I've been using a very serviceable and inexpensive "One For All" (URC-8820B00) to control the following:

* Mac OSX-based media center running Boxee, Plex, and Hulu desktop (emulating the Apple 6-button remote)
* Roku Player
* TV (an old RCA CRT that I just replaced with a Samsung computer monitor)
* Amp - an ancient Onkyo TX-910

So far my One For All has performed admirably, especially since it's a learning remote.

Now I am throwing three more things into the mix:

* DirecTV
* PS3 (for Blu-Ray playback)
* HDMI switch (this one [Link: monoprice.com])

There's one thing I have not been able to do: emulate the Apple remote's "press and hold", allowing for fast scrolling. This is an annoyance, but one I've lived with so far.

However, I understand that the PS3 does not have an IR receiver.  So I think I'll need a whole new remote.  And I'd love to solve the Apple remote "press and hold" thing, too.

Really appreciate any suggestions that can tackle all of these:

* PS3 (specifically Blu-Ray playback)
* Apple Remote
* Roku
* DirecTV
* HDMI switch (linked above)
* TV (an eventual HD replacement)
* Onkyo Amp (with universal volume)

Cheers.

Let me follow this up by answering a few of my own questions.

1. There's a very handy PS3 control roundup here: [Link: remotecentral.com]

Nice.

2. There are other, lower-end but dirt-cheap PS3 control options like this [Link: reviews.cnet.com]

3. The more I look at my $20 URC-8820B00, the more I realize it overlaps almost button-for-button with my DirecTV remote. Much more so than even higher-end remotes like the Logitech Harmony series. Hm. Going to give this a shot and see if I can get _all_ of the functions programmed.

4. This leaves the old Apple remote "press and hold" problem. I see for example that the Logitech Harmony products have "Apple Remote" modes, but I have not been able to establish whether they properly fast-scroll when pressing and holding up, down, left, or right.

Any insight on this last point -- or how to manually program it into a universal remote -- would be hugely appreciated.

Make sure its the 8820N and not the 8820B00, because latter doesn't have preset code for the current directv receivers. Only the 8820N does.


Of course if your directv receivers are older dtivo, then you would want the older 8820b00, since it has preset codes for tivo addresses 1-4. which the 8820N doesn't.

It is the B00, but that simply means I have to manually program each button. Not a huge deal to me.

Only problem is that I hit the limit of learned codes the remote can store. I had to delete the num pad assignments to make room.

I'm also feeling I really like the tactile nature of the existing DirecTv remote; I use almost all of its buttons without looking. I can do the same with my 8820. A touchscreen wouldn't work that way.

It may make sense to buy a JP1 cable ($29).

Use of a cable would allow you to load convert learned signals into an upgrade (or, more typically, use an upgrade that somebody else has already developed for your components). An upgrade effectively adds an additional setup code into your remote. An upgrade usually consumes about as much memory as one or two learned buttons.

Secondly, upgrades have already been developed which provide the Apple remote functionality, putting the Power Off (Play held down), Fast Foward, (Next held down), and Rewind (Prev held down) onto separate buttons.

If you really want to emulate the Apple remote, you could use an "extender".  An extender has a variety of added capabilities, and can make the remote responsive to Long Keypresses (LKP), so that the remote sends a different IR command if the button is held for longer than usual.

I think you'll get more info by posting a similar question to your OP at www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewforum.php.

If you don't want to buy a cable,  post the list of the components for which you are learning the commands.  We may be able to suggest how you can manually enter keymoves (using non-obvious setup codes) to avoid learning.  Then it may be practical to learn the Apple functionality.