Let me try to clarify the "firm/soft" issue. This was something I discovered completely by accident, it's possible users will have to find it out for themselves as well.

The twelve component selection buttons (which change the remote to the new component) can also have an additional command "learned" to them, say the device's power button (probably a bad idea) or the command that switches the receiver to the new input. So when you push VCR1 both the remote and the the amp switch to VCR1.

I discovered, completely by accident, that this button seems to have an interesting feature (or possibly what may be considered a defect). If you push the button "normally", the remote changes modes and then sends out the "learned" command to switch the amp to the proper input. I found that if you push the button "softly and quickly" the remote will switch the the new mode HOWEVER THE LEARNED COMMAND WILL NOT BE TRANSMITTED. This is very handy when you're trying to joggle between two VCRs and don't want the amp to be switching around, yet still want the convenience of auto-switching during normal use.

The problem is, describing and using "softly and quickly" is very hard, like describing color to a blind person. The best I can suggest is that you try new ways of pushing the system control buttons. You may think that the button push didn't register, since the command isn't sent out, however the remote itself does indeed switch to the new component. This same button technique doesn't appear to work with other tactile buttons, such as volume.