I just ordered my 9800i and I thought it might be helpful for folks to hear what a general consumer and HT novice thinks about it. Once it comes in I will update this posting, but I thought I’d start with a little bit on my background.

I don’t consider myself a tech expert, although I am what friends and family might call tech savvy. I consider myself above an above average consumer. I generally rely on the expertise of the magazine writers and industry types who see all of these products on a daily basis to do my research. Lately however as my taste have changed and I have moved into the territory of higher end equipment, I have looked more to the thoughts and opinions of regular everyday consumers who live with these products day in and day out. Especially since very few of the products I want or need can be had locally. There is only so much BestBuy or Circuit City carry. It is my hope that by reviewing this product myself I can help someone else who is on the fence as to whether or not make the same decisions I did.

Remote Experience
As most people, my experience with remote controls has been overwhelming, but at the same time limited. After moving into a new home, my living room/ theater end-table is a collection of various little plastic sticks with buttons on them. Last count there were 7 different remotes. Something that both my wife and I agree on is there had to be a better way. It was time to go Universal.
Over the last couple of years I have used both the Harmony and Pronto series remotes. I loved my Pronto TSU 3000, and the 1000 before that. Both had custom made menus I created using a variety of image and layouts from this website. My decision to buy a Harmony brand remote came when I moved in with my wife, (then fiancée) about a year ago and at the same time built my first HTPC running Windows MCE. At that time I was either to lazy, or simply to tired of moving to reprogram my Pronto with this new device and the other devices that went along with the union of two house holds. With the Harmony, I just plugged the remote into my laptop, got on Logitecs website and wham, was done. I must admit however that even though the Harmony worked, I still found myself reaching for that TV remote to make fine adjustments, or the DVD remote to access special player features; over all however I was happy.
Fast forward a year and you find my new bride and I in a new home. After two months of unpacking, and Home Theater upgrading (or downsizing as I call it), I finally got around to reprogramming my remotes. After about an hour working with the Pronto I realized that the old black and white screen didn’t seem to cut it. Also, I was having a hard time getting it to control my media server. I next moved onto the Harmony, but during a routine Bios update, the remote locked up and I haven’t been able to get it to work. After a couple of days of research and several more of negotiation (it isn’t easy to convince the wife she needs a $500 remote control) I ordered my 9800i, what I hope will be the last remote I buy for a while. We will see……

Current System Specs
My Current Home Theater and equipment that I am hoping the 9800i will control is as follows.
•Display: Mitsubishi model#52727 – 52-inch DLP television
•Receiver: Harman Kardon AVR-525 – 7.1 Surround Receiver
•Speakers: Monitor Audio Radius 180 L/C/R & Radius 90 Side Surround, B&W Ceiling in Rear
•Source1: DirecTV HR-10 HD Sat Receiver
•Source2: Samsung DVD – HD941 Upconverted DVD player
•Source3: Parasound CD/P1000 – CD Transport
•Source4: Pinnacle Showcenter 200 – Media Streaming Device
•Source5: Polk Audio XM Satellite Receiver
•Source5: Microsoft Xbox
•Additional devices: Harman AB-1 ABUS Volume/ Multi-Room remote eyes throughout house. Multi- room Audio via A-Bus and standard speaker wires.

Expectations
My expectations for this device are probably a little too high. I have been disappointed in the past with similar products but hope this one will be different. If this device can allow me to control all my devices in my A/V cabinet, as well as change inputs on my TV which is necessary for some of my sources, and again access files on my Server PC and play them through the ShowCenter I will be a happy camper. I also am hoping that setup will go smoothly, eventhough I did enjoy setting up and design my custom menus on the Pronto, I have sort of outgrown this experience and will be happy with just being able to control everything from one box. Oh, and did I mention, “wife friendly”. If my wife can come into the room, pick it up and watch TV at least without me… that is a major plus…. Or is it? 

Closing
I am expecting to receive my 9800 any day now. As I start to setup my system for her I will post my thoughts on the process and the easy of using the device. I am hoping that it won’t only allow me to control my “legacy” devices, but give me new abilities and functions related to my Media Server and the Pinnacle Showcenter, which is supposedly UPnP compatible. Over the next few days as I wait for it to arrive, I will be setting up my WiFi Router in anticipation for the 9800. Even though I have a hardwired network in this house, the concept of utilizing a remote over WiFi is intriguing, intriguing enough to dust off my wireless network.

I will repost additional information later….