The 9800i will definitely frustrate you. It is not flexible and if something doesn't work there is absolutely no way to work around the problem, because you can't program the device. There are still numerous bugs that aren't solved. And although we (users through this and the streamium cafe forum) have reported several bugs, we haven't seen a firmware update. This firmware update will probably never come and if it does will definitely not solve the bugs (like the latest 2.0.80, which is less stable than 2.0.78 and has worse WIFI reception, and no one seems to know which improvements are made in the latest firmware).
I sense that you are a critical user who wants the remote to work seamlessly with your equipment. This is therefore not the remote for you. It (still) works for me because I only want it for the very basics of controlling and I like the looks and feel.
Best Regards and good luck in your quest for finding the perfect remote (does such a thing really exists?),