Time consuming?
Assuming you have the newer blue-faced remote, the learning feature is a snap. Follow this route and it should only take you 1 to 2 minutes to program your DVD remote (that's all the time it took for me to program mine).
If you don't have this newer version of the remote, then ignore my advice, as I can't speak for the older version of the remote (as I have never used it).
Good luck,
Stephen