One remote to rule them all, here are three that aim to give you power over your television and much more:

Logitech Harmony One remote control
The idea, for those not in the know about Harmony, is that you list all your home entertainment kit, find it in an online database from the company and then connect your remote control to your computer to save all the hassle of trying to get your old remote to talk to your new one.

Where the system rises above your average all-in-one remote controls is that it also works with macros and gives you one button press options like Watch a DVD - pressing said button will do everything it needs to: turn your amp to the right setting, the TV to the right channel and so on.

Of course the downside to all this is that you have to have a PC and have installed and gathered all your information before you can get going with the remote control - something that Logitech suggest could take up to 30 minutes.

Setup was easy and the ability to update via an online database means that you are likely to never have to worry about finding your piece of kit. That said, the Harmony One remote control is not without faults and as we found in testing the remote didn’t work perfectly every time.

Philips Prestigo SRU 8015 remote control
Philips has come up with something a little different in the Prestigo SRU 8015 remote control though, which offers a number of improvements over conventional methods.

You will find 25 preloaded categories to choose from, each of which sports an icon for easy recognition, and can control up to 15 at any one time. Scrolling through these on the remote control, or indeed any part of the menu system, is done via a mechanical circular control wheel, which is also used to select an active device during normal operation.

Philips scores full marks for setup and adaptability with the SRU 8015 remote control, but is not quite as usable as we would hoped due to the operation and position of the circular control wheel. You get used to this to an extent, but it is still a problem that is big enough to prevent it setting a new standard in high-end all-in-ones.

Gumbody Light Digital 6 remote control review
You will find the rather chunky remote control offers control for up to 6 devices, and features an effective yet conventional layout that offers all of the expected support for common digital receivers such as Freeview and Sky plus.

As expected there are a variety of ways to learn IR codes and program your devices. More common codes from mainstream manufacturers such as Sky, NTL, Freeview and Apple are printed separately for speedy setup; otherwise your next best bet is to visit the Gumbody site to look up the specific make and model before typing them into the remote control.

You can pick up the Gumbody Light 6 for just 29.99 GBP, quite reasonably priced for a remote control of this nature. The Gumbody Light Digital 6 is well designed, great to use and reasonably priced, making it one of the most appealing all-in-ones we have used to date.

Shaun Parker is an expert on remote controls and provides impartial advice on all aspects of audio visual technology.

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