Hmmm.... Looks like my Reply got lost.... Thats odd...
ANyway, I cant rmeber expactly what I posted yesterday, but was something like
SPeakerCrafts site is
Http://www.speakercraft.comI find that Guide systems/User interfaces are largly personal preference.... I like my RCA Sat receivers over the Sonys and Hughes, and I like my UltimateTV interface Much more than Tivo Interfaces... But I largely suspect thats because its what I was introduced to first.....
Do you Satellite now? if so what brand are you currently suing?
As far as IR passing through the emmitters, Most do, and the ones that dont can usually be positions in a way that does not totally obstruct the receiver.... Rarely do I have change emmiteres due to the fact that the block the original remote completely....