Review of Xbox 360 Media Remote

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $14.59
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

I like the look and feel, but didn't realize until afterwards that there is not a media center "green button". I liked that button on the other media center remotes because pressing that one button would turn on the XBox and launch Windows Media Center. Also, once you are in Media Center watching live tv, there is no single button (that I can find) which takes me to the main landing area of media center (pressing the back button a couple of times can usually get you back there). The "LAST" button doesn't do anything, but you can still use the center "OK" button to go to the last channel. MENU doesn't do anything either. Actually, pressing the MENU button plays the "you're trying to do something that is not available" ding...so I guess it does do something. Y and B do nothing in media center and X and A changes the channel up or down? I can't tell what the intended function of the remote is? Media Center or strictly XBOX guide? Perhaps it is intended to work better for the new upcoming updates (HBO Go, etc). All that being said, I would still buy another one.

Pros:

Sleek look and feel

Can control the TV (limited but functional)

Cons:

No "green button"

The LAST, MENU, Y, and B buttons don't function in media center

No back-lit buttons

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I've had maybe a half dozen xboxes and xbox 360's, and used 2-3 of them to play movies off my home server, off my windows media center (as an extender), off netflix, and heck, even from a DVD popped straight into the drive.

Pro:

+ More compact, more solid feeling than the old remote

+ I don't have to aim as precisely to control my xbox with this one as I did with the old remote (Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote)

+ works great as a universal remote for what I need it for. I *don't* need to change channels.

+ no confusing 'TV' mode, as compared to the old remote!

Con:

no media center button. It was handy but certainly not required. Just a few more steps to start up the extender.

no back-lighting on the buttons. Better know where they are!

I used the old remote (Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote) for years. I bought this replacement it and tried it out. It took a little fiddling to get the batteries in (look for the arrow on the bottom of the case, and slide the bottom that direction. The ENTIRE bottom slides to open up the battery slot).

The buttons feel better than the old remote: they have a more solid activation feel, and are less squishy. The remote's got a nice feel to it, and I like the more compact size. It's got separate power buttons for the TV and XBox, in addition to the 'X' button, which I like. It also has a much bigger sweet spot for controlling the xbox. I used to have to aim carefully, and even then try a few times for many of my presses on the old white remotes. This one works first time, every time.

The 'search' way of programming the remote to work with my TV worked great, even though my TV is an old insignia (best-buy store brand) LCD. The new instructions are (from the xbox support site):

1. Turn on your TV and point the media remote toward it.

2. Press and hold the Mute and 5 buttons simultaneously for two seconds to enter TV programming mode.

3. Press the Channel Up button repeatedly to send one code per button press from your media remote to your TV. By pressing Channel Up, you advance the code each time.

4. When the correct code is sent from the media remote to your TV, your TV will turn off. Press the Select button to confirm your code.

Good remote! The 'con's I list above are actually consequences of the design decisions in making the remote, and I think they're the right decisions. Overall I think this remote is an improvement over the old one.

Best Deals for Xbox 360 Media Remote

The Good:

This is a vast step up from using the xbox controller to play movies.

This is smaller than the old remote and finally matches the color of most other accessories.

The Bad:

The channel selector doesn't work for the TV. This is used for something on the xbox instead. And since there are no longer TV and xbox modes for the remote, there is no way to use this to switch TV channels. At least the Input button works, so I can get to/from the xbox channelbut for my spare room where I have just a TV and xbox, I still need the TV remote.

The backlit buttons are gone. And now that I'm using two remotes, it is more important than before to be able to see the buttons.

The TV programming codes don't match the old remote, so you have to start from scratch to figure out which one works for your TV.

The Odd:

This isn't really a significant issue, but I've never seen a remote before that is front-heavy. The batteries in most remotes are toward the bottom, and they balance nicely in the hand. But this one has the batteries shifted slightly forward of center, and it feels like the thing wants to tumble out of my hand.

If you plan to use another remote for your TV anyway or use the TV exclusively for the xbox, this would be great. But for me, I'm probably going to go out and get another of the older remotes for my second xbox.

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 Media Remote

I owned one of the original white Xbox Media Remotes Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote for years before purchasing this upgrade to match the color of my new console and controllers (A trivial reason to upgrade, I know). I found, though, that the older remote had a better range, a more powerful transmitter, and a heavier/sturdier feel to it.

PROS:

-This matches the color of the new Xbox consoles, the new controllers, the Kinect, and virtually all other accessories. Makes everything look "pretty".

-It controls the console well, when it works (See Cons)

-The batteries seem to last quite a while

-The battery door was an interesting design that looks designed not to break

CONS:

-This remote has to be pointed almost exactly dead-center on my console to even be picked up, which makes this remote a difficult one to use if the remote is not in front of the TV (I have limited space to it stands behind the television)

-It feels slightly flimsy, and it much lighter than the original white remote

-No Media Center button: This was one of my favorite buttons on the original. It's not too much more work to get to WMC, but it would be nice to have the button back.

Summary:

It really all comes down to personal preference. This is a decent remote, but I for one prefer the original. However, if you HAVE to have every accessory match, and don't really mind the cheaper feel, this is the remote for you! If you prefer a solid-feeling, non-color-matching remote, go with the White original.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Xbox 360 Media Remote

We bought another XBOX 360 and put it on our basement TV, and purchased this remote for using it as a 2nd Windows Media Center extender. It works flawlessly, of course, but this remote is a huge downgrade from the original white-colored XBOX 360 remote control. The remote itself is built fine, and would be absolutely awesome were it to simply include a Media Center button ("the Green Button") and a stop button! These are two heavy use omissions. On top of the "missing" buttons, the play/pause button combo is very strange. When rewinding or fast forwarding in Media Center, it pauses first if you hit "play/pause" and you have to hit it again to get it to play.

I realize they are trying to take things another direction with this remote, but it is a miss. Enough of a miss that I put it away in case of emergency and found another "proper" remote. I highly recommend you hunt around for the white remote and buy it. It does everything this remote does and more. This remote is more like taking the ignition out of your car and arguing that it is an option 3 levels deep on the radio menu, so you'll be fine.