PS3 Blu-Link Universal Remote Control

10 Review to this product

• 

  Veera, The Hero
  August 24th, 2010 on 6:48 pm

  Rating

  I was desperately looking for a remote that could control my PS3, Sony HTIB, Samsung TV and the Cable box. Most people suggested I try one of the Logitech Harmony remotes but they were unnecessarily complicated and they could NOT control my PS3.
  
  I found this remote accidentally and I bought it thinking I will give it a try. It took just a few minutes to setup all my devices and I programmed a bunch of keys to send out some “obscure” signals from my Sony HTIB remote.

  All in all very happy with it. Another good thing about this is that the remote is really sleek!

  The only con I can think of is that it has no “All On” or “All off” button.
• 

  S. Whittington
  August 25th, 2010 on 8:33 am

  Rating

  I felt the need to “even up” some of these bad reviews for this product… The PS3 Blu-Link Universal Remote Control. I like another reviewer have played around with different name brands – specifically the Logitech 890. While the Logitech brand in general is more flashy… LCD color screens and auto programming via computer, my experience with Logitech was bad, really bad. I had the luck of having the “old Logitech base not connecting and not charging remote with contacts problem”… don’t take that concern from me look it up, right here on amazon!!! I eventually had a $200 dollar paperweight with NO LOGITECH SUPPORT. So enough about the horrible Logitech money grubbing… bad product product producing… what ever you want else to add (especially if you were burned by them like me) I always was looking for a solution with the PS3… and this product showed itself on my radar! I at first was unshure about it. If your like me you think $50 bucks is cheap… real cheap compared to it’s competition. All I can say after a solid week (10 days) of use is it works great. Maybe it could be better… like others say. You shure would end up paying for it though… and the quality that you get for the cost, to me it is fair. I think that setting it up was a breeze. I have a PS3 (fat) – Samsung 7178wt (71″ rear projection dlp 1080p tv) – and Denon 3808. I set up the PS3 first, and from what I can tell most of the functions work perfect. I set up the Tv again, most everything works. Set up the receiver and the only problem was the volume function. I then fixed that by “learning” the volume up and down commands from the factory remote. I must admit that ALL of the functions do not work on the DENON… BUT I REALLY DON’t CARE. I really don’t play around with all of the specific funcitions enough to warrant needing to program them all. All I want to do is to do what this product does great. Turn everything on/off, get my tv to the right input, and play with the volume… without using 3 different remotes!!! Yes if you leave the remote on PS3 it blinks a blue light… but my solution is simple… HIT ANOTHER INPUT BUTTON!!! Problem solved!! Yea the buttons could be a little bigger… or my fingers could be a little smaller (who knows!) Yea it could have back lit buttons… but this remote is CHEAP for a reason!! I know that since it uses regular AA (double A) batterys I will not have another paperweight!!! I just feel that they did do a lot of things right… and when they listen to our concerns possibly in the future they may come out with a blu-link 2 thats even better. At this price I will support them now… and when they come out with blu-link 2, I will get it as well… and it STILL WILL BE LESS FOR BOTH, instead of buying ONE logitech!!! You do the math!!!
• 

  Michael VanDyke
  August 25th, 2010 on 9:22 pm

  Rating

  Before I get into my thoughts on the Blu-Link remote, I’ll start by saying that I’ve purchased and returned two Logitech Harmony universal remotes. The Harmony Xbox 360 remote and the almighty Harmony One to be precise. These are the only products I’ve ever returned on Amazon.com. They were nice enough remotes to look at, and the computerized setup was convenient. I just couldn’t get past the delay in button presses. No matter how you set the inter-device or inter-key delay for the remote, there is a noticeable delay between pressing a button and seeing the result. (For example: Holding down the volume button for an A/V receiver for a few seconds would result in about 3-4 extra commands after you let go of the button. Annoying) I am far from the only user to be bothered by this, as a quick Google search can yield innumerable results on the topic.

