Black Boxes: Sony Universal Remote Reviewed

Compared to the busy button arrays on handheld universals, the front panel of the AV2000 is pretty spartan. Physical buttons represent only the power, channel, volume and component-switching functions, while the unit’s LCD display accesses all the other controls. When you press any of the physical buttons the touch screen comes to life displaying a grid tailored to the selected component. For example, press one of the three VCR buttons and the touch screen grid shows panels for play, stop, fast-forward, etc.

The panels in the LCD grid respond quickly and surely to the touch of a forefinger. When using the unit in a dark room, the touch screen will light up at the press of a button. The screen stays lit for 10 seconds by default. The first trick we learned with the AV2000 was how to lengthen the illumination period to the max of 90 seconds. When our test room was quiet, we noticed that the LCD backlight caused the unit to emit a slight, high-pitched whine, though it wasn’t loud enough to be noticeable when programs played on our system.

The unit requires six AA batteries, four for the remote functions and two for the LCD backlight. Splitting the power in this way ensures that the remote functions won’t fail if the power-hungry LCD drains its batteries—a nice touch.

Setting up Components

Setting up the AV2000 is a fairly straightforward task, be forewarned that you’ll have to do some page-flipping through the manual. You first have to "tell" the unit about the components in your system by entering three-digit code numbers corresponding to each component’s manufacturer. Our test system included a Zenith TV, a Hitachi VCR, an RCA DVD player, a Pioneer surround-sound receiver, and a standard-issue cable box. The codes supplied in Sony’s documentation worked for three of the components (the TV, DVD and cable box), but for the others we had to use the "learning" function.

To teach the AV2000 about one of your components, you first put the unit in "learn" mode by simultaneously pressing the ON/OFF button and that of the component you want to program. The LCD screen then shows panels for each of the available functions for the component. Choose one, and then press the corresponding button on your component’s existing remote control while aiming it at the AV2000. Once we had the settings working, we used the unit’s lock feature to ensure that we didn’t accidentally alter them.

After we’d successfully programmed the AV2000 to work with our test rack, we decided to see if we could add controls for a second, audio-only system in another part of the room. We found that we could custom program unused components on the AV2000 to work with our audio gear. For example, the AMP setting was already taken by the amplifier on the A/V system, so we used the available VCR3 setting to define controls for the second audio amplifier. The unit didn’t seem to care and worked just fine.

Programming Features

Though coffee-table units may lack in one-handed usability, they easily outdistance slimmer remotes in advanced functions. One of the most useful on the AV2000 is the ability to control one component with the physical volume buttons, regardless of which component is selected on the LCD display. This allowed us to easily adjust or mute the system volume at a single touch, without having to switch back to the AMP setting, say, after starting a DVD.

The unit also features three system control buttons that you can program to access up to 16 individual commands with a single push. This allowed us to define one-touch presets for common tasks (if pushing buttons can be called a "task"), such as powering on the TV, VCR and amplifier, setting the amp and TV’s input modes to VCR, and then playing a tape.

The actual programming process for the presets was surprisingly easy, though we found it difficult to remember lengthy strings of commands long enough to program the preset. We didn’t have the luxury of a remote-controlled air-conditioning unit or lighting system to test with the AV2000. However, we could see that the ability to automatically dim the lights when starting a VCR or DVD program would be a nice touch.

Ergonomically Speaking

The AV2000 ranks among the most full-featured universal units available, but still it may not be the ultimate remote for all users. The Sony’s programmability and true universality will make it an attractive purchase for A/V hounds with lots of equipment. But for those who like to surf with remote in hand and thumb at the ready, the AV2000 will seem a little too bulky for night-to-night use.

Manufacturer Sony
(800) 222-7669
www.sony.com
Price $180

Dimensions 4 3/4 x 7 x 1 13/16 in.
Mass 10.22 oz., not including batteries
Power Requirements four AA batteries (for remote functions), two AA batteries (for backlight)
Battery Life approximately 6 months, depending on use
Operating Distance Approximately 10 meters, depending on the receptivity of the components

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