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User reviews for the Xsight Touch ARRX18G from Acoustic Research.
Xsight Touch ARRX18G
RatingsReviewsMSRP (USD)
Average: 3.70/5.00
Median: 3.67/5.00
11$249.99
The Xsight Touch is an 18-device, wizard-based computer programmable remote control featuring a color touchscreen display, large number of hard buttons, rechargeable lithium ion battery and optional RF extender.
Get it
at:
Amazon.com


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the Xsight Touch ARRX18G remote.
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Written by mdavej from Earth.
The reviewer has used this remote control for more than two years.
Review 11 made on Friday June 20, 2014 at 3:58 PM.
Also owned:Harmony, UEI, URC
Strengths:Macro capabilities, RF, Battery life
Weaknesses:Button longevity
Review:I wrote a review for this remote years ago and am still happily using them years later. This is mainly to update my original review. Two very positive developments have occurred since this model was discontinued:

1) You can now program it with the free JP1 software Remote Master. This opens up many new capabilities, like pronto hex import, the ability to load/save/create JP1 device upgrades and protocols, learned signal analysis, unlimited offline file backups, no internet connection required for programming, no more dependence on EZ-RC. This applies to the entire Xsight family (Touch, Color, Plus, etc.) as well as Nevo C2 and C3.

2) They are now cheap and plentiful on eBay, often around $40. This makes it the best RF universal remote value on the planet, IMO.
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Bruce Burson from Germany.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-2 years.
Review 10 made on Wednesday December 4, 2013 at 8:04 AM.
Also owned:MX-500, MX-800
Strengths:Attractive appearance
Ease of use (once configured, see below)
Good low-light visibility
Programmable activities
Recharges via docking station
Weaknesses:Complex configurations can become a nightmare.
Many older or more esoteric systems missing, must be learned.
Must be attached to an online computer for most configuring.
Software requires IE, tweaked to emulate an obsolete version.
Learning function does not always work when it says it has.
Soft buttons: Can't see or move between multiple pages.
Review:Bought this when my MX-800 gave up the ghost. My bottom line is that I have a love-hate relationship with this remote. It absolutely does everything I want, and looks great while doing so! Once configured it's a great remote and everyone who has used it loves it, but programming it and re-programming it until I finally got it the way I wanted was an exercise in major frustration.

The good: It looks very stylish and is easy to clean the glossy surface with a monitor/eyeglass cloth. When properly programmed, the activity-based macros flatten the learning curve to the point that any visitor can operate my entire setup* without instruction.

The bad: Daniel covered it all. For a remote that's suppose to control up to 18 devices, the database of available codes is limited, and the interface to program the remote is "not good." My biggest gripe is the difficulty in arranging the soft buttons.

Many of the functions on my factory remotes were unavailable in their database and had to be learned. Moreover, many of the functions did not correspond to the available hard buttons and had to be tied to soft buttons. Why was this a problem for me? The soft buttons learning backwards from the bottom right and no ability to move between pages, combined with the fact that the activities end up on a device page for "run time" control after the setup macro is done.

Example: Decide that you need to turn down the TV volume because you're using the AV receiver for your audio when watching a Blu-Ray? You want soft TV volume controls on your Blu Ray Player device screen (assume you mapped the hard volume caontrols are to the AV receiver at the end of the "watch Blu-Ray" activity). As Daniel described, the only way to move buttons between pages is to delete all the buttons ahead of the one you want until it moves forward to where you would like it, then re-learn every button you deleted at the end of the last page. After some use, you determine that you always need to use a button from a later page or another device? Heave a deep sigh, and start learning, deleting and relearning until it's moved forward on the desired device. Plan to spend quite a bit of time planning out what buttons to copy from other devices and what order to learn any commands that will not be on the hard buttons.

My second biggest gripe was that the learning process is not only complex, but it lied fairly frequently about having successfully learned codes. Once unplugged from the PC, codes "learned," plugged back into the computer, configuration saved, unplugged again and finally ready to test, codes often didn't work and I had to redo the entire learning process.

So, love/hate. Configuration was extremely difficult, but operation afterwards was next to perfect. If you have a simple setup using more common components, your configuration experience will probably be much happier!

