I'm finally at wits end. I've tried for months to get these 2 remotes and basestations working reliably over RF and every evening I lose them completely for a couple of hours. It's driving me insane. They worked great for the first year I had them in and now it's just constant interference.

I've tried everything to get these things working... ferrite cores all around, routing the RFX250's to the basement over CAT5, etc. The bottom line is there is only interference during a specific time of day and my equipment is on at all times. So, I'm basically left with one conclusion: there is actual interfernce on the 418Mhz band and there is nothing I can do about it because I'm not inducing it. I am in the heart of Chicago, so I guess I should have expected this eventually.

I really love the URC remotes and the infinite customizability of them with CCP. I've spent numerous days configuring them, but enjoyed every minute of it and got them exactly where I want them. The RTI stuff looks pretty nice, but it doesn't appear to be as readily available to the "consumer" as the URC remotes are (and presumably the software is even less available). The Logitech stuff (sigh) just doesn't look like it's for me due to its dumbed down software and the RF seems to be even less reliable (at least from what I've read).

So, does anybody have any recommendations for a couple of reliable remotes that will operate over RF? They don't have to control much, but I want them to be reliable. My living room has a Sony Receiver, Panny TV, Vudu, Media Center, and Xbox360 all in a media closet. My bedroom is even simpler with just a Panny TV, cable box, blu-ray player and Xbox360. I'm not overly concerned with cost as I'm already about 3K deep in non-functional remotes.

Thanks in advance for any possible recommendations.

 the same remotes can be purchased in a 433mhz version.  they are called the "i" series.   MX-900i, MX6000i.   All you need to convert your MRF350 over to an "i" version is to swap out the RFX-250 with an RFX-250i.    

The "i" series was specifically developed for urban areas.

you wouldn't even need to reprogram anything,  just load your current files into the new remotes.  

My reccomendation would be to hire a pro to assess your radio frequency situation. The fact that you are looking to upgrade an already dealer protected line to something "better" will live you with not many choices.

URC is a fantastic product and whatever is causing your issues can be handled. Someone reading your post might get the impression that URC is not a reliable product, which is exactly why it is meant to be a dealer only product.

A pro will measure the RF interference, locate the source and try to address the problem rather than upgrade to another RF control system which will probably be affected as well. If there is an issue that is impossible to address, you will most likely have to upgrade to a system based on wi-fi, which will not be affected. 433Mhz could imporove your situation, but I never saw a case where it went from making a control system work vs. not working. Consider control systems for iPad/iPHone contrrol which use wifi.

I certainly wasn't trying to give the impression URC doesn't sell quality products. I now have 5 of their remotes and 4 of their RF base stations, although I'm currently only using what I mentioned above. I agree they are great products. However regarding your "that's why it's meant to be a dealer only product", I'm not entirely sure what a professional installer would have done differently, other than possibly recommend the "I" series, which at the time wouldn't have been necessary because there was zero RFI. I don't think any of them would have predicted it coming a year later either. That being said, I don't disagree that I should perhaps get a professional installer to check it out now. I do disagree with the whole concept of "dealer-only" remote systems, but hey, I can't change their policies.

I would be interested to hear about some of the apps available for the IPad or, even better, Android tablets.

Some pros have tools that can measure and identify the source of the RF interference. Have you tried shutting down certain breakers off in the house to see if anything changes? Have you relocated the equipment to an area away from the main area to see if it changes? There are many things you can do that you probabaly have not thought off. Another perspective in the least or someone with network and radio frequency expertise can help you. Just trying to help you, probably best in this situation to be a little open to some professional help because it sounds like an expensive problem.