OTHER TECH

The Short Form

GENESIS MX-900: $449 / 8 x 2.3 x 1.3 IN / 14 OZ (W/BATTERIES) MEDIUS TX-1000: $499 / 6.5 x 5.4 x 1.6 IN / 31.4 OZ (W/BATTERIES) MX-3000: $999 / 4.8 x 7.1 x 1.1 IN / 10.4 OZ (W/BATTERIES) universalremote.com / 914-835-4484

Plus

•Optional RF operation for house-wide control and installation flexibility •Large number of programmable pages •Friendly "Watch/Listen" menus (MX-900, TX-1000) •Ability to import/program interactive graphics/sound files (MX-3000) •Sophisticated "if/then" programmability (MX-3000)

Minus

•Wimpy speaker makes it hard to hear WAV files in noisy rooms (MX-3000) •Requires two-hand operation (MX-3000, TX-1000)

Key Features

•Operates 255 devices, up to 255 pages per device •PC programmable •IR or RF control (with optional base station) •Monochrome touchscreen with multicolored backlight (TX-1000) •3.5-in color touchscreen (MX-3000) •Programmable button graphics/WAV sounds (MX-3000) •Rechargeable battery with docking station (MX-3000) •Prices MX-900, $449; TX-1000; $499; MX-3000, $999; MF-300 RF base station, $199

The combined IR/RF operation made house-wide control a breeze. For instance, the IR sensor for my rear-projection TV is inside the television's cabinet, behind the screen, so it was far more convenient to use the remote's IR output to control the set directly than it was to place an external emitter from the RF base station. Plus, the Elan keypad controllers for my house-wide audio system respond to IR, so this allowed me to operate it as well. Meanwhile, the RF capabilities allowed me to control my Escient-managed DVD/CD changer from the main theater or my bedroom, and to change XM satellite stations while hanging out in the backyard.

GENESIS MX-900 & MEDIUS TX-1000 For both the Genesis and Medius remotes, you program your macros to fall under two main menus: Watch (activities that involve your video display) and Listen (activities that don't). This greatly reduces the learning curve, as well as the number of buttons that appear on the screen at any given time.

With its contours and layout reminiscent of a flipped-open cell phone, the Genesis MX-900 wand-style remote should feel at home in just about everyone's hands. I found the buttons logically arranged, and there were enough "hard" buttons to accomplish 90% of control tasks. For nontraditional commands, like my Escient's "Movie" button, there are six programmable LCD buttons per page that can be labeled with up to seven characters each. The remote is fully backlit in a cool, light blue (duration is adjustable up to 90 seconds). It runs on 4 AAA batteries.

The Medius TX-1000 is designed to sit on a coffee table or else requires two-handed operation. URC calls it their baby-boomer solution because it eschews most typical hard buttons in favor of 12 "soft" touchpanel buttons per page that are large and easy to read. Each button can be labeled with up to six characters. The TX-1000 is fully backlit, but you can program up to 256 different colors for different users, zones, or devices. It runs on 4 AA batteries.

MX-3000 Honestly, when was the last time programming and using a remote were actually fun? The MX-3000 is so utterly programmable that you're limited only by your imagination and the amount of time you're willing to invest. I had a blast programming it and playing with programs that others had created and posted on the Web at sites like RemoteCentral.com.