Folks:

Finished my basement viewing/theater room. It's a multi-use room for both TV, lounging and playing games. It's about 15 X 24. Adjacent to it is our finished storage room, where I house the Denon receiver, Apple TV, Cable box, Blue Ray, etc. I am currently using a Logitech Harmony 900 remote with its blaster to control all of the devices; however, its not getting the job done due to signal delays or no response. It's intermittent, at best. The remote receiver and blasters are, at most, 20 feet away, but through a wall and with my components around them. Walls are sheet rock and studs; no cement to go through as its part of the basement.

I've had suggestions to go with this setup:
URC MX-450, MRF-350 and RFX-250. These would ensure I can get the signal to all my devices and with no delay.

Are there any other suggestions out there? I don't want to control other items (lights, fans, etc) just the AV stuff...and not that many at this point. I like the URC options, just want to know what else I should consider. This is clearly a DIY project for me.

Thx for your suggestions.

You might look at the current offerings from Logitech (Harmony). The Elite model might be right up your alley.

Much easier to program than the URC MX450 that is for sure. I would not recommend one of those to my worst enemy....by best friend maybe, but not my worst enemy. :P

Audiophiliac:

I hear ya, but my current Harmony lack signal strength. I wish Logitech had a receiver unit like URC has that has just a dedicated antenna. That's my largest concern is the ability to transmit a strong signal to that room.

The MX450 is a solid remote, but a little cumbersome to program as it is programmed on the remote itself. This, however, does make it a decent diy remote as you do not have to worry about issues obtaining software.

The MX450 with a MRF350 will work fine and outperform the Harmony RF and then some. I think you will like it once you get it programmed.

During programming, it would be best to assign the emitter ports for each device on the remote as well.

The Harmony Elite uses wi-fi, not the same RF as your existing Harmony remote. If you have a decent wifi signal down there, it will not be an issue.

I'll look into it.

The basement wireless router (Apple Express) sits one shelf above all of my AF equipment, and the signal to the couch and viewing area is also extremely strong.

you are quickly finding out why Pros dont use harmony. you will also soon find out why you should replace your apple gear with a real router.

you have saved the money on doing everything yourself, why dont you bring in a pro to install something like Control4? EA1 with SR260 remote is $599 plus whatever your local CI charges for programming/installation. a setup like yours (assuming its half way correct) would take no more then 2 hours to install and setup/program. aside from a great platform you also get control of your system from your mobile device...its nice when the couch eats your remote or its in the other room! besides, its stupid easy to expand!

Noted, 3PedalMINI. I've been thinking of the Control4 route. Thanks for the suggestion.

As for your comment about the apple router. My background is in an extremely technical field (network security and controls) and I've had several routers over the years for my home use--besides the commercial ones I've had to white hat hack all the time. For a while, at home, I ran dd-wrt over the old linksys wrt54GI. It gave me flexibility and power. The issue is, I spent far too long tweaking rather than having it be reliable.

What apple built in their wifi offerings are among some of the more stable platforms I've seen. Sure, you can't have logging and deep port monitoring, but for home wifi use, it has been the most consistent router I've ever own and I think I've owned at least 6 so far. All various brands. Sad is I've heard they are not continuing with that market.

Don't be turned off because its an Apple product and it might carry the general assumption it's about looks and design and not performance. Mine have worked from day 1 and into their 3rd year. All till now, I've no 0 issues and they consistently push 100/mbps down on 5Ghz--without an issue.

Any chance you can have a CAT5 cable or can get a CAT5 cable from the AV rack to the viewing area. If so you could just install an IR relay kit. No need for RF if you can use the IR relay kit.

There is a good reason Apple is leaving the Networking business. The stuff didnt work well.

Big question I don't think has been answered. How much are you willing to spend?

I have yet to walk into a house with Apple Network gear that did not cause issues. I have one job that is a takeover in which another firm installed (terribly I might add) a URC total Control system with Apple Networking gear (One Extreme, 2 Expresses). NIGHTMARE. Nothing worked consistently. The wifi remotes would not consistently connect to the network, causing major issues. Audio streamers kept dropping streams. Lots of other issues. I replaced with one Ubiquiti router and 1 Unifi Access Point and amazingly, all the issue vanished. Faster speeds, better coverage, no dropouts, and a reliable system.

"Apple is great" usually comes from people who have a few PC's/Tablets/Phones/AppleTV's or Rokus and a network printer. Apples wifi gear s great for the typical home scenario because its easy to setup and usually stable

It becomes garbage once you step outside that average-home box. Once you drop a lighting system or hvac/security monitoring and remotes on to it...time to upgrade.

That pushes control4 out as an option if you are not willing to redo your network. apple networking gear is on the DO NOT USE list. (and for good reason) sounds like you like to tinker. check out edge routers,they offer TONS of flexibility and even out of the box configuration for a soho network. you will need to provide an AP but the Unifi's will easily blow the performance of your apple gear out of the water. want something to really blow your mind with performance? check out Ruckus for access points.

you are used to consumer gear not being up to the task, hence why you had to tinker with the WRT. edge router will give you everything you have ever hoped for in a network and then some. you will be surprised at just how much better your network will be.

As a CI that does this day in and day out I cannot tell you how many times ive gone in and fixed so many issues by just replacing an apple router/network. I hate to say it but all it was was a pretty box and design. I kid you not in my garage to hold down plans or directions I use an apple airport (the tall cylinder looking one)

its great if you have like 4 devices on your network. they dont even stream to Apple TV's very well. garbage is too nice of a word for it :P