Gentlepeople,

Could I get your input on a comparison between the MX-500 and Sony's RM-AV3000. I like the look and feel of the MX-500, but my wife just purchased a RM-AV3000 for me (birthday...) and that a two handed device for sure.

Any this' and that's between the two?

Thanks!

Paul

Depending on your system and what you plan on doing with it, but that aside, the main thing is personal preference. I for one, dont like the Sony "clipboard" layout. The Universal is just so much more user friendly to me, and can be operated while Im having a drink or eating. I hate having to hunt for buttons though, and am rather lazy when it comes to thigs like this.

since your wife got it as a present for you, I would not exchange it. But if the choice was not made, then I would go with the 500. Like Hey said, it is big and clunky (not as bad as the 2000, 2100) also it just annoys me to have a touchscreen, and they don't give you much control over it. There are 4 or five buttons that you can rename to what you want. The rest you get a limited choice. Also with a 500 you can get an IRclone, and that turns it into a PC programmable remote

Besides, Anthony potentially has one woman coming after him already. ;-)

Remember, you can always get a complete side-by-side specifications comparison with the Clicker Picker.

I'm having this very discussion over at hometheaterforum.com [Link: hometheaterforum.com]

I've used both the Sony 2100 (the 3000's predecessor) and the 500 quite a bit. As I note in the htf thread, I was never really tempted to stray from the MX-500. (But boy-o-boy, the Sony remotes sure look cool!)

Yeah Mike, I don't want everyone's wife after me :-)




just the good looking ones :-)

LOL ;-)



You've got that right! ;-)

Paul,

I was the owner of a Sony RM-AV3000 for about a year or so. It was the first "real" learning remote that I had ever owned. By real, I mean not a $30 Wal-Mart special. I liked it while I had it, but then I got this crazy idea to try out a Pronto TS1000. The only fault I had with the RM-AV3000 was the way all the buttons were square and just placed right next to each other in that grid the LCD has. They did not seem very well placed at times. So, I thought... Hey why not buy the Pronto and have the ultimate control and layout at my fingertips. So I did. It turned out to be a mistake. I sold my Sony RM-AV3000 on Ebay after a week of owning the Pronto thinking that I would be happy with the TS1000. After I got everything programmed and learned into the Pronto I saved it into my PC (nice feature). After another week of using the Pronto I came to the conclusion that I was not a pure LCD touchscreen kind of guy. I hated the fact that you have to click on it first to see the buttons, then scroll to the proper page (each device generally needs 2-3 pages) to find the right button, and then finally hope to be pressing in the right area for the Pronto to respond.

Alas, I knew it was time to get a new remote. I had a two day affair with that new Radio Shack digital ink remote, the Lizard (or something, lol). But it also did not cut it because it did not allow for any button customization. So I was, what to do, what to do...? I was reading some user reviews and I kept hearing how people that had a Pronto wished they had bought an MX-500 instead. I remember never giving this remote a second glance when I was browsing the reviews. When I actually got to studing it, it looked very promising. It had lots of hard buttons (what I love) and and LCD screen for adding your own buttons. I know you are thinking that so does the RM-AV3000, but the MX-500 had more hard buttons and seemed to have a better layout. So, I bought the MX-500 and sold Pronto on Ebay.

In conclusion, the MX-500 is by far the best Universal/Learning remote I have had yet. It was easy to program and has a great feel to it. You can buy them for around $100.00+ or so brand new now. I got mine from Bluedo.com and they were excellent. As of 7/20/03 I highly recommend that company. You might want to try and see if your wife would let you exchange the remote if she would not get offended. She might even like the MX-500 better! Who knows... good luck with your new toy!

LegalKill

I owned the RM-AV3000 for a couple of months (also a gift, and also my first 'real' learning remote) and I was satisfied with it for the most part. Problem was, it occassionally locked-up (i.e. continued sending IR signal even after button was released - a big problem, especially with volume + on my pre-amp!) and needed the old battery-removal-and-reinstall-2-step to clear it. And then after about 3 months, it just reset itself altogether, wiping out all of my codes and programming!! That was it for me - I returned it the next day. ...This was several months ago, and I've been researching the best replacement ever since. I settled-in on the MX-700, and I've been VERY happy so far! Now that I've had the benefit of owning both, I can honestly say the the HTM is, in my opinion, a MUCH better remote platform, and is a much better quality.
While the 700 is about $100 more than the 500, the PC programming capability was the real draw for me. (Trust me, once you get into it, it's very easy, and you'll never want to bother doing it any other way again!) There are a couple other improvements to the 700 that justify the extra cash, but if the 500-price point is your limit, I would not hesitate to exchange the Sony and go for the HTM (my apologies to your better half... )

I have a Sony 2100 and the MX 700...I used the Sony for 18 months - had 2-3 occurrences of it losing several keys off of various devices. My biggest gripe was using it in a generally dark HT environment - I always had to keep hitting the light button...and setting for a longer light-on time drains the batteries. Wound up keeping a small flashlight handy to see the touchscreen.

I quickly learned that my preference was for the hard button variety where I could look at the screen or equipment while pushing buttons and/or change settings in the dark based on memory of button location....

The only thing I haven't been able to program my MX 700 to do is refill my wine glass....
Wyatt

If you only want to spend $100.00 which remote would you guys recommend the MX-500 or the Sony 3000? I am somewhat technical, but after reading through a programming manual on surf remote, not sure i could handle the MX-800 and may not have enough expertice to take advantage of all the features/capabilities.
Denon 3600
Sony DVD
Mitsubishi 46"
Mitsubishi VCR
NHT 2.5i's
Thanks,

EVIL ON
paul, make the remote your wife got you as complicated as you can to use. then, let her use it most of the time. when she get frustrated with it, gently recommend the MX500.
EVIL OFF
ok, do you have another "room" that the sony can be used in? does your household need two universal remotes?
side note: whenever i mention to my wife that i want to buy something, i always have a printout from the web with the exact item/part number just in case and leave it laying around. when my wife want's something, she goes and buys it.