I have already reviewed the 2100, but i thought it was worth letting everyone know who is buying or already has this product that you must use STAMINA batteries with the remote. I was just using traditional run of the mill AA alkilines and the backlight stopped working. I took it back to Sony central and they told me it could because of the batteries. The sales man chucked in 4 of Sony''s STAMINA 1.5volt heavy duty batteries and the backlight worked! He let be keep the batteries for free!! This does not damage the 2100''s abilty or reputation, I just thought it was worth noting this because you may think you have a broken remote control on your hands. I still kicks ass!!

Really does the job well once it''s set up.

None so far.

Note- price quoted in Can$. After lots of research, I decided to go for this one - and immediately put away 5 remotes! Not only that, my wife can use it, which with the multiple remotes was always beyond her willingness to take the time to learn. It took about an hour to program it; I found learning mode best, rather than the preprogrammed stuff. Also, be careful not to do that in the same room as your audio stuff, as feedbakc can upset the learning process. Overall this is a terrific little toy. Not chepa here in Canada (CAD200, and no-one discounts it), but buying from the US doesn''t improve the situation much after shipping charges. I bought it from Sony here, and was able to puy two years extra warranty for another CAD30, which I thought worthwhile.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Everything.....I really like the light!

Not a one!

The Sony RM/AV2100 is a great remote in a ''nut shell''. It is very easy to program and as of right now I am only using 25% of it capability. I love the light, there is nothing more that ticks me off is when I want to adjust something with the lights out and I press the wrong button durning a movie or when listening to music! With the light on this will never happen again. The instruction book has alot of information, and is easy to get around. I think the remote''s instruction book is thicker than my reciever''s! The remote is great and would recomend it highly if you are in the market.....check e-bay first not C.C.

Big buttons, easy to use, and learning ability

Buttons are hard to see without back lighting.

My whole av system is nothing but Sony products so I had no problems placing this remote on active duty status and retiring 8 other remotes. Any button on here can be reprogrammed for a different function plus you have two screens at your disposal for each component. A good deal for the price and my 6yr old daughter can use with no problems, if only I could train my wife how to use it...

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various cheap univ remotes

Works everything

Big, pre prog. codes

Love this unit for it's versatility. The only learning remote that learned every code that I wanted it to. Every other could learn every command except one or two (usually a real important one like function selector on A/v rec or enter on DVD player). Light is great. Touch pad is very accurate, I have large fingers and don't have problems hitting the correct button.

Very clumsy when trying to hold one handed to control simple volume or channel/track select.

If your buying a universal remote buy this one! Well worth the money. I am the video dept sup at Best Buy and have not had one complaint or return on this unit, the other 30 remotes including a $400 unit I can't say the same for.

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Way too many to mention

Programability. Flexability. Backlight.

Touch screen labels not a complete set for my needs.
Device buttons not illuminated. Only 3 real macro buttons.

I paid full price, and it was a bit pricey. But I wanted to see what I get. It's a large unit, but not too cumbersome. Has a backlight that lights up the programmable buttons, but not the device or macro buttons.
I find myself pressing device buttons in the dark until the one I want comes up, and I guess I will learn them eventually. Seems to have plenty of power. I thought it would have more real macros, but it only has three buttons for this. "System Control" Sony calls them. Not all labels needed for some devices are on the screen, so you have to improvise, and remember what they are. Like "Status" on the VCR gets to the "Display" button on the remote.
All in all not a bad device. I have 60 days to return it, so I could get something on ebay or in the mail cheaper, but I am happy with what I have. Nice unit. I do have a concern about how long the writing/labels of the device buttons will last before they rub off.

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Many Radio Shack and One For All.

Versitile, very good price for what you get.

Display is more limited than a dot matrix such as the Pronto has so sometimes you have to compromise. For instance you might have to use the word "guide" when you'd really like to use the word "title".

Big.

Wanted to get a universal remote as juggling five was a big pain. Researched them for a couple months. The Pronto or the Microsoft remotes are more versitile but also more spendy. Use it to control an older Sony TV, Sony VCR, Sony DVD (-530D), a JVC mini stereo with Pro Logic, and a digital cable box. Took maybe an hour to get everything working. Love it. Will be using this for a long time and plan to use it with a DB940 and a CD changer.

Similar Products Used:

None

Learning function fills the gaps left by absence of preset codes.

LCD screen is useless without sufficient room lighting and therefore backlighting necessary most of the time; backlight emits a high frequency noise that can be annoying.

I got a great deal on this remote - only 107.00 at etronics (price includes shipping) - and can say I am much impressed with it. The greatest feature is the ability to "teach" it commands from your component remotes, though the likelihood of duplicating every button on the manufacturer's remote is not great. There may be enough buttons, but not all of them are labeled accordingly, so if you want to get really detailed you'll also have to have a great memory or have to write up a key. For the general purpose of operating your equipment while watching or listening to your media, it is great. No need to juggle the receiver, DVD and TV remotes! I have no complaints about the size, though its shape could have been a little more ergonomic. All in all it's a great product and money well spent for the covenience it brings to your viewing and listening experience.

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None

Touchscreen is fantastic to use! Attractive on a coffee-table (makes people go "oooooooh!" when they see it). Learning capability. Backlit display. Lots of features. Five month battery life.

Somewhat big and clunky (which actually might be a plus because you can't lose this remote between the couch cushions). Default "Sony" codes not compatible with all of Sony's equipment (what the heck is up with that?!). Poorly written manual. Touchscreen glare is somewhat annoying without backlit display turned on.

