If someone is on this site looking for a remote, they are probably a DIY and already have equipment or just bought some from a Chainstore.

If they had a system installed in their home by a AV company they probably purchased a universal remote at that time and had it programmed by them too.

Based on that I was refering them to a reliable internet dealer that is authorized by the manufacturer and can offer the warranty of the product to their customers.

We dont get calls from people looking for just a remote. they usually ask for a complete system or upgrades from what they have, and at that time we spec in a control system, be it Crestron or RTI and its bought, installed, and programmed by us.

I think if someone is looking for just a remote it will probably be purchased from a retail store or online, taken home and programmed by the owner. They will have some problems in setting it up and come here asking for help, in turn Us as seasoned end users, AV installers/programmers will offer the assistance they are asking for. This assistance we offer them is free of charge and we move on, I can look back on many posts in these forums and see people here asking for what remote to buy, and we tell them, Buy a URC MX850 and MRF-250 remote, We tell them buy RTI, we Tell them that a remote cant do that and Buy Crestron...so where do they go as we never tell them where to buy it and they just happen to be online in here asking..they goto the NET..SO guess what..you just sent them away from yourself, at least I sent them to a reputable Dealer thake makes his living doing the same thing you do...Sell and program remotes...


Another thing just came to mind after looking on the URC website....Click the product you want..Lets say a MX950..now you get the specs on that remote, access for the software to program it...now on the left side below the downloads area is the order now

So lets click it....OH CRAP....there is a list of authorized Online resellers..look there..Its Best Buy, Its Good Guys, its J&R...that to me looks like your manufacturer just shot you in the foot...They even refer people to Best buy and then give them the software to program it themselves, so if your going to gripe about me refering people to places to buy remotes, maybe you should get on that list

I'm sticking with glack on this one. A CI can't rely on business trickling in from a great forum like this. It's made for people that like to play with it themselves, and those that are savvy at finding great deals on line.

Besides, any CI that is still trying to rely on sales of URC product to make money is going to have a very frustrating career. URC doesn't refer custom installers. They refer the chains. URC sales is not compatible with your business model.

I have to side with Glack on this one also. If a company offers its products, and everything you need to do it right there for anyone.......

I am going to have to agree with Tippy, Carl and Glack as well

If a company is refering people to online dealers and offer software on their site
and not offer referals to you...time to move on.

We dropped URC as we had people calling and asking for brands of remotes we carried only to be called back to have it programmed as they bought it online.

At that point we refered them to An awsome site...Remote Central.
Why should we help a manufacturer that wont help us at least we can help those who help us here

Damon has posted here alot, Damon is an authorized Online reseller, Damon is a Remote Central Supporter by Advertising here.

www.proremotes.com can also be linked to from [Link: universalremote.com]
I will send my referals there as well, this is how he makes his living

Yeah, why should we have the frustrations of getting reliable RF from a manufacturer who refers all sales to internet dealers?

RTI is the ONLY control (read, control...not remote) line we sell until the day arrives we can support Crestron, and even then we'll prbably still support RTI

Thanks Glack, Tippy, Carl & WPM. I apprecaite your posts and support.

Yes, I am an Authorized Dealer. I also used to be a Lead Tech Support Agent for URC, but now do local installations. I'm in the same boat as everyone else here, but I have the additional online segment in my business model, plus my history with the company & product doesn't hurt.

Online sales or not, the channel COULD still be controlled and kept off of eBay/discount sites. Having the software available online doesn't mean the hardware will be openly available...that's a totally separate matter.

You're all entitled to your opinions. I'll never dispute that fact. :)



Thank you,
Damon DG
= = = = =
http://www.ProRemotes.com - Authorized Dealer & Remote Programming Services

What about MX 3500 with the two way communication, it'll be bitchin, can't wait for the unit to come out

Im not a big fan of the mx3000 due to the ergonomics. I want to be able to hold a beer in one hand and the remote in the other "which I can do with a pronto". I also prefer the hard buttons on the pronto due to being able to label the 4 below the screen for whatever action there attached to.

Im not sure if you know this but the pronto is capable of rf as well. I cant speak to its reliability since I dont need rf capabilities but imagine its decent and if its not Im sure someone will correct me if Im wrong. I would rather have a decent sized touch screen for macros and rarely used commands with the hard buttons controlling the most frequently used actions. The mx3000 is very similiar to a pronto in many ways and has some features that the pronto does not, i.e. variables and addressable ir/rf line outs.

I love my pronto (tsu3000) and couldnt substitute it with anything else. I have however seen prontos that were configured horribly and can understand peoples biast opinions when it comes time to purchase a replacement.

Have you seen or played with a newer version pronto? If not, I recommend that you use both the urc and newer pronto and decide for yourself before you buy. Go to a local dealer and see how well the layout is for activities outside of it just completing the macro. I have my 4 hard buttons do various things but for the most part they control my distributed audio volume and lighting on/off/dim. Think of other actions that you want access to other than the ones for that particular activity. Good luck