I just setup a harmony 650 for the in-laws...
Not a horrible remote for the price, it is pretty easy to setup but does have annoying limitations if you are type A like me.
My biggest gripe about the remote is you can't order the activities buttons. You add all your activities and it displays them in some order I haven't figured out. With only showing 2 activities per page, having less used buttons on the first/default page and more used buttons on the 2nd is annoying and for "in-laws" causes user issues and limits WAF imo.
I also just replaced my URC 810 with a URC 880 (
Here ), me and my wife absolutely love this line of remotes. My opinion is that for a home enthusiast/theater it is a great remote that fits in-between a harmony and the more professional lines that can automate anything. We like the size of the remote, the buttons are the perfect size and number (not many buttons are wasted, and are big enough to find and read (imo the harmony buttons are too small). The buttons to us are layed out in logical fashion, and the size/shape was well thought out for "lookless" control by feel.
Another great feature of the remote... it uses both RF and IR. I was able to put all my equipment behind the wall my tv is mounted to, RF goes through the wall and I don't have ANY line of sight issues. The catch here is if you want to use only RF and have IR only devices (99% chance I would guess), you have to get a base station like the MF-350, which costs about as much as the remote itself. Though you can configure the remote to send the same codes via RF and/or IR to meet your exact needs.
There are a few problems with this remote...
1. It is a professional line. You have to buy it from an authorized dealer to receive warranty/support. Also URC does not provide the programming software, you technically should only get it from an authorized dealer. Some dealers won't sell you the remote and give you the software, either they don't know the official URC policy allows them to give the software away or they intend of charging service fees to program it for you. Now you can get an "unsupported" remote off ebay for ~$200, but you generally have to find the software (easy to find via torrent). I did try and support my local business but they wanted $450 for the remote, they were willing to give me a copy of the software though.
2. The programming software is not nearly as easy to use as logitechs/harmony. Its not really difficult if you are used to using "more professional level" software (aka not just wizards). Though what you will get is an insane amount of flexibility. you pretty much can customize it any way you want (nice if you are type a like me).
