Hi Henry,
I bought a Beo5 pretty soon after they came out and have been using it every day since. The only problem (if you want to call it that) would be the fingerprints all over it at the end of every night, but how could they have avoided that? I polish it with a duster a couple of times a week. I would like to have seen a wall mounting option for this remote but its shape wouldn't really accomodate it which I guess is why there isn't that option. I do like the design and often find myself holding onto it rather than putting it down when I am watching TV. Have never fully tested the IR range so can't comment on that. Absolutly fine so far from up to about 10 metres away and cutting around a few corners too.
B&O of Bath programmed it for me. More specifically Chris, who has done a very good job. I do still encounter programming issues but rather than taking it back I will wait for a few months and keep a detailed list of what I want changed so that it can be done all in one go at a later date. This is obviously easier for both the dealer and for myself. Its response time when communicating with the Sky HD box is quite slow and on occasion frustrates me. My experiences to date have shown the Back button to be the most problematic. Sometimes it works when you press it once, most times when you press it twice and at other times it simply doesn't work at all. I assume it should work when pressed once only, as on the original Sky remote. Of course this is a very relevent point because I need it programmed for use with Sky HD and for my specific B&O equipment which will be totally different to someone who wants it to work as part of a different setup and I think this is where its strengths lie in that it is so universal. It is a clever device and I have no problem at all giving it a lot of time to come into its own.
Other problems encountered include the TV displaying a purple screen when switched on. I am sure this is the Beo5 because the TV works fine with the Beo4 and goes straight to the last channel watched or the TV Guide in the Sky menu. I am unable to pause TV using the Stop button with this remote, which I don't like. Obviously you get used to the Beo4 and expect the operation to be similar for the Beo5 but it isn't always that way. Of course, this is probably down to the programming again so its something that could be easily changed (I hope) and this is why its so difficult to give you a detailed review of this device since its going to work completly different in your setup. I guess you should think of it as a little device that does whatever you tell it to, so technically, it should control everything. It's going to take a lot of time and I am guessing that in the near future templates will start to be available to dealers either written by B&O or from third-party sources that can be applied to specific home setups. These would be welcomed times.
There are several other things I could mention that are not quite right but I see them merely as teething problems that I expected and knew about before buying the remote so I am happy. On the whole I would rate this very highly as a remote and I do prefer using it to the Beo4. Is it worth £400? Depends. I traded in a brand new Beo4 boxed remote against it along with a brand new A9 keyring and paid the difference. That justified my purchase but if I didn't have the opportunity to trade then I would have stuck with my Beo4. Although the remote is technically very clever, for me, I would have expected something a bit more 'fancy' for the £400 asking price. The magic B&O gadgetry (such as with the BeoLink 7000 raising up) seems to be a thing of the past on many of their current products. It does have a solid build quality which is always hugely important to me and the Beo5 delivers well here.
Conclusion: Great remote, buy one.
Simon.
