If I don't have this in the right forum sorry.

I have two MX-500's and a MX-600 so I've never used a PC programed remote or URC's software but since I like gadgets I think I want to try either a 810 or 900. Looking at only pictures of the two I love the color screen of the 810 but can't really tell which layout is better for me.

I don't have alot of devices to operate, Toshiba HD TV, Direct TV Tivo, Oppo Dvd, Zenith HD Tuner, Mit Vcr and an Outlaw Audio Preamp/Processor with both audio and video ran through the Outlaw. Now some questions:

1. I think the MX-500 is the best layed out remote ever for a Tivo or DVR, I'm talking about how the transport buttons are arranged around the keypad plus the surrounding buttons menu, Guide, etc... This is all very important to me, and is going to be a major adjustment on my part with the keypad and transport buttons being separated. Even though similar in layout in actual use is the 810 or 900 easier to use with a DVR?

2. Never having used URC software before will one software be easier for me to use?

3. I've read that the 810 software is buggy, normally how long does it take URC to fix them?

4. I know the 810 has a color screen but does the screen on the 900 look the same (dull to me) as my MX-500?

5. I also can't tell by the pictures which remote has the better layout and spacing for the most used buttons mainly Volume and Channel? And probably just as important for my Tivo, Menu and Guide buttons how about them?

6. Do I understand correctly that with either of these remotes you have the choice of Activity based control or Device based control with the ability to make your own Macros? Is there much difference in Activity based control between the two?

7. I'm not sure how important this would be to me but didn't I read somewhere that with the 810 you couldn't put two Macros on a button (never had this) or program button holddowns?

8. Also I read where MikeSRC said that the 950 had an option to simulate descrete on and off for devices that didn't have them but the 900 didn't. I think he also said he hoped this would filter down to the 900, has it?

9. So after using a MX-500 for so long which remote would I adapt to easier?

Since you seem to be in love with the layout of your 500, have you considered going with an 850? It offers most of the capabilities of the 900, and the newer ones are compatible with the narrow band RF base stations such as the MRF-350.

I own an 850 and two 900s. Until recently, I considered the 900 to be the best hard button based remote on the market. Now that I've been playing around with my 980 for a week, I think it may very well be the new champ. :)

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the 810. It definitely looks slick, but I don't like it for the same reasons that I don't like the Harmonys. I want to be able to control every minute detail of my configuration, and the 810 just doesn't offer nearly enough flexibility. It's probably fine for most people, but if you're a tweaker like me, you'll most likely be happier with something else.

I really depends what you want out of a remote.

I really like the layout and feel of the MX-810. It more or less has everything I could want from that perspective. It has device and activity buttons, a color LCD, it is light weight, has a pickup sensor, lithium battery and has hard buttons for common DVR functions including record. The software is pretty good in concept but it definitely has some bugs. I haven't found anything that can't be worked around yet but it can be disconcerting. The MX-810 software will actually make your activity macros for you and then allow you to edit them. With the ProWizard software you trade flexibility for ease of learning curve on simple setups. Meaning that it makes common tasks really easy while making some types of customization difficult and others impossible. The MX-810 is completely unsuited to a multi-room setup.

The MX-900 removes the record button and exchanges the activities/device buttons for watch/listen buttons. It also does not have the full color LCD. It uses traditional batteries which can be a plus or a minus for you depending on perspective. However, the programming is much more flexible. If you really like full control over your configuration or have a more complicated vision the MX-900 is a much better choice. Also, the software is basically a variant of what they have been using for years so it should be pretty stable.

The MX-850 is virtually identical to your MX-500 but offers programmability similar to the MX-900. It does have a few potential down sides. It uses a serial port for programming which modern computers do not provide so unless you have an older computer you will need a serial to usb adapter which will cost you $30-$40. Also, the MX-850 does not have dedicated skip buttons like the MX-500 does.

