I contacted Best Buys and they have no plans to carry a Mosaic remote. Any other thoughts where I can check for a decent deal? Thanks! Ron...

Ron,

You could try the dreaded Circuit City.....but if you go local, you will most likely pay full retail. Not much of a deal at all. Around my area, the remote that I bought, they want anywhere from $100 to $150 more!

Your best bet is to wait it out for a little bit and keep to the net for deals.

It may simply be that you were asking the wrong question. They have decided to go with the name "Director" rather than "Mosaic" for retail. The model number is URC-9900. Expect to pay in the $300 to $400 range!

Rob.

Rob,

Would that be $300-400 at the local retailer (ie, Best Buy, Circuit City) or cheaper via the net?

Bill

The official retail price is an astounding $399! You an already get it over the web at etronixs.com for $319.

If you are even thinking of spending this kinda money on a remote, I would strongly recommend you get the Philips Pronto instead. etronixs.com is running a special on them at the moment for only $265. The regular retail price for the Pronto is also $399, so this is a very good price!

Rob.

ahh, I got mine for a price even better than that from www.mercata.com . Their going rate for the Green Pronto is $279 (color is not a factor for me) and they give you an instant 20% for signing up to be a new member (also for free). So my price was $224 plus shipping. Matter of fact, it just got delivered to me today.

Not bad, but I used my new customer discount at Mercata to get $100 off of a Panasonic ReplayTV unit.

I got my Pronto a while ago for $279, which at the time was also a killer price.

What's odd is that the Director box I have says "URC-9900" while www.hudsonag.com says URC-1000. Wonder if there's multiple importers now?

Anyone seen the accessories for this? [Link: mosaichelp.com]

Thanks for the replies past, present and future! The reason I am waiting to test a Mosaic, or whatever it is to be called, is due to Pronto's BAD customer service. Also, software gliches keep me at bay. Anyone have further thoughts on the "Mosaic"? Thanks again. Ron

Who needs customer service when we have Remote Central?

I asked a senior person at a new Best Buy in New Jersey. She said that the Director is out of the price range for accessories that Best Buy would stock.
I pointed to the Sony touchpad remote on the rack, but could not convince her that a remote costing almost $200 more was in the same price class.
She suggested Circus City and The Wiz (a local retailer) but I already know they don't carry stuff like this either.
Odly, high end home theater specialists in the area, like Rabsons or Harvey, have numerous high end units including the Marantz 500i, but have no plans for the Director.

It doesn't matter how high up you go at Best Buy, you won't get high enough to find someone that knows what they are talking about.

Best Buy carries the Philips Pronto, so price is not the reason that they are not carrying the Mosiac/Director.

A more likely reason is that they are very unlikely to actually sell any. As long as it retails for the same price as the Pronto, there's no way they are going to win that battle. I'm not saying that the Director isn't a good remote (I've not seen one myself, but it does sound interesting), it's just that in order to compete with a remote that can already do everything that it can do and more, it would have to be attractively priced. You can get the Pronto on the web for $265, I have only found one place carrying the Director and they have it for $319.

Rob.

One may need customer service when something goes awry. I've seen several posts where a Pronto screen cracks from some scnario or another. EVERYTIME Phillips puts up a horrible fight. The problems almost go to court before they give in. How is UE when it comes to customer service? Thanks all! Ron...

Well, best Buy claimed, after checking, that they don't carry the Pronto either. It is not on their web site.

I've seen it in their newspaper flier before and people have posted that they've seen it in the stores. One person asked a Best Buy employee about the Pronto and was told that you can only pogram three macro's on it.

I'll leave it to you to decide how much stock to put in what you get told by a Best Buy employee.

Rob.