My trusty old MX-500 is showing signs of wearing out, mostly in the oft-used volume buttons. Punch through functionality has become quite spotty, with it often losing its settings on one or more devices. Sometimes I can get the volume settings to stick by manually learning them to each device, but then they'll randomly be lost on another in time.

So, what's my best bet for a similarly satisfying remote? I love the combination of hard buttons and programmable LCD buttons, and device-based is always better than action-based, IMO. Touchscreen has no appeal to me. Is the URC R50 a good direction to go, or is there something better to consider? The R50's button layout and recessed sections seem like they would be annoying. Is it worth going with something in the older MX-8xx/MX-9xx series instead?

Dan