Home Theater Master MX-500
Manufacturer: Universal Remote Control, Inc. Part number: MX500
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Home Theater Master MX-500 may not look very futuristic or cool, but it can control every function on every piece of gear you own.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 11/20/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Home Theater Master MX-500 price range: $149.00
- Reviewed by: Stewart Wolpin
- Reviewed on: 12/08/2003
- Released on: 10/08/2001
The good: Large, well-spaced buttons; 10 keys accept two custom commands each; editable labels; distinct transport and menu-navigation controls.
The bad: Bulky, bland design.
The bottom line: The Home Theater Master MX-500 may not look very futuristic or cool, but it can control every function on every piece of gear you own.
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.
At first glance, the $190 Home Theater Master MX-500 looks like just another oversize universal remote. The nine-inch wand tapers to provide an easy grip for either hand, and a generous amount of space separates the backlit buttons. The control runs on four AAA batteries.
The MX-500's 10 most important buttons are customizable; they flank the LCD, which shows a label for each. Atop those two columns, just below the IR blaster, are two red power keys: one for the entire A/V system and the other for individual devices. Working your way down from the screen, you find the oblong volume- and channel-up/down rockers enclosing the Previous Channel and Mute buttons, the round navigator encircled by intuitively shaped VCR/DVD/PVR transport controls, the numeric pad, and three rectangular macro keys. A backlight toggle lives on the remote's right-hand side.
The MX-500 can control up to 10 A/V devices. The manufacturer preinstalled the codes of more than 1,000 makes and models, but you can also teach the remote up to 530 specialty functions. The customizable keys can actually govern 20 commands, each with its own editable five-character LCD label; you toggle between the first set of 10 and the second with the Page button. And as with all worthwhile universal controls, your gear can share the same volume, channel, and transport commands.
From a features point of view, the MX-500 is about as thoughtfully planned and flexible as a universal remote can be. Within about 90 minutes, we easily programmed it to control an A/V receiver, a cable box, and a VCR that were covered by the built-in codes, plus a plasma TV and a DVD recorder that were new to the MX-500. We punched through A/V volume adjustment, as well as our cable box's channel and keypad commands. We also made buttons trade functions, created macros, taught the remote new tricks, and changed some labels. The IR blaster supplies a generous dispersal, easily encompassing even the most widely arrayed gear collections. The only trouble we had was with the LCD, which can be a bit difficult to read in daylight.
The MX-500's primary drawback is in the looks department: the control's big, bulky body won't win any beauty contests. But cosmetic considerations pale beside the MX-500's impressive feature list and ease of use. This is a great value and a top-notch universal remote.
User reviews
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Easy to use, fully customizable, even controls my lights!
by vegcrow on July 16, 2005
Pros: Good backlight, comfortable to hold, tons of memory
Cons: Too powerful when batteries are fresh, no ability to turn the unit off, "up" button wearing out after 2 years
Summary: I used to own the Sony remote that looks more like a cash register than a remote, and the MX-500 beats it by a long shot. I taught it every ...
Summary: I used to own the Sony remote that looks more like a cash register than a remote, and the MX-500 beats it by a long shot. I taught it every single code from all my other remotes (TiVo, DVD, CD, VCR, TV, Receiver, Satellite). I also taught it the IR code to my light switch, so when people come over to watch a movie, I don't even have to get off the couch to turn off the lights. Its slim design fits well into narrow drawers. The only problem it that the beam is TOO powerful when the batteries are fresh. I have to close the glass door on my entertainment rack or bounce the signal off the ceiling to reduce the strength of the IR signal, otherwise the components are overpowered and cannot read the signal correctly. I wish I could really turn the unit completely off to conserver battery power and to prevent my cats from stepping on it and changing the channel, but the battery life is still very good (6 months?) even though the LCD never turns off. It works great with rechargeable batteries. I keep a set of standard alkaline AAA batteries to hold it over while I'm recharging my NiMH batteries. This combination of 8 batteries total has proven to outlive the remote. The programming has never been lost due to dead batteries, although I never waited more than a few minutes to replace them once I noticed the problem. The "up" direction on the navigation pad is starting to wear out, but I am going to buy the same remote again as a replacement, and use the clone feature to copy all the settings from my old remote to the new one. I am a little disappointed that the "up" button is going dead, but gadgets break for no reason sometimes, especially ones that get dropped on the floor, and I do not consider this a design flaw after 2 years of heavy use.
Updated
In my original review I said the "up" button was wearing out. Well I was wrong. There were a few crumbs under the directional pad, and some focused blowing shook out the problems. Now it works fine again, and I'd like to raise my review from an 8 to a 9 but cnet won't let me.9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Everything I Could Want in a Remote
by pfastfoot on August 8, 2005
Pros: Real buttons combined with LCD screen
Cons: No PC connectivity
Summary: I love this remote (and so does my wife). I've been able to program it so with one button click, everything is on, and the remote is prepped to ...
