A few months ago I reviewed the weemote 3 from Fobis Technologies. Today it’s time to look at another of their children’s remotes, the weemote DV. The weemote 3 did a great job simplifying TV viewing, but can the weemote DV do the same thing for DVDs?
First Impressions
Picture your average remote: it’s probably black or silver and has a ton of little buttons on it, right? Ok, the weemote DV looks nothing like that. Instead, like the weemote 3, it features a colorful, rounded body and brightly colored buttons. However, it also has a soft rubber ring around its edge that makes it easy to grasp. Finally, there are only nine buttons (Play, Pause, Stop, Ok, Up, Down, Left, Right and (M)enu) on the weemote DV. Removing a screw on the bottom allows you to change batteries and access the three programming buttons.
Setup
Setting up the weemote DV is very simple. Just find your DVD player manufacturer in the instruction manual and enter the matching codes until you find the one that controls your player. If for some reason, you can’t find one that works, don’t worry: unlike the weemote 3, the weemote DV is a true learning remote so you can use your current remote to teach the weemote DV commands for any of its nine buttons. The learning feature also lets you use the weemote DV with devices other than DVD players. For example, you could program it to control a CD player and use the “Up” and “Down” keys for volume.
Testing
I tested the remote with our Sony DVD player. Unfortunately, the first weemote DV we received had a defective LED, making it impossible to program the remote using the codes from the manual. A quick e-mail to Fobis Technologies and a new remote was on the way. In the meantime I was able to use the learning feature (which uses a different LED) to program the weemote using my original Sony remote control. Programming was done by pointing the remotes at each other and following a simple sequence for each button.
Once programmed, the weemote DV worked perfectly. I didn’t notice any difference in performance between it, the factory remote, or our much more expensive universal remote. Next I reprogrammed the remote to work with our cable box and it did a great job controlling on-demand titles or programs recorded with the built-in DVR. However, this setup permitted access to all the cable channels, so I’d still recommend the weemote 3 for TV viewing.
After receiving the replacement remote, I entered the DVD player code from the manual and tried the tests again. This was easier than using the learning feature and I would recommend using this method first as there’s no difference in the weemote DV’s performance when it is programmed using the provided codes versus learning from the original remote.
But how did the weemote DV do with its target audience? My two-year-old took to the weemote DV as quickly as she did the weemote 3. However, because the weemote DV’s buttons send a single command rather than the macros used on some of the weemote 3 buttons, she was able to use it more effectively without having to keep it pointed at the DVD player after each button was released. Finally, she ran the remote through her battery of “drop and step” tests and it handled them all without problem. The weemote DV’s rubber ring seemed to make it easier for her to hold and may have provided a bit of cushioning during the drop tests (I would love to see a similar feature added to the weemote 3).
Once again, my daughter’s testing also pointed out a way to improve the way I had programmed the weemote DV. This time it was the “Stop” button that was causing trouble because it took her out of the DVD menus, requiring me to press “Play” or “Enter” to restart the disc and sit through the FBI warning before I could get her back to her movie. Disabling this button kept her within the DVD menu structure.
Final Thoughts
The weemote DV, like the weemote 3, is a welcome addition to the family room, particularly given it’s $25 suggested price. More and more children’s DVDs are including interactive games and puzzles and this remote is a great way to let your children control their discs without overwhelming them with complex remotes or risking them accidentally changing your player’s settings. And although it really shines with a DVD player, as long as you only need nine buttons, it should work well with other remote-controlled electronics.