The only thing that constantly bugs me about home theater devices and remotes is the lack of discrete codes. It really doesn't make any sense to me that companies don't supply their customers with something so simple yet so important. The ability to know, absolutely, that you're sending a command to turn your device on or off is such a big deal, and the only way that I have full confidence that anyone other than me can operate my home theater.

All it takes is simply putting two power buttons on a device's remote instead of one. These companies should know that the remote is probably going to go into a drawer anyway, and even if it doesn't, what's one more button on some of these already cluttered remotes?

The reason this issue gets to me so much is that if the industry were more supportive of discrete codes, there would be absolutely no need for any of these fancy universal remotes. I have done universal remote programming for several clients now, and when I leave they have a remote that lets them turn their system on and to any input with a single button (for each input, of course), and a single button to turn the system off. If the original remotes had discrete buttons for everything I needed, the process would be far simpler. Instead, I have to use my older Pronto in an elaborate series of programming, sometimes needed to get/convert hex codes for certain devices.

Thankfully, it seems that we're getting there. My new receiver has discrete buttons on the included remote for all the basics, and I was able to reprogram my Pronto without even needing my computer.