User reviews for the Sony RM-AV3000 from Sony Electronics. Ratings Reviews MSRP (USD) Average: 3.72/5.00 Median: 4.00/5.00 102 $199 As Sony's top-of-the-line remote control, the powerful RM-AV3000 features control of 18 devices, 45 macros, full learning capabilities, timers, a large LCD touchscreen and a good complement of hard buttons. Message Forum Our Review Clicker Picker Specifications Add Your Review Get it at:

Written by Scott Fellion from Wisconsin, USA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 6-12 months.

Review 53 made on Tuesday May 6, 2003 at 1:14 AM. Strengths: Great remote for the price Easy to read screen User friendly Fantasic hard buttons Nice night lighting - light up the room Macros work perfect especially when used with the timer. Weaknesses: The screen in direct sunlight can be hard to see Memory backup could be better. Took some time to program. Get rechargable batteries - need to replace monthly but on par with all electronics. Review: For the price (109+s/h) this is one great remote control. I liked it so much I bought one for my parents who like it as well. It does must of the functions I want it to however it does not learn every command. Actually it probably could but the soft keys labels are not changeable that I know of. The hard buttons while not illuminated are different shaped and can be felt in darkness. The greatest strength of this remote is the most used buttons are the hard buttons especially the directional ones. These are a must (used the most) in order to run my dish and TV menu and was the biggest reason (price second) I choose the Sony over the Pronto. While at first the remote seemed big, I got use to it and know am glad it is big. You will never lose or sit on it. Just set it on the arm rest or cushion use it there. Most of the time I don't need to pick it up to use it. The screen is large and always has the number keypad at the left. Except for when using the dvd player, I almost never have to page to another screen. The screen while it prints easily I have to yet to seriously clean it. I highly recommend this remote. The remote does have its quirks. When changing the batteries - remove all four and insert the new ones. Next make sure you set the clock first before you do anything else. Also when the batteries are close to being exhausted change them immediately. If you keep using the remote you will risk losing your presets. Both my parents and my Sony rm3000 remotes have a poor memory battery backup capacity which if drained, you will lose all your presets and learned commands. It appeared that if I replaced one battery at a time the memory would be lost. The only thing I can figured caused this was the clock reset. All said I highly recommend this remote SF Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Aaron from New York. The reviewer has used this remote control for 3-6 months.

Review 52 made on Monday April 14, 2003 at 11:10 AM. Strengths: Relatively affordable for the level of functionality Fairly easy to operate after a learning curve Weaknesses: Locks up often, occasionally RESETS itself (!!!) A bit too large Time-consuming and tedious to program Horrible instruction manual Review: While I have been happy with the operation of this remote for the most part, I have suffered through my last lock-up - this time resulting in a full RESET of all of my hard work programming it. It will be going back ASAP! AS for the comment on this issue being sporadic with only some units, I have heard this complaint far too consistently to condider giving the unit another chance... I have absolutely no problem with taking the time to get deep into the technical details of programming remotes, but after my experience with the Sony, I am intent on getting one that I can sync with my PC... Pronto? Marantz 5200? Denon?... Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Richard Smedley from OK. The reviewer has used this remote control for 3-6 months.

