Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I've owned the same remote control for 3 years now. I had thought I needed a new remote when I purchased a new DVD/VCR combo player. However, after finding the old manual for the RM-VL900 here on Amazon, I discovered I could program all of the new components features.So I continue to use this great remote. BTW, all of the buttons work great. Some folks may have gotten defective units, but they should have just asked Sony for a replacement. Sony has always stood by their great products.
Rating:
Summary: Great Learning Remote!
Review: Just so you know: DO NOT buy remotes that don't have a LEARNING function. Many remotes in stores have a code list that will mediocrely run your units. With a learning remote, you can CUSTOMIZE it and will GROW with your new equipment (right there the other cheap emotes will fall flat because they don't have the new codes). I've learned this lesson through hard experience! This Sony remote has an EXCELLENT learning function and allows it to learn HUNDREDS of commands. Other learning remotes will rip you off with ONLY being able to learn 30 commands--that's nothing, considering that ONE remote will eat up all 30 learnable functions (remember this is NOT listed on the package until you buy it and play with it). The buttons of this Sony remote also light up when pressed and glows in the dark after being absorbed by your lamp light. It's solid and has a rubber grip for comfort. It provides a very strong signal as well. Don't fall for the new breed of palm-like remotes. They take MUCH TOO LONG to scroll the screens just to get to the chosen command. Those other remotes may have glitz, but they are much more difficult to use, thus eliminating the "wow" factor to adding an "annoyance" factor. I have one that came with the Denon 5800 receiver and it is lousy. Trust me. Get this remote. It works fabulously. It's all the remote you will ever need. Cheers!
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best.
Review: Not the best. "One for all" has a better remote. I have a Carver audio system and this remote only works 2 or 3 functions.
The remote is supposed to "re-learn" functions; maybe for the listed brands...but the instructions imply that the remote will "learn" non-listed brands as well........Not exactly. There are only 3 buttons that will learn individual functions and then they cannot be programmed for macro use. If you have all Sony products....great. If you have the listed brands...maybe great. If any of your components are not listed....avoid this and the RCA 810. The RCA did not even work as well with my RCA products.
Rating: 
Summary: Just wait 8 or 9 months and see how "great" it is...
Review: The problem with all of these great reviews is that they were probably written soon after purchasing this remote. I'll agree that at first, I was very happy with the learning capabilities and use of this remote and it's the only remote I had to have on my coffee table. Then after about 6-7 months I noticed some frequently used keys (volume, channel, pause, stop...) had to be pressed harder and harder to get them to work. Eventually, after about a month of this, those keys stopped responding at all. (Someone else noted the same problem in another review here.) I returned it (I had an extended warranty on it which I purchased from the store) and they gave me a brand new one. Lo and behold, after 5 or 6 months, the exact same thing happened and by 7 months the same keys stopped responding again. By now, my "extended warranty" had expired, so I was forced to reprogram common functions to other keys. (I.E. Volume bacame buttons #1 &4, pause was #3, channel up and down arrow up and down etc.) one by one all of these keys ended up not responding as well until finally I was down to about 4 keys on the entire remote which would respond at all. All this after only 2 years. It's as if i went through 8 remotes with all the programming over and over and now, I again have 5 remotes on my coffee table. Piece o' junk...
Rating:
Summary: The best-kept secret
Review: The RM-VL900 is likely the best value in universal remote controls. All of the keys are learning capable and the programming process is simple. In minutes, I programmed macros to turn on and set my system for use with each component (digital cable box, DVD, VCR, etc.) with one touch. Also handy is a volume "pass-through" that controls the volume though the amplifier regardless of which component is selected. This option is easily set or undone in a couple of seconds. I considered fancy touch-screen remotes costing hundreds of dollars but personally, I prefer hard buttons that I can feel in the dark. The key layout and varied shapes and sizes make this model easy to use without taking your eyes off your big-screen. While buttons can't be relabeled, they can be programmed for any function and it's easy enough to remember which does what. The keys are not backlit but they all glow in the dark -- not just the transport and channel/volume controls as on so many remotes. Considering the sleeker looking RM-VL1000 for a few dollars more? Forget it! I too was enticed by its LCD screen and joystick but it turned out to be an ergonomic nightmare. Simple functions required several steps. Just reading the instructions gave me a headache! Is the RM-VL900 the perfect remote? No, but it earned five stars from me for its unmatched user-friendliness and a price that allowed me to buy two (no fighting over the remote in my house!) Incidentally, when you buy the second one -- and you will -- all of the commands except the macros can be transferred from the first one in seconds!
