I appreciate your comments but you failed to catch the basic theme of comment. I am a professional programmer and am aware how difficult it is to reverse engineering someone else work. The tools Universal provides professional installers are archaic and poorly designed to support you. Lacking something as basic as a print function or the ability to export a configuration into a standardized format such as XML makes these devices extremely time intensive (expensive) to reverse engineer. Point of my comment was that some standardization or tools need to be built to support these types of devices or this business will go the way of the dodo. Requiring $6k or $15k to add a single device due to someone going out of business needs to be factored into the cost of bulding a custon system.
Yes, I have a great product line that supports everything you are talking about... want a proposal on it? I love selling Crestron systems :-).
I don't care how advanced it is, $15,000 is crazy and if you are saying that you are just adding a DVR - I am sorry but there is absolutely no possible way Best Buy quoted you $15,000 just for that... there is quite obviously more to this story... Some sort of other changes you were implying that you would need or the guy just unfortunately not being educated enough to provide an accurate quote...
If you came to me and had a super complex system and wanted to change one device to another it'd probably end up being $300 but I'd have it in writing that I take no responsibility for the quality of the system unless you reprogram which would easily approach the $6k-$8k figure... I'm sure they did the same thing and made you feel that there was no other option but to start over as part of their sales pitch... which is the smart thing to do but not necessary.
More sophisticated tools capable of configuration automation and reverse engineering will be built or custom solutions like the URC line will become irrelevant. Professional programmers, such as myself, will use devices with open architectures and sophisticated tools to build interfaces that do not require closed end custom tools that leave no options. Each of the new devices (TVs, Audio systems, video switchers, and Network to IR devices) are being delivered with TCP/IP stacks on the devices, excellent wireless network speeds, and devices with IP and bluetooth connectiviy such as the android and iPhone provide a very sophisticated infrastructure to eliminate these remotes and their supporting infrastructure.
Yeah go buy RedEye or Roomie Remote, enjoy :-). Bottom line there isn't enough profit to have an open architecture programming as you speak of... URC's tools make it 100x easier... I program PHP, C+, Java, Crestron, HTML, XML, TCL, and others... I would NEVER sell a URC remote if it had something similar... not for the price point they go for... I can only imagine they would sell about 80-90% less product if they had it that way... YOU may want it, but as a whole it'd be a terrible idea.
That being said, if you are a programmer, I'm sure you would rather have it be so that when you write on a forum you have to write it out in PHP as well.. I mean it does provide more freedom... this whole WYSIWIG thing is sooooooo old and terrible! I bet you noone will use forms or websites once someone releases a browser that requires you to program to use...
If you think I am clueless look at the capabilities of the current flat panel TVs. Most come with TCP/IP connections, Netflix, Pandora, uUnp streaming capability etc. My HAI OmniPro II controller already controls my Russound Cav/Cam controllers through my Ipad using TCP/IP. Only thing I use the URC remotes and MSC devices for is to control the Key-Digital Video switchers. Their primary value is the large equipment lookup tables containing the codes to be sent out through the serial or ir ports. I would like to reuse as much of what is currently in my home until I am forced to change direction.
Have fun trying to access that TCP/IP port - this industry isn't as open as yours... you are assuming it's all the same as the "programming world" - it's not. While it is starting to open up, great... but then you add the fact that WiFi in general isn't reliable enough to control your television...
Imagine if it was all TCP/IP and your router crashed on you while you were watching TV... now you need to turn your system off or mute it to answer the phone or any other multitude of things... now imagine you aren't as "tech savvy" as you claim to be so you couldn't even turn it off on your own...NO THANK YOU, not until Ruckus-quality products are $100 and everywhere.
URC, RTI, and others build products that are needed... there are PLENTY of options that give you the open architecture you are requesting...
Enjoy!
http://www.commandfusion.com/
