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ONE FOR ALL KAMELEON 8 Universal Remote Control | 
enlarge | Brand: One For All Category: CE
List Price: $99.99 Buy Used: $27.97 You Save: $72.02 (72%)
New (2) from $32.87
Avg. Customer Rating: 18 reviews
Media: Electronics Autographed: No Memorabilia: No Batteries Included: No Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9 Dimensions (in): 6 x 8.5 x 11.5
MPN: URC9964 Model: URC9964 UPC: 817386099647 EAN: 0817386099647
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Manufacturer Part Number: URC-9964 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description Replaces up to 8 Remotes / Glow in Dark Display / Learning Capable / 4 User Defined Macros / 2 Auxiliary Keys
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
Great concept, but... January 11, 2006 21 out of 22 found this review helpful
I too like the concept of this remote. The execution, however, leaves something to be desired.
Major Dissapointments:
1) The motion-sensing on/off is really neat, but I was unable to sucessfully reprogram the time delay - this usually causes the remote to turn off while I am fumbling around for the correct button.
2) The ergonomics aren't so good. Because there is no tactile feel to the remote, its nearly impossible to use without looking directly at it.
3) The resolution of the buttons is suspect. This means that often when I am expecting to press "Ok", I get the ">" or something similar.
4) There is a "sticky" feel to the buttons. This does not go away with usage, and it makes the remote distractingly audible.
5) Unknow black substance has infiltrated some of the keys (under the outer membrane) after 60 days use. These keys are now unreadable.
6) Phone-based updates do not work via a cell phone. This won't be an issue if you still have a land-line, but for those of us who don't it's a terrible inconvenience.
There are some good points, however:
1) The programming codes work as promised. I must admit that I was skeptical at first, but all of my devices (some very old, some brand new) were sucessfully added to the remote. Initial setup took less than 20 minutes.
2) Possibly for the first time ever in the history of man, a consumer electronic device has shipped with useful documentation. The Kameleon's documentation is balanced and informative.
3) Decent value (I purchased on sale at Amazon for $50).
All-in-all, I would say that this is a decent product. I'd recommend, however, that you carefully weigh other options before you purchase - there seem to be better offerings available at a similar price point.
Use ANYTHING other than this remote. April 13, 2007 17 out of 19 found this review helpful
As others have suggested, the concept of this remote is a good one: Only show the buttons needed to control that particular device, and only show them when you're actually using the device. Sounds good, right? Too bad it doesn't really work so well in practice.
In fairness, I have to point out the good things first. The buttons are well-lit and easy to understand. When the remote DOES work (more on that later) it works very well. It doesn't suck up batteries like some other devices I've had. It's fairly comfortable in the hand and quite easy to program; it will even learn codes for devices that it doesn't already know about. The back has a nice rubbery grippy feel to it, and because the surface has no physical buttons it's very easy to keep clean.
That about wraps up the good stuff. How bad is this remote? Let me tell you about my experiences with it. The first one I bought was DOA, and Amazon replaced it. The second one worked for a month before dying. Amazon replaced that one too. The third one worked for a shade over two months -- and that's when I ran into my first problem: THIS REMOTE HAS A TRULY PATHETIC 90 DAY WARRANTY, and THE WARRANTY STARTS AT THE MOMENT OF PURCHASE EVEN IF IT WAS REPLACED TWICE BEFORE. So even though I believed I was paying fifty bucks for a remote, I was actually buying an expensive piece of useless plastic.
The manufacturer's customer support is HORRIBLE. They are based in Hong Kong and have no offices here; their only distributor is based in Kentucky and they list no phone number to contact them. (Some Googling will reveal the number, however.) If you DO manage to contact them via phone, you will be greeted with the World's Most Irritated Employees -- or at least that's what they sound like. They will tell you in no uncertain terms that you shouldn't be calling them for technical support on an out-of-warranty product, and you'll be stonewalled.
They do offer email support, but unfortunately their email support 'team' only seems to work every third day and NEVER reads the entire email that you send to them, often asking you for information that you've already provided (in fact, information that they've even quoted in their reply). And that's assuming that they even respond at all. I've waited as long as two weeks (sending my email every other day) for a single response, which ultimately was completely useless and irrelevant to my situation.
