I just got the replacement MX-3000 from URC to fix the issue that I was having where no RF was being sent (ended up being a hardware problem).

Now, the replacement MX-3000 has another issue. The calibration of the screen seems way off. It doesn't seem to have this issue for each on screen button press, but I'd say 1 in 20 presses or so causes an adjacent button or even a button TWO buttons away to be pressed. I never had this problem with my original MX3000. I have calibrated the screen 3 times using a stylus, and it does not make any difference.

So, it looks like I'll be calling URC back again on Monday. I'm starting to think an MX-950 would be a better replacement since I seem to be having bad luck with the 3000's. I'm frustrated that I'll be without a remote for another week if I have to send this in again. My theater is basically useless without it due to its complexity (wife certainly can't operate the theater without the MX3000)

Any ideas? Eric?

Thanks,
Dino

This message was edited by dinom on 10/14/05 07:49 ET.

Hi Dino,

I think you are right, you have another hardware problem. I don't want you to wait another week without a remote though, so I encourage you to give me a call and I'll accelerate things for you. The MX-950 might be a perfect replacement for a power user, but I'm sure your wife values the way you can present her with just the buttons she needs on the MX-3000 screen, while the MX-950 as powerful as it is, will always look like too many buttons to her.

We do ship thousands of MX-3000's every month and there are some defectives, but you certainly should expect that your hardware problems will be past after this. I will make sure that the product shipped to you is personally checked before shipment.

Give me a call this weekend.

Best Regards,

-Eric

Well, Joe at URC has been great to work with and sent me a replacement for my replacement and I received it on Tuesday.

Guess what? Same problem. Now Joe even personally checked this one out for me, so I was starting to think it was me and not the remote. So, I had my wife try it out. At first, she couldn't make the buttons fail. But then I realized she was using her fingernail and pressing firmly on each button. I told her to use her fingertip (no nail) and to press a little more gently. Sure enough, buttons 1-2" away started to get activated.

So, it appears that this particular batch at least (both replacement remotes were from the same lot) has an issue with the touch screens that may be somewhat subtle to the user depending on how much pressure they use to touch the screen. Again, I'm not doing anything special when it fails, as I'm using the same pressure/technique that I had been using with my first MX-3000 for over 6 months with no issues. Same template (.rcc file) too.

In any event, Joe is going to elevate this to engineering which will take some time. I will be returning one of the defective remotes today so that URC can play with it and hopefully reproduce the problem.

I'm beginning to believe URC must think I'm crazy :-), but I'm a digital hardware designer (electrical engineer) and I design, debug, integrate complex hardware/software systems every day. I know when something is broken.

Sorry, just had to vent a little.

Dino

This message was edited by dinom on 10/12/05 09:38 ET.

Hi Dino,

Sorry for all your problems, Joe actually tested the unit you have now for 30 minutes of continuous button presses without one failure. I just spoke to him and he was using light fingertrip gentle pressure, without nails, gradually increasing the pressure until the button activated. He was using your file on lower area of the screen where you had described more failures. He didn't see one failure. Perhaps you could video the problem and send us a video?

I believe you, but until we can duplicate your technique and the hardware error, it is very difficult to fix.

Feel free to give me a call.

Best Regards,

-Eric

Eric Johnson
VP of Technology
Universal Remote Control, Inc.
Direct Line: 1-800-247-7001

Ok, I just finished making a small video showing the problem. In the few minutes it took to shoot it, you can easily see how many times the buttons mis-fire. The quality of the video is a little low, but it shows the issue clearly.

[Link: home.townisp.com]

Let me know if you have problems viewing it. By the way, this is the same remote Joe just tested for me, and I haven't loaded any new configurations. I'm using the same exact config. that Joe used.

Dino

This message was edited by dinom on 10/12/05 20:48 ET.

Another thing to note is that it doesn't just do this with my configuration file, but also has the same issue when pressing buttons on the "systems" page (you know the page you get to when you hold down the main button for 5 seconds). So, this is most definitely an issue with the remote and not my config. file.

Dino

One more thing. I noticed that the screen of the remote was clean (no fingerprints) and still had the plastic film on it to protect it when I received it. I wonder if Joe tested it out with the film in place and maybe that affects this problem in some way. I don't think I have this film anymore, so I can't test that right now, but it has me wondering.

Hi Dino,

No, Windows Media Player appears but it is stopped and won't play. Can you email me the file? My email in box can take a large file.

I know that Joe tested the unit for 30 minutes, then cleaned it up and reapplied the protector, before shipping it to you.

Best Regards,

-Eric

I just checked out the video, something is definitely Not Quite Right...

That's weird, I just checked it at work and it plays fine.

Daniel, so you're saying you could view the video? Or it wouldn't play? Not sure what you meant by "not quite right".

Eric, I will email this to you ASAP.

Dino

This message was edited by dinom on 10/13/05 07:43 ET.

Dino,

Thanks for taking the time to make the video. Daniel did manage to download it last night and emailed it to me. I have everything I need to reproduce the problem at the office. I'll let you know what we find.

Daniel,

As ever, you are the best!

Best Regards,

-Eric

Ok, great!

Dino,

We've been able to reproduce the problem by studying and emulating the video. One must use the softest part of your finger, not the tip but the spongiest part of your finger. I am now even better than you at reproducing the problem.

For now, we will have to wait for a few days, so the best I can do is advise you to try to use the tip of your finger. The engineers are working on it. I'll post when we can fix the problem.

-Eric

That's good news. I was beginning to think my house must be built on an ancient burial ground :-)

Did you have to use my template, or did you use another one? I guess I'm wondering if it has something to do with my configuration file or not.

I thank you for working so hard are this.

Dino

Just an update on this issue.

URC just sent me a new MX-3000 with updated O/S that improves the touch screen issue by about 90% I would say. I mean it's much, much better than before, and with normal use, I probably won't notice any problems really.

Joe Spinelli and Eric Johnson really made a huge effort to work this out for me, and Joe is even going to arrange for UPS to pick up my older remote too.

Thanks guys!

Dino