  The Blu-Link remote doesn’t have a computerized setup, a display, or a charging station. I give it 5 stars nonetheless. It does what it’s supposed to do, and does it at a reasonable price. Using the supplied codes, I had my PS3, Samsung TV, Onkyo A/V receiver, and DirecTV HD-DVR up and running MOST of the way within a couple of minutes. I then spent 5, count ‘em, 5 minutes using the remote’s “learning” feature to fill in the remaining functionality. Notably, I ran into the same problem that another reviewer had with my A/V receiver, in that it would power it on, but not off. Teaching the Blu-Link the Onkyo remote’s power code directly alleviated this problem. Various other commands were learned from my old Onkyo remote, but the DVR and TV were good to go using only the supplied codes. The volume master feature works as it should, sending all volume commands to the AUX input, the Onkyo receiver. The manual also explains how to set up a master volume device, but to also be able to control the TV’s volume when you’re on the TV input. (I mention this after seeing another reviewer’s frustration with trying to do that)

  Now, for the reason I was so excited about this remote in the first place: The ability to control the PS3. I can tell you that it works flawlessly. Power on, power off, video/music playback, menu navigation, just about everything you can do with the PS3 controller can be done with the Blu-Link remote. To power on, you simply hit the PS3 input selector. To power off, you hold the “Home” button, just like you would on a PS3 controller, and select “Power off device”. Simple! The only ommission I’ve seen is the lack of “L” and “R” buttons. The only use I would have for them is webpage back/forward keys, (which is still easily done by hitting “triangle” and selecting it from the menu) but since I don’t do much web browsing on the PS3 it’s not a big deal.

  The finish of the remote is very attractive, and I find the button layout to be very comfortable. Be aware that the buttons are quite small, namely the number keys and transport buttons. (FF, RW, etc.) Those with large hands may have problems.

  I spent less than 10 minutes setting up this remote to control all of my components, and have been loving it in the time since. Yes, I have to manually adjust inputs when watching a movie instead of hitting a singular “Activity” key, but I also don’t have to deal with the delays present in Logitech remotes. The PS3 control is fantastic, and you can get the Blu-Link remote for $10 less than the price of the Logitech PS3 adapter alone!

  If you’re unhappy with Harmony remotes, and you’re a PS3 owner, this is a no-brainer. Buy it now!
• 

  Joshua Tagliere
  August 26th, 2010 on 6:01 am

  Rating

  I must say, do not hesitate!!! I have a PS3, Panasonic Plasma, Yamaha receiver and Dish TV. say what? I programed them all (with the codes in the manuel)in about 5 min. It took me a couple attempts because i skimmed the manuel. Instructions are SUPER easy (if you read them first). So thats 3 remotes and one game controller that can stay in the drawer. I will buy this as a gift for 3 of my friends. No little USB insert or anything. My roommate who is not a gadget guy (unlike myself) showed no “dazzlement” upon introduction to the remote, then after i showed it in action to him, he said he want to buy some for his friends. Love the sleek design, unlike other universal remotes, it looks legit. Its shiny and has a cool little silverish line on the casing. They didn’t skimp on the product. A MUST if you want to get rid of that “cute” little decretive box on your coffee table that is a home for the monster of remotes
• 

  Chris Fisher
  August 28th, 2010 on 7:01 am

  Rating

  Recently acquired a ps3 – girlfriend was sick of having to juggle multiple remotes – and truthfully, so was I. After reading a few reviews here, I grabbed one.

  My current setup is:

  Sammy 52 LCD (750 series??)
  
  Onkyo 6200 (i think) 7.1 reciever
  
  Dish Network Standard Def DVR
  
  ps3 slim

  Within the first code or two in the back of the booklet, all of the control codes were put in for each brand. GRANTED, the onkyo was a little more fussy. I found a control code that could turn it on, and another to turn it off, but thats it. So I went with one of them, then had the remote learn the buttons I needed for the reciever – worked like a champ after that!

