[mercury]

Before the market gets flooded with these and before i decide which one to buy,


here is what i need,


2 dvd players

LD player

s-vhs

NEC-6PG projector

CI-scalar

Lutron Spacer(dimmer)

Lex MC-1..


can this control all these....where do i check and how is it loaded,Manually???what's the difference between the MX-500 AND 700,


I'm a remote control newbieso be kind...


thanks-


Tommy

 

[Randy S]

The MX-500 is a great remote for the money. It's a pre-programmed and learning remote, so any codes it doesn't come with can be taught. It'll control 10 devices, so you should be ok for the near-term. A couple of differences between the 500 and 700; the 700 has a GUIDE button and comes with PC software for programming it.


Search the forum, you'll find a lot of info and some alternatives. You might also check out remotecentral.com where there are forums dedicated to the various remote manufacturers.

 

[mercury]

Thanks Randy,


how do you tell the difference between the new Ver..(gemstone)and the older Ver....and what's the difference???


thanks-


Tommy

 

[Randy S]

Sorry, don't know much about the button difference other than some prefer the "older" non-gemstone version. Something about a difference in the tactile feel of the buttons?

 

[AnthonyP]

mercury you are better off going to http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin...aster/list.cgi


The gemstone buttons just look and feal better (from what was said on RC). HTM changed the buttons on the original MX-500 to the gemstone buttons to match the ones they were going to use on the 700. they did this to bring production cost down (Taking care of one type of button is cheaper then two types). When they changed the buttons, they also changed the cursor pad, for one that should last longer. But the newer pad was hard to use (select button was hard to push) so they modified it a bit to the newest 500 model. All the 700s have GS2 configuration (Gemstone buttons and newest version of the pad).

 

[HAN]

It's late, so for now, this will be kinda short.


I own both an MX-500 and a 700. I love the MX-500 (and I have a friend I talked into getting one who is crazy about his too.) It takes a little time to get it up and running (especially if you want to have the buttons laid out just so) but it is very user friendly (IMO.)


At this point, I am just beginning to come up to speed with the 700. I admit that I have not found the software to be very intuitive. I'll be able to give some of my thoughts in a day or 2 if you're not in a hurry.

 

[mercury]

Thanks Han,



tommy

 

[komoman]

Another enthusiastic thumbs-up for the MX-500. It really is a great and easy-to-setup remote. Short of having to remember to hold down MAIN and ENTER together to access the setup menus everything else is pretty much intuitive.


If you haven't done so yet, get over to the forums at www.remotecentral.com and dig in. Tons of info on how to tell the versions apart, places to buy them and how to program them. The most recent version has solved the problems of the cursor pad/button and so the issue to make sure you buy from a dealer that keeps their stock fresh. Depending on what you're controlling it seems the best way to setup the MX-500 is to just learning everything from scratch. There's an "AUX 155" code that you can program into any device button that only has a few pre-learned codes in buttons and basically gives you a blank starting point.


Dan

 

[Robster1958]

another enthusiastic thumbs-up.


i got rid of my Pronto in favor of the MX-500........best thing i ever did. after one hour of learning/programming, the MX500 was more useful than the Pronto after two YEARS of use.


as everyone else said, go to remotecentral.com and read up. Especially read the user reviews: i can't recall any HT product getting such unamimous rave reviews....read them....you won't believe how good it is!


also...most of the commonly mentioned websites sell the newest versions and at about $130 shipped. it's the best bang for the buck in my entire HT.

 

[HAN]

Tommy: My initial impressions on the MX-700 are good. It makes setting up one of these remotes a lot easier when you can see right in front of you what is going on. Macros are really easy to create and edit. Even learning is streamlined so that you can learn an entire device in just a few minutes. The only beef I have is that the software is device based, not individual control code based (like the Pronto is.) This led to my initial unhappiness I had the 1st night I had my 700. I could not figure out a way to have all of my receiver's commands, always available. Finally, I ended up duplicating the receiver's codes as a second, hidden device. This solved my troubles and I ended up programming the rest of my stuff with little difficulty.


I've also tinkered enough with the included MX-200 remote to know it makes running one task (like watching TV) MUCH easier (if you have kids or a spouse.) It is capable of issuing complicated macros and yet looks simple.


The MX-500 and MX-700 are the same size and basically the same key layout (although the 700 is just a touch better IMO.) The LCD screens for each is the same with the exception that the 700 has 4 screens per device vs. 2 for the 500. The infrared reach of both seems to be the same. The biggest, and IMO, the most useful difference is that the 700 can do macros till the cows come home. The 500 can only do 15 (still alot for most of us.)


My bottom line is that the 700 is worth the extra money if your macro automation needs exceed the 500 or you need/want PC connectivity (for backups etc.) The MX Editor software isn't there yet (IMO) but they have already released an update. So, I have hope they will work on it to make it all we could hope for.


Hope this helps...