Pros: The device has no extra number buttons, and so you can deal only with the buttons you actually want.

The remote sits nicely in one's hand. It has a nice shape on bottom.

The buttons are nice and big and the layout is sane/simple enough that you can navigate by feel.

It works.

Cons: Programming is kind of annoying, and this device doesn't use the usual RCA remote codes, so if you don't find the codes you want on the list (in a tiny font), you're out of luck.

You cannot program volume for devices which have separate volume mixers. Volume +/- and mute buttons always affect the TV.

Other Thoughts: I bought this device for use with a FLIRC receiver on an HTPC I'm building. (For those of you who don't know, FLIRC is a little programmable USB dongle that maps IR signals from ordinary remotes into keystrokes. I highly recommend it.)

One irritation I had in setting this up was ‘programming’ the remote with a configuration that uses ALL of the buttons. If the remote thinks you won't need a button for the device you've selected, it simply sends no signal at all with that button. This is no good for FLIRC, which can make use of all buttons. With some futzing around, you can check which buttons are activated by a given selection for this remote: go down the list, setting up a ‘streaming device’ with each code. Press every button and make sure they all light up. The option I found which works to this end is exactly halfway down the list, for ‘Patriot’ devices, and the code is 34262.

Another point I found confusing initially is that with my TV, the arrow buttons and menu button seemed to SOMETIMES work. It turns out that like many remotes, this one (to my frustration, see cons) considers which button your pressing as well as which ‘mode’ (TV or Streaming) you're on. The arrow keys go, by default, to your streaming device, as does the menu key and possibly others. Similarly, the power key sends signals to both the TV and the streaming device by default. You are given a not-too-awkward way of specifying otherwise, however: if you press the button for a specific device and then _within 4 seconds_ press another key, it will force that keypress to signal the specified device.

Example: if you want to turn off ONLY your TV, press the TV button, and then quickly press the power button right afterward.

That feature is not configurable.