To answer some of your specific questions:

1. I personally think the MX-810/MX-900 layouts are much better than the MX-500 because of the fact that they have more dedicated buttons. On the 500, for example, the PAUSE button and INFO button are on the same hard button. A DVR will use both of these buttons so this is problematic. The MX-850 has solved this by removing the dedicated hard buttons for skip and replacing them with dedicated DVR buttons.

2. Absolutely, which one is hard to say without knowing more about you and what you want. See above.

6. The MX-810 has a dedicated activity button while the MX-900 has far more flexibility in programming. MX-810 is really only suited to an activity based programming setup while the MX-900 can be used either way.

7. Putting two macros on a button basically means that you can have one macro happen when you PRESS a button and a different macro happen when you HOLD a button. Programming holddowns is when you program the remote to simulate keeping a button pressed down.

8. This is support for variables. I don't believe that this has been implemented yet on the MX-900 but I am not positive.

9. The MX-850. It is nearly the same layout.

I recently had to make the decision as you for my bedroom and after a lot of procrastination I chose the MX-810 primarily because I like the activity/device buttons and the color screen. I still don't know if I made the right decision. I have some pretty specific ideas about what I want and although they are pretty close to what the MX-810 does already programming certain things has been painful and I had to make some design sacrifices. However, I love using the remote to actually control my devices. Also, my wife finds the help button useful.

Loraquest I guess I may be contradicting myself but as much as I like the MX-500's transport layout I'm ready to try something new (with pizzazz) if that makes sense.(lol) Even though it's PC based the MX-850 is too much of the same look and I don't like the fact it uses a serial port.

Dalto lots of interesting facts to consider. What I didn't realize was that the MX-810 was more Activity based since it has both Activity and Device buttons, I assumed that if I just wanted to program Macros to the Device buttons I wouldn't be as limited as you seem to be hinting at. Having never had a Activity based remote before I really don't know if that feature is a huge plus or a huge limitation but ideally I think you would want the option to do both.

Since my setup has all my equipment running both the audio and video through my Outlaw pre/pro Activity based programing wouldn't be too challenging for the MX-810 would it? When I'm watching my KU Jayhawks on tv I like to mute the tv sound and listen to our local announcers through the Outlaw tuner can the MX-810's Activity based or Device based programing do everything to get me to this point.

At first glance what I really like about the MX-810 is the color screen, rechargeable batteries and maybe easier software once the bugs have been fixed.

What I like about the MX-900 is that I could do both Activity based programing and Device programing with very little limitations but it sure would be nice if it had a color LCD and was rechargeable. I'm also a little concerned with the learning curve of the software.

Looking at the pictures I still can't tell which remote has the better shaped and spaced buttons in general but particularly the Volume and Channel buttons, care to comment on this aspect?

So are you saying when viewing the LCD screen on the MX-900 it has the same look as the MX-500?

I suppose the MX-980 might have everything I was looking for (and probably overkill for me) but it's alot more money right? Software aside maybe the perfect remote would be a MX-900 that's rechargeable and has a color LCD screen.

Technically, the activities and devices are seperate. But the activities use the devices. You create your macros using the devices you create. You can jump back and forth between the two. For example, if you select an activity, then go to a device, the remote will go back to the same activity when you hit the activities button again.


People talk about the "buggy" 810 software, but the fact is it is just different from the MX software. You have to program the 810 differently. The software does have some quirks, but it isn't really "buggy." If you've never programmed using the MX software, then you probably would have similar problems with it. Both software pieces are specialized, and therefore have a learning curve. There hasn't been an activity on my systems that didn't work on the 810 (But then again, I only have discrete components).


Have both at home. My wife prefers the 810 to the 900. The button layout are similar. We use both interchangibly. The 810 has a dedicated Rec button, which I find to be a huge plus.


Screen on the 900 is b/w with text labels. Has a blue backlight.


