I am just finishing up completion of a sports bar in my basement and I would really appreciate some support in choosing a remote to control everything. My budget is probably up to $300 if possible, but I don't know much about universal remotes so not sure if that is feasible.

My setup is...

1) Panasonic Plasma with DirecTV HD box
2) Two Panasonic LCD's each with a DirecTV HD box
3) Yamaha AV receiver connected to Energy 5.1 system.
4) Samsung Blu Ray

The 3 TV's are wall mounted close to each other and all the components are in an open cabinet next to the TV's.

The setup is to watch multiple sports events, so I want to be able to switch any of the 3 TV's to a different game - so I assume I need RF capability since the boxes are right near each other. I know I can do this with the DirecTV remote [DTV, AV1, AV2], but then the only selector left is TV so I can't control my receiver or Blu Ray.

The other issue is since all 3 TV's are Panny, hitting the power switch on any of the remotes turns them all on or all off. I could probably live with having to turn each of them on manually since I don't use the 2nd & 3rd TV's all the time. Is there any way to individually turn each TV on & off with a remote?

I will also hook all 3 HD boxes to the receiver [does not have HDMI inputs, this is an 8 year old receiver] via some audio connection [not enough optical inputs for everything] so I can switch inputs on the receiver and have the sound from any of the 3 TV's through the speaker system.

Is there anything out there that would do what I am looking for? Please let me know what additional info I can provide and thank everyone in advance for your help!

Jonathan

Jon, sent you some suggestions via PM.

I'm in the process of setting up something similar.

I currently have a 58" panny with Directv dvr, panny bluray and a newer Denon receiver.

I'm going to add two 32" tv's (left & right of 58"). I wanted to place the additional two DirecTv HD boxes on the shelf with all the other components.

So, same type of questions, as I would like to control each box & tv independently.

I currently use the Harmony One remote but am willing to upgrade to whatever would be best.

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

I take it you might not be happy with the Harmony. While the Harmony will do as it told it won't give you the user experience like a URC advanced remote will. It's very difficult to reccomend something when I don't know your budget, preference for remote type, if you want to program it yourself or have a professional do it, or if you want something ultra-customized. With URC you need to be a dealer to obtain the software but many authorized dealers have different policies regarding this process. Take a look at URC's MX-880 or MX-980.

Thanks!
880 or 980 through a pro will probably be my route