Old user new account. It's been years since I have been here and a lot has changed. I moved and in my old setup I had an AV closet so I needed the RF capability of the 6000. Since moving I have a much simpler setup all in IR range. No more amps or expensive receivers that are obsolete in a year or 2. To be honest as I was changing equipment, I stopped programming the 6000 so it worked probably half my stuff. I am just throwing that out there as this will help in keeping this or getting something newer and web programmable.

All my equipment is new so I would have to start from scratch. The remote has been packed away for close to a year. I have been just using the factory remotes but I am ready to program.

I read some threads about the $18 AR's and Daniels review of the Touch model wasn't very exciting. The Harmony Ultimate seems to have a lot of bad reviews on Amazon. What else is there? I see there is now software dedicated to the AR's so maybe that makes them better? Have users been keeping up the the 6000 equipment database?

I have a Sony STRDN850, Samsung smart TV, Samsung Blue-ray, and a Motorola Arris 3510-M cable box. Not really a lot of stuff but I do like color and touchscreen but I can be flexible on the touchscreen. One thing. I also have a first gen iPad I no longer use that could also be a dedicated remote. I assume I would need an IR blaster for this.
Thanks for all the suggestions I hope to see.

You might investigate this...
[Link: remotecentral.com]

I don't think it can be updated via the web but you might ask them. It can learn IR codes.

AR will work fine. IMO, Remote Master software does make the AR much better. It's hard to beat getting $150 worth of remote technology for under $20.

The main complaint about the Ultimate is the fact that it's a touch screen - a feature you actually want, so that will work fine too. People upgrading from older Harmony models miss the hard buttons that you want to avoid.

iPad works with iRule or Roomie and a Global Cache base for the IR portion, so no IR LED to plug into the iPad itself.

With only 4 devices, I think an iPad and even an Ultimate is huge overkill. A Harmony 650 will do the job, if you can tolerate having some hard buttons.

You make a lot of good points. Any opinion on what's better Roomie or iRule? That iPad is sitting not being used so I could get some use out of it. I am going to also reconsider the AR. I do like hard buttons. I didn't realize the Touch eliminated them.


I went ahead and ordered the Xsight Color but still interested in the best hardware/software for the iPad.

I don't have much experience with Roomie or iRule, but my impression is that iRule has more advanced capabilities but requires a lot more effort and skill to configure. I think you can try both for free and see how you like them. I personally can't stand iPad based remotes because you have to look at them to use them. I prefer to mindlessly press the hard buttons I know from memory and by feel. I'd rather focus on what I'm watching instead of whatever gadget I'm using for control. Others feel just the opposite and enjoy looking at all the pretty screens they made for their iPads. I enjoy that too, but it gets old for me after a while and I long for some normal hard buttons.

The Touch/Ultimate still has some hard buttons. They mainly eliminated the num keys and a few playback keys (important ones that shouldn't have been eliminated IMO).

Now that you mention it, I do have my finger on the fast forward hard buttons to skip commercials. I think the iPad sounds better in theory then in practice. It's bringing back memories of my 6000.

Do you have any experience programming the Insight with the software vs the website? I am going to read up on it as I have a few weeks before it gets here from China.

I've compared EZ-RC with Remote Master at the end of this post:
[Link: hifi-remote.com]

Hopefully you'll like it enough that you won't need a different remote.

I didn't realize that was you. I started reading that last night. Since I have 8.1 I followed the links and saw what to do. The 6000 seemed like Chinese at first but once I understood the software it became fairly simple so I have no doubt with a little trial and error this will be the same. I have already downloaded the software. Just need install it and take a look. Thanks again for your help. I am really looking forward to this.

The FW update can be especially tricky on 8.1. You have to do 2 reg edits and plug/unplug the USB able several times. And EZ-RC only works in IE. I think you have to use compatibility mode as well. Post back in the hifi-remote forums if you have trouble since there are many more Xsight users over there that can help.

Thanks for your help. I am on page 17 of the Xsight thread. :)

While I am waiting for the remote to arrive is there a guide to the RM software? In reading it looks like you have to add devices to the remote then upload? I'm confused about adding a device from the file section if that is the case.

It's all at the link I posted. There are many ways to add devices.

What happened to this place over the years? In the Pronto days this place was hopping. Now it seems like a ghost town. I hope this remote gets here soon. :)

I guess most everbody got a Harmony unfortunately. But there's lots of Xsight and other JP1 related discussion over at hifi-remote.com.