Summary: I love this remote (and so does my wife). I've been able to program it so with one button click, everything is on, and the remote is prepped to take my Tivo directions. I don't know why people harsh on its design so much, because I think it actually feels comfortable. The only reason I don't give it a 10 is because it would be nice to have PC connectivity, even though programing the MX-500 is a breeze.
7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Better than Harmony? Time will tell
Pros: Even though I have only had this remote for a little over a week I wanted to say how much I am enjoying it so far. It is very easy to use and program. I had everything loaded into it and it was running my system in very little time. My choice was between
Cons: I would have liked to have a couple more macro buttons. But for the most part I have no complaints with this WONDERFUL remote. Go and get one you will love it!
5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Too bad they don't update the codes...
Pros: Design perfection
Cons: They do not provide updated codes on their website and it was unable to learn to control my Dish HDTV.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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love this remote
by natureboy92135 on March 7, 2006
Pros: good price, great features
Cons: no online set up
Summary: I would recommend this remote to anybody as long as you are willing to take some time to set it up right. Completely customizable and it is pretty easy to ...
Summary: I would recommend this remote to anybody as long as you are willing to take some time to set it up right. Completely customizable and it is pretty easy to figure out once you get into the set up menu. Learns very easily from other remotes so you never get stuck missing codes (unless you lost the old remote) Backlighting works great, fits well in your hand, macros seem to work but I kept screwing them up and i kinda gave up.I wouldn't give this up for anything now.
For people who don't know a ton about audio video it might be easier to get a Harmony because of the online setup wizard and the support(im going to plug Harmony Cust service here, they will sit with you until the end of time customizing a set up and they haven't outsourced yet as far as I can tell). For people like me though this is a better choice.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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BEST Remote, AT ANY PRICE
Pros: I spent hundreds of Dollars over the years looking for a remote that could handle all my equipment. The MX-500 is it...! I liked it so much that I bought 3 of them, one for each area of of the house where I have electronics. Its also programmed to contr
Cons: NONE
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Excellent basic remote
by jgoehring on December 27, 2005
Pros: Well spaced buttons, easy to program, highly programmable
Cons: BULKY, display can be hard to read when not using the LIGHT feature
Summary: The first thing that caught my attention with the remote was it's size. It's big and can be uncomfortable to flip through the channels given the fact that ...
Summary: The first thing that caught my attention with the remote was it's size. It's big and can be uncomfortable to flip through the channels given the fact that it is top heavy. But once you get past the bland and bulky design, you will find it easy to program and very versatile. You can program it to control devices or do 'tasks' i.e. Play a DVD.
For 81.99, I'm satified.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Does it all, easy for all to use
Pros: Easy to configure, easy to customize, pleanty of programmable buttons that match all my remotes (tivo, cable, satellite, HD,tv,dvd,audio). Easy for the wife to understand. Works in the dark
Cons: Somewhat large, not very sleek looking.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Totally Awesome Remote
Pros: This thing can do everything. You can program it easily with the standard remotes for your A/V products.
Cons: It took a little bit to get use to the remote, especially with programming the new words for the LCD screen; after a week or so of use it became second nature so it was no longer a problem. It also takes a couple weeks to remember to program everything,
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Getting older but still King
Pros: You can control everything, and you can control it the way you want to. It is also great for a spouse who doesn't want to learn how to work all the remotes. Being this well organized and sophisticated is one of the marks of maturity of a home theater o
Cons: none
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Universal Remote Control, Inc.
- Part number: MX500
- Description: This preprogrammed and learning remote control is designed to simplify your entertainment experience. The brightly backlit LCD view screen actually has 26 individual pages for operating up to 10 audio and/or video components. The component buttons are strategically placed around the LCD view screen and can be renamed, according to the actual components that your audio or video system may include. The MX-500 boasts a built-in preprogrammed database of over 1, 000 audio and video component codes, and is also fully capable of learning your home theater system's audio/video components remote control codes (up to 530 functions). For those households that require more than one remote control, the MX-500 can easily be cloned via infrared from another programmed MX-500. It's that simple!
General
- Device Type Universal remote control
- Width 3 in
- Depth 1.3 in
- Height 9.1 in
- Weight 7.5 oz
- Enclosure Color Dark blue
- Enclosure Material Plastic
- Localization English
Remote Control
- Connectivity Technology Infrared
- Supported Device Qty 10
- Supported Devices TV, DVR, VCR, DAT deck, Cable box, Camcorder, LD player, MD player, Projector, DVD player, AV Selector, AV receiver, Home control, Preamplifier, Cassette deck, Web TV system, CD player / changer, Satellite TV system
- Input Device Keypad, Joystick
- Buttons Qty 42
- Max Operating Distance 60 ft
- Features Learning, Programmable, Memory backup, Macro function, Back-lit buttons, Multi-brand compatibility
- Display LCD display - Monochrome
Power
- Battery 4 x Standard battery - AAA type - Alkaline
- Included Qty 4
- Capacity 6 month(s)
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 1 year
Manufacturer info
- Universal Remote Control, Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Universal Remote Control, Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.universal-remote.com/
- Address:
271 North Ave., New Rochelle, NY - Phone: 800-901-0800
- Fax: 914-235-5902
