MX-1000: Universal remote has received beta samples of production Home Theater Master MX-1000 remotes and is expecting to ship them out during the third week of December. This is getting awefully close to Christmas, the time when shipping companies and stores are busiest. They will be hard pressed to have sufficient distribution to capture any of the last-minute gift-giving season. So: how about a New Millennium's resolution to get a great remote? :-)

One For All: A few of you are probably wondering where my review of the Home Producer 8 Learner is -- well, it turns out there was a small glitch on the very first production units, caused from electrical noise generated by the EL backlight. The problem has been corrected and units are already available in stores. However, a replacement unit for my remote has not yet arrived and may not for a short time yet since vendors are sucking up all available stock.

Many of you have commented on advanced codes for the One For All line of remotes, including the posibility of obtaining a complete list of codes for all brands and devices. I'm sure such a beast does exist, however I've been told this will probably never be released. I can't really go into why, but for now we'll have to be satisfied with asking kindly for codes to particular equipment.

More have also asked why One For All doesn't provide a detailed manual covering all of the advanced programming tricks that can be accomplished on such remotes as the Cinema 6 and Cinema 7. Well, One For All's basic marketing strategy is for a great, easy-to-use remote. Filling up the manual with complicated code sequences would only confuse and irritate first-time users. However, they're fully aware of what their products can do so I'll see if there's a chance of publishing a complete list of extended functions.

Pronto CCF files: Several uploads this weekend by Bevan, Geo, Jay Mitchosky, Lain Davis & Ralph Stankowski.

Also, remember that November's contest ends in a week! Get your entries in before the deadline for a chance to win a great tabletop radio or an IR lighting system.