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Progress has been made on providing a greater number of button labeling options, without resorting to making the display font too small. A total of 17 keys now have two possible labels, up from 8 on the 15-2133. Combined with the slightly greater number of buttons, that’s an upgrade from 48 to 57 possible command labels – noteworthy on any scale! Button labels are clear and easy-to-read from most distances.
9-9-1? 9-7-5?
Programming a One For All remote control has typically been an exercise in manual hunting, meaningless code numbers, and limited feedback on exactly what’s happening. So, it was a pleasant surprise to discover that the Kameleon features an actual setup menu – the first UEI remote control to do so since the graphical touchscreen-based Mosaic-slash-Director (read our review). This is a much appreciated upgrade that will go a long way towards improving a user’s initial setup experience. It even makes better use of the Kameleon’s display technology!
So, at long last you can forget all about those three-digit setup codes, like 9-9-1 for code searching and 9-7-5 for learning. Well... as it turns out you may need to keep a few codes in mind, since the changeover seems to be a bit of a work in progress.
To access the setup menu, hold the [Setup] button for three seconds. A simple enough procedure, but my big fingers combined with the thin button’s close proximity to the bottom bezel and other keys seemed to cut my success rate in half – but since I generally dislike easy-to-enter setup modes, this issue could theoretically be considered a feature.
Once accessed, the numerical keypad is transformed with new labels above each key: “Device Set”, “Search”, “Theater”, “Volume Lock”, “Macro”, “Brightness”, “IR Learn”, “IR Delete”, “Mode Mover”, and “Other”. A new button, [Home], appears at the top of the screen and can be used to return to the previous setup screen, or leave the setup menu entirely.
Despite the fact that the display isn’t graphical and thus can provide only limited feedback, One For All has managed to make the remote’s programming process feel far more intuitive than usual, by presenting just the keys needed to complete the current operation. The box advertises “effortless setup” and the Kameleon 8 really delivers on that promise.
Where One For All Shines
Like most modern day remote controls, the Kameleon 8 is both “preprogrammed” and “code learning”. The former term means that complete device setups are built-in at the factory, making the Kameleon an ideal replacement for lost or broken remotes. The latter term means that the remote is capable of capturing signals from your existing remote controls, a quick fix for devices or functions not already provided.
One For All naturally uses the UEI preprogrammed database, widely recognized as the most comprehensive and complete database on the market – so much so that many other advanced remotes license it, including the Philips Pronto. Although the built-in version of the database doesn’t extend so far as to cover high-end items like projectors and video scalers, if you’re in need of a replacement remote you’ll still have better luck with a UEI-based model.
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