Review 51 made on Monday March 24, 2003 at 10:44 PM. Strengths: Lots of capabilities. Sturdy. Weaknesses: Locks up from time to time --- VERY, VERY ANNOYING. Manual is positively AWFUL. Review: I own two of these units controlling some numerous audio and video components. I bought one earlier this year and was pretty impressed, so I bought another one for my dedicated home theater. As with the first unit, I spent a great deal of time programming the unit to control all the components. Everything worked great until as I was changing channels one day on my DishNetwork receiver the RM-AV3000 began to spew forth IR impulses rapidly. I could NOT stop the unit through any means except removing the batteries. I hoped this was some sort of fluke, but since then it does this neat "trick" at least once per evening -- EXTREMELY ANNOYING. This is a SHOW STOPPER in my opinion to buying this unit. It's really a shame, since I otherwise love the features and ease of use. My recommendation -- DON'T BUY IT. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by joe v. from edmonton. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 50 made on Saturday February 22, 2003 at 8:24 PM. Strengths: it's a sony. warranty. Weaknesses: hard keys not backlit does not execute commands well on the lcd glow in the dark keys cannot be read ir must be pointed directly at componet prints galore on the lcd Review: the sony remote is a good price for this type of remote but overall it does not perform that well. you cant use the unit in complete darkness for the hard keys and some of the command buttons are not programable. the ir could perform somewhat better and the prints can drive you nuts after a while. not always the easiest remote to use for someone not familier with the remote. good design and flashy unit but unfortunately did not work well for me. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by George Onofrio from Mundelein, IL. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 49 made on Monday February 17, 2003 at 5:27 PM. Strengths: Does pretty much everything. Hard directional keys. Backlighting can be set to automatic now. A excellent alternative for most over higher priced units. Weaknesses: Proudly displays fingerprints on the touchscreen, manual is terrible Review: Two years ago purchased the previous generation of this remote, the RM-AV2100. Since that time the "2100" has performed flawlessly for me, until a week ago when my son spilled a large cup of water on it and didn't inform me immediately, so it soaked for a while. I thought it was a goner when I saw bubbles when pressing the touch screen. I took it apart dried it out and to my surprise, it still worked.... kind of. The lower left hand corner of the touch screen, the part that controls numbers, was dead. I called Sony for a replacement touch screen (it is interchangeable) and they quoted me $115! That's what I paid for a new one shipped! All the positives of the "2100" apply to the "3000". The preset codes cover almost all of the functions of the factory remotes. The ones that weren't covered were easily learned. Some of the features that I appreciated most were that the unit only displays the soft keys for active (live)functions for a component. For example, FF, REW, PLAY, etc. buttons are hidden when you have the TV or Satellite function selected, but appear when selecting VCR or DVD. It keeps the screen uncluttered. Another feature not advertised is that when you select a component, you can set it up so that it signals your receiver to change the audio input also, it saves a keystroke. The multiple labels for each of the keys allowed me to pretty much assign names that made sense in 99% of the cases. In cases where I couldn't find a proper key, the "3000" allows me to create a new key and assign a custom name. It took me about two hours to read through the manual and get it fully programmed. You would think that it should have been quicker since I was familiar with the "2100", but as I mentioned the manual is awful. It would refer to steps on other pages (eg. Perform steps 1-3 on page 21, then steps 4-6 on page 32), I was constantly flipping through pages. Other improvements over the previous model. The screen now has a clock. A little thing, but no more squinting across the room to read the time on the VCR. Backlight can now be set to automatically come on as soon as you touch the screen. Adjustable contrast. I wonder if those who have written that the screen is difficult to read have tried making an adjustment here. Hard directional keys. Can navigate through TiVo/DirecTV menus by touch instead of looking at the remote. Timer functions. When going on vacation, I can now set up the remote to turn on my TV for a while so it seems like I'm home. Ergonomics. A relative term since the "2100" was as ergonomic as a brick. The "3000" is slimmer, and it now has a ridge underneath that facilitates holding it in one hand, but one handed surfing is still a challenge. Minor gripes: Touch screen shows fingerprints. The old model's screen had a matte finish that helped hide fingerprints. Did I say the manual is awful? Expense parts. All-in-all, I purchased the "3000" because I was extremely pleased with the previous model. As a matter of fact, I've kept the old unit for the kids to use for most of the functions they'll need. I highly recommend the RM-AV300, just keep it away from thirsty kids! Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Larry from NYC. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 48 made on Friday February 14, 2003 at 12:44 PM. Strengths: Easy programming Nearly all regularly needed controls accessible without screen switching. Wealth of components/labels Powerful transmitter Nice, bright backlight Weaknesses: Fingerprints on touchscreen are very obvious. Poor, but not wretched, manual (I learned how to program from it, after all). Review: I have never considered a remote like the Pronto. To me, the major, tragic flaw, having to flip through page after page even for many basic, oft used controls, makes such a remote unacceptable and unusable. So I have been looking for a remote where I could just look down and see everything I needed to see. Granted a truly single-handed remote would be nice, but I do like a bit of the wow factor (the only reason a Pronto would get a second look from me). This new Sony remote is one of the sleekest and stylish remotes I have seen. And it is surprisingly light for its size and very easy to navigate cradled in your hands. I think most people before me have commented on most of the strong points regarding this remote and I heartily add my endorsement and recommendation. I just wanted to comment on a few points I have read in other reviews and in general about this remote. It is true that without the backlight, and in low ambient light conditions, the touchscreen is a bit hard to see. However, the backlight is truly wonderful and even if you have a moderate source of ambient light nearby, like a simple incandescent lamp, the buttons on the touchscreen show up just fine for me. As for size, well, it is never advertised as a single-handed remote and if you do your homework, you already know that. It is more a control center. I can easily rest it on the arm of my chair, look down and see all I need to see to control my components. I don't have to memorize which page a control is on and only a few minor controls require a single "page" shift to get at the next layer of configurable control labels. Speaking of which, I am not sure why the main review here indicated that switching these labels is confusing. Simply press the Other button to change component labels, or press the component label on the touchscreen to change the control labels for that component. Seems pretty simple to me. And since for many devices you can already get most functions assigned on one single "screen" with a single row of control labels, there really is no need for some page numbering system (3 easy clicks of the device label and you've already cycled through them). Finally, for the few who mention IR transmittal locks/crashes, it may be that you just need to replace the unit. There are isolated faulty units for just about any electronic device, after all. And that is why I am not very comfortable with the concept of marrying a remote with a PC. Adding a computer into the mix takes a relatively simple remote control concept and adds too many areas for additional problems. I'll take a standard learning remote, thank you very much. All in all, this Sony remote is well worth the cost. It is stylish, robust, easy to use and program, and I didn't have to break the bank to get it. Thank you Sony! Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Bill from Florida. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 47 made on Sunday January 26, 2003 at 12:03 PM. Strengths: Learns My other remotes with ease I like have a different screen for each devise , its like have 18 remotes in one package. great price online for what it does. super easy to set up. not much of a challenge with this one Weaknesses: screen screen screen well i had to set it up to always turn on the backlit when i hit any one button, screen just to hard to see in any light. Manual could be better but the remote is so easy to use who needs the manual Review: screen screen screen well i had to set it up to always turn on the backlit when i hit any one button, screen is just to hard to see in any light. Manual could be better but the remote is so easy to use who needs the manual Quality: Features: Value:

Return to the user reviews index...

Add your review