The couch potato’s ultimate remote

It was a weekend of TV programming for me - setting up a new Logitech One Advanced Universal Remote that now controls every gizmo I have hooked to my new flatscreen TV and thus making the half dozen other remotes I had cluttering up the family room instantly obsolete.

Like a lot of consumers, I’ve been gearing up for the coming digital transition in February. Because I cover tech, I convinced my wife we needed a new TV. So, from Costco, I carted off a 46 inch Samsung HDTV. There are so many new technologies surrounding this advance in TV that, well, how could I expect to stay on top of it if I was sill using an old analog set?

Whatever, the argument worked for me. I got the new TV. Good luck on finding your own excuse.

But I also picked up the new remote and it’s power and versatility has been a pleasing surprise, albeit an expensive one: $199 from Amazon online, $249 from the local Best Buy.

But universal is indeed an accurate description of what it does. It truly replaces all those other controllers, from the Comcast cable remote, to my DVD remote, to the VCR remote and even allowing me to hook up my my computer or access my home wireless network and display pictures and videos from the hard drive of my laptop or desktop on the new TV. Read more