the h-touch is backlit.. I would do the ir extender + touch
unless you want to wait for a new replacement model 1100,
the 900 isn't backlit

how often do you use your h-1100, daily ? I use it like once a week.

Daily. I use it for everything. It probably gets an average of 10-30 screen button presses a day. I try to minimize that as much as possible anymore. One thing I've done is program the left arrow button (up or down, I forget) as pause and the righ arrow button as play, but I still use fast forward, and skip chapter a lot just to get past the previews.

One thing that would help with remotes of this type, is to have some generic buttons that can be programmed as I like.

In order to get to the menu of a particular component, TV, BD, AVR, you first have to press screen buttons for which component it is, then delve into the screen options to find the right menu button. I like to check and tweak, so this screen gets used a lot. I think converting to an IR extender would be the best thing for me to do.

I've had my Harmony One for a few years now and I haven't had any issues with it. The thing I really like about the One is that there are a lot of real buttons so I don't have to use the touch screen a lot.

Suggestion - can you program those menu access buttons into the activity? I do not have the 1100 but do have the Harmony One. On the One I have programmed a shortcut on the LCD screen to channel level adjustment on my AVR for quickly tweaking sub and center channels as needed within my current activity. I assume you could do the same on the 1100?