Urc mx980
 

Thanks to being the lucky winner of the monthly raffles, I choose to get a new remote. :thumbsup: The URC MX980 looked like a real winner. I placed the order with Ivan and it promptly arrived earlier this week in pristine condition. Excellent, a fun weekend project setting it up.

Fast forward to today. I carefully unwrap my new toy and discover they don't ship it with the software. You have to go online to download it. Unfortunately, their form for non-professionals doesn't work. :no: So I give them a call and get a less than friendly representative that lets me know that since I'm a lowly end user I can't download the software -- even though their site clearly has a place for end users to download. She tells me that first I must send them a copy of my invoice along with the serial number of the remote and my contact information. :icon_thumbsdown:

After so many people giving such positive reviews I was really looking forward to setting it up this weekend. Being thwarted like this is very frustrating. It's at this point that if my mother were still here she'd say have some patience son this weekend or next does it really matter. Of course the answer is NO, but darn it I've never had her patience.

The remote really does look NICE though!

Dennis.......Universal's snobbish attitude is BS. The end user ultimately gets the remote, and always pays for the remote. I would have gotten Miss Bad Manners name, and asked to speak to a supervisor. This kind of stupidity gets under my skin quick. I have met a few "techs" who program remotes. They weren't wizards, just guys who could operate the software. Big deal. I can operate software, too. Their elitist attitude is not healthy for business.

Dan I agree. I can't imagine why they wouldn't include the software with the remote. What are you suppose to do when you replace something, hire someone to re-program it! That's just absurd.

Keep me posted Dennis.

Will do! :thumbsup:

Dennis.......The marketing concept is to have the remote you purchased available only at select dealers with "qualified techs" to program it. By making the programming software only available to resellers and reseller techs, Universal claims they are insuring their customer's satisfaction, when what they are primarily concerned with is protecting their distribution chain. I'm sure part of the pitch wholesalers use to convince retail dealers and custom installers to sell Universal remotes is how they will be able to make additional income from customer remote control programming. Since Universal refuses to readily make available the software, there goal is to frustrate you into paying one of their retailer's "techs" to program the remote for you. It is a stupid concept that ultimately costs them sales. Their concept has cost them at least one sale that I know about.......me.

I learned of Universal's practice when I first began to research the better Universal remotes. I was looking to buy two remotes. Like you, I change gear, and move gear to another system, etc. I don't want some damn stranger in my home to program my remote, and bill me every time I decide to make an equipment change. In just the past six months I have reprogrammed my Philips TSU7500 three times in the home theater system due to gear changes. Once you've mastered the programming, changes are a snap. As long as Universal keeps it difficult for a customer to program their own remote, they believe they have another revenue stream. Oh, and the wholesaler tells the retailer how exclusive the Universal remote is because it has to be programmed by a tech for the end user. Wow!

Did I mention it looks really cool! :roflmao:

OK, I'll lighten up.

Did I mention I like the way it looks? :D

http://www.audioholics.com/news/pres...980.html/image

Dennis

I bought my MX980 from a dealer who provided me a link to his FTP site to download the software.

- I can burn a copy and send it to you. The program is about 50 Meg.

- I can also send you a copy of my config file. While not complete, it would be a good start.

Rob

I was able to get access to the URC Installers site through my dealer in Ft. Worth and am able to download the updateable software. If I recall correctly, you should also be able to get a non-updateable copy from URC. Go to the RemoteCentral.com site and look under the "Complete Control by URC" forum for more info.

The updateable part means you are able to update the database of preprogrammed codes available to you when URC adds them for new components.

The best way to get the right software is to figure out how to get classified by an authorized dealer as an installer.