I just got my unit yesterday and I'm very impressed. However, I must be missing something that's very obvious to everybody else. I can't find any way to enter numeric digits into the LCD key labels that I create using the "EDIT" function. As the manual states, the numeric keys 1-9 represent alpha codes, and the 0 key represents a number of other characters, one of which is "0". However I can find no way to specify "1" through "9" for a label. I'd sure appreciate it if someone would completely embarass me by pointing out what I'm missing.

Thanks.

Bob,

Press number 1 a few times, it'll change from A, B, C, and finally 1. Same with the other numbers. (i.e. press 5 - it cycles through M, N, O, and 5.)

David
www.BlueDo.com

Thank you David. I thought I had tried that, but obviously not since it works perfectly. I am indeed embarrassed at not having tried this myself. It would help if this were documented in the manual.

This forum is great!

This one stumped me for a while, too. I completely agree with the review here's comment that the manual doesn't actually make the remote easier to use.

If you're just getting started, here's a tip that I learned. The manual's way of listing the number key and letters it controls is backwards -- you already know the letter that you want, so why organize the list by the number button? Write this out on a sheet of paper, and it makes finding the proper keys a lot faster.

A 1
B 11
C 111
D 2
E 22
F 222
G 3
H 33
...etc...

This may seem like a minor issue, but I estimate that I had to enter 200 letters just to label my FAV macros.

I find the manual fairly straight-forward.

But I do agree that you can get screwed up on the labelling of numerals.

H.

There is a manual on the Home Theater Master website that might be more up-to-date than the one you have with your MX-500.

I do agree that the labelling is misleading. The boxed letters behind the 1, 2, 3, etc. should have ended with one extra box with the actual number in it.

Such as 1. A,B,C,1 2. D,E,F,2

It would have made it much simpler.

That is something I missed when when proofing the manual since I only wrote the text and did not provide the illustrations. Mind you, there is no mention of it in the text either.

Since you think this is the worst manual you've ever seen, could you tell me what other problems you've had in using the manual to familiarize yourself with the remote and how to use it?

It would be appreciated for further revisions.

... Greg

I found the labeling to be very easy. You just have to know your ABC's.

hi;

I don't think anyone was claiming that this is a bad manual. (I wasn't, and certainly didn't want it to sounds that way. I've seen the manual for Windows 95.) The problem is that the remote does a pretty good job of explaining itself; the manual does the same in more detail, and for some, in a more accessible format. The main use that I had for the manual -- aside from reading and rereading it during the week that I was waiting for OOPS to deliver mine -- was to tell me how to get to the point where the remote's on-screen instructions took over. As such, it doesn't really help me use the remote. Blame URC for having a decent product.

That said, the one thing I would change is the nice blank back cover. A "Quick Guide" would be perfect there -- a small recap of key commands to either get to, or in place of, LCD instructions. (eg. (To enter Setup Mode press [main]+[enter] / To increase LCD contrast press [main]+[joystick up] etc) The other item that would go there could be a properly formatted list of letter/number combinations (as in my previous post). I may be the only one who dislikes the way it's presented in the manual (1 abc 2 efg) but I found it to require an additional chunk of brain power that I really couldn't spare while trying to label a button "ABC". It's not intuitive and is hard to read -- but I also use a Macintosh, and you may already know what kind of a usability/interface mutant that makes me.

If you are in any way responsible for the inclusion of the number-letter chart on each page of the "Button Editing" chapter, bless you. I may not like the format, but I hate flipping pages more.

Okay, now this one really is an off-the-wall comment: the highlighting of the button names isn't always consistent. For example: page 27, the paragraph "Important: do not press the MAIN button..." highlights the MAIN. Elsewhere (page 21, "..the three MAIN, PAGE, and FAV buttons...") they are not highlighted. Also, in the sample macro presented on page 30, the highlighting stops on step 4. While I see that that may be to indicate that these are the macro string buttons that are not being executed, the highlighting should resume on step 18 where the macro is being saved.

Okay, here's what I've learned while writing this message:

-- There are only very small nits to pick with the MX-500 manual.
-- This is really, really off-topic.
-- I shouldn't post late at night.
-- I am going to (deservedly) get hammered for every spelling and grammar error in this and every future post I write.


- Matthew.

Deleted.

This message was edited by Harry Smith on 12/19/02 19:58.19.

Since I started this thread I feel I should just say that I never criticized anything about the manual or the unit other than the fact that the manual does not show graphically nor mention in the text the technique for including numbers in labeling buttons. This is a pretty minor fault. I thought I had tried (before submitting my original question) the fourth push of a button to see if that resulted in displaying the number, and that it had not worked. Obviously I must have pushed it five times by accident and wound up back at the first letter being displayed. I very much like the unit, and have set it up quite well for my system. Unfortunately the wife is still having trouble using it. I believe these troubles will only be solved by utilizing discrete codes, and so I'm off to search this and other forums to figure out (1) how to utilize them with the MX-500, and (2) whether the more recent additions to my system have any readily available discrete codes that can be made to work. Any suggestions for minimizing my search would be much appreciated.

The "worst manual" comment came in another thread.

There were a few revisions that I did not get to proof, including the non-highlighting of the steps.

And, yes, HTM has made a remote that would be easy to program even without a manual, but the manual does put you in touch with the overall scheme of things if you've never touched a programmable remote before or if you think you have to have a device by device setup, and would rather have an activity-based setup - both which a doable in the 500.

And, thank you for the tips!

... Greg