Remotes have went downhill for the last 10 years.
I have an ailing Harmony 880 that I was looking to replace, and there is literally no equivalent. I would like for my next remote to also support RF. I love the screen because if I need to scroll over a few pages to adjust something minutely, it can be done. The remote is designed for functionality and not as a piece of art. It fits in your hand like a remote should.
So I look at Harmony remotes, and every remote with a screen is get this, touchscreen. When will people realize touchscreens are not good in 98% of daily life (at least Mazda and Lexus understand this and are not optioning any new cars with touchscreens). When my finger inevitably brushes the screen, it will change what I am doing. Ok, maybe I can live with a touchscreen. I looked at the Elite, and their are disconcerting features. The touchscreen is extremely sensitive because they used capacitive instead of a resisitive system. A capactivie touchscreens are found in phones. Very little, if any pressure is needed to follow the command. A resisitive system requires more pressure. (Prevents accidental touches). I have found it often disconnects from the hub (Which I hope Logitech won't brick anytime soon), and macros change by themselves.
The remainder of the higher end remotes is URC. Their are currently no consumer remotes on this companies website. My understanding is that the most commonly used consumer remote is the MX-450. I have looked at this, and this remote was designed for fashion, and not practical. The ergonomics are completely wrong, and I know URC knows this, because looking at their professional remotes, the button layout is completely different. There are no circular keys surrounding the directional pad.
I would have no problem buying a professional remote, but they do not include the software, forcing me to drive 2 hours, spending up to $200, to have the mute button work for the receiver and another system. This is unacceptable.
Finally, I have learned about Jp1 programmable remotes. Everyone of them is touchscreen. The most highly talked about is the C3 (AR18). I can live with the touchscreen, but have never seen one of these in the wild. I don't know how it fits, I don't know how fast it is, I don't know what the buttons press like. If I buy a used one, will I be able to even buy replacement button contacts?
Am I crazy to think these are the only remotes out there?