I've ordered a HTM MX-500, and I'm going to need another remote to teach it some advanced codes. I also will be using this second remote in another room, so I'd like to make use of its feature set as well.

I've been considering the above two remotes, but haven't seen them in person. They both seem of a similar class. I also know very little about JP1, but after reading for a while, I'll probably get into it sooner than I think.

So I'd like some opinions on which one of these two remotes to get (or something else???), from both an ergonomic and feature set viewpoint.

Thanks for your input.

As far as features and built in codes go, they're almost identical, but from a physical standpoint, the 15-2116 is much more popular than the 8910.

The 2116 looks alot like the enormously popular 15-1994 remote, but it lacks the four smart keys that most 1994 users use for macros, etc, which is a drag.

The 8910 has more buttons than the 2116, including some learning buttons, but it has a very nasty little SELECT button in the middle of a donut shaped ring, that you use for navigation, all very poor design IMHO. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they change that sometime soon.

Rob
http://www.hifi-remote.com

Thanks for your response, Rob.

I agree with Rob -- the 8910 is not very user friendly -- not only are the select button and navigation arrows difficult to use, but also the general layout of the keys is a mess. I used the 9910 for a litle while (the 9910 is identical to the 8910 except that it sends out an rf signal on top of the ir signal), but I hated it enough to buy a 2116 and cannibalize the 9910 to turn the 2116 into an rf remote (although my efforts were unsuccessful since my soldering skills are nonexistent).

Alan

I have the 8910, but know nothing about the 2116. The Select button and surrounding donut are a pain, but the key layout is good, IMHO. The VCR/DVD function keys are higher on the remote than many other remotes which I like. The other negative about this remote is the lack of a Power macro in HT mode. The 2116 has an Extender (JP1 prog that makes programming more versatile) available; the 8910 doesn't.

Dave

I'm pretty sure the 2116 doesn't have an extender. (I even checked the extender folder in the JP1 group to see whether someone wrote one and I missed the announcement).

I don't have either an 8910 or a 2116. I have a borrowed 8811 at the moment. I think it is much better than I believe an 8910 or 2116 would be (based on the pictures and descriptions I've seen). I personally think the LCD (which the 8811 lacks) is worth zero (or less) so that eliminates (for me) the significant factor that makes many prefer the 8910 or 2116.

I believe the 2116 has the non slip coating similar to the 15-1994. That is a significant advantage. I wish the 8811 had it. But it doesn't overwhelm the other factors.

I believe the 2116 has too few total bottons for a remote control fanatic. But I haven't done a detailed comparison of which buttons are different between which models.

I believe the 8910 has WAV file upgrade. JP1 upgrade is simpler and better than WAV, but if you don't want to build or buy a JP1 cable (or your computer doesn't have a printer port), WAV file upgrade is better than nothing. (The 2116 and 8811 don't support WAV files).

The 8811 has the best extender (so if you want to extremely customize the remote's behavior it is the best choice).

I think the 8811 has the best key layout of the three (though I think the cluster of keys at the bottom of the 8811 are too uniform and too close together). I want to use a remote while looking at the TV and NOT looking at the remote. None of these three come close to a 7800 in making that easy, but the 8811 comes closer than the other two do.