Ladies and gentlemen: Here is the transcript of the email I have sent to Mike Gifford of Home Theater Master.

I hope that this accurately portrays your suggestions and concerns about the MX-500 and I hope that all, or at least a significant number of our requests can be incorporated.

Please give me feedback on your thoughts of this email that I prepared and sent! Thank you!

Also, if you would like the original email sent to you, just request it by clicking on my email icon. It has many bolded items to accent what we are looking for in this remote!

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Dear Mike Gifford:

Here is an overall listing of requests and concerns with reference to the upcoming MX-500. They are listed in what I have discerned as the most important (pay particular attention to MACROS), coming from emails and posts on RemoteCentral. We hope that these concerns can be weighed by your engineers and incorporated if at all possible. The Macro Implementation, I think, will spell a huge difference between users choosing other remotes with greater macro capabilities and the MX-500. And they will not necessarily move up to the MX-1000, because we are dealing with Button People here!

And although some users might disagree with me, moving back the ship date of the remote if needed would benefit all of us in the long run, if we can incorporate the bulk of these changes.



I will start with suggestions and then with questions that we have for the way we understand the MX-500 is configured now, according to your website and according to your posts.

Also, as you have been doing, reading the MX-500 Questions & Answers thread at RemoteCentral may help to clarify some of the suggestions below.

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As in the SL9000, we are glad to see it contains all the Secondary Functions of our original remote controls, such as PIP, Menu and Sleep in TV, surround sound level adjustments in Audio, On Screen and Favorites in Satellite, Timer and Tracking in VCR, Disc and Track Selection in CD, etc.


DEVICE and MACRO OPERATION:

Quotes from users:

>>>> ? If someone is putting a home theater system together today, it is a very good chance that a high definition TV and HD STB will be part of the system. The HD video signals (RGBHV, VGA, etc.) cannot be switched by the audio receiver.

As a result it takes more than a power and receiver input command to switch video sources. What?s wrong with these remote control manufacturers? Put another $20.00 into the mfg cost and give the device buttons full macro capabilities.

Had they done this it could have been the best remote on the market.?

>>>> ?I use my TV to plug in my video sources and send the audio output of the TV to my receiver, as my receiver doesn't have component inputs (or s-video for that matter). I would need to turn on the TV, select a component from the TV, turn on the receiver, and select my TV input. This cannot be done with a 2-step macro.?

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We would MOST DEFINITELY like the ability to accept ADVANCED CODES, including DISCREET CODES, like the Radio Shack RS-1994, which can do this at $30. We feel this capability is PARAMOUNT!!!!!!!!!

With regard to the Power Button, it should be able to power on multiple components through a power macro. Also, the reverse for the System Off button. Ideally by programming in Discrete Codes. Without Discreet Codes, this ability would be almost useless.

We would like to see a Device Button being pushed once, and then the screen for that device come up, where the user can select the appropriate commands that are not programmed to the actual buttons; and also use the actual buttons that are programmed for that device. This would not change the input on the receiver, just allow us to control the particular device selected.

We would like to see a double-press of a Device Button allow the input on the receiver to be changed to that device OR the power sent OR both, with these options user selectable.

We would like to see a continuous press (hold for 2 seconds) of a Device Button switch to that device and send out a user-definable macro up to 14 or 20 steps.

We would also like to see more than the 3 system macros: M1 - M3 that have the capability to send out the 14 commands that they do now. Perhaps the FAV button could be changed to MACRO or something similar and allow those 2 pages of 10 commands each to be used as macros (which could include your channel favorites). Currently the FAV button has those 20 commands, but only allows for 4 steps. A minimum of 14 should be incorporated. (Some may not agree with this. They may want to keep the 20 FAV buttons and have a separate macro page as mentioned below.)

We feel that a minimum of 10 system-wide macros is needed.

Alternately, a double press of the Main Page button could bring up Page 2 and a list of 10 user definable system wide macros, while still allowing the Device Button continuous-press macros ability.

We would like to see all macros have the ability to hold up to 20 commands, as in the MX-1000.

We would like to see all macros have the facility to be remote-wide and not just device specific.

The capability to adjust the interval between commands sent out in a macro. .5 seconds can be very, very slow. In other words, probably 14 seconds to send a 14-command macro, when a .5 second interval is not always needed. At the very least, a choice between .25 and .5.

As in the SL9000, the buttons should have enough tactile resistance that they won?t accidentally be activated by resting fingers, but aren?t so firm that you?ll have to consciously press hard to get a signal out.

Again, as in the SL-9000: The SL-9000?s small IR cover really belays the powerful spread of the transmitter beneath. A small LED next to the screen lights up when a signal is transmitting. We would like the same power in the MX-500.


As in the SL9000, one of the best physical features of the SL-9000 is great backlighting. Every single button ? plus the LCD ? lights up on the press of a single large button at the bottom of the remote. All buttons glow an even bright blue for 7 seconds at a time. Each press of a button extends the timer by 7 seconds. One thing sure to please listeners with sensitive ears is the completely silent backlight operation ? there?s no annoying buzz or whine here!

I see no specific LIGHT button on the remote. One cannot turn on the backlighting without pressing a button, which would send a command. This drives users crazy on other remotes that don?t have a specific LIGHT button somewhere on the remote.

We are glad to see that ALL buttons on the MX-500 are learnable.

Display DATE and TIME.

Beeps on button pushes and ability to turn the beeps on/off.


OTHER USER SUGGESTIONS:

Macro interruption.

Activate backlight and give beep from macro.

