Victor Maravillas, San Jose, about the UCommand-515:

I bought a new universal remote control called UCommand from a company called Crisp Solutions, and it is definitely one of the best home theatre accessories I've purchased so far.

The unit had a solid feel, and a nice matte black finish. The ambient backlight sensor worked well, and the sensitivity level is configurable. The UCommand feels a bit top heavy, so it may take some getting use to, for channel surfers. Overall, the ergonomics is simple and elegant.

The UCommand did not come with any pre-programmed remote codes, but I found that learning remote commands was a breeze. Step 1 - Press learn; Step 2 - Press a sequence of keys (this feature was intended to prevent accidental programming); Step 3 - Map your device's remote to the pre-set icons for each device. "You can map controls on up to 8 device screens (TV, VCR, CD, DSS-CABLE-SAT, AMP, DVD, AUX) but it can learn even more devices since it accepts more than one device on the same screen.

" Step 4 - Press Learn again to finish. Each device took only a couple of minutes to program, without so much as a hiccup. The UCommand even learned the codes from my old cable box remote. It helped that the instructions were very well documented, even for a novice (like me) to follow.

The macro function of the UCommand was just as easy to program as the learning function. I set up a macro to turn on the TV to my favorite morning news channel.

I shopped around for Universal Remotes before finally purchasing the UCommand. At $129 + tax, the UCommand has certainly the best Feature per Buck, in any URC I've seen.

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