, USA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 21 made on November 26, 2001. Strengths: USB port Weaknesses: weight, slow, cumbersome Review: I have had this remote that came with my 4802 receiver. the device has a USB port which means that you can connect it to a PC and communicate with it. the cable however was not supplied, so I had to go to the Shack and get one. You would expect that for the price that you have paid you would get every thing that you would need, "not the case, here". I also dnld:ed the remote software that is not delivered with the package, from Denon's web site. it is funny. this is their product and they are supposed to be proud of it, but instead, they say, this is a none supported product and you are on your own. Sopmetimes I wonder if Denon is still a garage company!? Any way, the interface is not intuitive at all and the communication between the PC and the remote is so slow. I wonder what kind of CPU they have inside. even a college student would have come up with something better than this. It takes minutes to download the code from the remote to the PC and vice versa !?! if this product was so poor, they should have OEM:ed something, a PRONTO for example, from somebody else and do not damage their reputation as a high end manufacturer of home electronics. they need to hire some smart product managers to address issues like this. I am sure they have enough smart engineers, because I love my 4802 receiver, but the remote is not any thing to jump up for ;( Quality: Features: Value:

Written by mark collop from dallas, texas. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 20 made on October 30, 2001. Strengths: NOTHING. Weaknesses: NO WARRANTY SERVICE FROM DENON, because bought off internet. LOUSY SERVICE, LOUSY PRODUCT FROM DENON. I PURCHASED DENON AV RECEIVER 4802 W/ THIS REMOTE OFF INTERNET. RECEIVER NEW OUT OF BOX DID NOT WORK. DENON REFUSED TO HONOR WARRANTY. COST $300 TO REPAIR AT DENON SERVICE CENTER. REMOTE BROKE FIRST DAY OF OPERATION. I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO EXPECT $150 TO $200 TO REPAIR THIS PIECE OF CRAP. Review: I AM TWO FOR TWO WITH DENON'S TOPEND PRODUCTS (AV 4802 AND RC-8000) ....SUPER POOR QUALITY PRODUCTS ...... WORST WARRANTY SERVICE IN THE WORLD, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME, PERIOD. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Shawn from Vancouver, British Columbia. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 19 made on May 15, 2001. Strengths: When I am watching a movie, or the television or listening to music in the dark, the backlight is a great feature. It learned all my other remotes quite easily. It had capabilities of adding button names The volume and channel and mute are right there conveniently at the bottom of the remote (volume being most used). I havnt even tried the rf part yet, as the IR works great in my room from any angle. I also havn't tried the rechargeable batteries yet as the 4 included with the remote have been good for a month so far. Weaknesses: The contrast has to be adjusted from time to time, it will all of a sudden go all out of whack. It takes too long to scroll between screens. Even at 2 seconds per switch it can seem to take forever after a few source changes. Some times you really have to push hard on the macros button for the signal to be sent. The remote will beep like it was pushed, however nothing happens. the dam USB cover won't stay put. its too thick and heavy. Review: Overall at first i was intimidated by all the learning that was necessary. By both the remote and myself. However i found that after a few days i became quite used to the remote. I have just downloaded the software and am trying to learn it to see what it can do for me and my remote. This remote came with the AVR 5800, so i cant really complain. It could have just had the regular type non-programable remote and i would have been happy. **Besides didn't we all want the remote with the big blue light anyway? ;o) Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Brendan Miller from Salem, OR. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 18 made on April 16, 2001. Strengths: Flexibility, styling Weaknesses: screen refresh (forget the stupid animated screens!); RCEditor software (or am I just lame?) Review: I just got this remote with my Denon AVR-5800 like most folks. I was going to by the fancy-shmancy Sony LCD multiremote (although now conventional wisdoms seems to point to the Prono), but then I got the Aktis with the Denon receiver. So I'm learning how to use it, finding the same peculiarities as most folks. This remote looks like it should handle all my A/V needs, but I believe these days that such remotes should be PC-programmable. If Aktis/Denon is going to put a USB jack on there, there should be decent software, no? The software is available on the web--I downloaded it. There's a