I know I want 3 (diningroom, kitchen and porch). They would ease the pressure I've got my MX-900 under right now. And great for parties! :)

This is why I make my "OFF" button link to a "System Off?" page that has a YES button and a NO button. If you press the no button it does a "Navigate -" command which brings you back one step where you just were when you accidentally pressed the off button. If you DO want to power the system down you press the YES button. I actually create a device called "Confirm" that consists of this one "System Off?" page. Another nice thing is that since every OFF button links to this one page where you have one System Off macro, if you have to edit your system off macro you only have to do it once. I also like this because it tells my clients that doing this will turn off the whole system instead of 1 device since the page reads "System Off?".

Thats a cool Idea. I wish I knew that earlier. Would have worked good for the mx remotes I did at a couple bars. I relocated the system off buttons to the last visible watch page so it wasn't too easy to accidentally turn off all the tv's.

I too will be ordering a KP900 when avaible. Once I get everything in my house on MRF, I can put one next to the door and shut off everything in the house as I leave. Should be a very cool device. It bridges the gap between using a keypad or remote to control a house audio system.

I also program a System Off page in a "Confirm" device on my remotes. The "Yes" and "No" buttons work as described above, and I add four dummy buttons to create a message, looking like this:

TURN
SYSTEM
OFF?

NO
YES

Also as Andrew described, my "No" button performs a Navigate- command to get you back to where you came from.

But I also add an additional feature: only on the System Off page, the "Off" hard button is aliased to the "Yes" button. This way, when I'm walking out the door, I reach up and double-press the "Off" button to shut the theater down and turn off the lights. I don't even have to look at the screen of the remote.

Granted, I suppose you COULD double-press the "Off" button when you're meaning to press a different key, but it's never happened in my house, even with my six-year-old twins.

Best regards,
Dale

That's basically what mine looks like as well. I just have the device page that reads:

CONFIRM!

System
OFF?

YES

NO

I like the idea of the double press that is a one step thing. I have something similar on my channel macros so that when I press and hold the channel icon button it goes back to the cable page. I call it quick select.

Sorry, I didn't intend to hijack the thread....back to this very interesting KP 900.

Andrew

I would love for it to be rechargable while in the cradle. Also have RF antenna built into the cradle so you could feed back to an MSC400 or something else and not have to find other homes for antennas. Maybe a KP locator button would be good as well because you know there is a good chance that is never going back onto the wall with some people

Whew...


Okay, we've announced it, and we're showing it at EHX. I can talk about it now! (Though I'm sure there are SOME questions I can't answer.)

First and foremost... like all products, this one is designed to fill a need. It's not intended to be all things to all installers. For this product, we wanted to be the first to bring to market a keypad with retrofit installations as the first priority. After all, retrofit business is about 90% of the market, especially in a down economy.

That's why the Volume and Mute button positions come empty. You can pop in volume/mute, seek/shuffle, or blank buttons. That way, if the house is already fitted with wired volume controls, you don't have to work out a whole new solution. Just add a KP-900 next to the volume knob, and install the seek and shuffle buttons in place of the keypad volume controls.

Further, the KP-900 is clearly modelled on the MX-900 architecture. The MX-900 is hands-down the fastest Complete Control remote to program, and one of the most widely adopted. We wanted to make sure that installers could step right into programming the KP-900 with near zero learning curve.

I hope everyone enjoys the product. Of course, we'll all have hopes and ideas for a even-better next step, but trust me, once you use the remote on a wall, pop it out and take it to the couch, and get a feel for it in your hands, I think most URC installers are going to immediately see the opportunity for add-on business for new installs as well as return business from previous installs. I currently have three of them in my home, and the more I get used to the KP-900, the more I want one in every room of the house. (Even my six-year-old twins love the thing!)

Best regards,
Dale

Thanks for the info Dale.

Thanks Dale!

My personal opinion is that they are a great idea. I could use one or two of them, easy. I have wired volume controls in several locations in my house, so the idea of spending five minutes with a level and a screwdriver putting up a control pad next to them without having to string more cat 5 and buying another central controller is *very* appealing.

Do you have a good feel for when they'll be available? In the past I've tried not to get too excited about these things just because they tend to come out so long after the announcement.

Sean

Variables on the KP-900? That would make it a sure winner.

Yes, the KP-900 will support a small number of variables. I don't know the exact number, but I think it's somewhere around eight.

Sean:

Of course I'm not in the marketing department and I can't say anything definitive about the schedule, but from where I sit it looks like our announced time frame is right on target. Unless the beta testers come up with something serious, I'm not aware of anything that would change that.

Best regards,
Dale

Dale,

Based on the KP900 makes sense. I believe I read in the instruction manual about changing background colors on the screen a la 950. If so, does that drain the batteries faster?

Showing at EHX, shipping when???

Target retail?

Tom:

Changing the background color doesn't hurt battery life in itself. However, just like the MX-950, it's possible to set a color that is brighter or dimmer. Dimmer colors produce better bettery life (and in my opinion, look nicer in the room).

Although this isn't an official postion, my understanding is that we're expecting to ship in March. I don't have an exact date.

I'm not even going to attempt a comment on MSRP. Every time I think I know our price sheet, I turn out to be wrong. It's a good thing I'm not in Sales!

Best regards,
Dale

Its official folks
[Link: universalremote.com]