I'm fairly new to the concept of true universal remotes and home theater in general. However, I have quickly come to the conclusion that 6 remotes is far too many and I need a solution ASAP!

Here's my situation: Need to control 5 devices in my theater room - Epson 6500UB projector, Denon receiver, Pioneer BD Player, Dish Network receiver, and the projector screen (maybe). The Denon, Dish, and Pioneer are in a vertical rack behind my seating area but IN the room (about 6 feet behind and to the left of back seating row). However, my current IR remotes have to be held up above my seating and pointed toward the components to control them...not the most desired method IMO. The projector is above my seating area and there are no hindrances to the IR control of that or the electric screen. Also, I have a bar directly behind my seating area and across from my equipment (separated by entrance into room). Thought maybe that could be an alternative spot to place any blasters I may need instead of directly on the shelf itself since my components are almost flush mounted.

What I want: Control my devices without using acrobatic maneuvers behind my head; activities; possibly macros/sequences (wasn't totally aware of what they were until I recently researched them--now I'm like "I want those!!"); a clean look to the setup; easy for the wife/in-laws to use; something that won't totally drain my wallet (around $250 or less); and I'd like it to have a color LCD screen so all my non-theater enthusiast friends and family will be humbled by its ultra-coolness...

My initial research led me to the Harmony 900. Also considering the Harmony One with some sort of IR repeater setup. Just found the URC R50 (need same IR setup as One) today as well as the AR Xsight Touch with its RF extender.

Am I on the right track and what kind of suggestions can you guys give me? My setup's pretty simple I think...just need to easier control of all the stuff behind me. Look forward to hearing some feedback! Thanks

Well....lets start by listing the RF capable color LCD remote that can be had for less than $250(not including the price of the RF unit).

URC MX-450
Philips Pronto TSU9200
Xsight Touch
Harmony 900

The mx-450 and the pronto will be over your price range by the time you add the RF stations in. The Xsight touch seems to be on-sale many places right now and is a great value for the prices I have seen it selling for. Be aware though that the software takes a little time to get into to.

There are lots of non-RF color LCD's remotes, some to note include:
Harmony One
Xsight Color
URC R50

With the current price of the Xsight touch being so close to that of the Xsight color I think you would be better off with the touch between the two. The Harmony One and the URC R50 are both good remotes. Their are lots of comparisons between the R50 and the Harmony remotes in this forum. If you read back through a few posts you should find quite a few.

I am not sure if there is a conclusive right answer but I hope that at least provides you with a little more info.

You could also look at the URC RFS200 bundle from their consumer line.