Universal Remote Control Digital R50

The Home Theater Master MX-500 Remote (and the RF verison MX-600) have been my remotes of choice for all of my systems. The MX-500 struck the perfect balance between basic code based remotes and high end programmable models. The MX-500 has plenty of buttons on the layout, device support, and can easily learn any additional commands not included in the code setup.

After reading the review of the URC-R50 on RemoteCentral.com, I thought the R50 would be a great MX-500 replacement. Turns out - it is!

The R50 is the basically the MX-500 in a slimmer form factor, a bright color screen, and easier programming with better menus. The device logos are well designed and easy to identify. The channel Favorites keys now support really nice logos for each of the channels. The best addition for our family is the new Skip - and Skip + keys located down near the Play and Pause buttons. We have a mixed DVR environment with TiVo HDs and a Comcast DVR and are heavy users of skipping forward and back. On the MX-500 layout, we had those functions coded on the top menu and were tough for little hands to reach. Overall, the layout is great and the weight of the remote is the hand is very well balanced. The glossy black is a fingerprint magnet, but looks very high end and modern.

At less that $90 delivered from online retailers like Amazon.com, this remote is a great value. The only problem now is that I have to buy another one to replace my other MX-500.