Ah, true, the right buttons are easier to press, but the MX-850 gives you more. I think I'd miss them, as for most of my devices, 10 is a good number without page flipping, 7 is a bit too few.

Maybe it's the fact that I've used the MX-700-850's for a long time, but I just can't get used to the feel of the MX-900. Give me the circular number buttons, rocker channel/volume buttons, and the info button directly above the thumbpad any day!

Funny thing is the 900 is the exact same cost. I like the 900 because it loads in 3 seconds flat. The light is alot better at night. Since you are only using a few sources, the 900 is the better choice. Since URC made a better RF base station, the 850 cannot use this upgraded RF and pretty much left in the dust for inproving the RF part of the remote.

BNC

THAT is SO true... and is the SOUL reason i usually spec the 900 where applicable.
The MRF-350 with the Phionex connection is a great performer with the Narrowband RF reciever mounted behind the TV with cat5 running back to the rack.... too bad the 850 cannot use the narrow band!!

Guys,
The 850 is now narrowband, as well as the MX-350. This was a running design change and most of the remotes in distribution are already the new units.

i knew the mrf-350 was narrow band... but i wasn't aware of the 850 was also... thats good news.

$50 is causing you to make the decision? Why did you even ask the question? You already made up your mind.

You just need to make sure that wherever you buy it confirms that it is indeed a later model with the narrowband RF.

Even the MX-650 has been upgraded to narrow band RF. I believe for the 850/650/350 the manufacturing date has to November 2006 or newer.

Thanks, everyone for the responses. I decided on the MX-900.

Good choice, I am sure that you will be happy with it.

Dave T.

You won't regret it! :-)

I have two, and I love 'em!

There are a couple of big advantages to the older MX-850 platform vs. the MX-900 from the user's point of view.
One big sore spot for me was the poor battery life on the MX-900.
It would go through AAA's in slightly less than a month.
Almost as power hungry as my SUR-47.
The MX-850 definitely has better ergonomics and tactile key feel. I can easily find the keys in the dark by feel, and it has much better battery life than the MX-900.
That's probably why the MX-500/700/800 platform has been around so long.
The MX-900's tiny, rectangular keys are almost impossible to find without using the backlight in a darkened room.
From the CI point of view, the MX-900 is definitely an upgrade, and downloads and uploads lightning fast.
But, from the user's point of view, most are going to program it once, but have to live with the remote on a daily basis for years.
Poor battery life and keys that are hard to find by tactile feel would bother me tremendously on a day to day basis.
It wouldn't last a week in my home theatre room, as I would be cursing it, and choking it to death, regretting having bought it.

I don't know ButtonHead...I've found that once my Thumb finds a "home position...its not to long before I can slide around to other buttons, regardless of how they feel.

I'll know soon enough. The Onkyo universal remote this replaces has been with us for 8 years, same form factor as the 900 just different buttons and layout.

I did stop at Circuit City yesterday and played with the RF20 buttons. Not too bad, but the 850 is considerably larger, is it not?

I can assure you I've had the same experience with 3 different MX-800s. So far the MX-900 is doing no worse then them... :-)

Ergonomically, I find I keep hitting SKIP+ when I intended to hit FFW, but otherwise I've been finding the keys all right.