Just wondering if you can use the MX-200 'sidekick' with the MX-500? Just purchased the MX-500 and the wife is looking at the remote as if it's straight off the Starship Enterprise!!

there are three things you need to use a 200
1) editing software, that is easy to find

2) cable, that can be bought or built (actually from HTM there only comes 1 cable for 3 700/200 packages, so many places build their own, and I am sure they would be willing to sell you one

3) this is the hard one, the actual IR codes. Since the 200 comes with the 700, the 700 has the learning part. But HTM just added a converter that can read Pronto CCFs, so that task has become much easier (large Pronto DB in the file area of this site)

Although the 200 was originally sold with the 700, it is actually very independent of it. It was really designed to work with any upscale remote to help with situations such as your wife's. You only need the mx-700 software to program it. After that it is on its own.

This was one of the major reasons I purchased the MX-700, because it has this Sidekick and my wife refused to even look at other remote controls that had more than 12 buttons. Some may say it is limited but with some imagination you can make this baby to do a lot with just few buttons.
In my case I had programmed it to do the following:

Power On button: Dual function
1) Turn entire system on.
2) delay 5 seconds - allows plasma to be ready to receive additional commands.
3) Set AV Amp to Cable Video
4) Set plasma input to Video - prepare to watch Cable
5) Set plasma aspect to 4:3 - prepare to watch Cable that has most reception in 4:3 aspect.

(Since my wife wants to watch her soap, and have it work moment she presses the power button....that is the reason for setting the aspect to 4:3 which corresponds to what she would watch the most)

These last two macro steps are also present at the start of the macro Power On sequence only because I may want to eliminate two additional buttons on the Sidekick that are used to do just the Aspect and Change to Video on the Plasma and this way I then have a dual function key. The reason for this is that if I did not put these two steps at the start of the sequence, it would still work but the required warm up delay needed if the Plasma was off would be unbearable. But if the system is already on, then the function is instant.

Power Off: No need to explain

Volume Up/Down: No need to explain

Channel Up/Down: Set to the Cable box

Mute: No need to explain but could be used for other function since the Volume Up/Down is here.

Info: I used this button as Favorite Channel selector for the Cable box. Since the Cable has so many stations, clicking the Channel Selector UP/Down would take many steps to go from one end to another, By the use of Favorite channels, I can quickly move providing the Favorite stations are set at some logical points.

Favorite A:
I am using it as aspect selector for my Plasma.
Could be eliminated.

Favorite B:
Switch AV Amp to Cable, Switch Plasma To Video.
Could be eliminated. The Power ON could do this function.

Favorite C:
Switch AV Amp to OTA HDTV Tuner. Channel UP.

This last one on Favorite C: was programmed this way because my OTA HDTV Tuner has only seven channels of reception and I think that it does not make sense to use extra button for Channel Down and/or separate button for Channel Up.

I agree that the 200 is more useful than people tend to say. Personally I don't like it, but my wife and kids love it.

I found 12 buttons just too limiting, so I took advantage of the "two actions on one button" capability. You can set each button to have a single code to send on a quick press OR a macro to send when the button is held down for some delay. (I use .5 seconds)

With this set up, the 200 in my house has:

On - turn on A/V receiver, turn on TV, turn on Dish box, set amp to Dish, set TV to receiver input
Off - everything off

Up - press = channel up; hold = page up in Dish guide
Down - press = channel down; hold = page down in Dish guide
Left - press = Dish left; hold = volume down
Right - press = Dish right; hold = volumn up

Mute - press = Dish guide; hold = mute
Info - press = Dish PVR; hold = Info

A = PVR skip back 10 seconds
B = PVR skip forward 10 seconds
C = press = Enter; hold = cancel

So I treat the 200 as if it has 18 buttons, and can still add macros to the A and B keys. After a day or so of getting used to the press vs hold stuff, my wife loves it.

-Bear

The 200 is a deceptively advanced remote. Your average person would look at it and assume it came free with a 13" TV.

After saying it was useful, and that my wife like it, I just noticed that URC is selling it seperately for $79. It is much more powerful than it looks, but given how few buttons it has I would not pay that much for one. If you get the combo package, its basically free, and well worth it :-)

-Bear

It's nearly an entire MX-700 in a teeny tiny case... with less buttons. Point of fact, it downloads the MX-700's entire configuration file!

Which is why a lot of people find it a bit baffling. It has all the programming power of the MX-700, and just an additional 4-5 buttons would make all the world of difference. Overloading the buttons means the user has to learn how to use the MX-200, which sort of takes away the entire point. If you don't overload the buttons, it not quite powerful enough to drive even a single activity like watching a sat box.

-Bear Klaw