One for All Xsight Lite

The One for All Xsight Lite is a skimmed-down version of the Xsight Colour. It comes with the same promise of being 'so simple, so advanced and so personal' and uses the same system of activities. However, it's cheaper than the Xsight Colour, has a smaller screen and a more 'entry-level' finish.

Design & Handling: flashback plastics

Although it's not quite as imposing as the Xisght Colour, the Xsight Lite it still one pretty big remote control. However, it feels natural to handle, as your thumb falls perfectly on the arrow keys, volume controls and channel-hopping buttons.

The plastics used are sturdy enough but they—and the product as a whole—look little bit retro ... or perhaps just a bit outdated. Although design is clearly a matter of personal taste, we definitely prefer the more modern looking Logitech and Philips remotes.

The Xsight Lite runs on four standard AAA batteries which aren't supplied with the remote—a cost-saving tactic that we find a little bit cheeky. Also note that the buttons aren't backlit or even phosphorescent so it can be tricky to use the Xsight Lite in the dark.

The small colour screen (1.4" / 3.6 cm) is poor quality. It's not particularly bright, is poorly defined and has tight viewing angles—in other words, you need to have it directly in front of you to see it properly.

The screen can be used to display the list of recognised devices or the list of pre-programmed activities (see sidebar). It can also be programmed to display a list of TV channels (3 per page).

Set-up: with a computer or the remote

The remote hooks up to a computer using a micro-USB cable (supplied), like those that come with smartphones. The software is actually a web-based application and is very easy to use.

Not all of the advanced functions we were hoping to find were available in the Xsight Colour. Although you can programme the remote to wait a given amount of time between performing each step of an activity, you can't adjust the amount of time for which the signal is sent. As devices can take varying amounts of time to register a signal, some may not have time to register the command and so won't be turned on or off automatically when requested.

The remote can be programmed to recognise devices in two different ways. First of all, you can look for your device in the One for All database: just choose the type of device, the brand and the model, then the software will automatically configure the remote. You can customise the default device set-up by switching around the functions assigned to certain keys, for example.


The second method is a little more painstaking, as you have to use the device's original remote to assign each of its buttons onto a button of the universal remote. This comes in useful when a device isn't in the One for All database.

One good feature is that you can add new devices directly from the remote, without having to use a computer. Once again, you have the choice of inputting the device's controls manually or searching for it in the manufacturer's database. Here though, the list of pre-programmed devices is unfortunately quite limited.