You speak the truth geraldb. I can see both UEI and RTI looking to sell to the high-end crowd and reward their dealers for doing so. And not being a commodity item, the margins on hardware are good. And as everyone knows in the professional services game, consulting (programming) margins are extremely high to the installer.

However, I'm in the same boat as the original poster. 15+ years in the IT industry spanning application development, embedded system design, network architecture, security, etc. I love my TSU3000 since it's so easy to program. Technology is not complex to me and hex, discrete codes, etc., are second nature to me.

But I want a remote that has a better balance of hard buttons and touch screen capabiltiy. Both the RTI T3 and the UEI Nevo meet those needs in principal, but I don't need, nor want, a dealer doing the installation and programming for me. I don't mind paying for 1-2 hours on the best practices for installation or programming, but my home theater is MINE. I know how I and my family envision and operate our devices.

With a new dedicated HT being installed, I'll have components moving in and out over the next 6-12+ months. I don't wish to have to call and schedule a dealer for each and every change. New HTPC install? "I'll be over in the next week or so to reprogam".

So now I have the same issue. I don't mind paying retail for a device that is more usable than the retail products out there, but I won't be beholden to a dealer (especially when there is the risk they can go out of business or no longer service the remote). I also won't go the route of the TSU7000 or other similar remotes that don't meet my new needs.

So I guess I'll also look for a friendly installer who's willing to make good net profit off the sale of a remote in return for future business when I upgrade my HT components.

I'm interested in the views of dealers and installers to users such as the original poster and myself.

Rgds,

--- Gavin