I understand the need for a physical remote and I agree with you.
What we're working on now is the engine that communicates with Z-Wave / IoT devices. It's designed to be able to support multiple user interfaces: terminal commands, web pages, apps, etc. It is possible to support a hardware remote, but we haven't spent any time on it yet.
If your hardware remote can send a URL, it might be made to work now.
We plan to add a lighting section to the Theater View interface, so you would be able to use an MC Remote or equivalent to navigate and make changes.