You’ve never seen anything like the Sony NAVITUS A/V remote control. Pick it up and you’ll see your commands displayed in 65,536 dazzling colors. You’ll execute those commands with the tactile feedback of Sony’s TouchEngineâ„¢ screen. And you’ll enjoy the power of fully customizable screens, keys, interfaces and wallpaper thanks to the supplied PC software. With a powerful 200 MHz processor, 32 megabytes of on-board memory, USB interface and a Memory Stick® media slot, this remote is the perfect complement to the most advanced A/V systems. Yet it is so easy to use that advanced A/V systems suddenly become family-friendly.
Intelligent Code Setting and Macro Function
Typical unified A/V remotes require you to look up the manufacturer of your old remotes from a long list  then enter in a three or four-digit code. The NAVITUS remote has a better way. Just beam a signal from your old remote and the NAVITUS remote will figure out the rest. As an option, you can also select from an on-screen list of brands. Macro functions are a series of operations at the touch of one button. Like most unified A/V remotes, the NAVITUS will perform Macro functions. For example, a single touch of a button will turn on the television, DVD player and the A/V receiver; select the proper receiver and television inputs and then trigger DVD playback. But unlike most remotes, the NAVITUS packs 32 megabytes of on-board memory  storage for an enormous library of Macro commands.
Powerful Programming
While the NAVITUS remote is fully functional and complete, you may choose to think of it as a blank canvas. Using the supplied NAVITUS design PC software, you can customize each screen, adding and deleting functions as you see fit. You can import JPEG and BMP images to design and personalize your individual LCD screen. You can choose different “skins,” user interfaces that give each screen a whole new look. You can even enjoy one skin for the grownups and other for the kids. The NAVITUS remote communicates with your PC through the supplied USB interface. Or you can use optional Memory Stick media to carry programs from a personal PC to the NAVITUS controller  a great alternative for custom installers.
Multi-Component Screen
Sony knows that you don’t use one component at a time. For example, when you watch a DVD, you may need to control the DVD player, television and A/V receiver simultaneously. That’s why Sony designed the NAVITUS remote to display the functions of several components at once. And you’re not limited to Sony’s choices. The PC software enables you to customize the NAVITUS remote to your specific needs.
Color LCD Screen
Feast your eyes on 65,536 colors. All your choices will be big, bright and beautiful on Sony’s 3.5 inch Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display. Sony’s 65,536 colors make your keys, your wallpaper images and your graphic interfaces look their best.
Tactile Response Display
Most touch screens are lifeless and inert. It’s often hard to know whether or not your command has even registered. The NAVITUS remote is dramatically different. Imagine an LCD screen that actually presses back against your fingertip to confirm each command. With TouchEngineâ„¢ Technology, you’re operating with confidence.
Zapping Key
In a world of 500 television channels and 400-Disc CD changers, the NAVITUS remote helps you organize your entertainment. The Zapping key lets you flip through selected favorites. For example, you can program one Zapping key for sports channels and another for news. And you can organize your CDs and DVDs for quick and easy Zapping.
Direct Access Buttons
Too often, graphic user interfaces force you to plow through a string of nested menus, just to get to the screen you really want. Sony doesn’t like that any more than you do, so they endowed the NAVITUS remote with Direct Access buttons that take you straight to your choice of screens. And because you can customize each screen, the Direct Access buttons can take you to one screen for kids, another for senior citizens  making your A/V system accessible to everyone.
Jump Function
Using your PC and the supplied NAVITUS Design software, you can program the remote with keys that will jump from one operating screen to another. For example, on the main television control screen, you can add a key to jump directly to a screen with all your Picture-in-Picture keys.
List Screen
If you have a 100, 200 or even a 400-disc changer, you know how important it is to keep track of all your titles. That’s why this remote’s list screens can accommodate Album, Disc Number, Artist and Genre. You can use the Search function to select and play discs - or even create a Zapping key from the list.
I’ve owned 2 of these types of Sony Touch Screen remotes, both averaging around $125-150 new…I can’t see this being a big seller at this price point. I’d pay around $200-250, but not much more. Looks cool though.
