Firstly it now does everything we need it to do. This includes all device control the original remotes covered plus sensible commands for each activity.
Purchased the 895 from Amazon as their price was as good as any and we have good experiences with them when things go wrong.
Initially set up the remote from the online database Logitech provide. This makes assumptions on what command each button will emit and what shows in the LCD display. After a short while we realised these were in appropriate for our needs and so reconfigured all the settings, including having to learn a few commands from each remote manually. How to do all of this is clear and works correctly, however I feel a bit more standardisation on the way the activities (watch Cable TV, watch DVD etc.) and devices (TV, Cable, DVD etc.) menus are arranged would speed up the learning process.
After about 2 hours the remote did roughly what we wanted, after about 2 days of adjusting every now and then it did 99% of what we wanted and after a further week it is now tweaked so we now do not need to pick up the original remotes at all. This includes controlling an amp and cable box in a separate room from the TV and with DVD players on the opposite side of the room. The most intensive remote use we do is dubbing DVDs, this includes erasing commercials as well as cropping the program to the correct start and end point, adding the correct title, labelling the DVD and finalising it, all this we do on the 895 as easily and a quickly as using the original remote.
The RF (Radio Frequency to the separate room) works perfectly. The IR (Infrared line of site) sometimes does not control an activity correctly and we have to use the help function to send the command again, not too big a deal.
So we now have the remote we expected when researching the product which was the primary concern. It looks very nice, the batteries last the day as long as you remember to place it back on the charging station before you go to bed.
I would recommend this to anyone who has the patience to configure what is a very versatile device.