What handheld controller presses your buttons?

Congrats if you've bought that killer surround-sound processor or preamp, DVD player, digital video recorder (DVR), VCR and big-screen TV or other video display. Cool stuff, huh? Now, what are you going to do with all the remotes? And how are going to keep track of them all? n You have a few options: You could buy an expensive control system that uses a sleek touchscreen interface, or you could go the more affordable route and glue all of your remotes to a big piece of wood.

Don't laugh. Option number two has actually been done. Somewhere in between these two options is an innovation called the universal remote control.

There are a couple of types of universal remotes. Preprogrammed ones contain hundreds, if not thousands, of infrared codes that communicate with many popular makes and models of audio and video equipment. Programmable remotes can "learn" the infrared (IR) command codes of any audio/video component and with a little tweaking, might even be capable of operating a light switch.

Touchscreen-based remotes present control buttons on a touch-sensitive LCD panel. These screens can be customized to look a certain way and to contain layers of menus, so that only a few buttons are displayed at a time. Some people prefer the feel of a traditional remote control with buttons to a touchscreen. Many remotes today offer a combination of both "hard" buttons and a touchscreen.

Programming a universal remote with the proper codes for controlling all of your equipment often involves transmitting information from your old remotes to the new one. The most reliable way to do this is either by using computer software or by downloading the codes from a web site.

Be a Fickle Clicker

So how do you choose a universal remote out of the many available? Remote control designer and consultant Eric Johnson of HomeTheaterPro in Sebastopol, CA, offers some sage advice on judging handheld controllers. "Consider function first and graphics and styling later," he says. "It has to be so easy that you want to use it over and over again."

Unfortunately, a lot of remote controls don't meet this requirement. Too many buttons and no logical layout can diminish your home theater experience -- especially when you can't figure out how to work things. So it's important to shop carefully and actually use the remote before you buy it. Oftentimes, the simpler, the better. If you're in a custom electronics company's showroom, and someone is demonstrating a home theater system, ask to use the remote. "Customers need to touch the remotes and work the demos," says Jeff Hoover of Audio Advisors in West Palm Beach, FL. "It's not important that the dealer can do it. It's important that you can do it."

Remotes with More

To save yourself a headache, use a remote that can be programmed to transmit at least one macro command, in which one button makes a number of things happen. A common macro, such as movie time, might turn on the TV, DVD player and audio/video receiver. More sophisticated controllers can trigger several actions at once, such as dimming the lights, closing the shades and starting the entertainment system.

According to remote control guru Johnson, an acceptable amount of time for a controller to transmit a sequence of commands and have them executed is 10 seconds. Something like 20 seconds, he says, is too long.

Of course, the more a remote control can do, the more difficult it is to program. That's why some remotes are best configured by an audio/video specialist.

If your audio/video equipment isn't within a direct line of sight from your seating area, you may want to look for a remote that uses radio frequency (RF) technology to broadcast the command signal to a broad area. If you'd rather use an infrared (IR) remote, you can install IR repeaters, which pick up the signal and transfer it to the appropriate equipment. Also, button backlighting is essential if you like watching movies or programs in the dark.

Finally, keep in mind that many universal remotes are missing an important and often-overlooked feature called 12-volt sensing. What this does is "sense" whether a component, say your audio/video receiver, is already switched on so it won't mistakenly switch it off when you activate your system. In many older and inexpensive components, the on/off functions are on the same toggle switch, so when a remote tries to turn it on, the switch is activated. If the component is already on, the remote shuts it off instead. See the value of 12-volt sensing? Many newer components have dedicated on/off switches that preclude the need for this, but it's best to check your equipment and universal remote to see if you need it. More expensive control systems come with this convenient function.

Keep these remote rules in mind, and you'll never have to glue your remotes to a piece of wood.

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Control Freaks to Avoid

It's good to be able to control your home theater gear easily, but remember: Too much control is bad for anyone. Here are some controlling movie characters we feel could be a little more easygoing. Or medicated.

• The Wicked Witch of the West -- What's the ruby slippers obsession, oh Great Green One? Sell some of your flying monkeys, and buy your own pair.

• Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest -- Wire hangers? Don't you have, like, a movie to make or something?

• Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate (original version) -- Scary mama, yikes! Once you see this, you'll never be able to picture her as the sugary Jessica Parker in Murder She Wrote again. And that may be a good thing.

• Gen. Jack Ripper in Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb -- He triggers nuclear Armageddon because of something to do with his "precious bodily fluids." Please. You can keep your precious bodily fluids.

• Marlin the Clownfish in Finding Nemo -- Finally: a neurotic, controlling clownfish that sounds like Albert Brooks. At least he's not an ant that sounds like Woody Allen.

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