Remote control is a great idea!  I have a question though ... the TV remote control is all about being lazy right?  Somebody said "I sure would like to sit my ass here on the couch and change the channel without having to move".  HOW DID THAT ATTITUDE ACTUALLY LEAD TO INVENTING THE TV REMOTE?!!

The first TV remote control, called "Lazy Bones," was developed in 1950 by Zenith Electronics Corporation (then known as Zenith Radio Corporation). Lazy Bones used a cable that ran from the TV set to the viewer. A motor in the TV set operated the tuner through the remote control.  Although customers liked having remote control of their television, they complained that people tripped over the unsightly cable that meandered across the living room floor. (ideafinder)

I bet this lazy dude was thinking "When will all this inventing work be finished?  All I wanted to do was be lazy and sit here on the couch ... now I've got this damn cord tripping me up every time I go to the kitchen to get another Twinkie".

The other day I took a look at my coffee table and knew there had to be a better way to switch from TV to a DVD without picking up 4 different remotes (hmmm this looks like a job for bettergetter), so I suited up in my purple, blue and green bettergetter outfit and started the search. 

Well, I found out they have some pretty cool remotes out there these days ... and get this ... they're CORDLESS (I guess lazy man finally got it right).

I found the good peeps over at CNET had already been through the multi-remote fiasco and offered up good research/reviews on a bunch of different universal remotes (it's good to know I am not all alone in my remote woes)  Here's the top five rated:

• Home Theater Master MX-800 RF: 8.5 rating (see review)
• Harmony Remote H659: 8.4 rating (see review)
• Universal Remote URC-300 Customizer: 8.4 rating (see review)
• Universal Remote URC-200 Automator: 8.3 rating (see review)
• Logitech Harmony SST-688 Universal Remote Control (silver): 8.3 rating (see review)

I also found Remote Central to be a great source of remote knowledge.  Those reviews are astounding ... they're not messing around when it comes to remote control ... WE'RE TALKING 10-12 PAGE REVIEWS ON REMOTES!!  GEEZ!!

Here's my take on the thorough review:

I ended up purchasing a Logitech 688 (silver) because its sleek lines and silver brilliance spoke to my inner being and its mid-range price spoke to my mid-range paycheck  ... oh and yes, it was easy to set up and controls my electronic boxes like they are best of friends ... oh, and also the blue glow illumination button is fun to press when it is dark.  How's that for in depth!  By the way, it is nice to see my coffee table with only one remote ... ah, the simple life!

(the above post from www.bettergetter.com has been modified to fit your blogcritics page)