Hello bigdm,
The feed back you received RE: using the MX-850 w/ the MRF-250 base station (RF), is right on the money. You can have (I believe) up to 20+ of the MX-850's in your residence without them interferring with each other...

FYI - I didn't see anyone answer your question about buying the 850 w/o the MRF-250. The MX-800 used to include the MRF-250, now the new MX-850 which has replaced the MX-800, is sold separately from the MRF-250 base station. This will help you keep costs a bit lower.

Question: Can you tell me why you are using the Radio Shack A/B switch on your Master Bedroom set up?


Bigdm, I would also recommend staying clear of the Pronto at all costs...! Not because of you programming it, nor the price of 3 remotes, I say this simply for a WAF reason (WAF aka: WIFE APPROVAL FACTOR) Unless you have a really comfortable couch! I remember you stating that you want something EASY for your wife to operate... The touch screen Pronto remotes are very nice for us guys, although in my expierence wives seem to not like them as well as a remote with tactile buttons.

With the MX-850 and the MRF-250, you get emitters to operate up to 6 pieces of gear through cabinet doors, other rooms etc. You simply can't go wrong with it.

AS far as price? You may look at our web site and contact us by telephone if you wish, from there I can answer more questions for you and get you headed in the right direction. I am a member of a Nationwide Organization which can help you to locate a professional dealer in your area... I wouldn't trust this to just any local dealer, as again, that can put you back on the couch!!! Ouch!

Our web site: www.sierraentertainmentsystems.com for my contact info if you wish.

Good luck, and I hope this all helped in some small way! Happy Holidays...!

RT777

second the wife factor - women typically dislike the touch screens.

I would vote for the mx850 -

the rti t2+ are also nice but even more money.

RT777, thanks for the response. I use the A/B switch to swap between SAT and DVD from ther Mega changers. This room does not have a dedicated DVD player. Thanks for the information on the MX~850 and MRF-300 being sold separately.

Bigdm

I agree with the majority here. The MX850 paired with the MRF250 is the best bang for your buck. And I am a big fan of one handed remotes, the prontos and others like it are two handed remotes that require you to look at them almost every time you want to use them. With a remote like the MX850 you can do 80% of the common task with one hand and without taking your eyes off the action.

If you really like the idea of a touchscreen and don't mind the money, my favorite is RTI's T2+ this is a really nice one handed remote with plenty of hardbuttons for common task, that also incorporates the nice features of touchsreen, like channel icons etc. It has a nice feature called scrolling list that you can use to put your entire DVD collection on. And the programing gives you allot of different configuration options. The RF also works really well.

Can anyone tell me if I had an installer program the MX-850 remote with all the equipment listed in my 1st post, could he then use that remote to setup the MX-650? The MX-650 I believe can not be programmed by the computer but has some program capabilities or maybe the learn mode is the way to go. The button layout of the MX-650 and MX-850 appear to be the same so I was hoping to only have to pay for one programming.
How much should I expect to pay for programming? The one person I spoke to did not have a price fot URC remotes but did say that he charged $300 to program Marantz 9200 or 9500 remote. What price range have you heard the MX-850 being sold for? I see on Ebay that it is $229 but I would like to buy from an authorized dealer or better yet a local installer that is an authorized dealer.

youre best bet is to buy 2 identical remotes - 2 850's. youll only need 1 mxf250 though. i would try to buy the remotes fro mthe person you are seeking to program them. this will make it easier for you to find a programmer.

The URC-850 can only TEACH the 650 one button at a time. There are no transfer capabilities.

There is a new RF station coming out in the first or second quarter of 2005 that allows you to "tune" the sensitivity of the RF station. The station also does not have an onboard antenna. The antenna is on a wire and you can hook up to 3 antennas to the station. Each antenna has the RF sensitivity tuning capability, so you can put on upstairs, one on the main floor, and one downstairs, and tune them so that you're not picking up any more RF static than you need to.

See the boys at the URC booth at CES for more information.

The 850 is THE product of the year for button remotes. Period.

I have decided to go with 3 MX-850 remotes and the MRF-250 (don't want to wait until Feb. 05 for MRF-300), but still looking for an installer that will give me a better deal on buying 3 remotes, RF extender, and having them programmed.
Can anyone comment on price range for programming a URC remote? I need some guidance on whether $300 is too much. Oh by the way, should the programmer use the 850 editor or the editor that came with the 800. I am seeing post that there maybe bugs in the new software.

Bigdm

I would use the right editor

Excellent decision!

The retail prices are $399 for each remote and $99 for the MRF-250. We would definitely give a nice discount for buying 3 remotes at once. I am sure other dealers would also but I cannot speak for other dealers. I really hope you can find one in your area.

As far as programming, that may be a per hour charge. $300 for programming does seem in the ballpark. Remember setup and programming is a lot of work.

Good luck!

I include 2 hours of programming with each 800/850 I install when I charge list price for the remote. 90% of the systems I do can be programed in two hours or less. Any more than that and I go to the hour rate. Its actually the on site macro testing that takes the most time. If RF is required/desired, it adds another few hours to the programming and install which is built into the price of the rf system upgrade. FWIW - $300 doesn't seem too bad to do three remotes with one RF system. Especially if all the components are different.

After fighting with two different "plasma friendly" IR receivers at a recent install, I am firmly in the MX-850 with MRF-250 camp. Many of us in the industry have wasted hours and many of our own dollars trying to troubleshoot the problems created by plasmas. The RF remote is a great solution. These MX-850's are great remotes.

Thanks for the feedback on price for programming the remotes. I also did not consider debugging or testing of the remote after creating the program.

Bigdm

I see people talking about the URCs (700 and 800 series)... does anyone have any opinions on the URC 100, 200 and 300 (particularly interested in opinions on the URC 200 - automator)?

the 700/800/850 are PC programmable, that is a big plus in their favour and why we tend to talk about them more