If you haven't programmed a remote before, you are going to have just as much trouble with the 900 or 980. If anything, the 980's software is more complicated. If you have a straight-forward system, then the 810 will be more than enough. If you need to program complicated macros/variables, the 980 is your beast.

I am not on the "this software sucks because it is different bandwagon" but it is a little buggy still. Some examples:

1. If you enter the screen that lets you copy and paste commands between devices there is a hyphenation bug where long text inserts extra hyphens as you paste more buttons. I ended up with commands that had like 10 hyphens in them. If you go into the button relabeling screen it all works fine and you can fix them.
2. If you create a favorites activity with exactly one page of buttons exit and go back to edit it, when you try to drag icons to the second page they get added to the first instead.
3. Sometimes when you drop down the device lists they display outside of the box.

All can be worked around pretty easily but there are some bugs in there still.


I agree completely with you. It is almost like the mx editor says "Here is how I work, do what you want with me" and the ProWizard says "tell me what you have and we will figure out how to make it work together".

layout wise i really like both the 810 and the 900 over the 980 that i just bought. i still prefer the 980 for its programming ability and over all WOW factor. in fact i just couldnt get used to having rr and ff under the play button opposed to on either side of play like most remotes are layed out. so i simply reassigned the commands to where i like them. but i have the luxury of being the only user, otherwise i would create a second same device with the commands always doing what the labels show.

it took a little thought but i now have what IMO is the perfect layout. it does ride my mind a little not having proper labels, but i can live with it.

I wouldn't let the fact that the 900 isn't rechargeable weigh too heavily on your decision. It's really not that big of a deal. I'm a power user, and the batteries generally last me 2-3 months.

I do have to say that, despite how much I like the 980, it's a real bitch to program. And this is coming from someone who has programmed many 700s, 850s and 900s. The graphics, while cool as hell, make the whole process that much more complicated. That being said, if you don't mind spending a lot of time setting up your remote, the payoff is well worth it in the end. About the only negative thing I can say about the 980 is that it may be somewhat on the large side for some people. Ergonomically, I happen to think the 810 is just about perfect, and the 900 is a close second. These remotes just feel "right" in your hand. It took me a while to get used to the 900 after using 700s and 850s for so long, but now I don't even think about it.

i'm almost embarassed to say i have probably over 50 hours into my 980 already. this isnt any more time than i put into my last universal mind you (Nevo SL), i'm VERY meticulous that i have the perfectly laid out page for every possible situation.

I'm still trying to get this to sink in to my thick head regarding the 810 and programing and it may be as much about PC programing in general than any particular remote. So basically you setup all of your Devices just like I would on my 500 (although using a PC) then you use the wizard to create your Macros. Once programed you click on Activities to "Watch Sat", Watch Dvd, etc. and then the only time you would ever need to click on the Devices and bring up a device like Tivo, TV, or whatever is if you needed to change some setting or bring up some screen programed there? I suppose you are able to put in pauses and such through the Wizard but does it do press and hold (button) Macros or are these even necessary.

Concerning the 900 besides being PC programed would it be closer to how you program the 500 using press and hold Macros or it it even more similar to the 810 than different? I'm still trying to get a sense what you could do with the 900 that you couldn't do with the 810

Is the pickup sensor of the 810 kind of neat or is it more of a novelty?

Not using the backlight am I understanding right if you had a 500 and a 900 side by side the screens would look the same as far as the b/w display?

Not having a hard button rec does not matter to me one way or the other as I never used it on my 500 thinking I would accidently hit it so I put rec under the Device buttons.

Physically are the 810 and 900 about the same size?

I still have absolutely no idea idea which would work better for me I think not ever having used a PC programed remote makes it tougher because I won't know what I would be missing picking the 810 over the 900 until I wanted to do something and then found out it wasn't possible. Coming from my 500 I'm sure there's things I don't even know you can do in programing a remote but also wouldn't necessarily need.

