Universal Remote Control Inc. has just announced their latest remote control, the MX-6000. This new landscape-formatted remote features a 4.3" widescreen color LCD touchscreen with 480x272 resolution, built-in 802.11g and 418mHz RF communications, animation capabilities, and a whole lot more. URC has also announced an iPod dock, the PSX-1, which turns the iPod into a personal A/V server.

The full press release is below:

UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL UNVEILS ITS GROUNDBREAKING MX-6000 TOUCH SCREEN TWO-WAY REMOTE

Denver, CO - CEDIA EXPO 2008 - September 4 - 7, 2008 - Booth #324 - Universal Remote Control®, Inc. (URC), the pioneer in control technology, introduces its revolutionary new Complete Control MX-6000 Two-Way Touch Screen at this week's CEDIA EXPO. The MX-6000 brings unparalleled simplicity and automation to home entertainment, and embraces digital media in a unique and powerful new way. Through this single coffee table device, an installer can provide an end user access to all components in a home theater, as well as media on PCs, iPods and other content storage devices in the home. The user never again needs to learn a new interface for every entertainment choice because all components share a consistent logic. The MX-6000 also eliminates menu pollution from the TV screen; users perform all control functions and navigate menus and metadata on the MX-6000 screen while others in the room enjoy TV programming uninterrupted.

"The MX-6000 puts menus and cover art in the user's hands instead of cluttering the TV screen-and it gives any PC an intuitive, friendly A/V server interface," said Jon Sienkiewicz, director of marketing for URC. "On the technical side, this is a breakthrough product because it uses dual RF transmitters-802.11b/g WiFi for network control, plus narrow band RF (radio frequency) for traditional control-to ensure that home theater components don't suffer the agonizing delay of waiting for the remote to join the home network."

The MX-6000 offers a compelling content management solution by effectively bridging the gap between digital media and the home entertainment system. All of the digital media in the home can be explored, accessed and enjoyed through the MX-6000. There is no longer a need for the user to go to the PC or an iPod for access and control; it's all there on the MX-6000.

The MX-6000 provides an intuitive, friendly interface for any PC on the home network; on the back end, the URC MX-6000 powered by Autonomic Controls turns each PC into a high-performance A/V server. Via pre-programmed modules, the MX-6000 can fully control, browse and display cover art and metadata from a Windows® Media Center PC, a Windows® VistaTM Home Deluxe PC, or a conventional PC connected to the home network with nothing more elaborate installed than iTunes or Windows® Media Player. Users can browse and play music and video without needing to know which player is required; all content is aggregated and presented as one library. Installers also can offer full Media Center PC electronic program guides on the MX-6000 screen, and users can browse and play internet radio stations, movie rentals and more. Users with Windows® Media Center or Windows® VistaTM Home Deluxe can edit and assemble photo slide shows on the MX-6000 and display them when finished.

When the MX-6000 is combined with URC's new PSX-1, the iPod becomes a personal A/V server. The PSX-1 provides all of the functionality of a conventional iPod dock, but its personal server features revolutionize the iPod experience. Complicated actions become simple and intuitive; for example, users can quickly and easily select Play more from... Artist, Play More from... Genre, and other activities that were previously difficult or impossible. The PSX-1 offers an HD-quality component video output for the best picture quality the iPod can offer; for the first time, a two-way door is open to iPod video playback. Through the PSX-1, the iPod conveniently syncs to any computer on the home network directly from the dock.

The MX-6000 is the first home theater remote control to offer two independent communications and control methods-WiFi and RF-simultaneously. The MX-6000's narrow band 418 MHz RF transmitter enables instant, "no pointing" control of conventional IR, RS-232, relay and USB keyboard-controlled home theater components like receivers, TVs, projectors, set-top boxes and CD/DVD players, avoiding the frustrating and unaccustomed delay of waiting for the remote control to join a WiFi network before such components can be controlled. High-speed transfers of CD/DVD cover art and other metadata are received via WiFi (IEEE 802.11 b/g). RF communications are enabled by URC's companion MSC-400 Master System Controller or the MRF-350 or MRF-260 Base Stations. To provide the ultimate in speed and reliability, the MSC-400 stores and issues the MX-6000's RF-based Smart Macros to components.

The MX-6000's ultra-thin profile is carefully contoured to fit the hands of the user naturally and comfortably. Its horizontal aspect ratio offers a much larger screen area for custom labels than vertically oriented touch screens do and adheres to the user's desire to read from left to right. Important operational buttons such as volume and channel up/down, Mute, Info, Guide, Exit, and a combination scroll wheel/four-way cursor for browsing are assigned to the natural resting places of a user's thumbs. Its back, textured in soft rubber, provides a comfortable, secure grip.

The MX-6000 weighs less than 15 ounces. Its unique double-capacity Lithium Ion battery provides over four hours of continuous use before recharging is necessary. The MX-6000's attractive charging base offers an ideal angle for use of the touch screen while charging. An integral motion sensor detects any movements of the MX-6000 and automatically backlights the screen; the backlighting is extremely effective even under direct sunlight due to its CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) technology.

Featuring a 4.3-inch widescreen TFT with a 480x272 pixel window and over 16 million colors, the powerful MX-6000 enables quick, fluid page transitions, and is the first touch screen designed for animation. The installer can place GIF, animated GIF, JPEG, BMP and FLASH SWF files on any button, add talking help buttons that can be recorded on a PC with a microphone, or add music to macros via any WAV file.

The MX-6000 has an MSRP of $1,499. The MSRP of the PSX-1 is $349. Both will ship this month.

Talk about the MX-6000 in our Complete Control forum!