mandatory (I guess) updater that they tell you to run, so I ran it. Okay fine. Now I want to download/upload a configuration file. I think their notion of upload _FROM_ RC-8000 and download _TO_ RC-8000 seems backward to me (usually upload-to and download-from; oh well), but anyway... Upload From RC-8000 (to get remote config on computer) works fine. But then sending config back to remote hangs at 99%! I have to kill it with Task Manager. What's up with that? Has anyone else experienced this? I can't tell if it got the changes or not. If this software was more straight-forward, it would be a slam-dunk, but this part is a bit frustrating. I didn't need to waste $20 on a USB cable to hook THIS up!! Oh well. The remote as it is is okay. But I'd like it to control more of my Sony XBR TV features. Lot's more playing to do--have had it only a week. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Arni from San Ramon CA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 17 made on March 27, 2001. Strengths: It can handle a ton of equipment. Easy first time set up, and has a lot of remote codes already learned. Weaknesses: Unless you turn on the back light it is hard to read the screen. Review: I am happy with it so far. I just ordered the base station so I haven't used the RF feature yet. But from what I understand you need a seperate unit rc618 I think it is to reroute the signal to seperate components via IR repeaters. that unit runs $149. so now your talking $449.remote $179. base unit $149. router. and $25. a piece for IR reapters. Pretty steap just for RF! Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Ron S. from Kansas City. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 16 made on February 28, 2001. Strengths: RF Hard Buttons PC Software Future Potential for Software Upgrades Weaknesses: Takes 2 hands to use. Obscure IR commands may not work depending on the component. Takes a lot of patience to work with, and patience to learn how to effectivly use it. Review: Mine came with my Denon 5800. At first, this thing was a challenge. But the more I work with it, and customize it, the more I like it. Mine came with literally hundreds of button labels for use when you are using the learn function for your other components. The Macros (system calls) work great for my components and were simple to setup. Maybe mine came with a more recent software release, but unlike other reviewers here, I have turned on a 2-page user menu that contains buttons for often used buttons on different components. On the first page, I can control what input I want for the receiver, the dish channels, the TV channels & inputs, the VCR channels and inputs and the tuner stations. This makes it easy to get what you want fast when it's all on one or two pages. But it also can control absolutely everything on the receiver, so when I'm about to watch a DVD, it may take some a little bit to switch between components, but this is OK for me because I want to take my time and make sure my DVD is set to the audio mode I want, the receiver is set to the proper sound mode, etc. I've got a Yamaha DVD player and a Sony Trinitron, and I have had some trouble getting certain functions to work. For example, all the basic TV controls are fine, but a couple P-I-P functions won't work through it like position and audio. I may have to try to re-program these again, because the first time I setup those functions, NO P-I-P functions worked. It has pre-programmed settings for a lot of components. My Sony TV, RCA dish, and Panasonic HIFI VCR were available, but there are NONE for anything Yamaha. I recently downloaded the PC editing software, and that makes creating your own button labels and moving buttons around a breeze. With the software, you can change the thing around in no time. Very easy to use. I have no idea what it costs by itself, but I've heard somewhere between $400 and $450. I wouldn't even pay $250 for ANY remote control no matter what it could do! But since it came with my receiver, I'd consider it a good value for me. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Jeff Hunt from Pleasant Grove, UT. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 15 made on December 22, 2000. Strengths: RF Recharger base Hard Buttons USB Port Weaknesses: Large Hard to see screen Heavy Touch screen too insensitive Battery cover keeps popping off USB cover won't stay put Review: But, where is the software? Talk about rushing to market!!! This remote could be pretty good if: I could create custom screens, it would learn my Pioneer Pro160 commands, program the joystick, change the duration of the command sent by one push of a button, use the USB port (Where's the software!?) Otherwise, right now, it sucks. Good example of how the lack of a few simple things can blow a potentially great product. Quality: Features: Value:

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