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I have ordered and received my new Home Theater Master MX-500 remote control. I am
sure you are wondering why I decided to order a new remote when I was so happy with
the RTI T2 remote. No I am not insane, well not that insane anyway. It all comes
down to controlling the TiVo again. The MX-500 has more hard buttons than the T2,
and that is becoming more and more important to me.
Why I decided to switch: I have started looking at the daily use of my home theater system. I found that a large percentage of my time is spent controlling a TiVo. That tells me that if I want to find my universal remote "soul mate", I should pay close attention to how well it controls the TiVo. I switched from the Pronto to the RTI T2 because I was using the directional cursor very often and a lack of hard buttons made this difficult on the Pronto. The T2 allowed me to put every one of the buttons I use everyday on a hard button. This blissful control did not last, TiVo unleashed a new version of their software that added many features and modified some of the existing features. This resulted in a desire to use all the transport buttons on a daily basis. Unfortunately there were no longer enough hard buttons to configure the common buttons. I once again found myself in a position where I desired more from my remote control. I started hearing about the Home Theater Master MX-1000 remote which also combines a touch screen with hard buttons. It looked like it had plenty of hard buttons for my uses, but there was something about it that did not appeal to me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just was not excited about it. While in the process of looking at this remote I started hearing about it's sister remote, the Home Theater Master MX-500. It did not have PC software or a touch screen, but it did have an LCD screen to provide labels for up to 20 buttons per device. It also looked very well designed and like it would fit well in my hand. The best part was that the MX-500 looked like it might be perfect for controlling a TiVo. There was no question that the RTI T2 was more powerful than the MX-500, it is also far more configurable. Yet the allure of the hard buttons for the transport controls consistently called out to me. There were a few issues that made me hold back and postpone getting an MX-500. The biggest was that to switch devices you go to the main menu then press and hold the button for the device you want to control. For example if you are currently controlling the TiVo and wanted to watch a VHS tape, you would hit main and then press and hold the "VCR" button. You hold the button for two seconds to initiate the macro that configures your system to control the VCR. The idea of two seconds does not sound like much time, but I switch devices often and I knew this would eventually annoy me. I had my doubt erased when the next production run of the MX-500 changed this delay from 2 seconds to 1 second, which is much more acceptable. I knew that the MX-500 does not have as many bells and whistles as the other remotes I have used over the past few years, but I started to wonder if it might be more functional. I was sold after I started reading the user reviews and people started talking about how great it was with the TiVo. I grew more curious as time went by and placed my order on June 13th 2001 with www.HomeAutomationNet.com, people reported good luck ordering from them and I received great service and no problems. I received my remote a few days later and fought off the urge leave work early to go program it. :) Initial Impressions: When I first took it out of the box, I was once again surprised by the size of the remote. I don't know why but I never seem to have an accurate mental picture of these remotes before I get them, I always expect them to be smaller or bigger than they turn out to be. This remote was bigger than I had imagined, but I do not consider it too big or anything, it is a comfortable size for me. I was also impressed when I saw that it came with the 4 AAA batteries that I needed. I was extra psyched when I noticed they were Duracell batteries instead of generic no name batteries that normally ship with devices and die the day after you plug them in. That was a nice touch that I really appreciated, especially since I did not have any AAA batteries handy. hehe. The MX-500 is a well balanced remote and has an amazing button layout. The buttons are put almost exactly where I would put them if I were designing the remote myself. It does not seem fair to compare the MX-500 to the RTI T2 because of the huge price difference ($180 vs $650), but that is exactly what I intend to do because I bought the MX-500 as a potential replacement for the T2. The T2 has many features that the MX-500 does not, but as time passed I realized I was not going to be taking advantage of many of those features anytime in the near future. That put the MX-500 and T2 much closer to each other that you might guess. The build quality on the MX-500 is very good, it does not feel cheap or fragile to me at all. That said, the T2 feels extra sturdy to me and somehow a little more solid. The T2 also feels a little better in my hand than the MX-500, though the difference is not night and day. The MX-500 has a distinct upper hand when it comes to button layout, especially since it has more hard buttons in easy to use places. That said I definitely prefer the cursor controls on the T2. The MX-500 has a 5-way thumb pad that is not quite as nice as the T2's separate button's for up, down, left, right, and select. I think the main difference is that the MX-500's thumb pad is sunk into a bezel, and when you use it you feel the right angle of the bezel's edge. The T2 has big meaty buttons for this that are rounded and feel really nice to the touch. Does it Cut the Mustard? It took me a while to get all my codes learned in, I did not want to go with the default button layouts so I taught the MX-500 all of the IR codes for each of my devices. This took quite a while, I would say I probably spent about 5 hours working on this. I had a number of keys that were difficult to learn and I re-did a bunch of them 4-5 times before they took. I don't consider that abnormal though, I had a tough time getting the IR codes into the T2 also. After the codes were learned, I started programming in the all important macro's. I did not have any difficulty getting the macro's programmed, the process was pretty simple. The MX-500 has a number of buttons that can accept macros, I thought that not being able to put them on any button would be a large limitation, but it honestly worked out pretty well. The T2 has a much more powerful macro engine, but the only real use I put that power too was to make a power button send the "on" codes when pressed once and the "off" codes when double clicked. The MX-500 has separate "Power" and "System Off" buttons removing the need for this advanced functionality. I did notice that the macro's are sent from the MX-500 a little slower than with the T2. I have the exact same macro flow and with the MX-500 and can see some of my intermediary steps enacted. I end up tuning to the "Ant A" input on my TV for a split second and with the MX-500 it takes long enough for the other IR codes that I can hear the "snow" noise before it switches to the correct Input. That is a minor beef, and I can probably re-arrange the macro to avoid it. The Bottom Line: I really like the MX-500 and think it is an excellent remote. It is particularly amazing when you consider it's price point, the value is definitely there! I have not used it enough to set my opinion in stone yet, but I do think it is the superior remote for controlling the TiVo. I think in most other regards the RTI T2 is the better remote, but those extra buttons on the MX-500 make a significant difference. I would not hesitate to recommend the MX-500 to anyone looking for a new remote control. The hard buttons and LCD labels make this a tough remote to beat. I can safely say that if I did not already own the RTI T2, I would definitely get the MX-500 to save around 400 bucks. The real question is since I already own the RTI T2 and now the MX-500, which one am I going to use? Here is an analogy that might help show my thinking. I can imagine the RTI T2 as a Limousine who's shocks are worn out, and the MX-500 as a pinto with a smooth ride. the Limousine has many luxury features like a hot tub, TV, ect, but it's basic function as a transport vehicle is less than perfect and provides a bumpy ride. The Pinto, while not being heavy on the luxury items, definitely gets the job done and provides a smooth ride. I think the answer will be that I end up using the MX-500! Like I said, controlling the TiVo is my primary concern and the MX-500 does a better job of that with full transport control AND the cursor thumb pad. I think that outweighs any of the T2's luxury features. In the end only time will tell for sure. I plan to keep both remotes handy and let them battle it out for my affections. The best news is that I will end up winning regardless of which remote comes out on top in the long run. :) If you are interested in more details about the MX-500's features or would like another opinion, I recomend checking out the review at www.RemoteCentral.com. I would be happy to answer questions if anyone is curious about anything. Go back to the Main page. |