The UMC-1 shipped with a small crappy remote, but they later sent me a remote pretty much the same chassis as the ERC-1. It's good and heavy and feels nice, but to be honest, I use a Harmony remote anyway so not a feature I value very much. Some people probably care more than others. I'd probably have opted for a crappier remote to save a few dollars, those without a Harmony remote probably wouldn't.