I was sick and tired of using four remotes to control all of my audio/video components, so I went out around the city looking for a low priced high quality remote. The first day I went to Lowes to see if they had anything. They had nothing. They had some Sony crap that wasn't what I was looking for. Most people don't know what a learning remote is so I didn't ask any of the salesmen. The next day I got discouraged and decided to head to Wal-Mart, my last resort. I found the Cinema 7 and decided to give it a shot. I was more than happy, I was eccstatic. I had to teach the remote to do some of my DSS functions, but it was fun. I only wished that it came with the four AAA batteries. Hell, for 20.00, who cares! The macros are great. I love the way it can turn everything on and off with the single push of a button. I think I am in a majority of people who think that it is a waste of money to spend hundreds of dollars for a universal remote. I don't want a remote that can turn off my lights and ceiling fan. I am not that lazy. I am refering to the Phillips Pronto. It is a heck of a unit, but is it really worth 500.00? I saw a bathroom faucet at Lowes for 742.00. I also saw a faucet for 50.00? The water tastes the same out of both! The bottom line is that the Cinema 7 is an overachiver for 20.00. I would pay double for it. Pick it up. You will eliminate alot of remote clutter and get a good piece of equipment at the same time.

Well laid out. Good build quality. Very usable.

Could use more learning buttons, but that is more money, right?

This is my first universal remote. I did a considerable amount of shopping before settling on this. Overall I have been very happy with the choice. The button layout makes sense and it is well built. They thought of most functions that one might need. I think this is an excellent choice without going to the much more expensive models. The learning keys are the saving grace as each component will be missing some button. The learning keys filled all but a few on the needs. I will reprogram one of the unsused component keys to take futher advantage of the learning keys.

The only down side, as I suspect is true of most universal remotes, is that some keys have to serve three or four functions and will not be marked as such. So some features are hard to find.

Similar Products Used:

about 100 separate remotes.

Price

Pre-programmed codes don't work well, memory is very limited. Instructions
are terrible.

The biggest problem I found with this remote is that all my components had some functions missing with the pre-programmed codes. This would not be a huge problem, except for the fact that the learning memory is very limited, so having to teach the remote functions for every component eats up the memory slots quickly. The instruction booklet is no help--the thing has far more capability than what is described in the booklet. I had to search the internet for tips from enthusiasts. After a lot of time spent programming and making the choices about what functions of what components I could live without, I finally have a remote that controls all my components to a reasonable degree. However, I still can't do relatively simple things like programming my VCR--the menu directional buttons don't work, and I'm out of memory.

Pretty good for the price, but don't expect it to really do everything you want it to.

I recently upgraded my Yamaha RX-V995 remote. Yamaha sent me the new upgraded, more memory, remote. The total shipping and packing cost was $16.50. It varies in how you send it. Now the new remote has memory for every learnable button. I have every learnable button taught a new function. I still wanted to try the Cinema 7 IQ to see if it could improve on the new Yamaha remote. IT COULDN'T!
The new Cinema 7 IQ remote is much better than the old one, but the preset codes still don't work. They have had plenty of time to fix this problem. The new packaging still doesn't state what batteries are needed. I had to open the package and read the manual to find the needed batteries(4 AAA). It can have every button taught a new learned function including the macro and macro 2 keys. The device keys, SLEEP key, and setup key, can not be taught new functions however. For use in replacing my newly upgraded Yamaha RX-V995 remote, I had to teach every function except, sleep, volume, surround(effects on/off), power and mute. The receiver device memory spot had a lot of memory taken to teach nearly all my receiver remote functions. After that, I tried teaching my TV number keys. I got up to 4 button learned, and then the memory ran out. Completely out of memory. I gave up on the TV for now. I tried presets for my Echostar satellite receiver remote. The Cinema 7 did every funcion of the remote except page forward and reverse, very nice. I then tried the presets of my Pioneer DV-414. It was all screwy. The functions didn't match the labels on the buttons, plus many Vital function buttons to USE the DVD player didn't work. So, I could not even use this remote for my DVD player. It's going back, as it is still useless for my needs. Seeing how poorly it performed, it'll be useless for simple needs also. This remote is almost as bad as the original Cinema 7 for usefullness. The presets just DON'T WORK. If they do, they don't give you the vital functions to even operate the component. Very useless in my eyes. I just can't see how others rave how good it is, when it can't be used or used very limited. I'm not screwing around with sending it in or requesting codes that should have been in the manual and in the units memory. If I were to do so, my future components would not work on this remote also. That would require me to go through the unneeded hastle to get this remote to work as it should out of the box. Poorly designed in my opinion, as the original. This was their last chance with me. I will not waste time on TRYING to use their remotes on my equipment again, if they even last as a company. I can't see how, when their products don't work. I will give it a 2, as I was able to program my Yamaha remote into it, and it had my Echostar preset code that worked all functions except the page forward and reverse. The Cinema 7 IQ did learn 38 new functions on the existing keys plus the 4 new learning keys. That just isn't enough for replacing 7 remotes.