[jdandy]

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!