Hello Experts,

I picked up an mx-450 & mrf-260 combo off ebay. I also grabbed a couple of the URC (Lutron) RF dimmers.

Dummy me, I assumed in this day and age their would be software to manage a nice shiny combo like this. After all, even the lowliest Harmony has software. However all I see is an archiver program.

Is that correct? Am I missing something?

Thanks!

-JW

The MX-450 is onboard programming only. It's basically the deluxe version of the R50, which you can read a review of here: [Link: remotecentral.com]

What a piece of garbage. A $200 remote that you can't program using a computer? Do they realize how pathetic that is in this day and age? Hell, I'll be controlling my xbmc htpc with an Android tablet via 802.11, and that's an infinitely more technical piece of hardware for $160.

I haven't bought the new receiver yet, but I was already looking at the VSX-1021-K. I can just control that over IP as well, with a far nicer interface than any of these remotes.

I'll just ebay this garbage. That's simpler than wasting the money on better URC remote to, maybe from a friendly installer (WTF!), get the software to program it.

It took 10 minutes to program my harmony 880 to do anything I need in my other room. I should have gone with one of those. The lighting control got me down this rabbit hole. Hopefully I can teach that to talk to these over-priced dimmers...

The URC dimmers are RF. So no-go with the Harmony.

Have you actually tried programming the MX-450? It's really not difficult, computer connection or not, and if you're the kinda guy that likes greater control over how your remote operates, the MX-450 is actually more versatile than any Harmony.

the whole point of it is that you don't need a computer to program it.  URC has plenty PC programmable remotes.  This model just fills a need.  Next time do some research before you spend your money and you won't be so disappointed.

I have no motivation to do macros directly on the control itself. It should be able to do both. Everything I've seen indicates the whole point is to force you to go to a more $$$ remote to get software, when the competition offers it for 1/8th the cost. I did do my research, enough to go RF with matching control. Just as when people buy a new car and expect it to have wheels, they expect a $200+ remote to have software. It's basic functionality.

I'll ebay the dimmers as well as the remote and MRF-260. I ordered a Harmony 900 for $245, a hair more than the 450, am RF repeater for $75 less than the 260, and three Leviton RF Z-Wave dimmers for $10 cheaper/each than the Lutrons. Should have gone that direction in the 1st place since it's easy and cheaper- I was just trying to go with a fancier solution that turned out to suck. I'll check for wheels ahead of time next time.

That's the spirit! Crappier stuff for about the same amount of money! And all because you didn't read the specs! Enjoy your junk!

Ha, competition, right. The only thing similar about a Harmony and pretty much ANY URC remote, is that its called a remote. Thats about where the similarities stop. What a moron though. Honestly. Bought a good remote that didn't fit what he was looking for. You would think if he would have at some point thought to himself, hmm, if this remote costs $200, and URC's other remotes cost $400, or $600, or well over $1000, that just maybe it is their entry level remote with some less features. With that said, the MX450 runs circles around any Harmony out there. And his car analogy is just plain stupid. Its more like you go to buy a car, and it turns out it is only FWD. All cars should have AWD obviously so anything without it is pure junk.

 the mx780 would have been a good alternative for this guy.  when his harmony craps out on him, maybe he will be back to complain about not being able to get URC software from his ebay purchase.

A whole $200!! Hey big spender.

You know when he is looking for new wheels for the car it's Walmart all the way!

Yes, go buy the Harmony!

When it breaks, buy another Harmony!

And repeat, repeat, repeat!

Research????? What does the remote do?

From the URC consumer website under "MX-450 - Feature and Benefit Summary"
[Link: universalremote.com]


Specify MX-450’s for secondary rooms and areas.There is a very strong
demand for lower priced controllers to operate modest priced home
theaters and secondary rooms in larger installations, such as master
bedrooms, studies and kitchens. Many dealers do not provide all of
their installers with laptops, thus making in-home remote control
programming by a PC equipped programmer a bottleneck to production. As a result, dealers utilize remotes that program standalone, without a PC. Installers forced to setup these standalone
programming remotes are often frustrated in any attempt to
make the remote automate the system using macros.

View and Edit Macros on Screen
Macro programming is a critical function for delivering a specific
sequence of commands to a variety of components in order to
provide clients with an easy to use system. In all past standalone
programmed remotes, installers were faced with the challenging
task of programming macros without being able to modify their
work on the fly. Thus, if one step is wrong in the macro (for
example, one delay is too short); the entire macro had to be
deleted and completely re-programmed.
Until now, that is. The MX-450's most revolutionary feature is
Macro Editing. This has never been seen before in a standalone programmed remote. At last, the programmer can see the actual macro
steps clearly displayed on the remote controls' screen. Fine tuning, reordering, adjusting delays and adding steps to the macros can nowbe
done without deleting previous work!

Don't confuse us with facts please.

Took all of about 30 seconds to find that excerpt. Gotta wonder what "research" was done other than ebay price. I know we talk about these things a lot, but I just wanted to see if the info was easily available to the consumer. Turns out, at least in this case, it is.

Enjoy your downgrade!