User reviews for the Home Theater Master MX-1000 from Universal Remote Control Inc. Ratings Reviews MSRP (USD) Average: 3.51/5.00 Median: 4.33/5.00 29 $289 The computer programmable MX-1000 features a high-resolution touchscreen display, 5-way joystick and 14 other hard buttons, full backlighting, learning and pre-programmed codes, plus a lot more. Message Forum Our Review Clicker Picker Specifications Add Your Review Get it at:

Written by Ben Adler from Chicago, IL. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 22 made on Saturday March 2, 2002 at 12:06 PM. Strengths: Price, IR Range, Fast Responce, Home Theater Master Support, Familiar look of most of todays factory remotes. Weaknesses: Instruction manual Review: After setting up my home theater, I decided that a Universal Remote was the way to go. I hoped to clean up our coffee table. I choose the MX1000 because of the price and the fact that it looked (thanks to the joystick) like my TV (new Hitachi 53" HDTV) and DVD (Toshiba 4700) remotes. My family is reluctant to change. It also does not look like my Denon AVR 1802 remote. This is a good thing, anyone familiar with the product, knows how awful the Denon remote is. I ordered it from deal mountin.com and it arrived in three days. Programming it was not simple because the instructions are not easy to follow. However I called Home Theater Master several times with questions and was always transferred to a person (not an answering machine). Usually it was Mike and they were great! Thanks to a little help, and time (well worth taking a night off from web surfing vs. spending a grand on a Pronto pro that does not have a Joystick) it is done. Completely set up to control all of the above-mentioned produces and an older RCA CD changer. I have also set up three macros on the main page. One turns everything on and switches the receiver and TV to receive Satellite TV. The next turns all on and sets everything up for DVD and the third turns all off. I programmed 11 favorite SAT channels and used the software to even set up the 11 macros with 11 network icons! This is great. You might get a little more memory for more icons by spending a G but 11 is enough for most people, the secret that I found was to delete absolutely every button that you were not using. And do not forget to back everything up to your PC so that in the unlikely event that something does go wrong, you will be running again in minutes after receiving another. I have 3 computers in my home (all networked and running win XP). I was not able to get the software working at first. Then Mike from HTM sent me the correct settings for the COM port. It was an easy fix, apparently XP does not set "flow Control" to hardware by default and you must change this setting. It may sound intimidating but trust me; it's an easy fix. I do not rave about all of my new equipment; most of witch is ok but after saving for a wile for a new home theater. I must say that HDTV Sat receivers and this remote are the way to go. More money may buy a little more memory but I do not think that my wife and kids would even try to use one of those SiFi looking things. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Chris Eberhart from Naples, FL. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 21 made on Friday February 1, 2002 at 7:15 PM. Strengths: Cool touchscreen, learning, feel/design Weaknesses: Doesn't have any of my new products pre programmed no Progressive DVD, 65" TV, or HDTV SAT. Review: This thing is terrible to program even with the web site doc's and I am a PC programmer. The limitations on changes to the MAIN screen make it miserable as well as the software that you have to use to program it. I am going to dump this thing on Ebay to some poor sap and buy another remote and I recommend you don't make the mistake in the first place. I never received any response from the compnay on any attempted contact. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by pitts2282 from Norman, OK. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 20 made on Sunday January 27, 2002 at 2:47 AM. Strengths: Great look & feel!! Very versitile Macros/Punchthroughs are great Combo of touchscreen & hard buttons Weaknesses: MX Designer Program Poor Documentation Have to re-learn commands after up/download Screen Contrast Review: First of all, I have been in the market for a remote for a little over 4 months now. Most of my knowledge base has been gathered from this site. When I first saw the MX-1000 I wanted it immediatly. Luckily, my wallet couldn't quite keep up so I had to wait a while. I read many reviews and was concerned about the MX-Designer program and the screen contrast. I almost settled on the MX-500 when I received the MX-1000 as a Christmas presant. At first I was in awe, it looked great and seemed to do the basics "OK". After a week, I was onto programming and learning, and believe me, this is no simple task. But now after about a month, I am VERY pleased with this remote. Most of the weaknesses I mentioned can be lessened to a degree. The program does suck, but it just takes some getting used to (without putting your fist through the screen!). The documention on this site is more than you'll need. I thought my remote was "forgetting" more than it was "learning" when I first started adding commands. I realized that most of this was because when you up/download, some of these get lost/mixed up. Once everything is set, it works like a charm. The only that can't be changed is the contrast. Although, you can make the buttons MUCH more readable by making them black buttons with white labels. I would definately recommend this remote to anyone who wants a quality remote that has more features than you could ever use. This remote is the greatest compromise I've seen between style (not too many buttons to make it look trashy) and usability (enough buttons that touchscreen isn't always necessary). I got the remote for ~$210. A little steep, but compared to the others in this price range, it is a steal! Quality: Features: Value:

Written by mjkelch from Sarnia,On. The reviewer has used this remote control for 3-6 months.

