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ESPN "The Ultimate Remote" Universal Remote | 
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| Brand: ESPN
Category: CE
Buy New: $312.09
New (2) from $299.99
Rating:  29 reviews
Color: Red/Silver
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 12.2 x 5 x 3.3
MPN: DMR-1
Model: DMR-1
UPC: 718122806935
EAN: 0718122806935
ASIN: B00198LRPE
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Access ESPN.com on your remote to get realtime stats and scores for your favorite players and teams | | • | Text-message friends and family directly from the remote | | • | Browse select websites and even shop online on your remote via click365 technology | | • | 2.2-inch QVGA screen has a built-in light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness according to room lighting | | • | Control virtually countless devices with easy setup--no PC required |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The ESPN Ultimate Remote is the ultimate sports fan's remote--browse team and player stats as you watch the game, get personalized programming guides, text message friends and family, and even shop online all from the remote. A 2.2" QVGA screen automatically adjusts brightness according to ambient light. Control up to 18 devices with no PC required for setup.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Once you get past the packaging obstacle, a surprisingly good and useful remote. On screen guide knocks it out of the park. August 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Here's a product that would have brought sports fans sobbing to their knees 10-15 years ago. Easy access to relevant game and player stats, an intuitive interface allowing one to find broadcasts quickly and easily. Reasonably quick and easy set-up. Attractive aesthetically, even if Michigan Wolverine fans might disagree (that red and silver may be casually confused for scarlet and gray, by those with the proper eye). This is not, of course, to suggest that the remote is not relevant today, just that an increasing number of homes have laptops or phones with mobile broadband, and much of the same information may be accessed, and often in deeper and more attractive form, through those devices.
So I came into this product thinking: (1) I have to program it the "old" way, giving it product codes and hoping for the best, not doing it through my computer. (2) Why do I care about its connectivity and access to stats and info when my laptop is always handy? (3) Setting those considerations and its unique features aside, can it stand up in terms of convenience and use against other modern universals?
Before I was able to really tackle any of these questions, I had to contact my local heavy equipment rental outlet in order to procure a chainsaw, high temperature torch, and the jaws of life. Once these arrived and I was able to extract the remote, the charging stand, and documents from their sealed plastic tomb, I was well on my way. No initial charge, no wasting a day getting ready to go, the remote was on before I intended, and I started playing right away. The programming process took longer than I would have liked, having (as many other reviewers here have) programmed the Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote I did feel like I was taking a technological step backwards by going the old "match the hardware to the code" route, but it went smoothly and I was controlling my components without any problems before long. Over the next few weeks, I used this exclusively, putting the Harmony One out of casual and easy reach, and it really grew on me. It's comfortable, attractive, intuitive, and (little surprise) easy access to data through the remote is quicker and easier than dragging the old laptop out, turning it on, and loading up a site like ESPiN. The remote does indeed stand up to its peers, like them, it could certainly use a little more polish, but that can come (as it can for most devices these days) through software upgrades.
I will be going back to the Harmony One, but this will certainly be put into use in another room. It's now my second string remote. It seems to me that the ESPN Universal Remote may be a better gift than a buy, one of those things where a sports fan will love to have it, but might be less enthusiastic about laying down the rather high (but comparable with its peers) price -- but when is that not true? This remote really grew on me, and it's on a shortlist of gift ideas for certain family members.
 Can't Compete with the Competition August 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You can't blame the ESPN "The Ultimate Remote" Universal Remote for not being the Harmony One from Logitech. But the comparisons are inevitable. When a remote claims to be "the ultimate" it begs comparison to the top of the class. And, unfortunately for "The Ultimate," it falls short.
My first impression of the remote, as I removed it from the package, is that it doesn't look as nice in real life as it does in the pictures. It seems both thicker, wider and more square. Still, it's not a bad-looking remote and, if you care about such things, you can be sure that people will notice it. Before you can use it, you'll need to plug it in to a USB port to charge the battery. Why they chose to make it charge via USB rather than a standard plug is beyond me. I suppose many TVs do have a USB port now, but it seems a rather strange decision. I also noticed that there was no manual included (beyond a small quick setup guide). This is not an easy device to setup! Once you register at the web site you'll find some online documentation, but it is spread over many different HTML files and is not nearly as helpful as a printed manual would be. So figuring out the remote is likely to be a bit of a chore.
