As the owner of an older MX-500, I don't like the feel of the MX-800 thumbpad as well. I've already issued false "up, down, left, or right" commands several times while attempting to press only the center "select" command.

I seem to recall that some people had changed the feel of the MX-700 or the newer MX-500 by embedding a rubber band under the bezel or something, but a quick search of the forum didn't locate the thread. Has anyone done this on an MX-800? Any other solutions to make it a bit tougher to accidentally execute the "side" commands when you only wanted the center press?

Thanks for any ideas! -Bruce

This message was edited by Bruce Burson on 11/06/03 08:01.

Anyone?

Happy Halloween!

Bruce:

Happy Halloween, also.

The Thumbpad has been a controversial issue for many of the users. I have the MX700 and would have liked a separate center button to push. However, there are many that like the Thumbpad the way it is and it works fine for them.

I also have had problems similar to what you have experienced. It works better for me when I do a quick press straight down by arching my thumb. However, even that will issue false commands at times.

What I have recently done and am still continuing to experiment with, is to use the Play button for the Select button(the Center push on the Thumbpad) and to make the play button the "Ent" button that is located at the rear bottom of the MX700. By switching these, I find that when I watch a DVD, Tape or play a CD, I can use the play button to start the DVD, etc., (it selects it and starts play) and the only time that it doesn't work is when I have paused the movie or CD and then wish to start it again. Then I use the switched "Ent" button that I have assigned to the play function to commence play once again.

I'm experimenting with this setup at present and I believe that it will probably work for me over the long run.

Goog luck and don't let the gremlins get you!

Good idea.

Half the time the thumpad center is duplicated on the "Ent" button anyway, at least for most of my devices...

By the way, the rubber band trick works great. The only trick is to be sure that you don't tuck the ends of the band under the thumpad until you're really, really sure that you've found the right thickness. I played with three bands until I found the one that was "right for me."

Bruce:

I never heard of the "rubber band" trick? How is it used and how do you install it on the remote?

Sal

You find one that will fit around the thumbpad and it restricts the side-to-side movement when you push the center select. As Bruce said, it needs to be "just right" or you'll have a hard time using the up, down, left, right functions.

Mike
www.SurfRemote.com
www.SurfAudioVideo.com

Can anyone recommend a particular size of rubber band (by number)?

It is astonishing to me that HTM hasn't redesigned the thumbpads. I have one of the very old MX500s, and it works effortlessly. My newer MX500 and MX700 with the latest attempt at the pad do not.

Supposedly they changed to the newer thumbpads because of reliablity concerns. Personally, I'd rather have the thing wear out in a few years and be easy to use in the meantime. By then I'll have moved on to some other remote anyway.

I wonder when we'll see them try again? Do they think the new ones are fine? I'm thinking people don't try to put rubber band modifications on equipment that is working as expected. ;-)

Sorry, just in a ranting mood today, I guess. I'll get over it!

Sean

splogue:

It could also just be that I'm too lazy to fight the learning curve. I'm accustomed to the feel of the MX-500 after using it for so long, And, I still use the MX-500 in the bedroom. I've got my "reflexes" programmed to operate the old-style pad.

If I were a brand-new MX-800 user with no experience of the old thumbpad, I might be happy with it out of the box. No old reflexes to unlearn, you know?

I'm a first time MX-800 user with no reflexes to unlearn and I have the same problem mentioned above with the thumbpad.

Two other issues for me are:

Backlight button action is too hard. Way too hard.

Backlight too dim. There is a certain lighling level common in my viewing room where I can't see the display with the backlight off or on. I use a flashlight. What were they thinking!

I love the MX-800 otherwise. But the problems above are big human interface issues that present a constant annoyance. It is very suprising to find them in a remote of this quality.

mporter:

If you need a flashlight to see the display on your MX-800, then it is a fairly dark room, so either your batteries are too week or if it is only the LCD you are having problems with, then you could have the contrast turned way down.

Contrast: Use the MAIN and UP/DOWN buttons to adjust contrast.

The backlighting on the MX-800 is great and has been commented on numerous times by my guests as being plenty bright but not overwhelming.

If your batteries are fresh and you still have low backlighting, then you have a defective MX-800.

... Greg

I agree completely on all counts.

No, you misunderstand. It works fine in the dark. I'm refering to the mid-light level problem with backlighting also mentioned in Daniel Tonks review. Backlighting inverts the text color making the labels appear almost invisible under mid-level light conditions.

There is a light level where you can't see the labels with the backlight on or off. And it just happens to be the light level of my viewing location. Sometimes my solution is a flashlight.

See the Tonks Review:

[Link: remotecentral.com]

3 10:51, GregoriusM said...

This message was edited by mporter on 11/10/03 20:44.

Hmm, generally I don't find it so bad to actually require a flashlight - either it's readable "enough" without the backlight, or the remote can be adjusted to an angle where less light shines on the screen and the backlight is more visible.

Often the problem is low batteries - the backlight doesn't dim as much as you might think (IR transmission seems to suffer far more), but once you pop new ones in it's quite a bit brighter.

Thanks Greg and Daniel.

I just tried inserting fresh batteries and it definitely helped. The backlight is brighter and there is now more overlap in visibility. But it still requires some creative tilting even with new batteries.

A high-tech solution for this would be the kind of regulated power like high-end LED flashlights have. Some, like the Arc LS, upconvert the battery voltage automatically and give the same brightness of light throughout the life of the battery. The battery voltage falls, but the light output stays the same until right before the battery is exhausted.

This would also help IR strength to remain high. A nice benefit of regulated light is efficient use of batteries. You never replace half-used batteries with fresh ones.

I don't know if there is a technical issue why this couldn't be done in remotes. Perhaps it is just price.