Review 19 made on Sunday December 30, 2001 at 3:54 PM. Strengths: good "hand feel", rubbery coating comfortable to grip, joystick and illumination make some controls easier Weaknesses: poor contrast of LCD screen a constant issue, especially since you're using the screen 90% of the time to use the softbuttons very poor documentation - programming this thing is not for the meek of heart. Review: There aren't many items I purchase and then stop using after only a gew months, but this remote is one of them. Initially the programming flexibility and memory capacity was intriguing, but those benefits are far outweighed by the negatives, which include poor manual and high cost for what you get. Particularly vexing is the dim, barely readable LCD screen. The words "contrast control" are a misnomer since the range of adjustment seems to offer a range of "hardly visible" to "invisible". I've gone back to an MX-500 by the same company....many mmore hard buttons, less than half the price and REALLY CLEAR display. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Neal B from Minneapolis, Mn. The reviewer has used this remote control for 6-12 months.

Review 18 made on Thursday November 22, 2001 at 11:44 AM. Strengths: None Weaknesses: I experienced poor Customer Support from the company president on down to the Support Tech. PC Software does not install on NT, does not Upload in Win 2K and 98 SE, and XP is probably buggy too. Review: I've been using this remote for several months. I find it to be unreliable and the PC software to be quite buggy, and not intuitive at all. DON'T PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT UNLESS YOU CAN LATER RETURN IT! These guys seem like money grubbing amateurs, with a flashy website. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Steve K from Michigan. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 17 made on Wednesday October 3, 2001 at 11:21 PM. Strengths: Good looks and feel. PC link. Hard buttons & touchpad. Learns everything. Easy to figure out. Weaknesses: Poor documentation Does anyone else have to push a button twice to make the device being controlled work? Very POOR documentation. Don't lose the url for this site! A wealth of info is here. EXTREMELY POOR DOCUMENTATION!! Review: Waiting for the remote to arrive, I began to wonder, is it what is says or will I have problems. I read quite a bit about not being able to upload and download to the PC. It finally arrived, so I got to work. Set up the basic pre-programs, learned a few functions and then off to the PC to see how pretty I could make it. First attempt to download failed. After about 3 tries, it finally did it. Later I kept getting an error message about a timeout. I was concerned, I had read in one review about problems using a DELL pc. I decided to double check the COM port settings. While there, I went to the ADVANCED settings and clicked the receive and transfer buffer setting down one notch. BINGO! I have uploaded and downloaded at least 6 or 7 times since that and it works perfectly now. Now to the remote itself. I only have four devices to control now, five if I get around to putting back the vcr. This remote make you want to go out and get more stuff just so you can control it. The pre-programs are far from perfect. But they are a good start, what doesn't fuction right can easily be learned. I did have to try a few of the learn functions several times, but I think it's just real picky about how you face the two remotes together. The program for my Pioneer Elite HD Projector only covered basic functions; on-off, volume etc. The rest I had to teach. The Sony DVD was far better. Had to teach a few functions, mainly due to the SONY "jog" wheel. The one that kind of surprised me was the Denon 4800 receiver. Most of the correct functions were there from the pre-program. Punch through functions were very easy to set up. Now that I have it set up, I'm certain that it will not be difficult for other memberS of my family to learn to use it. I'm looking forward to putting the PILE of remotes away and having only the MX-1000 out. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Robert Matteson from San Antonio, TX. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 16 made on Tuesday September 25, 2001 at 8:02 PM. Strengths: Nice look and feel. PC link. Very Customizable Weaknesses: PC Link does not work on all serial ports equally. Documentation is weak. (There is tons more info on this site!) Need more custom buttons available. Weak backlight, but I'm getting used to it. Review: I have only had this remote for 1 week but have managed to figure out the basics in just a couple of hours. Most time was spent trying to figure out why the serial port would not complete a download on my laptop. The software works great on my old Pentium 100 with win98. I am still working on this. I am giving myself 2 more evenings before trying out the ultimate Wife approval Test. I think this will work great for what my needs are currently. Quality: Features: Value:

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