William Sommerwerck wrote:

The timer programming on the HS-U4xx, HS-U7xx, and HS-HD2000U
is a snap. The HS-HD2000U even lets the user enter all of the info
(on time/off time/channel, etc.) into the remote, then press "transmit",
and all of the info is sent to the VCR. Nifty.

My Hi8 Sony Hi8 VCR has such a system. But I'd be willing to bet that most
people couldn't use it, because the utterly trivial and obvious concept that
you have to enter the channel, day, and start/stop times is completely
beyond their comprehension. Most people act by rote, not by understanding.

Thus, the popularity of the DVR with IPG.

The Sony SL-HF900 was about as simple as you could get. You pressed a big
bar, and the setting you were to change blinked. You spun a big knob to
change it, then pressed the bar again. This was repeated until everything
was set.

The Mitsubishi is similar. A line is highlighted; adjust with jog dial on
remote; turn shuttle ring to enter - next line is highlighted; etc. Really
simple.