Home > Consumer Reviews > Jensen SC-590 Home-Theater Universal Remote Control

This just goes to show you that even a little research pays off. This remote looks very nice and is backlit, but it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. It wouldn't work for my Denon AVR-3300 ( a very popular receiver) or my Sony MiniDisc deck or my Apex DVD player. Jensen support consists of a message board where everyone wants to know why the remote won't control anything. I came across a great site called RemoteCentral and there was a HUGE thread of users of the RadioShack 15-1994. Controls all my stuff and the code and internet support is very good. And it has macros! Backlit too! Only controls six devices though. But if you can get this remote to control that many you are lucky.

Ergonomics is slightly awkward. My wife thought it was too unwieldy for smaller hands. The channel +/- buttons have to be very firmly pressed. Although the backlit keys are nice, they make a distinct high pitched hum everytime you press a button and for the two seconds the lights remain on. Jensen replied that is "normal for (their) backlit remotes controls."

However, the biggest problem that i have with this is that it has no "Enter" key equivalent for dvd menus which to me makes it totally useless for dvd control. On the other hand, the Jensen tech support is pretty good.

This remote is so large that I need both hands to use it. It has no "eject" function and no "clear" function, so if you make a mistake programming the VCR, you have to start all over again. There is no VCR Plus button, so you can't use the codes in the TV Guide. The worst is that there is no "status" function, so if you are advancing a tape in the VCR, the only way to see where you are on the tape is to stop the tape!

I agree w/the previous review - the remote does not operate the menus on my Toshiba or Pioneer DVD player. You'll get play, rew, for, pause, on/off, maybe subtitles and precious few other one button functions - same as cheaper remotes.

VCR and TV functions are covered well (both Toshibas). You can actually program your VCR w/it unlike some of the other cheap remotes. PIP too.

The 590's got big backlit buttons , but the layout isn't the greatest and the buttons don't always register even when pressing hard. Backlighting isn't as great a feature as I thought - sometimes you hit the wrong button just to get it to flash and then it flashes too briefly as you're racing to find the right button. Forget using it in a darkened room.

A Very basic remote. Cheaper ones do the same for DVD and receivers (Onkyo).Better than average for VCR and TV. Backlighting more of a gimmick than feature.

Stay away from this one. While it did control my Aiwa shelf system, Sony DVD, RCA VCR, and Philips TV, it only supported some features of each and not others. On my TV menu, it would scroll through menu items one way, but not the other. When controlling the stereo, I also had to press the volume button about 100 times in rapid succession to get the volume knob to inch up just a bit. It also would "forget" which mode it was on, meaning I had to press the button for another component and then go back to the one I wanted.

Also - REAL bad design. The channel buttons are on the bottom, meaning that many times I had to channel surf using 2 hands because there wasn't enough room to hold the entire remote and press the buttons at the same time.