Albert- I use a Sony Rm-VL610 universal learning remote to control my system. You can program it so that the volume functions control an amp/receiver etc. But the channel buttons control your tv or cable box. It's only $30 and so far it has proven to be a pretty good one remote solution for my system.
My only complaint is that it's preprogrammed panasonic tv codes did not work well with the S1 and I had to learn commands from the tv remote. Not a big deal really though. If you have more $$ to spend there are other remotes that use USB to get codes from your computer, which sounds easier to me.
Mark