  Don’t just skim over the “punch through” mode – if you use anything other than TV for sound, you’ll want to pay attention to that area!
• 

  Mark C. Willis
  August 29th, 2010 on 3:06 am

  Rating

  I tried other more expensive (much more) remotes by logitech and URC first. This one is easier, quicker, and more effective than any of them I have tried. It recognized all of my devices in a snap – the same ones that I had to “teach” the other more expensive remotes. Oh, those other remotes obviously don’t work with PS3 unless you pay an additional $50 for the sensor. Do yourself, your wallet, and your wife a favor (she’ll think it simple)…BUY THIS REMOTE.
• 

  Todd Haefele
  August 29th, 2010 on 8:27 am

  Rating

  After about 15 minutes of set up time, this product has taken me from four remotes down to one. The ease of setting this up is amazing. I have used other universal remotes with “learning” functionality and they were much more difficult to get set up how I wanted them. I would highly recommend this remote to anyone looking for a way to control their PS3 as well as the rest of their entertainment center devices.
• 

  David Ratdogg Williams
  August 29th, 2010 on 11:59 am

  Rating

  I’m using it with the PS3, Sony XBR4, ATT Uverse box. I needed to use the learning function to make it work with the uverse, but hey – that’s why it’s a learning remote. It’s got plenty of buttons to map how you want. Doesn’t seem to do macros, but i don’t want to use them anyhow so that’s fine for me – maybe not for you. Signal strength seems good – it’s so nice to finally have just 1 remote. I was tempted to get the harmony one, but this is doing the job just fine and sure costs less. The remote is quite small – about the same size as the Uverse remote. A good deal smaller than some large remotes. Anyhow, i’m really happy with it so i’m getting one for the Home Theater room too.
• 

  Zohaib A. Mirza
  August 30th, 2010 on 7:39 pm

  Rating

  I can not sing enough praise for this remote. It works wonderfully with my entire setup. I have it programmed for a Philips TV, Motorola cable box, Media Center PC and of course my PS3. A few commands had to be learned here and there but this process is so simple that anyone can do it. It picked up most of my devices easily with the pre-programmed codes but my Media Center PC was not picking up properly even though there is a code for it. I ended up just teaching the remote all my Media Center remote commands and this only took about 5-10 minutes. Each button can be re-programed for every device. It is also such a compact remote! I replaced 3 bulky remotes with this high quality looking slim and compact one! And it is very cheap when compared to most universal remotes out there with the same functionality.

  There are a few issues with this remote which may bother some. The remotes direction pad makes very loud clicking noises everytime they are pushed. The commands get confused sometimes because my TV turned on once when I was scrolling though Media Center. The lack of confirmation for some setups on the remote are a bit frustrating because you must test every feature you change on the remote in order to confirm the change worked. Also none of the PS3′s preset commands/buttons can be re-programmmed at all. So to sum up:

  PROS:
  
  - Great size and quality
  
  - Extremely flexible functionality
  
  - Simple Setup
  
  - Low cost

  CONS:
  
  - Clicking noise from D-pad
  
  - Commands get confused at times
  
  - Non-visual setup confirmations
  
  - PS3 buttons can not be re-programmed
• 

  M. Krueger
  August 31st, 2010 on 2:30 am

  Rating

  Tip:
  
  -READ THE MANUAL

  Pros:
  
  -Works FLAWLESSLY with my Samsung cable box from Time Warner, Samsung TV, PS3, Sony Surround System
  
  -Setup was easy
  
  -Controller has a gloss black face, silver trim, matte black backside
  
  -buttons light up, flashing blue light when in PS3 mode
  
  -well written instruction manual (huge plus!)
  
  -Volume Punch, setting the TV as a volume master by default. Took 5 minutes to change that when in Surround Sound mode to control the SS. instead of TV.
  
  -Dedicated power button for PS3 (puts “PS3 Phat” in standby with the RED LED on)

  Cons:
  
  -Navigation buttons (Menu, Info, Guide/Popup, Exit, Enter, UP/DN/L/R) click when pressed
  
  -buttons are a tad small, especially the bottom most multi colored
  
  -batteries in the package arrived dead

  Other Thoughts:
  
  There has been no tweaking to the standard button mapping for ANY of my devices. Blu-Link did a fantastic job in that aspect. I ordered a Roku Player and will have to see how easily this will be programmed to work.

  Update:
  
  Works just as great with the Roku player :]