I need help from you experts here, I am new...so be nice.

Hi all, I have a question for all you guys. Is there a good UNIVERSAL remote I can get so that I can get rid of the 4 I am using?

I have a new DirecTV receiver (with the locals in HD, is that an H10 or the H20)?
I have a Directivo R10
I have a Hitatchi Rear Projection HD TV
And I have a Toshiba Surround Sound system

I use the TV remote to set the input (You know, Input 1 for the HD receiver, Input 2 for the XBOX 360, Input 3 for the Tivo, etc). Then, depending on which input I am on, I need the remote for that device.

I was looking at some universal remotes (with touch screens) from Sony, but I have no idea if they are compatible with Directv stuff. Can anyone out there give me any suggestions?

Rick

P.S. I was looking at the Sony RM-AX4000. Others have recomended a Harmony 688 or a Pronto tsu3000. Any suggestions?

Those are all good choices, in theory; the difference from theory is that the TSU3000 seems to work fine for some people and be an impossible pain for others. I did one for a client and had such problems that I won't do them again. For a Pronto type remote, consider the Marantz RC5400 or its current replacement. Marantz just changed the way they wholesale, so I don't buy them any more, but they make good remotes.

I have heard that the Harmony remotes are not very customizable, but adequate. I did not like the Sony touchscreens because there were only certain labels you could put on the screen...you might need ON and OFF for a TV, but only have POWER and...and then you would have to choose something off the wall, put the OFF command on it, and remember what funky name you had to choose.

You should also look into the Universal Remote MX-850 or MX-950. Unlike the Pronto and Marantz remotes, this has many buttons and little touchscreen. The advantage of this is that you can learn to operate it by touch, which you can never do with a touchscreen remote (you always have to look down at the screen) except for the volume and channel commands.