Seems like you need to have an idea what you want to do before you purchase either of these remotes and all I know at this point in time (and I'm sure that will change) is programing similar to what I now have although I would like the Macros to fire faster.

From a logical sense using the 810 with the Activity/Device buttons vs using the 900 having Listen/Watch buttons are these just sort of a wash, just different?

Is it a consensus that I will have probably have trouble with both softwares since I'm new at PC programing?(lol) Which would be a bigger challenge using MX Editor for the first time or the 810's Wizard which seems to have just enough kinks to derail the uneducated PC programer?

In the ProWizard you setup all your devices first. Once you have the devices setup and tested, you create the activities. When you create the activities, it will automatically create the macros for you.

You cannot do press and hold macros on the MX-810. However, the way the MX-810 is designed I would not think that you would need to.


From a programming perspective it is more similar to the MX-500 I suppose. Although I have not programmed a 500 in a long time so I don't entirely remember.

The MX-900 is almost fully customizable. An example of something you could do on the MX-900 that I don't think can be done on the MX-810 is make pressing the channel + button display a different device. You can do all kinds of things with flexible programming if you need to. The question is, do you need to?


The pickup sensor on the MX-810 automatically turns on the LCD and/or backlight when you grab the remote. I find it quite useful actually.


I believe the 900 is shorter. The dimensions of each are on the URC website.


The MX-810 will guide you through your setup. If you want a simple activity based layout it is a good choice as it will help you setup your remote this way.

The MX-900 will let you do whatever you want but you have to make it do it.


They are pretty different in concept but you could program the MX-900's buttons to work more like the MX-810 if you wanted to.


The learning curve is much lower on the MX-810 software than the . If you have never done either an initial setup on the MX-810 is a lot easier to learn. However, doing complicated things can be challenging. The question is how complicated to you need/want your setup to be.

Dalto thanks for answering all my questions!

I hope I'm not asking the same question over and over again but with the 810's Activity based programing can you basically have it create pretty much any activities you want (within reason) or are there limitations?

Do these Activities fire pretty fast?

Not that I would, but say I decided I didn't want the rec button to actually function as a rec button is there a provision in the programing to change it to do something else? And any other buttons as far as that goes.

Do you think remotes like the 810 and 980 are the new direction URC is headed or is this just a option for people who like flashier remotes?

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

You can make the activity be labeled anything you want. Each activity can will have a macro tied to that can fire a series of commands. So there are not many limitations there.


The delays are configurable. Each device has a configurable power on delay and you can add delays to your macros as you want. The only limitation on speed is how fast can your components react.


Yes, you can put different commands on most of the buttons.


If you mean color displays, I personally think the market will start to demand them on higher end remotes.

I highly recommend that you go out to a store that carries both models and hold them in your hand before making a decision.

I agree that the 810 is easier to configure for someone who has no experience using the MX editor. That being said, you seem like a reasonably intelligent guy based on the questions you have asked here. I don't think you will have any problem mastering the MX-900 Editor. It will simply take some time. It all boils down to how much flexibility you want. Let me give you an example of something that you can do with the 900 that you can't do with the 810. In my system, I use the 900 to control my lights. Using push-and-hold macros, I have it set up so I can press the numbered buttons to turn on various lights, and hold down those same buttons to turn them off. It's neat little things like this that make the 900 so powerful. Basically, you are only limited by your imagination.

I actually don't have a dealer in my area who has them both I live in a small farming community and would have to drive 200 miles to probably find them. I did read the review on this site of the 900 and boy the MX-Editor does look complicated and would definitely take awhile to learn.

So I'm going to go ahead and order the 810 I think it will do what I want it to do. My main concerns with the 810 were whether after creating an Activity it wouldn't be too limited with the Macros it created and it doesn't sound like it would, plus having the ability to put different commands on the buttons. Dalto's post leads me to believe I shouldn't have a problem with either.

So as they say " Sold to the American"! Thanks for the help guys!!!