just purchased RM-2000... love it... like one of those STAR TREK touch pads they use on the show all the time...

2 COMPLAINTS... tell me if i'm wrong...

the LCD characters can't be seen clearly UNLESS the backlight is on... even in a well-lit room...

the letters are too thin and the contrast is terrible against the grey LCD background... the letters should be a DARK BLACK... not a darker shade of grey... right?

also... the plastic LCD cover produces ALOT of GLARE... everytime i look at it in the light... i see myself... not the keys underneath... right?

now the backlight solves this problem... when i turn it on... VOILA... all the keys are clearly visible against the blue light... so the remote should automatically light up whenever a button is pressed...

can anyone else TRULY use the remote without always backlighting it... or maybe my remote is defective... cause the contrast just isn't there without backlighting...

Paul

Well, here's my take on it:

I actually find this is about the only LCD remote I can actually use with just standard room illumination. While it does require a previous knowledge of what button exactly is where (since they are hard to read) it's still usable.

You'd be hard pressed to find an LCD display that produces BLACK characters. Normally they're just a dark shade of green/gray.

The LCD plastic finish on mine is really more matte than glossy, however like any smooth glass/plastic surface it can produce glare. I guess I'm just lucky, since the lights don't hit mine in the wrong spot. I'd have to say no other LCD remote is any BETTER in that department....

Paul,
I agree almost to a letter with you. While I am pleased with the remote overall, I am suprised that Sony just didn't have the back-light turn on whenever any button is pushed.

However, I have no experience with other large-LCD remotes, so I couldn't say if Sony's was worse or better than others.

If you think the Sony's hard to read, try the Take Control. Granted, at 45, my vision's getting a little farsighted, but the Sony's a piece of cake compared to the HK/Microsoft model!