joetag:

I've looked at the Universal Remote (good name for a company!) products.  They're pricey (from around $450 for their MX-900 to $1,000 for the MX-3000) but they look like they'll do the trick.  The one I think would fit the bill is the MX-980.

Anyone own any of these?  Are they easy to program? The manufacturer doesn't seem all that "end user" friendly; their website makes a lot of references to "your professional installer".  Any help, opinions, etc. would be welcome. So would alternatives.

Hi Joe,

I have a URC MX-700, a predecessor to the ones you mention. I've had it for about four years, with no problems with the hardware.

The first thing that I will note is that the company is very end-user unfriendly. In my mind they absolutely hate the end user and don't want to be bothered by us. The only support you'll get is from your "authorized dealer," so make sure you find one who will give you the programming software (with automatic IR database updating) and updates, forever, who you trust. The AVS Forum has several listings of good dealers.

I, of course, bought mine from Amazon which is one of my favorite retailers since I first used them in 1997. They really didn't like that, but after many attempts and effort, they did provide me with the auto-updating MX-700 programming software. The database isn't updated very frequently, but that's fine as it is a learning remote and I don't update my gear that frequently either.

I love the MX-700. I really dislike working with the manufacturer. That is why I still use it and have never bought any of their other products; I just plain don't trust them. I like watching their new product releases and saying to myself "yet another URC product I cannot bring myself to purchase," just like I don't purchase any DRM-ridden software or media. It's just not worth the hassle.

Regarding the Harmony: I had one I got some time after the URC in order to try to replace the URC due to my distaste for their customer service. There is absolutely no candle. I could not stand the Harmony. I hated the "stateful" nature of the device, and I didn't like how it pretty much forced you into working the way it wants you to use it. The URC is great; you can program it to work just like the Harmony (with the exception of statefulness, although I understand the 900 series has statefulness) if you want, which I didn't. I have every button that I use regularly put on the 10 LCD screen buttons (actually there end up being only 8 on my "main" page), and every button that I use infrequently on other pages. I can cross devices at my leisure, make macros to turn on a few things and select modes, etc. I think the URC is a much better product for who I am (a control freak hands-on software engineer, probably). 

Cheers!