Questions on Logitech Harmony® 1100 Advanced?

No, you don't require the RF extender for the remote to function. The remote will emit IR just like any other remote.

Are you asking if the remote will work without line of sight without the RF extender? If you can't get IR from the remote to hit your devices then it won't work. The degree of pointing will depend on how much the IR can reflect off of its surroundings. That can't be answered until you try it yourself in your house.

I have the 1100, with the RF extender. I have an entertainment center with my tv on top, equipment below. I do use the RF extender, however I don't use any of the IR emitters. The RF extender itself is an IR Blaster, and manages to hit all of my equipment from a high central location, without the need to run the pesky IR emitters and stick them on each device.

I've been working with this setup for so long now, that I can't imagine actually having to "point" my remote at something for it to work. I would say pick up the RF extender and give it a shot as a blaster if there's a chance of that working for you. It's pretty rock solid. There are two wall mount holes under the RF extender, which I actually shoved suction cups in, so that it would stick to the top of a glass shelf, blasting the IR down to all the equipment.

Just to clarify, all RF remotes work essentially the same. Neither harmony nor Xsight requires "buds" (blasters) to be attached to every device. The base and blasters will hit all devices in sight. All can use IR exclusively if you prefer (although that would be a big waste of money). Of course some remotes have addressable blasters and can assign certain devices to certain blasters, but the Xsight doesn't work this way. I have the same Xsight model as you and don't use RF at all at the moment, and it works perfectly well. So switching from Xsight to harmony will not change anything except the thickness of your wallet.

I'm interested in what isn't working as well after 1.5 years. Is it the hard buttons failing (if so, which ones), or the touch screen or the battery?