I'm thinking of getting an A/V or Home Producer 8 (the old 8090 or
9800 model), because I now require the use of a timed macro. I have an
RCA DirecTV system, which only gives me 8 timers to do all my
timeshifting on my vcr, and I want to be able to record more shows
than that, unattended, on a regular basis.

I've read that these remotes will only do 10 timed macros of 15
keystrokes (and NO Mon.-Fri. macros - smart thinking OFA!). Providing that I can set up each macro to change the
channels on the RCA sat receiver, set the vcr to record, and turn
the vcr off in LESS than 15 steps, does this mean I can ultimately
program MORE than 10 macros? Or is there a "hard limit" of 10 timed
macros, no matter the memory you have left? Does turning off the vcr
after the recording -have- to be done in a separate 'OFF' macro
(because if 10 is the limit, this means I can only program 5 shows on
this thing!)? Or can you get around this by adding sleep key strokes
in the 'ON' macro, in as many 15m increments as it takes to cover the
timed vcr recording? I'm trying to get an idea of how many satellite
broadcasts I can set up a Producer to record through its timer macros.

Also, my video components are in a cabinet with closed wood doors
(there's a small gap in the doors at the top and bottom). Will the RF
ver. (8090 / 9800) of the Producer remotes successfuly transmit a timed macro command through the
closed doors? Since I hear the learning feature only works on the L
keys, and the only device I have that requires learning is my RCA Sat
Receiver, does anyone know if both the 8090 & 9800 models have the
0392 code that fully supports the RCA DirecTV remote? (Depending on
whether the learning will really be useful, I haven't decided yet
which, if any, of the two RF models would best suit my needs. I just
know the non-learner can be had at a deep discount these days...).