The MX-500 can make great strides just by interfacing with a computer. Consider the following:
The MX-500 can both transmit and receive infrared signals.
There are many infrared to RS-232 (serial port) converters around, So we can get the signals to the PC and back. That part is not the problem.

What we need is the software on the PC to intelligently decode what is sent to it, or send codes back to the MX-500 that it can understand.(hint..hint).

Then we could upload or download the entire command set with the Clone command, or possibly some individual commands or macros we exchanged with another MX-500 owner.

I think that this would make the MX-500 much closer to the ideal remote without changing the remote at all.

What do you think?

Duane