I updated my CCP software but haven't downloaded it to the remote yet. I plan on checking it out this weekend. I will post my findings here as soon as I test it.

ocbt77,

Thanks for checking. I sure hope that got it fixed.

So I took the bait at updated Weds nite. My test is a macro with 3 FF commands on a button for Tivo. Was not appreciably faster. Last night, no changes, each command takes nearly a second. No interference on the antenna. You can actually see the RF indicator on the remote screen fire the codes out slowly. Prior to the update it was acceptably quick. And my other 980 that I use from upstairs works normally (hasn't been updated for 3+ months).

Yep! I downloaded it to my 980 this morning and nothing has changed. Still have the same latency as before. Obviously this update wasn't the fix.

Just as an FYI, there was another small update on Friday as well. But the problem remains.

If you haven't noticed, URC's favorite motto: "There's a work around for that." Well, not always apparently!  Seriously, this problem is nuts!

I didn't read the entire thread, but I'm sure you tried having all of the macros programmed in the MSC400 and triggering them with the remote? This should speed things up (it does for my MX-900s).

I've only used the MX-900 remotes. I've had the repeat issue (there's a work around for that) and a strange issue where RS232 commands would drop 2 out of 5 consecutive presses. I found a work around described in this thread (no thanks to URC, I had to figure it out myself):
[Link: remotecentral.com]

With my work around, using triggers on the MX900, I can press a button about three times a second and see a response on the RS232 port! The remote is NOT that responsive if I just use regular MX900 macros alone.  If it didn't work this fast, I can tell you as an end user, the remotes would be on ebay!

If you're curious, I don't use the MSC400 for IR, but instead have the MSC400 send a custom RS232 protocol I designed for my home automation system: [Link: cocoontech.com]

The only problem I haven't found a work around for is every now and then, I'll hit the light button and the light doesn't come on the first time, unless I hit a button first. This may be by design (to avoid accidental presses of the light button), but is annoying.  The issue was documented on here previously (many years ago), and it's good to know URC still hasn't fixed it!

Now it's time to rant more about URC:
How can URC tout a product as "professional" and not be able to get something so simple right?!?  I'm glad I'm not the customer or the integrator in this situation.  Anyone paying $500 plus for one of their remotes must be misinformed or out of their mind to settle for a one second delay between simple commands.  Their engineering team must have seriously fired their good talent, because a remote is not that hard to design and get right the first time!

As a dealer, you may not want to hear this, but...  The only reason I use URC myself is due to the large supply of cheap used items on ebay and cheap new remotes from other online sources; plus I can heavily customize the menus however I want.

I'm not affiliated with them, but Control4 is much easier to install, does more and costs much less.  I played with several of their demos (lighting, locks and AV).  The remotes are real two-way zigbee and only cost ~$150.  I tried to get the zigbee lock out of sync and I couldn't!  The commands were near instant too.  If they weren't so picky about dealer software, I'd be using their stuff.  While it may be true that most users couldn't figure the software out, there are plenty of folks with a technical background that can read the help files and program a system just fine.

Did the latest CCP update today and so far my issue seems to have been resolved. I have had intermittent unaffected operation over the last several weeks, but it seems consistently better so far. (2+hours).

Issue relating too...? A lag from button press to command execution?

Correct

And I spoke to soon. Got some serious TV watching in today and the 980 has slowed down again, started about 2 hours ago. I brought a 780 home with me and its as fast as it should be. Rebooting the 980 has no effect. I have no idea why this happens, memory leak or some other software thing?

URC's lack of commitment to correct known issues. There motto is if there aren't enough people complaining about it then they won't devote any time to fixing it. Even if they know it's an issue.

I had high hopes for URC after talking to the Tech Support Manager over a month ago. He assured me they were working on a fix because they had started getting a lot of complaints on the issue. He also assured me he would contact me when they had a fix for the problem.

I called him three times over the last month. No answer and no return phone calls. And that's after I complained about his tech support personnel not returning phone calls. He assured me he would get to the bottom of it. What a joke! Worst customer/tech support ever!

I would have been long gone years ago if there were other alternatives. But, alas, there are none. Unless you consider Logitech an alternative which I don't.

It looks like the update released a couple of days ago fixed this. CCP v. 2.1.1105.

Mine's been solid for 3 days now, with no intermittent slowdowns. It's unbelievable how a few 1/10's of a second can impact a user experience...

I'm confused, on November 3 you performed a CCP update and stated the command execution lag issue remained on Nov 4. Now, 3 days later, doing nothing else, the situation is resolved?

Are you experiencing these issues at client homes too, or just at your house?

2 different updates. I have this issue at 2 other clients that I know of. Trying to get back to 1 of them today to see if it resolves their problem.

It does look like they've made an improvement to the latency issue on the latest update. Or should I say updates? There was another CCP update yesterday.

However, they still don't have it completely fixed. There is still some slight latency between button presses and the devices receiving the command.

I also have an MX-900 with the same configuration and it's twice as fast when executing commands compared to the 980. There is zero latency between pushing the button and the device receiving the command. The 900 responds just as fast as the original remotes do. Regardless if it's set to IR, RF or IR/RF.

I have no idea why the 980, which has far more processing power, has such an issue with latency as compared to a less powerful remote.

I'm surprised there aren't more CIs complaining about this issue. Maybe it's isolated to a specific batch of remotes and not every 980 is experiencing this issue. If this is the case I'm pretty confident that URC would never admit to it.

musictoo,

If you have any MX-900s around you should compare the two side by side and you can witness how much faster the 900 is then the 980. Or, on the other hand, maybe you shouldn't compare them. It will only renew your frustration again. :(

LMAO, yea, not gonna do that to myself. I'm just happy it's back to normal. Visited my customer's Friday and it fixed their problem as well.

Of course I didn't update over the weekend, lol.

Yes. I find it works much better as I'm only sending the trigger. Zero lag, does take a little longer to program but it's only a few extra minutes per remote. Always done it this way and don't have any issues.

I'm just programming my first MSC-400 (3xMX-780). I just wanted to double check that I understand what you meant here. I'm assuming it's as follows:

1. In CCP, use the Convert to Smart Macro function
2. Link triggers for these to every button on the remote instead of the IR commands

Thanks

Mark