Scientific Atlanta UR2-CBL-CV04:world's most annoying remote control

I've recently replaced some TiVo Digital Video Recorders ("DVRs") with Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVRs from my cable TV company, Cablevision.

I had no complaint avout TiVo, but the new boxes can record two programs at one time, and record in HiDef, and the monthly cost of one cable company DVR is less than two TiVos.

The performance and features of the Sci-At boxes are fine. They have 160-gig hard drives, which can record up to 90 hours of regular programming or 20 hours of HiDef; a connector for an external hard drive for additional storage; Dolby Digital 5.1 sound; fast forward and rewind at three different speeds (4x, 10x and 32x); and an 8-second instant replay.

I do, however, have some major beefs with the design of the remote controls.

If you want to find out about the plot in a particular recorded TV show, and then delete it, it takes SEVEN FRIGGIN' KEY STROKES, compared to just two with TiVo.

The buttons on the remote are NOT ILLUMINATED, and if you accidentally hit the wrong button in the dark, you have to go back to the beginning of a recording, and then fast-forward and "rewind" umpteen times to get back where you were before.

Scientific Atlanta employs some very smart people. They should devote some time to fixing this inexcusably dumb remote.