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Topic:
URC Buyers Beware. Not just DIY shoppers
This thread has 8 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Thursday June 5, 2014 at 00:37
greyleopard66
Lurking Member
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June 2014
5
You may have read the sticky about how URC doesn"t support DIY customers purchasing the Complete Control Products. If you purchase URC products from a dealer or installer, the same issues apply to you too.

I've spent thousands of dollars on URC products purchased from their dealers and have wasted dozens of hours trying to resolve problems. I purchased from URC's Texas dealer Home Entertainment. Home Entertainment was purchased by a company called Tweeter. I also purchased products from Tweeter. These companies no longer exist. When i purchased my MX-3000, MRF devices, and multiple MX-850s, they were sold as consumer products. They were NOT dealer only installed products. URC DID directly support end customers with live updates to the software.

At some point they decided to change that sales model and manage it through dealers. Can you imagine buying an Apple computer or iphone from Circuit City; and then have Apple tell you they won't support you once Circuit City went out of business? Or even worse, tell you to find a store who will agree to help you?

For over a decade this is what thousands of URC customer have delt with. A google search will confirm this.

In the past, you could at least provide part numbers or serial numbers to prove your remotes were genuine, not anymore. They must assume everyone has a fake. Which begs the question, are there dealers so disreputable that they are selling their stock on the grey market? Is URC's sales and operations that poorly managed? Or is it that the OEMs building these remotes are duping URC completely and selling their products.

Imagine again, you purchase a universal remote to control all your equipment. Then 4 years later, you buy a new piece of equipment. Then you program the changes into into your editing software. But you cant download it into the remote due to some incompatability issues etc... Next, you go online and begin the long and tedious process of trying to debug it. You buy multiple USB to Serial adapters, but that doesn't work. You go through a rediculus precedure such as the following:

"I find the MX850 must be done this way, and then it ALWAYS works:
*connect adaptor
*connect MX850
*open editing program
*try to download
*when it fails, change the port to something or other, not 1
*try to download
*when it fails, change the port to 1
*enjoy your success
*if you disconnect the MX850 after this, expect to repeat this process"


That didn't work. Then you try this and many other things on a totally different computer. Failure again. You really want to throw the whole thing in the garbage, but at nearly $400 per remote, that's not an option. You continue to call URC. They refuse to provide any assistance and tell you: "Go find one of our dealers and ask nicely, and maybe they will sell it to you." This is the same software you already paid for, and still have on those old disk drives you pulled from no longer fuctioning Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista machines you owned.

Now imagine going through this every few years when you buy new equipment. By the way, adding new devices in MX Editor is simple. A child could do it. In fact, children today learn more about software and code than the so called professional installers. Tradesman and so called installers say they need to be protected. Wow, wouldn't it be nice if we all had protected jobs.

I'm sure this will anger some people. Sorry, but buyers need to know the truth.

Some may try to argue my points, but the reality is, it shouldn't be this hard for any customer to use a product he's paid for. Period

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH URC!!!!


 
Post 2 made on Thursday June 5, 2014 at 01:45
Lowhz
Senior Member
Joined:
Posts:
April 2012
1,168
You know, I've been a URC retailer, rep, distributor or programmer for about 14 years now. I've earned thousands of dollars using their product and I love it.

I remember when the MX500, MX600, MX700RF, MX800RF, MX850, and MX3000 were sold in my retail store. They included a CD in the box to install the software and you could program it yourself or you could pay me to do it. Remember, I've earned THOUSANDS from guys like you with URC. At some point all products become obsolete. I won't work on 3000s or 850s even though they are both still sold by URC. I leave those for other guys to agonize over.

If you can't figure it out, hire a pro who has dealt with all the issues in the past. I've paid the money, I've spend many hours in classes and I am the very first layer of tech support for the product. URC exists to support ME when there is truly an issue. If you don't want to hire a pro then enjoy using your old MX850 with your new Sony BD player remote. You can tape them together back to back for convenience.

