You’re ransacking your living room, looking under couch cushions, inside drawers… you even checked the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. The remote control is missing. We’ve all been there and we all know how frustrating it is when we can’t find the remote control for our HDTV or home theater system.

But many people experience similar frustration when they have a brand new universal remote control in their hand and can’t figure out how to get it to do what they want. A universal remote control should be user-friendly and intuitive to use.

So Many Remote Controls, So Little Time

The range in features (and prices) on universal remote controls for home use is truly staggering. From $1000 LCD screen remotes that provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to a $20 remote that looks much like your HDTV remote but lets you control your DVD or Blu-Ray player, flat screen and maybe another device or two, choosing a remote control for your home theatre system can be complicated.

But the number one thing to look for is ease-of-use. Of course, the more devices you want to control, the more complicated the system will get. But make sure buttons are labeled clearly and intuitively and that they’re placed in ways that make sense to YOU.

If you’re going to buy a higher-end remote control, ask for a demo so you can make sure it’s easy for you to use. If other people in your family will be using the remote control frequently, let them test it out, too.

Universal Remote Control Programming

Using a universal remote control is one thing. But you move up to a new level of expertise when you need to program a universal remote control. There are codes to look up exclusive to your make and model of HDTV, DVD or Blu-Ray and any other devices, and a host of other things that go into set up. If you had trouble programming your first VCR in the 80s, programming a universal remote control will leadd to new levels of frustration.

At JD Pro, remote control programming is just one of the many home theater installation services we offer to our New York, New Jersey tri-state areas customers. Need help? Why not give us a call?