So, in order to make life a bit easier on myself, I decided to take a look at a couple of contenders to the throne of ‘one size fits all’. This particular review deals with the 2^nd Generation of One For All’s Kameleon 4 Universal Remote.

One For All ® are an established brand of replacement remote control handsets, and this version of the Kameleon has a number of changes over it’s prior version.

The main change you will immediately notice is the design. The first iteration of the Kameleon had black top and bottom, with the remainder in silver. The current version has a bright chrome look, and added hard buttons/keys for the menu, channel and volume operations, as well as the Fastext keys (Red, Green, Yellow, Blue). The original design was totally touch membrane for every function.

It’s also noteworthy that the Gen 2 Kameleon has added the control codes for Freeview users, which for some will be quite pertinent. Equally, for some early adopters of DVD Recorders, this and the Kameleon 6 and 10 units should be able to handle those types of devices, but it’s best to contact One For All to make sure your particular brand has been coded. 

In use, this universal remote is quite easy to set up, and modify if needed. It’s not entirely a perfect replacement, as I can attest to with my Panasonic VCR. Whilst the codes provided do work the basic of functions, my particular model (NV-FJ710) has specific functions that One For All seem to have simply glossed over. Even after contacting them, and praise goes to them on their quickness to reply, they have not been able to provide me with additional codes that offer anything over and above what the ones already provided in the users manual has. From that perspective, I am quite a bit disappointed. On a slightly negative angle, the hard leys initially suffer from sticking, and never really seem to loosen up even after prolonged usage. They also sound and feel clunky by comparison to the rest of the design, which uses the Electro Luminous membrane to highlight the keys that are functional for the chosen device.

It is this element of the remote’s design that really catches your eye and heart, but to a degree, that will depend on how well it replicates the device it’s replacing. The less it does, the less its ‘beauty’ compensates for the missing functions, no matter how little usage they normally receive. 

Aside from that, the Kameleon is incredibly easy to use and can just as easily be modified if you have the original remote, to read the IR (infra-red) code being transmitted for a given function. There are 3 buttons at the bottom of the membrane labelled A-C, which you can assign any function you want to them. In the case of my VCR, they have been set for display, reset, and cancel.

One of the major benefits of the Kameleon and its like, is the facility to have volume present in all device menus – e.g. you’ve selected VCR or DVD to watch something, so, in order to avoid the hassle of switching between devices to lower/raise volume or mute the TV if a phone call is received, you can simply set the remote control to have the volume and mute buttons active across all the devices. Similarly, you can create macros – a single button press to have a number of commands transmitted one after the other. For instance, you could devise a macro that powers on the VCR, the TV (from standby mode most likely), change to the VCR channel, and starts playback on the VCR.

Equally, should you use this remote for a bedroom set-up, you can have a timer off-mode such that if you fall asleep whilst watching the TV, the remote will turn off the TV after a preset timer has counted down to 0 minutes. 

I should also point out that another plus point of the Gen 2 Kameleons is the added recharge cradle it now has – possibly taken from their touchscreen Mosaic remote, made a number of years back to take on the Philips Pronto – a good, and expensive, programmable remote control, but one which plague me with reliability issues. The Mosaic never really matched the Pronto’s customisation of the display icons, but at least it was reliable!

The operation of the recharger works such that the Kameleon, with the rechargeable battery pack, slips into the cradle vertically - reminding me of the B&O BeoCom 2 telephone that stands similarly, as opposed to the run-of-the-mill inclined position

Speaking of batteries – the Kameleon 4 uses 2 AA/LR6 type and even with one month heavy usage and setting up, etc., and extending the screen timeout to 16 seconds, from the default of 8, they are showing no signs of needing replaced. When they do, the remote will flash the IR indicator 5 times after each key press. At this point, it would be wise to go out and get some more, if you don’t already have replacements in the drawer where you normally keep them, as I guess only 1 or 2 days worth of usage remains before it ceases functioning at all. How long learned codes or the set-up remains stored in memory for at this pint is unknown, but I wouldn’t want to wait more than 48 hours before putting new batteries into it. 

Comparison specs between the original Kameleon and the current generation are provided, with the Gen 2 listed first.

·       Operates up to four devices of any brand, including TV, VCR, DVD and SAT/Cable
(including Freeview Boxes)

·       Macro functionality enables any sequence of commands to be performed from a single button for the ultimate in ‘one touch’ convenience

·       Includes learning feature to add extra functions from original remote

·       Screen activates when touched and unique Electro Luminous display shows only the keys you need

·       Special features include: menu, teletext, fastext, adjustable screen timeout

·       Ergonomic and stylish design with matte blue display

·       Features hard keys for Menu operation and Channel and Volume operation

·       Rechargeable (battery charger available separately) 

Original

·       Operates up to four devices of any brand, including TV, VCR, DVD and SAT/CBL

·       Macro keys enable any sequence of commands to be performed from a single button for the ultimate in 'one-touch' convenience

·       Using our proprietary learning capability, you can add a function from another remote and assign it to a key of their choice

·       Intuitive screen animations for highlighting mode indications and various remote operations add a fun element during operation

Overall, for the money -£50, it’s hard not to whole-heartedly recommend the Kameleon 4 or it’s bigger brother, the 6, as it is a very attractive remote control with a readily usable interface that even a child could grasp in a matter of hours. Where it ultimately falls down for me, is the lack of customisation beyond 3 user configurable keys. If there were a way of gaining access to the upper menu options on each device, then it would be my favoured contender for universal remote of the decade. If there was a way of being able to send One For All the IR codes via a provided USB IR receiver so that they could provide a fully featured device set-up, then I’d be more than happy to suggest nearly everyone looking for a universal remote control need look no further.

I hope that those at One For All ® are listening and reading this with interest, and that this could be realised for a  Gen 3 version of the Kameleon Universal Remote.

As it is, if you can live with any limitations you may have for a particular device, then you will enjoy using this remote, and save on having to have a constant supply of different sized batteries for each of the individual remote controls you currently use to watch TV, DVDs, or Video recordings. Even more so, if you opt for the rechargeable battery pack and recharge cradle.

Review by - PJ Skelton

Published - 05/06/2005

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