Adjust repetitions/sustain of IR signal per button.

Write a little Windows based program that can capture the IR commands from the MX-500 via an infrared port, to backup and restore the programming.

Adjust LCD contrast.

Adjust backlight sensor.

Motion/tilt sensor, ability to specify what happens upon motion (LCD on, backlight on - only if dark).



QUESTIONS and ADDITIONAL COMMENTS from users:

If you select each device to turn the power on, what would the separate power button do?

Will the device keys only learn Power On and Audio Input, or could the Power command be replaced by another command, say the TV video input code? (Comment from Greg: This could be accomplished with device macros).

By the way, is there a physical button for TV/Video? There doesn't appear to be one from what I can tell. Probably too late to fix it, but for those of us with multiple video sources, it would be a help.

Down by the numeric keypad, what is the DIS button for?

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We really do feel that the incorporation of our suggestions will result in a significant increase in sales, since this remote is not priced for the average home user with a TV and VCR, but for those that are starting or are fully into Home Theater. This is the type of user served by RemoteCentral and where users go to find this type of remote. RemoteCentral will also be an indispensable place for your buyers/users to have their questions answered, especially by those of us enthused with this new remote!


We thank you for you consideration of our requests and look forward to your comments and answers!

Sincerely yours,

Greg Mitchell (GregoriusM)
[email protected]

I think most of these (especially physical one) may be too late -- even if the product is delayed for software upgrades, I doubt they'd want to retool. A few caught my eye:

"Down by the numeric keypad, what is the DIS button for?"... Display?

"I see no specific LIGHT button on the remote."... It's on the right side, opposite VCR1 and VCR2 on the photo.

"If you select each device to turn the power on, what would the separate power button do?"

Some units have different Power ON and OFF buttons (HK).

Why weren't these ironed out before you sent this email to HTM?

Daniel: Thanks. I thought DIS would probably be for DISPLAY, but think it is a weird place to put it. But, it wasn't my question in the first place. I've merely culled all of the questions, except for the totally weird ones, and sent them off, with a note as to which ones I and others are concerned most strongly about.

Have you been in touch with Home Theater Master and know anything we don't know? Just wonderin........

I do realize that the physical changes will no doubt be too late, but I don't see why the software changes, especially the discreet codes, macro abilities, etc. cannot be completely added before they burn the firmware.

Randy: Sometimes you really do baffle me! That's what we're trying to do. Iron some things out.

Greg :-)

I think I was one of the people who asked about the DIS button. I figured it was for Display (Info) but couldn't figure out why they would put it all the way down there! I hope that is just a prototype error and that they move it. You never know - the remote COULD look different by the time we see it.

Bryan

Whatevah... It is most likely all for naught anyway considering that it could be SHIPPING in a few weeks. I doubt they'll change anything at this point. Too late!

Always the "optimist", eh, Randy?

Perhaps too late for the first incarnation of the Mx-500, but certainly not wasted time. There are items in the list that any remote control manufacturer should take to heart. As far as I know, Remote Central is pretty much seen as THE place for info exchange on remotes, so I would think that ANY remote control vendor that cares about market research at least scans threads like these. Some day, in some remote, you will see the features we have been asking for.

Good stuff.

It's enough to make a guy want to go into the manufacturing business! Hey Daniel, have any free space in your garage? ;-b

Thanks, Arjen! I think it was totally worth the effort. We may see some changes, we may not. But, we have definitely made known what we would like to see in a remote!

And who knows......... due to the fiasco of waiting for over a year for the MX-1000 and then having all these bugs, they might wait a couple of months and at least add in the programming we want, which really is 95% of our requests.

Paul, if I can get a garage, you think Apple Computer would let us call it Apple Universal Remote Control Corp.? I doubt if they'd sue!!! Do you??? ;-)

We could make a box-shaped remote, with buttons on all 6 sides, and call it "The Cube!" Are you in?

Greg :-)

Greg :-)

G-Man: LOL! Count me in. I like the 'cube' idea, though if we use that model, we'd need to put the LCD in a separate enclosure to eliminate the annoyance of its 20KHz whine. Or how about this bit of genius: The button on the cube's bottom surface would activate the backlight, so as long as the unit is on a flat surface, the light is on! Also need a solar cell, to charge the unit during the day and power it at night, similar to a highway emergency telephone. (Naturally the manual would specify that the user place the cube on a windowsill before leaving home in the morning.) That way, who CARES if the light is on 12 hours per day?

Uh-oh, I feel some proprietary, patentable thoughts coming on -- switch radio frequency to Tac 2 (Forum Gregorius). ;-b

Paul: You're a genius! I'm thinking if we put wheels on it too, and program in a voice activated "return to user" function, that might be useful.

Actually, I'm thinking that the enclosure should be covered with the same material as a nerf ball. Then any time you drop it, it won't break. It might turn the lights down, start the vibrating bed, and turn on some romantic music, but at least it wouldn't break.

The ideas are pouring outta me. Somebody stop me!!!

Greg :-)

Ok. Ok. I'm going to bed now!!!

Greg: Would that be the *vibrating* bed? -LOL- How long have you been living at that motel? ;-b

Today, I got an advertisement in the mail from HTM advertising the SL-9000, the MX-1000, and the MX-500. Under the MX-500, it lists features like on the web site and under Macro Operations, it says
"Three macro buttons send out up to 14 commands each, ten device buttons send out 10 commands each and twenty favorite channel buttons send out 4 commands each."

Sounds like they listened to us about getting full macros on the device keys. I'm not sure how they'll handle the macro/mode switching problem, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.