As with all remotes of this kind, you will need to spend a good bit of time doing setup. You'll want to configure the remote to access your wireless internet connection and then setup each of your devices. And this is where the Ultimate Remote falls furthest behind the Harmony One. The process of adding devices is long, tiresome, time-consuming and confusing. You will have to add each device manually and then have the remote search for the proper code set for your equipement (hoping that it has the proper code set in its database). You may need to go so far as to check each key one-by-one to ensure it works properly with your device. Logitech's PC-based solution is far more elegant and is really superior in every way in its power, its ease-of-use, and its available database of devices.
Once you have all your devices properly setup, you'll find that the remote works quite well. It responds quickly (and maybe even a tad better than the Logitech in some cases). However, you'll also note that the remote is not very well built. Many of the keys are "shaky" (the number keys, most notably) while others are "spongy" requiring too much effort to press. The remote is not very comfortable in the hand--it is heavy and wide. It certainly lacks the comfortable, tapered feel of the Harmony One.
Really the only benefits this product offers over the Harmony One are the gimmicky ones. Do you really need to see TV listings on the little LCD screen? Why not just look at the listings in a bigger and more convenient format on your TV screen? Sure this remote offers the ability to send text-messages, but are you really going to do this? Do you really need to check the sports scores from your remote and do you really want to surf the web on this little screen? These are all interesting functions, but I doubt too many people will use them on a regular basis.
This remote is a step in the wrong direction. It is ground-breaking for 2006, perhaps, but when going head-to-head with the Harmony One, it loses out on just about every comparison. I can't think of any good reason to recommend this over Logitech's far superior remote. It's not that this remote is so terrible--it's just that there are better products available for less money. So why would you bother with this one?
So far not bad August 21, 2008
Yes I agree that this is a monster to program, something I left my boyfriend with when it arrived but it was mostly for him so I figured it would be okay to let him bond with it properly! He'd the sports maven, I mostly resort to basketball so it's a fun gadget, I don't even know how he finds time to always check scores, must be a man thing : ) but he no longer has to get up from the tv to see that his favorite teams are battling some sort of a frustratingly tight score to beat...
Remote is relatively easy to use and even though I still use the Harmony one ( which broke after few months - just random act of anger from the Electronic Gods) whenever it feels like cooperating but I like the way this looks and feels. They keys don't make noise and the remote looks cool. I will update the review if it starts to disappoint but so far so good and the remote works well - the signal always reaches the tv and I no longer have to waive my hands around for the channel or volume to change!
A Work In Progress August 19, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I agree with much that has been written about this product. It is encased in vault-like plastic that makes it virtually impossible to remove, and it is very frustrating and difficult to set up and program (as contrasted with the Harmony One which is much easier and more intuitive).
The ESPN Ultimate Remote is first and foremost a mini computer for sports. It is in this mode that it excels. As an MLB junkie, I love being able to access obscure statistics about baseball teams and players. I have also been able to use the Remote for the Olympic games.
However, as a device that attempts to replace the remotes that come with an entertainment system, ESPN's Remote falls short. It is simply too difficult to program, and even if one is fortunate enough to get it to work with all of one's components, there are products on the market, like Logitech's Harmony One, that are much more user friendly and effective.
In sum, I think that ESPN may have prematurely released this product without eliminating all of its flaws. The fact that the manufacturer is working on firmware upgrades is commendable, but underscores my point. The ESPN Ultimate Remote is still a work in progress.
Nice but... I'll stick w/ my Harmony August 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There are a lot of things I really like about this remote
1. Standing charging station
--Unlike my harmony remote, it is really easy to tell that
it is properly placed for charging
2. How it feels in the hand
This remote just feels good to hold. The buttons are well paced
and it rests nicely in the hand.
3. I REALLY like having access to the programming guide from the remote control. This is a great feature that make searching for shows even easier. I have Direct TV and this remote is able to get the program guide w/ correct channel number and info.
4. The face with weather info etc is nice as well as being able to get sports scores.
5. The buttons are silent when pushed - which is why (in part) I gave up on trying to set it up for the family room entertainment system and brought it into the bedroom w/ just the TV and the satellite box to worry about.
The Down side
1. Okay maybe I am too impatient or my system it too complicated. But programming it is harder than my Harmony. Takes too many buttons to get it to do what I want to do and I still don't have all the controls right.
2.Seem to work okay in the bedroom where there are less components and less activities that need to be programmed.
3. While checking sports scores is nice, that is why I have a laptop - though it will be interesting to see if my opinion changes come football season.
Overall works great w/ simple set up but for complex systems I still reccomend a Harmony remote.
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