User reviews for the Home Theater Master MX-600 from Universal Remote Control Inc. Ratings Reviews MSRP (USD) Average: 4.78/5.00 Median: 4.67/5.00 3 $249 Take the incredibly popular MX-500 remote control, add the MX-800's RF communications, and you've got the stand-alone MX-600 remote control. You still get custom LCD-labelled buttons, a 5-way menu joystick, backlighting, learning, macros and more. Message Forum Clicker Picker Specifications Add Your Review

Written by Aurelio from Massachusetts, USA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 3 made on Thursday October 13, 2005 at 2:16 PM. Strengths: Palpable quality construction. Ergonomic. Easy to program. Super strong IR beam. Reliable RF performance. Weaknesses: Backlight button very hard to press. Kind of big. Use of RF base while in the presence of the actual beam from the remote requires attention to placement. Could use a few more macro buttons. No timer capababilities. Review: This remote totally rules. It replaces a SONY RM-VL1000. The MX-600 seems to be made of better materials and put together within very tight tolerances. Basically, it feels well made and long lasting. The ergonomics are excellent, with the placement of the volume and channel + - buttons right were they need to be, near the users thumb. The weight is balanced and the plastic has a pleasant texture. Once the remote is programmed, it seems like the user can get around nearly every function with very minimal paging or mode selection. You can virtually get anywhere within 2 keypresses. This is especially thanks to the overall number of LCD based buttons, which is 10, and equals the total number of supported devices, so they all fit in that page. I find this to be very important, since I don't have the patience to scroll thru pages each time I need to change devices. This remote lends itself well to "activity based" programming, thanks to puch thrus, the power button macros, and the three general purpose macro buttons (which do not operate in a "per device" basis). This way, volume always goes to the stereo, power always controls the entire system, and so on. Programming is also very easy, especially since writting text is done much like on a mobile phone, where each number corresponds to a group of letters. This is much better than the sony, where you could choose leters only by holding the plus sign and waiting until the letter you wanted scrolled by. The power of the IR beam is TREMENDOUS. This remote can be pointed virtually in any direction while in my living room and still operate every device as it goes thru a macro. This is in stark contrast with the SONY which needed to be carefully pointed for use. The MX-600's IR signal can only be stopped from reaching the target by covering the beam directly with something very thick. And this was before I even unpacked the RF receiver. The RF receiver, which retransmits IR signals, seems to pack the same punch in terms of IR power. I have mine sitting on top of my amplifier, pointing towards the sofa, and the signal is strong enough to operate all the equipment by just bouncing from stuff in the living room. RF performance was excellent, and I was able to operate it from about 50 feet away thru drywall. I have not yet tried to optimize the placement of my receiver and it sits right under the TV and the antenna is not even pointed up. So I can only expect performance to be much better if I actually start messing with placement. On the other hand, I have a suspicion that using the RF receiver while at the same time pointing with the remote can lead to signal reliability problems. I don't know if the receiver transmits an infrared signal in perfect phase with the IR output of the handheld unit, but this would be necessary for operation to remain reliable when both are transmitting together in the same area. I wish I had a way to find out for sure. With my system, it seems like once in a while a channel macro might not work, missing a digit, making me believe that this may be the reason. But this can be managed by paying attention to the relative placement of the remote and the receiver, or by using the 6 "stick on" IR transmitters that come with the system. You could in theory make all your equipment respond only to the stick on transmitters as a way to work around this very minor problem. Another problem I faced was that the power signal could not control my TV if placed as part of a macro (so that power buttons could controll the entire system). Perhaps my TV expects a longer "hold" for the power command than the MX-600 is sending. My work around was to make a macro that sends power *twice* to the TV. Now it works, except that once in a long while the TV will toggle twice. I still have not explored all workarounds to this, but I wish there was a way to make a macro command "hold" for a slightly longer time (when the user holds a button, remotes ussually resend the signal a few times, allowing time for equipment to pick the signal up.) Overall, this remote is fantastic and much better than the sony I had before. It's worth every penny and I paid a very cheap price compared to retail. Not having to point at the equipment is a godsend, and the 5 way button is very easy to press. If you are frugal like me, I recommend going to a popular search engine that can find prices and doing a search. If you get this remote you won't be disappointed. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Mike Cheney from Colorado, USA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 2 made on Friday August 13, 2004 at 9:41 PM. Strengths: Good price, great functionality, endless programming options, easy programming, RF works great. Weaknesses: The 600's menu joystick does not have the lighted ring like the 500. Review: I purchased this remote based on the great reviews for the MX-500. I cannot say enough good things about it so I'll stick to the things not covered by the 500 reviews. First off, for those of you with a preference, it is not white, its silver(this was of great importance to my wife). Also the RF functions work great. The only problem I have experienced with this is that the combined IR signals from the RF box and the remote would actually cancel or overpower each other. Easy to fix, simply move the IR transmitter further from the components IR reciever. The signal from the IR repeaters is very strong, they will actually control my Mitsubishi big screen even though the transmitter is located on top and slighty behind the screen. Also there is no delay (not noticable anyhow) when controlling components with RF only, and it works great from every room in our house. Hope this helps anyone looking for a cheaper alternative to the MX-800. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Marc Stress from New York, USA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 1 made on Wednesday March 31, 2004 at 9:53 PM. Strengths: Great Look + Feel. Solid Build. Gemstone buttons are beautiful. Even though measurments are large, works well in all hand sizes. Weaknesses: Display areas could be larger than 5 characters for descriptions. Review: The HTM MX-600 Is a great remote for people who don't need PC programmability. Same built quality, and materials as other MX-x00 devices. This is a very high quality remote. Programming is simple and intuitve...I had the remote setup within 1hr of opening box, complete with punch-throughs. There is some difficulty learning codes for DVD (Harmon Kardon DVD 50). However, I attribute this to the fussy things HK does with their devices, not the remote. The remote has a great degree of flexibility and can be setup as a device based, or activity based depending on your needs. Quality: Features: Value: