I'm afraid I have to side with URC on this topic. I am a professional installer, so I am sure most of you will say that I am siding with URC because its how I put food on the table. But actually, I truly believe that this is simply a matter of quality control. Like all universal remotes, these remotes are only as good as their programming. If you have a remote that is not programmed to its full potential, and you have company over, that company (who might have been in the market for a new remote) may decide they do not like MX-980s, based solely on your programming. Don't get me wrong, I am sure you can program the remote to control your system. But that does not mean you have programmed the remote to its full potential. I have been programming these remotes for years and still always learn new tricks when I attend a training (and I have been to several from URC). Many features of the remote do not really stand out until you have had a trainer teach you the full potential of those features.  The use of variables and IF ELSE statments seem to be endless.  Even if you were able to create an excellant program on your own, which for all I know, you can, URC simply can not pick and choose which customers to provide the software to on an individual basis.  Imagine the complaints that would fill the forums from those not chosen.  They have to restrict the software to those professionally trained in order to maintain the quality of their product.  I really do feel your pain, but I have to side with URC.  The real crime here is that you were not explained all of this before you bought the remote.