My home theater is comprised of a bunch of equipment behind a wood door, and that equipment feeds the theate rroom as Zone 1, and my bedroom plasma as Zone 2.

The installer chose to use RTI as the remotes for both rooms. Expensive, huge, and from what I can see so far, a bear to program given it's taken him quite some time to get it right.

I'm consdering whether or not I should just make him take those back and get a Harmony 1000, and 890 for the bedroom and the RF receiver. I don't know if it will do everyhting the RTI will, but the thought of having to bring someone out each time I may want to introduce a new component scares the hell out of me.

Each time he touches stuff, it's a least 2 hours.

Order a URC MX series and program it yourself. Stay away from Harmony if you can.

Look at the MX-950 and buy from an authorized dealer such as surfremotecontrol.com so you will get a nice discount and the fully version of the programming software.

That is like asking if I should get a Bently or a Camary...

RTI has 5 different models to choose from and should not be a bear to program. Unless you have an extremely complicated system this should not take hours. I have programmed in the area of 100 RTI remotes and 90% are completely programmed in 2 to 3 hours.

Only thing better than an RTI in my experience is a Crestron panel. But the cost follows.

Most updates that are requested I program the remote long before I show up. It almost always take slonger to install or set up the new equipment...

Little did he know, that his RTI programmer was a novice or he had some complex demands or his programmer is a perfectionist.

Harmony is nothing compared to RTI. URC is close but the 950 would be a bad choice. Wait for the cheaper better 980 which you will most likely not be able to program yourself.

One thing was certain his move to Harmony was an unpardonable mistake.

... One thing was certain his move to Harmony was an unpardonable mistake.
What utter crap! Excuse my language!

Even if a Harmony is a "Camry", or maybe just an Acura, rather than a Bentley (which is a Volkswagen, by the way), a Camry or an Acura are still good cars for some people. The price tags are very different too, and you won't be afraid to do an oil change on your Camry yourself (or program your Harmony either).

I am not saying that the Harmony is the right remote for rickeame, but it is not a "mistake" for 99% of people and Harmony bashing gets him nowhere. The OP needs to decide exactly what he expects his remote to do, then decide what will do it and at what price.

JMO, nobody has to agree, but I am trying to help the OP find what he wants, not prove a point. I personally would be happy with a Harmony or URC (only the 980 for me).

Kex, what is your experience w/ RTI?

Wait for the cheaper better 980 which you will most likely not be able to program yourself.

What? :confused:

Where did this information come from?

I would highly recommend staying with RTI as well but your experience definitely does not reflect well on the installer that you have chosen. If programming or updating times seem unreasonable then you should speak to the installer about that. The answer may tell you whether or not he is truly proficient with that remote. But, be prepared for him to defend his programming. Sometimes what seems simple is actually a bit more involved. For example... I added and Apple TV to my system and just wanted to add that device to my setup. Once I sat down to do it though I decided to add a Listen to Music page, links to pages to turn on music outside or in other zones, macros to turn on the plasma to view the apple tv photo slide show, etc.

Once you have your talk I think you have a few options:
1. Tell your installer your concerns about updates and ask if there is a way for you to do simple updates yourself. Can he give you the software? Odds are he'll say no but you never know.
2. Were you satisfied with the other work done by the installer? If not it may be time to start shopping around for someone else.
3. Ditch it all and get a Harmony remote for your local Best Buy. There's no reason to have an installer program a Harmony remote since it is designed for you to be able to do on your own. However, I think this is really the least best option... you obviously decided to make an investment in your system by going to a pro in the first place so I would recommend getting the pro tools (like the RTI remote) to work. I'm not bashing Harmony... love the remotes... their just not comparable to a complete RTI system.

There are plenty of URC users here programming these remotes themselves, so it obviously can be done! However, it is worth mentioning that the software is not designed nor intended for the consumer so some non negligible effort will be involved. This is what it says in the URC manuals (unless the 810 and 980 end up being very different from all the previous "professional line" models):

"Custom Programming of a complex home theater and/or a multi-room system is one of the most challenging tasks within an audio/video installation. It involves an intimate knowledge of how the components interact and
exact details on the proper sequences of control.

Only a professional custom installation company has the requisite experience
and training to quickly and effectively customize a remote control for true
automated operation."

You will also have to search around a bit to avoid paying MSRP for a URC but surfremotecontrol.com is probably a good place to start: they are an "authorized retailer" so you will have access to software updates, warranty and technical support.

MSRP is also rediculous for a Harmony, BTW:

- the 890 at BB is $400, full MSRP!
- at costco.com it is $340, including shipping.
- on amazon.com it is currently about $220, including shipping.

The RTI installer does seem to be finding it a "challenging task" though despite his "intimate knowledge", so maybe this is a "complex home theater". So before thinking about a Harmony, you might want to elaborate on what the difficulties are.

...
The installer chose to use RTI as the remotes for both rooms. Expensive, huge, and from what I can see so far, a bear to program given it's taken him quite some time to get it right.
...
If you don't like the models he is offering, have you tried checking if any other RTI remotes might better serve your requirements? If he is using the T4, it's a touchscreen and not everyone (including me, but that's irrelevant!) likes the idea of a touchscreen remote, much less a huge and expensive one.

http://www.rticorp.com/products/default.html

What? :confused:

Where did this information come from?

You needed to highlight the MOST LIKELY part as well.
I doubt most AVSers could program a MX3000 in a reasonable time or maybe at all.

There's a reason the Harmony is so popular despite its limitations. Almost any dummy can program one.

Despite the hissy some throw to defend their Harmony's they do have limitations, and are built cheaply. They do work in most simple setups.

You needed to highlight the MOST LIKELY part as well.
I doubt most AVSers could program a MX3000 in a reasonable time or maybe at all.

There's a reason the Harmony is so popular despite its limitations. Almost any dummy can program one.

Despite the hissy some throw to defend their Harmony's they do have limitations, and are built cheaply. They do work in most simple setups.

I actually found the MX300 Editor to be quite intuitive and if you're willing to invest a little time programming should not be a problem. Integrating the MX3000 with the MSC400 or troubleshooting RF is where it gets more involved and probably better left for the pros.

You needed to highlight the MOST LIKELY part as well.
I doubt most AVSers could program a MX3000 in a reasonable time or maybe at all.
I misread your intent then. I read it as "won't be allowed to".

But I think a majority of AVSers could program an MX3000. They may not have the time, but could do it if they had to.

Herdfan,
Let's just disagree. We have different opinions on the average AVSer.

I would just feel so bad for the guy who had to hold the gun to some Avs members head for 12+ hours while they bumble through and try to figure out the software. I have seen installers who sell tons of these remotes bumble through the software;).