Harmony vs. URC Remotes

[Rich_Guy]

Yes you can put the RF base station blaster in the cabinet that your equipment is in, the blaster does not need to be in front of your equipment to work it has very powerful IR pointing in several directions forward and up that ricochet all over off all surfaces of the cabinet so you can experiment and find a location that works well for you. I have my main blaster mounted on the bottom of my top shelf facing upside down and it works everything in there. Also at other times I have had it simply sitting on top of one of my components and it worked everything inside the cabinet. The IR will bounce off the surfaces inside the cabinet so it is pretty easy to get it to work in many locations without the need of the "sticky" IR wires but if you need to the "sticky" wires can help get trouble spots. Also there is the rear panel IR input on some equipment as well.

The Harmony One has no RF and you must point that remote for it to work, the Harmony 900 adds RF.

I would highly recommend URC over Harmony, URC is a much better remote.

Also please note the RF base stations (IR blaster) are purchased separate or in package deals and don't necessarily come with the remote, the remote can be sold either with or without the RF base station.

[Rich_Guy]

With the URC RF models the remote has a very powerful IR that the remote sends, more powerful than most remotes. it also sends out the RF signal which is a radio signal that travels through walls etc. The RF must be picked up by a base station and converted to IR then the IR can be blasted or wired to your equipment.

The base stations also have settings which can be helpful in controlling two or more identical components that would have the same remote control IR codes so that when using one it won't effect the other, only operating the one you wish to be using..

[dtximages]

ok i just called URC and spoke with tech support. i have to buy the remote from the service people and theyre the only ones who have the software!!! also you have to buy an RF base station seperately!

i feel like im taking a huge risk buying this used. no support, god knows if ill be able to adequately use the soft ware. and the base station could be very expensive too. i dont want to have more money in my remote than my HT haaha.

[dtximages]

I just spoke with my nearby dealer and he said that having the professionally programmed is the only way to get the macros to work. he also recommended RTI remotes over the URC. he said they were much better. thoughts?

[dtximages]

What about Crestron????

[Rich_Guy]

ok i just called URC and spoke with tech support. i have to buy the remote from the service people and theyre the only ones who have the software!!! also you have to buy an RF base station seperately!

i feel like im taking a huge risk buying this used. no support, god knows if ill be able to adequately use the soft ware. and the base station could be very expensive too. i dont want to have more money in my remote than my HT haaha.

URC wants to direct their professional line of remotes towards professional installers, however I think that URC has the very best remote for the do it yourselfer. URC does not market their professional remote toward the do it yourselfer.

You can get the software from the URC website with the serial number on your remote but this software does not have the "Live Update" feature that allows you to update the software from within the software. Also many sellers will supply you with the software that does have the "Live Update" feature. The "Live Update" only makes updating the software easier without it you need to download the software from the URC website if there are any updates to the software that you want. With the "Live Update the software contains an update button that will update the software.

The person who told you about macros was just lying, while a professional installer may be able to better program the remote than an amateur it really is not that hard to learn and become very capable or even an expert yourself. Basically what URC is doing would be like if Best Buy refused to sell anyone a computer without having one of their Best Buy Geek Squad professionally installing it at a very expensive charge.

While the amateur that doesn't want to learn may benefit from a professional installer, the hobbyist that wants to can easily learn to program these remotes and if you are serious about your system you can do a better job than anyone else.

If I paid the full retail price for both my remotes, both my base stations and paid to have them programmed I'd never be able to afford them and would never pay that much for remotes. I bought everything I have new for excellent prices online and of course installed it myself, I probably paid less than 1/3 of what it would have cost at full retail and no high priced installation charges.

I have owned many high end remotes my URC remotes have been my favorite by far and the easiest for me to program, that is not to say that they are simple to program, especially for someone new to high end remotes. I think the hardest part for someone new is to know everything these remotes are capable of but if you are someone who is willing to take a little time to learn these remotes are excellent.

I prefer URC to Crestron or RTI, Crestron and RTI are basically truly professional installer only and more expensive. While URC's professional line is probably the very best do it yourselfer remote even if they are not marketed that way.

[dtximages]

thats what i wanted to hear.. thanks for making me spend my whole day at work tomorrow on ebay haha. there are some good deals out there but i have to make sure they come with the RF base station and the IR blasters or wires.

great insight though.

[dtximages]

I cant find any good urc remotes that offer the rf base station and software. im looking at the MX-980 and the MX-5000. The urc website does not indicate any compatible RF base stations for the MX-5000 which is weird. How do i get the software??

[alkemyst]

As a private consumer you don't...it's technically only available to vendors.

You may be able to call up a local place to set you up though for free or a fee.

[kelA]

I cant find any good urc remotes that offer the rf base station and software. im looking at the MX-980 and the MX-5000. The urc website does not indicate any compatible RF base stations for the MX-5000 which is weird. How do i get the software??

From looking at the URC website, it looks like the MX-5000 uses either of the MRF-350 or MSC-400 base stations. Just be sure and note the RF of the MX-980 or MX-5000 should you get one of those. URC has two different versions, 433Mhz is designated by the letter "i". Please see page 9 in the following link below.

http://www.universalremote.com/resources/pdfs/MX-5000_reference.pdf

[dtximages]

Rich_Guy, i cannot find anywhere on URC's site to input a serial number or to download software. this is the first i have heard of this. i am soooo on the edge of buying one, but scared ill get it and itll just sit there lifeless. im sorry i just need to be more sure about the software. thanks,

[Rich_Guy]

Looks like URC has changed their policy again and have removed the software from their website completely even the non Live Update versions that were available with the remote serial number.

I am sending you a pm to your Klipsch inbox.

[dtximages]

Thank you all again for your input. Im still learning how to use/program this thing. it is VERY time consuming because you can do so much with it. i spent hours today creating two icons in Adobe Illustrator. Heres a screenshot. Im sure ill get tired of them and make some "simpler" ones in the future.

this remote is incredible!

if youre good at adobe software, ms office, macros, other computer software programs you should be able to pick this one up. like everything, its a little different, but alot of good copy/paste shortcuts etc.

im going to try to post a screenshot.. idk if itll work or not.

[dtximages]

ok i dont know how to do the picture thing on here real well.

[dtximages]

to me this looks like an internet add.. kinda ugly.. but also kinda cool. it shows what all you can do. but you better be pretty proficient at photo software. for me, i learned adobe illustrator for screenprinting tshirts.

each of those "buttons" took me a while to make. had to get all logo pics, clean them up, size them. stickem all together.. then save it as a jpg.