MX-810...will it be the new hotness?

Originally Posted by Lindahl

Pause should be below Play, not Stop. Now that VCRs are dinosaurs, people don't use the stop button anymore. They either turn the device off, remove the disc, or queue up the next viewing selection. The channel and volume buttons are also asymmetrical (between up/down), which is always ergonomically awkward. Looks like they're taking a cue from Logitech and choosing form over function. A mistake, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Lindahl

Yeah, the only time I've ever used stop was to stop a VCR tape so I could speed rewind it. Has anyone else ever used stop for anything else? I would be completely happy if they got rid of the Stop button altogether.

Originally Posted by octavian

Mike,

Any idea if this will use a USB or serial interface?

Originally Posted by Lindahl

Has anyone else ever used stop for anything else?

Originally Posted by BinaryLinguist

Can someone explain why it explicitly says single room use? If I wanted to control equipment that sits in a basement but connected to a TV on the main floor, would this work?

Thanks

Mike

Originally Posted by MikeSRC

Yes. Just like their other remotes, the MX-810 can control a number of devices in different locations via RF. The intent is to have a single MX-810 for a TV or system location, but it doesn't matter where the components are physically. You could have an MX-810 labeled "Family Room", but all the components don't have to be there if you use RF.

Originally Posted by craig_wagner

Excuse my thickness on this, but I was, and still am, confused by the reference to single room in the press release.

I have a receiver that supports up to three zones (Yamaha RX-V1500). I'm not using that feature right now, but I keep thinking about putting a couple of speakers out on the deck as a second zone.

Would I be able to use the 810 in that configuration or is that considered multiple 'rooms'?

Perhaps it would help if someone could provide a simple example of the type of scenario in which something like the MX-900 would work, but the MX-810 would not.

Originally Posted by tjk

I'm even thicker than Craig . Isn't the whole point of an RF remote (at least one major point) to have all of the equipment in a centralized location? I have almost all of my equipment in the basement - shouldn't any remote in this price range have the ability to assign activities to different rooms? I believe the Harmony 890 allows you to first pick a room, then choose the activity you want to happen in that room. I would be shocked if the 810 couldn't do the same thing.

My thickness is in trying to understand what a single room remote is. Isn't that fairly useless? If all I wanted to do was operate a remote in one room in the house, why would I need an RF remote? Why would I even need a $400 universal remote?

Originally Posted by MikeSRC

buckswope's got it covered, but let me see if I can explain myself better. You can have 24 devices in an MX-810 and they can be anywhere in the house (using RF to control components in a cabinet or another room). An activity macro (ie: "Watch TV" or "Listen to Music") can be programed using any of these devices. If you want to watch TV or listen to music in another room, you would set up another activity macro for that use (ie: Watch TV 2). This is the same way the Harmony remotes are setup.

With the MX-900, you have "Watch" and "Listen" main pages, so you could have "Watch" TV-BR, TV-LR etc. Or, you could just have links to go to another Watch page with all the activities for a specific room. For example, on the 1st Watch page, you could have a button labeled "BEDROOM". Pushing it would take you to another Watch page with TV, DVD etc.

Originally Posted by buckswope

A single room remote would be programmed to run that room's Sony tv and the whole-house system. Another remote in a different room would be programmed to run that room's Sharp tv and the same whole-house system. Why more than one if you can program one remote to run them all? Because Murphy's Law states the remote will not be in the room you are in when you want to watch tv.