Hello,

I'm thinking of picking up one of the above for my parents and so that I can play with and learn about. Whatever I end up with I'd like to ultimately recommend to clients, I moonlight as a custom installer for home theater. I personally use the venerable Rat Shack 1994 and a JP1 cable, however, that's not an option for customers since it barely is for my wife!

Since I've got no experience with any of these I've only been able to go on reviews thus far. The MX untis appear to be more powerful and less quirky, however, the Pronto has the big plus of being more visual and I could develop (or borrow) a "template" and just tweak it for each person. Is the 3000 at this point robust enough? Are the firmware issues mostly fixed? Would it be easier for a TOTAL NOOB to use? Or isn't the hassle worth it enough NOT to use an MX-700? Anything else I should consider?

Thanks!

go for an MX 800... the programming is easy, it's radio frequency and infrared so signal path isn't a problem...

But, first, how many components are we talking about here?

Remember, this isn't for me, it's for customers, people like my parents who regularly call complaining they can't watch a DVD or something. If it were me I'd get the MX700 since I like buttons and have no need for RF.

For me we're talking about transport, cd changer, dvd player, pre/pro, TV, sat. box and that's it. For my average customer, AV Receiver, TV, DVD player, CD player and either cable or Sat. occasionally a VCR.

IMO, the MX700/500 would be both easy for you to setup and for them to use.

Hard choice. They are all good remotes. Personally I prefer the Pronto, and it is robust enough in my opinion. Obviously if you hit the glass it might break, but the one I have at home has taken many tumbles and is still working. At work we have Prontos for our videoconference rooms, and they made the equipment much more user friendly. Also in the 4 years we have been using them, two broke (in around 50), one was fixed under warranty, the other I fixed it myself.

I used to think I didn't have a need for RF until i remembered that with RF, you don't have to keep the remote pointed at the components to switch them...

With old people, that's a bonus, especially if there's a long macro that needs to run...