The idea of "convergence" and the "media hub" concept that Microsoft and Sony are continuing to race towards is a novel idea that I quite like. I am keen on the idea of a super-connected home that features all of my media in any room I want. That said, I think it's still a ways off as I still don't use my 360 as my primary DVD player in my living room. It could be argued that having a DVD player at all is a sign that the concept hasn't come full circle yet, but I digress.

The key to these media centers, in my eyes, is still ease of use and one area that will face the biggest challenge is providing users with a remote that will easily allow them to control all of their media without having to have a storage room full of separate remotes. Nyko recently released their version of Microsoft's standard "DVD" remote for the Xbox 360, the Nyko Intelligent Remote 360. Does this intelligent little device bring us closer to the idea of convergence? Let's find out.

Wrapped in stark white plastic like the 360, the Nyko Intelligent Remote 360 bares a striking resemblance to the first party 360 remote from Microsoft. Present are the standard A, B, X, and Y buttons as well as the big round Xbox guide button at the top. Nyko's approach in designing this remote was to provide a learning remote that ditched the idea of "codes" used by most other universal remotes and features a very easy to use learning system for assigning functionality to your buttons.

The remote features Xbox 360 buttons on the upper half of the remote including DVD controls and navigation arrows, while the lower half features standard TV buttons that can be used as marked or uniquely assigned to perform whatever function you would like. A button in the middle of the remote labeled "360/TV" switches the remotes functionality between the 2 devices. The backlit buttons that are currently active clue you in to which mode the remote is currently set on.

Since the real gem in this remote is the learning ability I don't think we need to spend too much time on its ability to function as a DVD remote; it does that simply as you'd expect. Anyone who has used a universal-type remote knows how much it sucks to program code after code in an attempt to find the magical combination of numbers that tell the remote to operate your device. Nyko simplified this concept by allowing you to program each and every button independently of the others. What this means is that even though conceptually this is a TV/360 remote, you can assign any button you want to do anything that you want. For instance, like many of you, I have a TV, 360, digital cable box, and 5.1 receiver in my living room. I don't need this remote to usurp my Cable remote, but merely eliminate my TV and receiver remotes since the buttons I use on those 2 remotes are few. Simply assign the "Input" button from your TV to button 1, the "Input" button on your receiver to button 2, etc… This makes the remote very versatile and highly customizable. The only downside to this approach is that if you wanted to use it as a TV remote, you'd be stuck programming each button one by one.

Programming a button is as simple as going into "TV" mode, holding set, pressing the button you want to assign, and pointing your current remote at the sensor on the front of the remote and pressing the button function you are assigning. That might sound confusing, but it's really quite simple. I programmed my whole remote in roughly 10 minutes. Once I had the remote programmed, I had no issues with it not performing the expected actions and I had a remote that was capable of controlling virtually any device I had.

Coming in at only $19.99, you can't expect the Intelligent Remote 360 to be on par with the Logitech Harmony line of remotes and that's really not what it is meant to do. However, I would have liked to see it feature more than just the 360 and another device. As I mentioned, it is possible to make this little remote control as many devices as there are unique buttons, it would have been neat to see it be able to control many devices without having to remember which function I assigned to button 6. I would eventually remember, but having to explain the complicated system to a baby-sitter or family member over the phone is enough to make me keep the standard remotes around for my other devices and simply use this one with the TV and 360. Maybe one of these days I'll let the 360 replace my standalone device, but not today.

The Intelligent Remote is a solid little device if you have a simple setup and are looking to unify and remote that old DVD player and want a single remote. It's definitely not ideal for more complicated setups and might end up putting you worse off than you were before as you struggle to remember where you assigned the mute functionality. For $20, it does exactly what it advertises and for that I give it a recommendation. If you are looking for something a little more feature rich, you won't find it here.

Jun 5, 2007 | 0 comments
Chris Rasco