I'm considering purchasing an MX-700. This will be my first universal remote. I have a question about macros--in particular, re-running macros in the instance when an individual macro step *fails*.

There's a coffee table between my sofa and entertainment stand. My receiver is on the center lower shelf of the stand. When I use the receiver's remote on the receiver, the command frequently fails to be received due to the coffee table being in the way. (Unfortunately, there is nowhere else to put the table...and keeping it in the room is a concession to my wife.) I end up having to raise the remote above the coffee table to re-transmit the command.

I envision creating a macro to turn on the TV and receiver; also to select the proper inputs on both. In addition, I envision a macro that will turn off all of the equipment (including the TV and receiver). I'm assuming the MX-700's IR will not be any more effective in communicating with the receiver than the receiver's remote is. That being the case, how easy/difficult will it be to resolve the situation when the receiver doesn't receive the command? Will I be able to raise the MX-700 in the same way and then re-run the macro without any side effects?

If your macro contains discrete commands for on/off and inputs, rerunning it will not cause any problems. If both the receiver and TV turned on during the first run of the macro, sending discrete "On" commands again will have no effect. If one component did not turn on, it will now turn on. Same goes for the input commands. They'll either set the missing input or reset the one that was originally set.

Mike
www.SurfRemoteControl.com