The manufacturer's web site claims that, quote, "Our 'Number 1' status Worldwide reflects our commitment to excellence." In my experience, 'number 1' is just about the only thing I'd like to do to this remote and the company that makes it. If Amazon would have let me I would have given this product a "-27 stars" rating. I would rather have a hot lead enema than buy another One For All product.
Sturdy, Functional, and Cool! Requires Costco membership to replenish battery supply! March 30, 2006 8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I'm going on 2 years with this remote and it has held up beautifully. What few have failed to mention is just how sturdy this unit is. It's made of very tough and rigid materials such as an alloy metal chasis to frame and support the control panel. I've dropped the remote many times and it hits the ground like a rock. It's a fairly heavy unit relative to most modern light-weight plastic controllers. The control panel shows no signs of wear and the plastic part of the chassis is very high quality with a nice grip-able texture.
The remote is very easy to program, just spend time with the instruction booklet and play with it. You can program the remote for you needs in a variety of ways, you really can't fail. I consider myself an advanced user so I've been able to squeeze every ounce out of this thing. I've had a good time putting this remote to the test, it's worth the money just for the 'toy' factor.
So what's with the 4 stars? Well...it eats batteries at least once a month and unless you invest in a charger (I haven't bothered since I have an endless and free supply of batteries), buy a membership to Costco and pick up a pack AAAs.
In addition, the motion sensing system seems very finicky and unreliable. It works only here and there and I see no predictable pattern; most of the time I have to wake it up by touching the panel to illuminate the device. The buttons also take some getting use to and are something of an annoyance to my 'guests' who just can't get use to looking at the remote to find the button instead of thumbing for it.
If you want a high quality remote with excellent functionality and aesthetic appeal, you can't beat the value. If you are looking for something a bit more traditional and practical, you should be aware that this remote's unique capabilities come with some trade-offs (tactile feedback and disappearing buttons).
I recently retired the unit after upgrading to the newest Harmony 880 remote because of the rechargeable internal battery and PC programmability.
If they release an updated version of this remote, I would easily buy another just to have it! You can beat the fun factor!
Kameleon URC-9964 January 12, 2006 7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Excellent remote control! 1)If you want to save battery, just turn off the vibration switch: SET UP - OTHER - 9 8 5 - HOME.
2)If you want adjust the screen light... "longer" (4,8,12,16 or 20 seconds): SET UP - OTHER - 9 7 8 - #1 for 4 seconds, #2 for 8, #3 for 12, #4 for 16 and #5 for 20 them press HOME.
3) You can use the learning key program if you want to add an option from your old remote control to the Kameleon and it's so easy to do it.
4) You can also program that all your devices (no more than 7) turns on or turns off at the same time.
I highly recommend!!!!
GREAT !!! January 31, 2007 7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Everything comes with it's own remote and supposedy you can program in codes for your other equipment. The problem is that these remotes more often than not don't or can't control all of your AV equipment. Believe it or not there are 17 remotes in my house some of which are "Learnibg" remotes (same problem)Besides it's a pain in the you know where. Most of them are destined for the recycler. Actually I only have a need for 4 remotes (Living room, Den, Guest room and Master Bedroom. When I bought the Kameleon and began setting it up, it operated everything except for DirecTV. I called AllForOne and they programmed the appropriate code into the Kameleon over the phone (NICE). Besides TV, DVD, Stereo etc. I also have Home Automation. Believe it or not, it even controlls that. Now I'm planning to buy 3 more Kameleons and get rid of all the rest. Some reviews that I have read complain about battery consumption. When first programming the Kameleon, I set the light to stay on for 20 seconds at a time and left vibration on and the light at the brightest level. Ceartainly battery eaters. BUT now that it's fully programmed, I have turned off the vibration feature and set the light to stay on for 5 seconds and also dimmed the light to a comfortable setting. Certainly long enough to do what you want and GREAT battery savers. I highly recommend this remote control to anyone looking to replace 2 or more remotes with a single one. The Kameleon is EXCELLENT and at a GREAT price. Much better than some remotes that cost $200, $300, $400 and up. It's also very cool looking especially when it lights up.
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