Acoustic Research Universal Smart Remote ARRU449

The universal remote market is primarily dominated by Logitech's Harmony line, but there are plenty of people who--for one reason or another--don't like the Harmony's PC-programmable clickers. So it's nice to see some decent competition in the form of the Acoustic Research Universal Smart Remote (model number ARRU449). The Smart Remote--available online for about $200--attempts to expand on the Harmony's winning formula by adding Wi-Fi support for TV schedules and other information to be displayed directly on its built-in color screen. Unfortunately, Acoustic Research missed an ideal opportunity to incorporate the Wi-Fi support into the remote's setup and programming process. As a result, the Smart Remote is a more confusing, less easy-to-use device. In the end, it's a respectable entry in the universal remote category, but it simply does not trump the seamless experience one gets from using a Logitech Harmony.

The Smart Remote certainly has an interesting and unconventional design. At 9 inches by 2.5 inches by 1.25 inches, it's much bigger than we would have liked--almost to the point that the remote actually feels awkward in your hand. Because of its size, you'll definitely find yourself regripping the remote just to reach certain buttons. DVR owners should take special note that the play/pause, stop, rewind, and fast-forward buttons all rest at the very bottom edge of the device; reaching them sometimes becomes uncomfortable. While the buttons have a nice tactile feel to them, the majority are placed a bit too close together. On the remote's right side is an all-but-useless headphone jack (for the remote's tones that you'll want to switch off anyway) and a backlight button (the screen and all the hard buttons are backlit). On the left side is an AC port for the rechargeable internal battery, but we recommend using the included charging cradle.

What separates the Acoustic Research Universal Smart Remote from the average Harmony is its capability to connect to a Wi-Fi signal. With Internet access, the remote can automatically download TV listings in addition to sports, news, weather, and even Amazon.com's most popular products lists using the embedded click365 service. While the first remote we were sent had severe issues connecting with a WPA-encrypted Linksys and Belkin router, we were pleased to see the replacement model we were sent had no issues connecting whatsoever.

After you choose your TV provider and enter a few details about your location, the click365 service delivers customized information to the remote. We actually preferred browsing TV listings on the remote than doing it on our TV screen--it was easily the greatest advantage of the Wi-Fi feature. Most of the other features--sports scores, weather--felt a bit tacked on, but maybe that's because we've always got a Web-connected laptop or smartphone nearby. We also noticed an apparent software lag while navigating through the click365 services. Also, switching from the click365 features to "remote" mode caused the device to chug along. But, hey--if you happen to get bored with all of the click365 services, you can also play a round of Minesweeper, as it's preinstalled on the remote, as well.

Where we really began to miss our Harmony remote was when we set up the Acoustic Research Universal Smart Remote with our devices. The lack of any external software makes adding devices more of a chore as you must manually input the brand name using the remote's number pad (similar to texting on a cell phone's keypad). Once you enter the brand name, you must then manually cycle through a seemingly limitless number of possible device codes until you find the specific set that works with your device--and that can often be a long list. It's here that the Wi-Fi feature would have really shined. Entering a model number and having the remote download all of the IR codes for each specific device would have been a great way to compete against a remote that requires a separate software installation to do the same thing.