I just bought one of these, and because I did so in part based on the strength of the review here, I wanted to post my own experiences. (The other reason I bought the device is that my experiences with Sony have been generally positive.)

I'm very dissatisfied.

First off, the remote locks up if you attempt to delete a learned key, or a learned device. It is necessary to use a complex process that makes the remote forget everything it has learned, in order to reprogram the key. The message, I guess, is: never make any mistakes, because the AV3100 isn't forgiving. Lockups are inexcusable in third generation code, and any system that requires one to start over from scratch after a single mistake is, in my view, unusable.

Second, in attempting to teach it commands for a home built PVR, I had no luck at all. The device, built by my brother, is controlled by a wireless keyboard. The AV3100 learns the commands -- too well. When you press a button, it will issue the command several times, causing menus to flicker wildly.

In its defense, it did well on programmed commands, i.e. I was able to teach it about a Magnavox television and a Panasonic DVD player with no difficulty at all. But I bought the device because I thought it could learn, and it does not do that well, at all.

It's going back to the store. Maybe the next generation will actually be usable.