Rating:
Summary: The best-kept secret
Review: The RM-VL900 is likely the best value in universal remote controls. All of the keys are learning capable and the programming process is simple. In minutes, I programmed macros to turn on and set my system for use with each component (digital cable box, DVD, VCR, etc.) with one touch. Also handy is a volume "pass-through" that controls the volume though the amplifier regardless of which component is selected. This option is easily set or undone in a couple of seconds. I considered fancy touch-screen remotes costing hundreds of dollars but personally, I prefer hard buttons that I can feel in the dark. The key layout and varied shapes and sizes make this model easy to use without taking your eyes off your big-screen. While buttons can't be relabeled, they can be programmed for any function and it's easy enough to remember which does what. The keys are not backlit but they all glow in the dark -- not just the transport and channel/volume controls as on so many remotes. Considering the sleeker looking RM-VL1000 for a few dollars more? Forget it! I too was enticed by its LCD screen and joystick but it turned out to be an ergonomic nightmare. Simple functions required several steps. Just reading the instructions gave me a headache! Is the RM-VL900 the perfect remote? No, but it earned five stars from me for its unmatched user-friendliness and a price that allowed me to buy two (no fighting over the remote in my house!) Incidentally, when you buy the second one -- and you will -- all of the commands except the macros can be transferred from the first one in seconds!
Rating:
Summary: Sexy Toy
Review: The Sony RM-VL900 is hands down the best hard-key learning remote on the market right now. Programming it is a cinch; once you enter learning mode, just hit any one of the component buttons and start diddling away. Each signal takes maybe two seconds for the 900 to pick up. I had signals from all six of my remotes, plus macros, plugged into the 900 within an hour of opening the box (and two I had to program from scratch). It's also designed very well. With batteries, the remote has a nice firm feel without being excessively hefty. The keys are big and move with just the right amount of resistance. And there's a squishy ribbed rubber grip that goes around the perimeter of the device that makes it comfortable to hold. Unfortunately, other than a dim glow-in-the-dark, there's no backlighting on anything but the component keys. Like any hard-key remote, though, you eventually learn how to do everything by feel. Does it have the ooh-aah factor of the Pronto or other LCD touch-screen remotes? No, but then none of those magic wands provides any tactile feedback; you have to look down to know what you're pressing. And what normal person would want to spend hours programming one of those things? A remote is supposed to simplify. Nothing's perfect, but the 900 comes close.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the money
Review: This is really worth the money. Right out of the box it was working my TV, DVD Player and VCR. It only took me about 4 min for it to learn my CD player and about 5 to learn my reciever. The instructions look intimidating but if you read through it once its pretty clear. Its as simple as waiting for the light to flash.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the remote for you....
Review: This is the first review I have ever written on Amazon.com. That should tell you something. Normally I am not the type of person to complain about certain products but when one is as bad as this I have to speak up. First off I will say for about the first 8-9 months the remote worked just fine but after that, frequently pushed buttons stopped functioning. I got around that by changing those functions to a different button... then those stopped functioning. I have had another Learning Universal Remote that has lasted me 10 years so I know I am not asking much when I would like a remote to last me more than a year. I bought this remote after reading reviews on here about it, I hope someone will see this review and think twice before spending 50 bucks on something that won't last more than a few months.
Rating:
Summary: Great value!
Review: This remote is awesome for the money! In a matter of 15-20 minutes, I put 5 remotes away in a drawer. The only button the remote does not have is an eject button for CD players and DVD players...but if you had to have it, you could "teach" the remote this function. I was even able to to have the Sony remote learn the signals of my Comcast digital cable remote - which was awesome because I was never able to find a code for the Comcast remote for universals without the learning feature. Get this remote!
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