JP1 Remotes

I've don'e alot of searching but I can't seem to find a whole lot of information on the one for all 8011. Adding a replaytv was the last straw in the never ending addition of remotes. The 8011 seems like a good universal remote but I have a few questions:

1. Does anyone have any strong positive or negative opinions about this remote (especially as it pertains to replaytv)?
2. Is it JP1 ready, or do I have to modify it?
3. Rob shows them out of stock from his inventory? Is he going to restock soon? What (if any) modifications does he make to this remote?
4. Would I be better off with a 6131? The 8011 seems to have the following advantages: backlighting, home theater mode, more powerful built-in functionality without having to resort to JP1.
5. How does it compare with the 8811 or 8810w (walmart)? It seems like it has the same functionality but in a smaller form factor which is important to me. I already have a pretty powerful remote that came with my receiver, but I just don't like the size.
6. I've found pictures of the 8011 at numerous websites, but the pictures look different. Some have words on the buttons and others have symbols. Are there (2) different styles running around?


Thanks for any help
Chris

1) it's not a bad ReplayTV remote
2) no, you will need to modify it.
3) No immediate plans to restock, it took me close to a year to sell the one box of 6 that I bought, so it's not exactly a fast mover. I did the same mod that I do for the 6011, which is spelled out in a file in the hardware section. The mod is to solder in an EEPROM chip, a 6-pin header and a wire across the JMP2 spot.
4) Probably, the 6131 is a better Replay remote than the 8011, but it does lack a backlight and the (useless, IMHO) HT mode. One advantage that the 8011 has over the 6131 when used without JP1 is that it supports macros whereas the 6131 doesn't. With JP1 they both support macros.
5) Internally the 8011 is the same remote as the 8811/8810w, but it's smaller and lacks learning.
6) Internally there is only one version of the 8811 / 8810 / 6011 / 6012 / 8011 / 8017 remote, but on the outside they've changed the printing quite a few times, changing words for symbols, adding outlines, etc, etc.

I just recently bought a 8811 w/JP1 from Surf Remote Control web site for $38.95. It works great with my Tivo Series 2. There were a few commands I couldn't find so I had to learn them from the original remote which was a piece of cake. Basically I am only using the JP1 to back up the remote in case something happens, because I did a lot of learning and key moves that I wouldn't want to have to repeat.

Thanks for the help. I was hoping the 8011 was sold out due to popularity (turns out it was very unpopular). So now it's between a 8811 and a 6131. I think I like the size of the 6131 more than the learning/backlight on the 8811 (I'm getting a JP1 cable and my equipment is not all that complicated). The 8811 just looks too big. So it looks like I'll switch to the 6131 and order it (and a cable) from your website real soon.

Thanks for putting out all this great information.

If you really want to make sure you're covered, you should go for broke and splash out the extra $19 and get BOTH a URC-8811 and a URC-6131. You would use the URC-6131 as your actual remote and just keep the URC-8811 purely as a learning device.

When I started doing this whole remote thing, long before we invented JP1, I bought a Philips Pronto for $300 just so I could learn and decode signals, so $19 is nothing in comparison.

One of the extra cool things about the URC-6131, is you have TONS of upgrade memory, nearly 2.5 times that of regular remotes. This is because there's no attempt to support learning in this remote, so the upgrade memory automatically extends into the complete second kilobyte of memory in the 2k chips that I use.