Product Description

Philips SRU8015 Prestigo allows you to enjoy the home entertainment experience with the ease of one remote. It features an easy-to-read 2-inch high-resolution color TFT-LCD display, allowing you to program the correct channel icons for the right channel. Once set up, you use the LCD screen information to zap through your channels using the icons of TV stations instead of the digit keys on your remote. The channel icon library holds up to 400 icons and 100 programmable channel icons. You can also use the rotary cursor control for fast menu navigation through icon library. This remote features activity-based operations as opposed to component-based operations. By pushing "Watch a Movie", the remote turns on all devices needed to watch a movie. This eliminates the confusion of pushing multiple buttons in the correct sequence. The remote's keys and display automatically light up when picked up, making it easy to use in the dark. This remote is capable of controlling up to 15 home entertainment devices. Using the universal IR code database system, it can be programmed to control most brands of audio/video equipment without needing to learn individual signals. Setup is easy with the on-device step-by-step instructions, so there's no need to input any 3-digit programming codes. The Prestigo remote also has learning functionality, allowing it to learn device codes from the original remote simply by pointing to it.

Product Details

• Color: Black/Silvr
• Brand: Philips
• Model: SRU8015/37
• Dimensions: 1.90" h x 6.10" w x 12.50" l, 1.00 pounds

Features

• Control up to 15 of 25 different devices, including: TV, DVD, Amplifier, AudioSet, Cable, CD/MD, DMR, Drapes/blinds (IR), DSS, DTT, DVDR, and DVDR-HDD
• 400-channel icon library with 100 programmable channel icons
• Activity-based user interface
• An on-device guided set-up provides easy step-by-step instructions
• Convenient IR learning functionality

Customer Reviews

Beautiful Remote, Fully Functional Operation
I just received the brand new PRESTIGO 8015/37 remote on January 31, and it is an all around beautiful to look at remote. I have 4 devices programmed, and it performs all functions available on the originals. I had researched the Logitech Harmony remotes (680), and I do like their computer USB method of programming and updating over the Philips set up wizard. Some owners of Harmony have reported that the software is slow and lethargic.

As for the Prestigo 8015/37.....

Pros:

1. It is designer beautful, with all keys fully backlit, and a unique 2" colour LCD screen which accepts the network icons and functions. One touch TV selection
2. Programming is intuitive but imperfect using the setup wizard.
3. Once fully programmed, all keys on the 4 devices I have set up so far work well. This takes some patience and perseverence.
4. A nice shape, preferred over the curvy Harmony 680 and higher.

Cons:

1. Database is limited, with new devices requiring manual programming.
2. The . key for sub-channels for the 7432 required a manual key fix, wasting several hours in the initial set up procedures. Frustrating.
3. 3 of 4 devices (new) required manual programming. Even Philips items.
4. Documentation could be improved.

All in all, a very nice fully functional remote. A real cool factor, making it a gee whiz component. Prices range from $[...] (Amazon, Buy.com) to $[...] elsewhere. I have the Philips 7432 HDTV, Philips Blu Ray Player, Philips DVDR HDD, and the Toshiba HDDVD fully programmed. It accepts 15 devices, and has 400 built in colour icons. 1500 brand devices in database.

Now that I have been using the remote for over a week, I am very satisfied with my purchase. The coolness of the remote includes the piano black with silver finish which matches most of today's HDTVs, the really nice LCD screen with colored icons for all networks and most cable/satellite channels, and the fully backlit buttons. The manual programming is a bit tedious, but works well after you get the hang of it; you only have to do it once, and you can change functions on a key later on.

This new remote, which just came out in December, won an Innovations Award at the recent 2008 CES (Consumers Electronic Show) in Las Vegas.

I am glad that I went with the 8015/37 over the more popular Logitech Harmony.

Not horrible, but far from great.
Coming from a Logitech Harmony 1000 (whose touchscreen eventually drove us nuts), I had high hopes that the SRU8015 would be a more straightforward but worthy replacement. In some ways it is, in others, it is not. Granted, it's considerably cheaper than the Harmony, but it's frustrating that it comes so very close to being excellent, and yet falls so far short.

Firstly, unlike the brochure and Philips' website indicates, the backlight on the unit I received doesn't turn itself on by picking it up. Actually, I've seen it turn the light on 3 or 4 times, but with no rhyme or reason. Very annoying.

Setting the remote up is pretty simple, but you are only allowed to choose from lists of manufacturers, not specific models. My Scientific Atlanta PVR cable box works with the remote, but the red/blue/yellow buttons were mapped incorrectly and had to be manually edited. And with most of my devices, there are several buttons not listed in the "More" category. If you have specific commands on your original remote that don't appear in the 8015's extended menus, you must add them manually. Had they allowed for specific model choices, the database would be bigger, so they obviously dumbed down the choices to save memory space.

If all you want to do is change channels and power things on/off, this remote will probably suffice, but if you regularly need to do things like change inputs, toggle aspect ratios, etc., you might find yourself spending considerable time holding your old remote up to the 8015 to learn IR codes, then naming them manually. Then be prepared to spend lots of time using the scroll wheel, as newly created commands are always put at the very bottom of the list, with no way to re-order them.

You can create activities (Watch TV, etc), and you can add delays to the signals for turning on multiple devices. Unfortunately though, you can't edit an activity once you create it. Didn't set the TV input delay long enough? You have to delete the entire Watch TV activity and create it again. Like manually added commands, you also can't manually re-order the activities...all newly created activities move to the bottom of the list by default.

Another annoyance is the dedicated check-mark button. This replaces "OK" for many commands that would normally be activated by an OK button. In fact, Philips' next model down the ladder, the SRU-9600 (partially touch screen based, and even more lacking in customization) doesn't have the check mark button. You instinctually want to hit the OK button when you make a choice, but if you try to use it, you are constantly shown a photo of the check mark button and told to use that instead. Why this remote needs a check mark button AND an OK button is beyond me. GRRR!

Finally there are problems with powering things on and off. I suppose this is inherent in simplistic universal remotes. You can turn your entire system off with one "All Off" activity, but you have to manually add each device and tell the 8015 what command (power off) to send. Seems to me that it shouldn't be too hard for the 8015 to know what the default power commands are. That aside, if you do set up a power off activity and one of your devices is already off, the 8015 will turn it back on. This is the difference between higher end remotes like the Harmony 1000. The 8015, even if it has been issued an activity command, doesn't know what devices are on or off. I've set up 3 separate power off activities...TV Off, DVD Off, and All Off. Kinda dumb.

On the bright side, the Favorites are nice, the remote feels solid, and the IR signal seems strong.

Not recommended unless you only have a TV - and then why would you?
Anyone fawning over this remote has either not used a lot of remotes, or they wrote this while in the "honeymoon stage". This remote is one of the worst on the market in terms of its user interface and inability to handle program edits. Make one mistake and you have to start over. Want to adjust that Activity macro? Sorry. Can't do it. How about the nifty (unadjustable) half-second backlight timeout when you hit a button. Sure, you can turn the scroll wheel and the backlight stays on fr the expected duration, but it's still a bug - and one that cannot be fixed with a firmware update since the remote has no ports.

If you're just turning on your TV and switching channels it's great. If you have an actual home theater system, users need to stay away.

There is a reason it is now selling (so soon after release) at about half its retail price while competing brands like Harmony are able to hold their value.