Originally posted by BobZoom:

Is it really necessary to get the live updates?
The URC300 got nice reviews on Amazon. But it's a button pushing exercise. I'd much rather push keys on a keyboard.

Originally posted by Dr_JB:
mm_half3 and gonk,

thank you, both, for the response and information.

If, by programming, you mean computer programming, using computer language, I'd be lost. I have no experience with computer program language. Is this what's involved?


John

When I originally learned all of my remotes' commands into the MX-500, there were a few buttons whose behavior changed, most notably the volume control – buttons that would work continuously when pressed down on the original remote sent only a single brief signal when depressed on the MX-500, requiring the button to be pressed repeatedly to achieve the same effect as holding it down. This initially only affected volume control for the Model 950, and rather than find a solution I simply adapted my behavior to the quirk. When I got the Yamaha DVD-S1500 DVD player more than a year after getting the MX-500, however, I needed to find a way to fast forward and rewind with the MX-500 – the S1500's fast forward and rewind controls were tied in with the track forward/back buttons and required those buttons to be held down for a few seconds. This led me to a discovery: when learning a function to a button, hold down the button being taught until the MX-500 is done. This will allow the MX-500 to send a continuous signal when the button is held down, which is very handy for large scale volume adjustments and is essential for making the S1500 fast forward and rewind. On some previous learning remotes I've found that this technique would make fine control (like slight volume control changes) nearly impossible, but the MX-500 is much better behaved and has not exhibited any control problems on buttons learned in this manner.