Friday, 30 March 2012
GEAR4 UNITY REMOTE REVIEW
arguments occur on a daily basis on who has control of the all powerful channel switcher. How many times have you been watching something you're not really that interested in but couldn't find the remote anywhere? So instead of just getting up and changing the channel using the buttons on the TV (which is less than a couple of feet away but still, that's out of the question) you just accept defeat and carry on watching whatever's on.
Thus, Gear4 have created the Unity Remote. This is a small infra red and bluetooth cylindrical device that sits on your TV cabinet and allows you to control your TV, Sky/Freeview box, DVD/Blu Ray player, games console and music system, all from your Apple device.
The Unity Remote works with pretty much any infra red device through Bluetooth. Your iPhone will send the Unity Remote a command via bluetooth and the Unity Remote will transfer the command into infra red and shoot the signal at whatever device you're controlling. In order to set up and use the Unity Remote, you need to download the free app from the Apple App store unsurprisingly called the Unity Remote app. Once you have the Unity remote turned on and the app downloaded, the app will pair your phone with the infra red device. Once that's done, the app will prompt you to choose the manufacturer of your TV etc. Then proceed to try to connect to it. It will run a series of tests to see if you have full control of the TV or whatever it is you're trying to use. In all honesty, this whole process is a bit of a chore as you have to do it with each device you want to set up. I would say it should take no more than a couple of minutes to set up each device. In my case, I set up the Unity Remote in my room, which involved pairing a Samsung HD TV, Sky Plus digital box, Playstation 3 and an Xbox 360.
After the initial pairing set up, I was instantly able to use the remote to control all 4 devices. Again, in order to use your iDevice as a remote, you need to open up the Unity Remote app first. Once open, you will be taken to the last device you controlled with a layout of commands such as power, channel skipping, volume and mute etc. Lets get the negative tidbits out of the way first. The Unity Remote device switches off after 2 hours of none use so when you fire up the app on your iPhone, it takes a while for the Unity Remote to fire up before it starts recognising your commands so there is a few seconds of delay at first use. Also, you need to have Bluetooth on in order to use the remote. If you are out of range or have Bluetooth turned off, the app will only let you run diagnostics and show you a demo mode. Lastly, you need to be careful where you place the Unity Remote. For example, I had mine placed on my desk next to my TV but it failed to recognise my games consoles as they were sat underneath the desk. You need to remember that the Unity Remote uses infra red so you need to place it somewhere that doesn't obstruct the Unity Remote talking to the devices you want to use.
All the devices I set up including the Sky box worked great. With Sky, the app lets you control everything that the Sky remote lets you control, eliminating the need for multiple remotes.
There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to using the app to set up each device you want to control but once you've done a few, it will feel like second nature. You can also move the Unity Remote device from room to room if you want to control more than just one room full of devices but I feel you will get a much more pleasant experience using the device in one place as remembering to move the device from room to room just to use your phone as a remote is a bit silly.
Overall, I think that the Unity Remote does what it says on the tin. The idea of having one unified remote without an actual remote is great. Smartphones are enabling us to interact with a lot more than just phone calls and texts and this is one prime example. The application itself could use a little work to make it slightly more user friendly as having to go through the same process of pairing up each device can get a little tedious. The only other downside is that the Unity Remote is only available to iOS devices meaning all you Android users out there wont be able to benefit from this one remote rules all gadget.
Despite the above, general performance is good and after a while, you really do forget you used remote controls in the first place. There are numerous accessories out there that can be classed as luxury items due to the fact that they are not really all that useful and you don't really need them (like the Parrot Drone for iPhone) but the Unity Remote really can be a useful and time saving device, albeit for the right person. So if you hate having to use multiple remotes and hate having to find where they all are etc, the Unity Remote is a great accessory for your Apple mobile device. If using remote controls aren't really that much of a bother, at £89.99, you really don't need this.
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