I've been trying to get the right universal remote for years now. I have almost every kind, from the $9 retail remotes, to the H/K $250 "Rip Off Remote"

I finally found out what I need.

MORE BUTTONS!

I virtually never use the numeric keypad and rely on menu/driven access to Satellite, DVD, TV, VHS and Amplifiers.

I can't seem to find one that has 'learning' (a must) and that has an emphasis on joystic/menu control buttons (NOT TOUCHSCREENS!)with the numerick keybuttons NOT the focal point of the unit.

The few that have the joystic (up/down/left/right and enter" just don't do it.

Sony only has one set of menu buttons, not enough support buttons, and the most important buttons (like menu) are too small and poorly marked.

I need an inexpensive learning universal remote with several joystick type buttons, one for the TV, one for the Satellite etc....

Backlighting is also good, but I could live without it.

Anyone else feel the problems rest mostly the the Button quantity, type, size and position?

One thing I have found, the more expensive remotes are actually worse than the low end models - espcially where touchscreens are concerned.

Input anyone?

If you're willing to spend $250 on an H/K, I think your money would be better spent on the MX-500.

It has regular buttons for all the regular functions (numbers, transport, etc), it has a thumbpad/joystick thing for the navigation (which I don't personally like), and it has an LCD screen with 10 extra buttons around it, which you can program with up to 20 additional functions per device, of which there are 10.

It has built in codes, which kinda suck, but it has TONS of learning memory, so that's not really a problem.

Having said all that, personally I have more than enough buttons on my $30 15-1994 remote to control all 13 devices in my system.

Rob
http://www.hifi-remote.com