*My setup: A/V receiver, HDTV, 3D/BR player, Satellite receiver, IPTV receiver, Karaoke system, VCR. Some US, some European, some multi-system/format, some (obviously) old. Lots of complex controls due to all the uncommon options.
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by bguzman from Northern California.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 3-6 months.
Review 9 made on Sunday January 8, 2012 at 12:00 AM.
Also owned:URC RFS200, Harmony 550
Strengths:Data base, fkexibility
Weaknesses:Software
Review:I picked up this remote for less than fifty bucks,. I do not believe that you can find a better more flexible remote for that price. There definitely is a learning curve with the software but once you get the hang of it there is not much you can't control with it. Is it as easy to program as a Harmony? No. Is it better and far more flexible? For me a big yes.
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by maambeau from Houston, TX.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 6-12 months.
Review 8 made on Friday August 19, 2011 at 6:07 PM.
Also owned:none
Strengths:Works with RF extender
Easy to set up
Easy to use
Easy to explain to others
Weaknesses:Can't use two of these remotes in the same house.
Tech support
Review:I bought this remote over a year ago and love it. In fact, I found it on sale recently and bought another to use upstairs. Problem! We have ATT Uverse and the cable boxes are identical. I was testing the remote upstairs and my husband yelled from downstairs that his TV channels were switching without assistance. I found no documentation for this problem and called the 1-800 number. Automated message informed me that the office is not open on weekends - click. Finally got time to call during the workday. Wow. Technical support is low, low, low tech. I wish I had gotten someone in India or Siberia. After listening to a very brief description of my problem, he told me 'no, that won't work. those boxes are the same. can't do that.'

Shouldn't that be somewhere in the product literature? Would have been nice to know.
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by reggosnell from South Texas.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.
Review 7 made on Tuesday June 28, 2011 at 11:11 AM.
Also owned:Harmony 880, 890, URC-R50, Pronto - others
Strengths:Configuration can accommodate complex equipment setup.
Weaknesses:Only complaint might be the extremely slick finish. Picks up fingerprints and can slip out of your hand - great looking, though!
Review:I bought this to replace my URC R50 which never worked well with my home theater system. I moved the R50 to my living room, which is a simpler setup and it works fine there. The most important thing to do when beginning configuration of a fairly complex setup is planning. Think about how you want things to behave before starting. I set up devices in a few minutes. I did not use their "wake" and "sleep" facilities. I set power-on/off macros within each "home" device to handle each set of devices to turn off for TV(front projector), DVD, etc. Macros are easy to set up via the PC interface. I agree with other reviewers that the web site is a bit slow, but not too bad. I had no trouble getting through a setup session. It is also very simple to go back and modify configurations and macros. Sometimes, experimenting with time delays between steps is useful to fine tune operation. I have lights, Sat/TV, DVD, ROKU streaming device, CD and phono activities and they all work great! This remote is a great value since it can be purchased in the $60-70 range. This is less then the R50 AND the Harmony remotes! I am very happy with this unit. I have been struggling to get my system working consistently for a year and I am finally pleased with the way things behave now!
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by baeder from MA - USA.
The reviewer has used this remote control for under 1 month.
Review 6 made on Sunday May 29, 2011 at 1:10 AM.
Also owned:UR 850 and the RF250 and RF300 extenders
Strengths:Good Feel, and for me, and EXCELLENT RF control where I always had issues before.
Weaknesses:As mentioned in review, programming is a bit difficult with web based process.
Review:Bought this because after 5 years of heavy use, the buttons on my 850 were just getting harder and harder to use. Had already moved around a lot of the more common buttons, but only so much you can do. What a difference this makes (compared to 850 and the RF receivers). Great reception!

I also like the Assist functionality on the macros, since they make it easy to recover if the remote isn't exactly pointed at the TV, or the equipment using the IR. For me, the lack of "state" oriented on/off isn't that big a deal, since only the cable box has that issue. The other equipment (Aquos/Replay/Yamaha YSP-1/DVD) are all Ok, and have discrete. To me, only trick was to reset TV input to Cable before power off, so that I don't have to wait on power ON, since Cable is default device...And just stays "on" if I really want to use different equipment.

Got the RF extender on a real bargin at local Best Buy, remote on Amazon, and total cost under $100...Makes this a GREAT DEAL, and more in line with expectations mentioned in the review.
Quality: Features: Value:

Written by allcargo from Florida.
The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.
Review 5 made on Tuesday March 29, 2011 at 3:58 PM.
Also owned:Harmony 890 & 1000
Strengths:Looks nice
Weaknesses:most everything else...
Review:Problems:

No power remember feature
Makes clicking noise upon activation
RF control is very sporadic. Misses many times
Inferior control compared to the Harmony's listed above (even though I don't LOVE them either)
Quality: Features: Value:

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