Aside from the physical difference, the R40 adds four extra buttons (the colored Favorites buttons) which can be used as extra learning buttons or for storing device-specific macros. The R40 also has the ability to edit macros while the R50 does not. The R50 has a setting to hide screen icons while the R40 does not. The R40 has the ability to move icons around by interchanging it with another existing icon, but i didn't try this on the R50 during the week i had it so i don't know if the R50 has this feature or not.



I wouldn't want to have to count on URC updating anything (or allowing access) or deal with programming via software (i've had two Harmonys that i couldn't get to do what i needed them to do), and since i've been using an MX-500 for several years i really don't mind teaching the remote purely from scratch, so for me the R40 ended up being perfect for me and my needs.

But one of the most glaring omissions on the R40 (and R50) is the lack of a printed or online list of device codes as well as the inability to input said numeric device code directly even if they published them (like we could on the MX-500). Their new slow clunky method of selecting and testing dozens of stored codes one after another in the hope of finding one with a scene that actually matches the original remote is very time consuming and sometimes even maddening. I tried a few dozen codes for my Onkyo AVR and didn't come across one scene that matched my original remote so i gave up and just created my own function icons and taught it everything from the original remote. For Lulz, i scrolled through the onboard list of codes and counted 62 different codes for Onkyo receivers. If i had it to do all over again, i would completely skip trying their onboard codes and just go straight to creating my own devices and function icons, then teach it from my original remotes.