If you don't notice latency in the MX-980's RF transmission then you're not paying close enough attention or you're using it in a situation where it really doesn't matter. It's there and is not a one-off issue. I suppose that it's possible a certain batch of MX-980's have a different board design where this is an issue and some don't, but this is highly unlikely.

It's going to be much more noticeable in an interactive situation and affects some protocols more than others, due to the content being transmitted. But it's there even when using triggers, so it's impossible to get rid of it completely.

The REC button is a 20th century convention and I'm surprised it's finding its way back to some newer remotes. URC in fact got it right by leaving it off the MX-980.

About the only thing being used today that has recording capability is a DVR. ANd I have yet to see a DVR where you can't press the ENTER (or similar) button to pop up an list of options to allow recording or scheduling.

It's really like investing time/energy/dollars in putting a phono stage in a modern pre-pro. It's a complete waste of time. :)

Then again, you can pretty much get rid of the numbers on most remotes too. It's a shame about the RGBY buttons, but not so much that they're missing from an older universal, but that they're showing up on more poorly designed devices today.

They're completely superfluous on every device that uses them and a perfect example of a UX designed by someone who doesn't understand simplicity nor the needs of their customers. Ask a color blind person which button looks more "red" of the four... Any design that relies solely on color for differentiation is a failure.

It figures that when Europe finally ditches Teletext (the original use for these buttons), North America cable co's start specifying them on their boxes. In terms of OEM remotes, more buttons is worse, not better. I wonder when some of these companies will figure this out. They haven't remedied it with the release of BluRay which is still about as backwards as DVD as far as remote design goes. Oh well.

Stick with the MX-980 if you don't need/want 2-way, just be aware of its (and CCP's) quirks and bugs.