One day, I looked at my coffee table and guess what I saw...That's right. No coffee table. Just a s***-load of remote controls staring me in the face with barely enough room to place my popcorn and beer. It was finally time to go out and hunt for a universal/learning remote control to do it all so I could reclaim my coffee-table space. After weighing my options (and my pocketbook), I decided to go with the Sony RM-AV2100 remote commander. After programming a few of the buttons, it became second-nature and in no time, I had most of the buttons programmed to operate my gear. While the manual tells you how to do stuff, it is terribly unorganized and somewhat confusing. However, after two or three re-reads and constantly looking in the table of contents, I managed to master the primary learning and programming functions without too much of a hassle.

The Sony RM-AV2100 functions adequately with an impressive range. I no longer have to resort to various yoga poses in order to control my system from the couch as I previously did with other remotes that came with the components in my system. I was amazed at how sensitive the touchscreen was. It truly is a TOUCHscreen and not a PUSHscreen remote. That's a plus! The buttons on the touchscreen are spaced a little close together though and so as a precaution, I left the "record" button unprogrammed on the VCR because PLAY and STOP and PAUSE are positioned very close to the RECORD button.

The touchscreen's backlit display is nice and bright and it automatically shuts itself off (you can toggle the number of seconds it takes to do this- up to 90 seconds). The remote commander also puts itself in sleep mode when it's not used for a set number of seconds (which you can also toggle) and is reawakened with a touch of one of the buttons not positioned on the touchscreen. My only complaint is that there is a tiny, high-pitched hum when the backlit display is turned on. It is barely audible, especially when there's sound coming from the speakers.

Flipping through channels is no problem as the remote's "real" buttons are sensitive and respond immediately.

The macro functions are easy to program and easy to use and make powering up and powering down a system a real breeze!

For $170 dollars, I have to say that this remote offers a lot of bang for its buck. Obviously, there are better remotes out there, but they often come with a $300 dollar price tag (or more). What surprises me about the Sony remote commander is that it is not compatible with all of Sony's gear! For example, in order for me to operate my Sony 5-disc CD changer, I had to enter in a preset code on my Pioneer receiver's remote and then have the Sony remote "learn" from the Pioneer remote! Why doesn't the preset Sony code(s) on the Sony remote work for Sony products? Very strange in my opinion. A friend of mine also can't operate all of the features on his Sony ES receiver with the Remote commander. This is either a manufacturing short-coming, or just plain old fashioned negligence on Sony's part. Even so, the remote commander is still quite versatile and suits the majority of my needs fine. I am always amused when people walk into my living room and say, "Is that your remote control? Cooooollll!!!!"

If you have a budget home theater system and are looking to spice it up a bit, the Sony RM-AV2100 is an affordable option. Its attractive looks, ease of use, features, and versatility are good reasons to seriously consider this accessory for purchase.

As a closing note, it's nice having my coffee table again. Beer and popcorn go great with movies!

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They're all packed away in a box somewhere.

Price, Learning ablitly, Easy to program, Touch screen, Lots of pre-programmed brands, Screen is very visable when backlit, Macros can be set to different times, Cool factor, Can controll 12 componants. Memory is enough to learn every key.

No discrete on/off buttons (unless you got sony components), Screen is hard to see w/o backlighting, Unable to create different buttons (not really a weakness, that's what you get for a $90-135 remote), Battery cover is a little loose, Not upgradeable, No clock

After gathering enough remotes to feed a small sweat shop, I decided to shell out the cash and finally buy a universal remote.
At first I had planned on spending only around 20-40 for a universal remote, hoping to pick up something that could controll everything I own and learn other remotes. After looking around online at review sites (www.audioreview.com, www.remotecentral.com), I went to some local A/V stores to check out the remotes. The three remotes fighing for my hard earned money are : sony RM-AV2100, Phillips Pronto, and MC200.

The Pronto is a very nice remote, but there is no way in hell I could justify plunking down $300+ dollars for this. Yes it has a nice screen, Yes you program it from your computer and it's neato. But it only has ONE meg. I wouldn't mind spending that much money on a remote if it had 5-10meg in it, but with only one meg, it's easy to run out of room (depending on how many images are loaded into it). Maybe I'll grab one off of Ebay in the coming years...

The MC2000 Looked nice, I liked the display at the top of the remote, the ablity to have a four letter button is nice,although a little small. The hard buttons are a nice touch,but I liked the sony's touch screen more. also there are no pre-programmed codes in this remote, everything must be learned (small complaint)

The Sony RM-AV2100 is big and easy to use. I don't mind the larger size of the remote because it's easy to hit the correct buttons and I don't carrying it around. The touchscreen responds well and the backlighting works nice. The screen is hard to see in low light,but the backlighting makes the display very clear and easy to read. About 60% of the codes that were pre-programmed into the AV2100 worked on my componants. I programmed all the other buttons from my remotes into the AV2100 and haven't had any problems controlling things. I did have to get a little creative to program all the buttons into the remote, But nothing that will stump the average Joe Schmoe.

After compairing the three for a while I choose the Sony 2100, I now have it all programmed. It works great and the macros are pretty handy. There is more I would like more features on this remote, but for $90-135, this remote packs plenty of punch.

5 stars for the value rating because it works as well as I had hoped for.

4 stars for overall rating because while it is a nice remote, it still has it's flaws.

Similar Products Used:

Pronto, Take Controll, RM-AV2000, MC2000