Since the dawn of time man has wandered the globe in a quest to make watching TV easier. Why stand every time you want to change the channel, adjust the volume, or switch to an alternate input? The holy grail of this journey has undoubtedly been the universal remote control. We each have probably five or six controllers kicking around for various electronic doodads, so wouldn't it just be easier to roll them all into one? NYKO thought so; that's where the Xbox 360 Intelligent Remote comes in.

If you own an Xbox 360 and are using the system to watch DVDs or whatnot you need to use a remote control. Well ok, you don't "need" to. The 360 controller has all of the functionality of the remote but it's nowhere near as convenient. To avoid clutter you need to find a universal remote that will work on both the 360 and your TV (or something else with an infrared signal). There are some options on the market such as the Logitech Harmony Advanced for example, but NYKO's product is significantly more affordable.

The Intelligent Remote operates on two AAA batteries and is compatible with the Xbox 360 right out of the package. The buttons for the 360 are displayed towards the top of the controller with the bottom being the section used to operate your other electronics. With a simple press of a button the controller springs to life thanks to a pale green back light that illuminates the buttons.

In order to get the controller to work with equipment other than your Xbox 360 there is a fair bit of programming involved. The instructions are very simple in this regard though. Press the "set up" button and position the Intelligent Remote so that it's facing a controller for the object you wish to use it for. About an inch apart will do. Press a button on the Intelligent Remote; any button will do, and press the corresponding button on the other controller. That's pretty much it.

Unfortunately while the set up is definitely easy the process can become very tedious; especially when it doesn't work. I had to try multiple times to get the Intelligent Remote to read the signal that I was trying to send it. Sometimes it would work and other times it wouldn't for whatever the reason (I'm thinking stubbornness). After a while of having the information saved on the Intelligent Remote the controller stopped responding. I figured it had something to do with the batteries because the back light wasn't even on, so I changed them. It worked again for a few minutes but flaked out on me so I changed the batteries yet again. After four pairs of brand new batteries the Intelligent Remote finally decided to stop being annoying.

If you're anything like me then you're used to using the controller to navigate menus and explore options that are present in a DVD or stereo component. The Intelligent Remote handled the simple tasks fine but in all honesty it became rather cumbersome when it came time to put it to the test. Button placement wasn't convenient and in some cases the options just didn't comply with what I wanted. Still, the remote functioned as it was intended to; just a little more simply than I anticipated.

If you're in the market for a universal remote that works well with the Xbox 360 then the Intelligent Remote is a viable option. It's not the most attractive remote control that I have ever seen and it's certainly not the most convenient. This controller's strengths are its affordability, ease of programming, and simplicity. If you don't mind using the remote that came with your 360 console and the already established ones for your TV or whatnot then there's no reason to swap out. This is on the market only as an option for users looking for universal remotes and it's a fairly decent option at that.