As they all look similar I kept on getting confused and frustrated turning on the TV, switching on the digital box, even controlling the volume was an unnecessary inconvenience. So, what do you do when you have too many remotes?

After finding the perfect spot to store the controls, with four little compartments to separate them, the first thing I tried was to make labels to paste onto each of the controls. That was actually helpful since it stopped me from hurling the DVD remote across the room when I really needed the speaker remote. But it didn't help the confusion of switching between the various appliances. I then wrote out the instructions and the step by step commandsin sequencefor the many variations that I may need to use, i.e. TV to DVD back to TV etc. which needless to say only caused more confusion when the pages got spilt on, torn and ultimately, lost.

I then looked into the possibility of a universal control. I figured there must be one that can control all the appliances which would certainly make my life much easier. These devises are really quite cool. They were mostly designed to control different brands of appliances (mainly televisions) and not really for different types of appliances. However, some can control a VCR, DVD, TV and audio within one controller but they generally have to be all the same brand.

This brought me on to my next move, which was quite drastic. I decided that in order to improve my sanity I needed to find a completely new home entertainment system, one with everything built-in. It's possible to buy what's known as a theatre-in-a-box system which incorporates numerous invaluable appliances. Panasonic does a great one called the SC-BT200 BluRay disc Home Theatre System. It includes all the important features I mentioned earlier and you can even access audio and video from your iPod. It's really good value for money. It actually works out cheaper than buying everything separately and is much more convenient. And best of all, one remote controls all!

In the end, I acquired a great +Flat+Screen+TV/LCD+TV/LCD+TV+Overview/2526851/index.html" 50" TV that came with state-of-the-art, built in sound system and DVD player. I can also access the internet and play games as my games console connects up perfectly. And best of all, one remote to fit all. Perfect! These theatre-in-a-box systems are improving all the time, now you can even get one with a +Flat+Screen+TV/LCD+TV/LCD+TV+Overview/2526851/index.html" HDTV . So less hassle, no stress, just enjoy.