I have used a ton of home theater remotes. I currently use a Home Theater Master MX-700. (Came with my B&K receiver) By far, the best remote control I have ever owned.

Things that were important to me.

1) Remote that I could use in the dark without having to look at the remote. (i.e. by knowing where buttons are) The prontos and other cool touch screen remotes, don't have "real" buttons so they were out.

2) Something that would control everything.

3) Something my wife could use easily.

Got all this and more. takes a PC to set up and is a little challenging, but it is so flexible and you can download configs from remotecentral. They can be bought off of ebay for a good price.
I use mine to control:

A/V receiver
DVD player
CD jukebox
TiVO/MP3 jukebox
HD DVR
TV
Camcorder
VCR

http://www.remotecentral.com/mx700/index.html
http://www.remotecentral.com/mx700/photo01a.jpg

I agree with Jeff, that remote he has is a great unit. I have a Pronto right now and while it is nice, the touchscreen can drive me nuts some times (there's no tacticle feedback!). Having buttons is definitely on my next remote list....

For me, the SONY was the way to go, it controls every piece of equipment that I have, SONY, Yamaha, Technics, Denon, SONY TiVo, SONY Directv, SONY WEGA XBR....

I currently use a Home Theater Master MX-500. Which is a great remote for the money.

I have a first generation Harmony Remote I would be willing to sell for $50.

I have found that in General the newer Logitech Harmony remotes, and The Home Theater Master remotes work well, are easy to program, and non-techies can work them without a degree.

--Larry

Speaking of remotes, here's a pic of our batch:
A/V Receiver, ol'Luxman pre-amp&brains,
ol'LaserDisc player, CD changer, DVD player,
VCR, Sat, and TV...

couple years ago I bought a "universal"; forget
the brand but it was supposedly designed by
Wozniak?! Fiddled w/it for a couple of days
and gave up. Maybe this universal flipper
is beyond me? :confused: :o :rofl:

We actually only use the TV, Sat and A/V receiver
remotes on a regular basis.

And, a couple of pics of our window wall; can
hardly wait for this coming Trop storm with
the 6+" of wind driven rain. These Andersen
windows leaked like a sieve during the 'Canes
of last late summer. Looking for the hip waders,
now. BR,md

. We have about 8-9 remotes at home. Itd be great to find a remote that supports IR and RF so that we can control the ceiling fan too, but I dont want to push it.

THose windows are beautiful, and the view is even better :wow: How much are houses say about 4000-5000sq ft in your neck of the woods with a couple acres around? My parents are actually considering buying a home in the area. :D

vinuneuro: Thanks. Windows themselves are ok I think, but the horizontal rain in high wind storms finds its way in...not good. In constant arm wrestle w/builder, Andersen reps, etc. We should have done like they do on the coast: make horizontal walls nearly as impermeable as a roof and have tiny windows w/no view. :(

Very hard to give a short answer to your house price question:
-by "area" do you mean our town, or western NC, etc. It's a large geography with many diff towns and areas and prices. More specifics would help: PM or email me.
Generally, great views cost a lot, and involve a tough, difficult, expensive build. Also the neighborhood/area has impact as some big houses are built in "unrestricted/no zone" areas next to some pig farm or hillbillie's front yard full of "yard art."

A rule of thumb is $175/ sq ft on the low end side and $250+/sq foot building costs, on the upper end. Land prices really vary, and 2-5 acres are gettable, but one will only "use" an 1/8th acre to build on, as most view lots are Very steep and the house, like ours, is perched on a "shelf" near top of acerage.

Asheville and flatter areas have less exp houses, in general, than the more remote, but higher and more quaint lil'surrounding towns areas. Some homes in the Highlands/Cashiers/Lake Toxaway area can get Very expensive and those areas are remote, eg 30 mins for a fooking loaf of bread.
Hope this helps, but you gotta be more specific w/questions if you want more realistic info. BR,md

Hmmm... I have the Sony Commander and while the setup takes a bit, the buttons fully mirror my TIVO, Samsung DLP, Sony VCR, Sony DVD, Sony MultiDisc CD, Sony MiniDisc, Yamaha Home Theater Amp, Motorola Hi Def Reciever, X-10 Lighting System and Hunter Douglass Fan.

Additionally I programmed macros to move from activity to activity ... "Watch TV", "TV to CD", "TV to XBox", etc. I don't think my wife, kids or anyone else would be able to figure out the maze of individual remotes. Universals are the way to go.

for me

all of this:

http://www.chooha.com/bmw/wwed/all.jpg

shrinks to this:

http://www.chooha.com/bmw/wwed/one.jpg

fortunately SONY makes something that finally works.
I just carry it around the house

I ordered a Logitech Harmony 880 from eBay. List is $250, ebay about 200 including shipping. I like the fact that it walks you through each operation, like watching TV or listening to a CD or playing a DVD. It asks for the devices needing to be on, and which is used for sound and picture for each activity. It also supported everything I have including my antenna rotor and Bose without programming.