The one thing that the MX- series of remotes have over JP1 remotes is the customizable screen (which is a really neat idea, btw) but as far as them being more customizable, I can't agree with that. As far as sending infrared signals is converned, there's absolutely nothing that a JP1 remote can't be programmed to do.

The beauty of JP1 is that it can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. You can use it simply as a way to back up your remote's memory if you want. Most people just load upgrades for devices that their remote doesn't support and that's it. But if you want to, you can go as deep into it as you want. There are alot of experts in the JP1 forums ready to create custom upgrades for as yet unsupported devices and to create custom protocols for various other situations.

We can customize our remotes so that a long press of a button does something different than a short press. If you have a device that doesn't support discrete codes, you can use a tool called ToadTog to simulate discretes by making your remote remember whether your device is on or off (and yes, it does get fooled if you turn the device off manually, but nothing's perfect). If there is a toggle bit in the signal for your device, a JP1 remote will handle it properly, most learning remotes won't.

You can use JP1 to create signals for which there aren't buttons on the original remotes, which is the case for most discrete codes. You can use a JP1 remote to "go fishing" for other secret functions.

If you've lost your original remote and your remote doesn't have a built in code for the device in question, the chances are very good that we already have an upgrade file that you can use in our vast file section, and even if we don't, one of the experts will almost certainly track down the required info and will create one.

Putting the LCD screen issue aside, I challenge any MX-700 user to make his remote do something that a JP1 remote cannot do, and I bet I can make a JP1 remote do several things that an MX-700 cannot do.

And as for the question of JP1 being difficult, read this doc to see just how easy it really is:

[Link: hifi-remote.com]