Universal remote

[1] In 1985, Robin Rumbolt, William "Russ" McIntyre, and Larry Goodson with North American Philips Consumer Electronics (Magnavox, Sylvania, and Philco) developed the first universal remote control.

[2] In March 1987, Steve Ciarcia published an article in Byte magazine entitled "Build a Trainable Infrared Master Controller", describing a universal remote with the ability to upload the settings to a computer.

[5] In 2000, a group of enthusiasts discovered that universal remotes made by UEI and sold under the One For All, RadioShack, and other brands can be reprogrammed by means of an interface called JP1.

Also, some entertainment equipment manufacturers use pulse frequencies that are higher than what the learning remote can detect and store in its memory.

The newest touch-screen remotes, such as the Logitech 900 and 1100, include an RF transmitter to allow signals to reach locations much farther than the usual range of IR (approximately 6 meters).

[6] Smartphones and tablets such as those running Nokia's Maemo (N900), Apple's iOS and Google's Android operating system can also be used as universal remote controls.