In the meantime I request that Daniel Tonks lock and delete this thread since an enduser calling the whaaaambulance and slagging a product and manufacturer because they can't figure it out is detrimental to my industry and income.
Post 3 made on Thursday June 5, 2014 at 10:36
goldenzrule
Loyal Member
Joined:
Posts:
July 2007
8,470
It's ironic you use Apple as an example to compare against. Apple makes their products obsolete after, in some cases, half the amount of time you've mentioned. Try loading any new apps on a iPad1. Try updating a Macbook from 2007 with the latest OS. Some computers from 2007 and newer cannot run an OS new enough to run a version of iTunes new enough that will synch with an iTouch device. It's technology, you move on.

You are asking a company to support a product that is 10+ years old. You are also asking a company to support end users on products that are sold as a dealer only product. Does it suck that you bought a product over a decade ago (or in technology year, similar to dog years, over a century ago) and now have compatibility issues? Sure, but it IS technology. Things change.

It amazes me that people continue to come here and b1tch about a $400 remote they bought eons ago and expect the world to bend over backwards for them to make it work, yet the same people have no problem replacing their cell phone every two years to get the latest and greatest. Makes NO sense!!!
Post 4 made on Thursday June 5, 2014 at 10:56
kgossen
Super Member
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Posts:
March 2008
3,026
What a f*&king loser!
"Quality isn't expensive, it's Priceless!"
Post 5 made on Friday June 6, 2014 at 12:21
punter16
Active Member
Joined:
Posts:
May 2011
594
+1 on the Apple thing. My iPad1 is a paperweight.

On a side note, are you angry at car manufacturers because you can't do your own repairs anymore? My 57' Chevy was a breeze to service myself.
See our Youtube page for info about smart homes, great audio and more.

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Post 6 made on Saturday June 7, 2014 at 10:43
JoeFlabitz
Select Member
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December 2008
1,517
On June 5, 2014 at 00:37, greyleopard66 said...
You may have read the sticky about how URC doesn"t support DIY customers purchasing the Complete Control Products. If you purchase URC products from a dealer or installer, the same issues apply to you too.

Yes, URC did change their sales policy after many years of supporting end-users. Ultimately, they decided it was in their best interest to make the their dealer the first line of defense in programming and tech support as it was extremely time consuming to deal with every single end user who needed programming training. Dealers do spend a lot of time honing their programming skills, both in training's and on the job, just so they can pass over the best programmed remote to meet your needs.

It would be in your best interest to track down an authorized dealer and have them help you (at a price no doubt), then ask them nicely for an updated program. It's the dealer's decision to pass it over, so if you go into it as a friend of the dealer, you may get what you want. Otherwise, you can get a DIY Harmony product that may suit your needs from any big box store, and put your URC back in the drawer knowing it served you well for all those years.
Post 7 made on Saturday June 7, 2014 at 12:58
JonW747
Active Member
Joined:
Posts:
September 2006
621
I don't have any issues programming my MX-850's, but I own a PC with a built-in serial port (USB to Serial converters are notoriously problematic) and I'm still running Windows XP.

Maybe you should just take a different tact and go back to whatever used to work for you?
Post 8 made on Saturday June 7, 2014 at 13:17
kdp99
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
April 2004
143
IF you chose the right USB to serial adaptor, and get the right driver, all is well with the MX850 on Windows 7 (I know as I am using it that way).

In addition the software for the MX850 is in the public domain.
Post 9 made on Saturday June 7, 2014 at 14:38
Lowpro
Select Member
Joined:
Posts:
March 2004
2,081
Do yourself a favor greyleopard66. Buy a used Pronto Professional TSU9x00 remote and RFX9x00 extender off EBay and call it a day. (I use TSU9600's in conjunction with several RFX9600's and one RFX9400) The editor software, ProntoEdit Professional (I recommend PEP v1.1.20) is free to download here at the site and the Pronto Professional forum and files section will be a valuable resource for you. Going the Harmony route will be a step down compared to the URC remotes that you have owned and the Pronto will be a significant step up over anything you've used before in my opinion, including many of the current offerings which are comparable offered by other manufacturers at 2-3 times the price even on the used market, not to mention those other products are dealer protected like certain URC lines unlike the Pronto Professional line. Just my two cents in the event you are looking for alternatives to URC.

Last edited by Lowpro on June 14, 2014 18:32.
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