At $775 you are still much more than the sub $300 price tag of Harmony Ultimate. Remote/base station/IR blasters. iPad app is free.

And when the blu-ray player model changes...how much to update the harmony system vs the pro-control system?

Again i am not arguing about which is better. I know that the harmony isn't better. I'm arguing that some guy with a $75-100k household income (there are a lot more of them than there are of homes making north of $150k), mortgage and new baby etc isn't going to have the $775 for a professionally programmed remote. Or the $75-300 return trip reprogramming money for when the models change in a couple of years. But...he might be able to squirrel away $279 (what amazon sells the harmony for) for the Harmony Ultimate.

I don't think a Harmony Ultimate for a DIY type is evidence of the race to the bottom. I think its more like when a young guy buys an entry level mustang because he cant afford a Ferrari. I think the Harmony Ultimate remote/system is a good choice for DIY types or lower income households...unlike a monoprice HDMI switch (for example).