Tell me why I _shouldn't_ buy a pronto...

[Mattie]

I've caught the pronto bug and I really want one for Christmas. I've played with the emulator for ages, I've lurked at RemoteCentral (http://www.remotecentral.com) for weeks, and I can afford it. So I have motive, method and opportunity... now I need you guys to talk me out of it. After all, £200 for a remote control? I can talk my wife round but I'm not sure whether I should.

Can you help?

Mattie.

If you really want it...go get it!

Treat yourself -that's what Home Cinema's all about!

Who else is gonna buy it for you? http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/smile.gif

Gary
A Phased Plasma Rifle In A 40 Watt Range®

My DVDs: www.thepentagon.com/disinformationsection (http://www.thepentagon.com/disinformationsection)
http://members.tripod.co.uk/silverdiscs/cursor.gif

[adrianh]

Was 200 quid for the docking station also.

For anyone interested letsbuyit.com have it at the minimum price of 199 quid including vat and deliverly. Although i've heard about the delivery from this company reported on the forums in the past has been somewhat chequed.

Regards

Adrian

[ptmbradley]

I'd *love* to get one, but there's just no way in the world I could justify blowing that much money on a remote!

And I think my better half would probably walk out on me if I did!

I bought a Cambridge Audio M500 for £30 from Richer Sounds, which does the job I need. Not the best for the more tricky functions but great for everyday use.

I still dream of a Pronto though, and if you can afford it then why not? Go for it!

[T_Strife]

Go For It! Lurvely piece of kit.
Unless you have a Pace Telewest or Ntl Cable digibox - It wont work - much to my disappointment.

Do what I am doing......wait for the colour screen model to be released after Xmas and then buy the monochrome version as the price of these should drop dramatically.

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"Why do I do this? Three reasons: the pay is good, the scenery changes, and they let me use explosives."

http://www.ypcc.co.uk

[Dodgey]

A colour model is coming out in the first quarter 2001.

That should do it http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Black 5]

But this is Christmas we're talking about! Go and buy it. I am lucky enough to have two of these (for different rooms) and my better half bought them both.

The service from letsautomate.com is superb and very helpful and last time I looked competitive.

"Yes. Don't spend the money on something YOU want. Spend it on something WE want. WE need lots of things for the house like... a new Hoover, net curtains, duvet, matching towels for the down stairs toilet or a nice toaster cover."

spend it before she gets her hands on it. That's my philosophy.

You can pull the wool over her eyes anyway. She won't believe you if you tell her you just spent 200 quid on a remote. Mine didn't!

[Mindcrime]

Why not get one thru' Littlewoods Catalogue -OK you pay a hella of a lot more in rwal terms(in the region of £60) but you spread the cost that little bit better, not so much a shock. Mine arrives today.

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And kill the priest, too!

[Mattie]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I have succumbed, and it is on order today. Interestingly enough, Mindcrime, that is exactly what I'm doing. I know people will be telling me I'm spending FAR too much but we won't miss it on the catalogue payments, plus we have a "pay May" offer, and I don't use interest-bearing credit for a number of personal reasons, so please don't be too negative on that point.

My wife and I have a great HC understanding. I _never_ lie about price etc., I just talk her round eventually in a concentrated campaign of attrition. After seeing the pronto emulator on my screen for the nth time she agreed it was worth it. Mind you, she wants a dog and she's trying to talk ME round. It won't happen.

PTMBradley, I think I have the same remote as you also, although mine came from a different source and cost more. There's a review of mine (rebadged but identical) here (http://www.remotecentral.com/ur362/index.html) at RemoteCentral and since it will now be surplus to requirements ***advertisment deleted sorry *****

I expected everyone to tell me how many DVDs I could buy for the price... but anyway, my mind is made up and thank you all once again.

Mattie.

[This message has been edited by Mattie (edited 15-11-2000).]

[Mindcrime]

Well done Mattie. I also got it on Buy Now Pay May + 50 Weeks interest free. Bargain. Happy playing.

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And kill the priest, too!

[ptmbradley]

Enjoy your new toy Mattie!

Your old remote is the same as mine. http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/smile.gif We get on pretty well, except I can never remember on which button I've programmed more advanced settings like speaker sound levels and resort to the original remote! Otherwise it's great.

Xmas bonus coming up though. Maybe I'll try the Pronto emulation approach on my fiance! http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/wink.gif

Yea, enjoy.

It took me about 2 weeks to get it configured the way I wanted, every minute of that was enjoyable.

It's without doubt my favourite piece of kit. It's just sooo now. Everyone loves that touch screen.

[This message has been edited by JUS (edited 17-11-2000).]

[Mad Max]

Mattie, I'm ****ed at you ! Because of this post, (and because I was curious), I've contracted the virus, and now I'm gonna have to buy one !

Been playing with the emulator, and I'm now wondering where this remote has been all my life !!!

Damn !

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/smile.gif

Rui

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An adult is just a kid with expensive toys.

Rui

Beware, pronto's are dangerous...
You think you get everything just right and then you find a new icon you like and just have to use it. Before you know it, the days gone because you just had to reconfigure the rest to match. Then you begin playing with macro's and x10 stuff and there goes more money and more sundays. Then somebody introduces you to the field of human-computer-interaction and task-action-grammars and then you get a degree and become flatulant and well paid...

Horrible stuff...

The pronto is great. You shouldn't treat it as 'just' a remote.

My wife is constantly surprised at how much I spend on my HT stuff, but she thinks the Pronto is the best thing I've bought. It makes it simple for her to use the HT without juggling 7 remotes. She never bothered before, but now she uses it whenever she wants.

Very high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor)

[General Skanky]

The Pronto as it is now is great.
I asked about all this ages ago, but waited for the new colour one.
However!!!!!!!!!
for extra memory, colour screen, a couple of extra hard buttons and a few other improvements, the price being banded around is $800 in the US.
I'm sorry, but that is the realm of the well healed.
You can get the original + charger for £187 + £40 from LetsAutomate, that's £227 all in compared to approx. £550. Obviously it will drop in time, but to a level we could afford without thinking too hard? Doubt it.
I'm on the verge of putting my order in for the pronto as is now and not worry about expensive 'new versions'. I can only say I'm upset at such a ridiculous price.
My only real concern was memory as it stands, but as I wil never go crazy with it, no problem. If that time should ever come it would be upgrade time anyway.
So to any undecided pronto buyers, go for it now, I don't think you'll be disappointed!


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Douch!!......Wot's da madder, da CIA got you pushing too many penzils?

Work: www.hughes-tv.co.uk (http://www.hughes-tv.co.uk)

[This message has been edited by General Skanky (edited 02-12-2000).]

[This message has been edited by General Skanky (edited 05-12-2000).]

[AdamS]

I thought a new Pronto was out soon with 2MB??

The equivalent Marantz RC5000i with 2MB is out now and you can buy it from Keene Electronics for the same price as the 1MB Pronto was!!
The Marantz is the same with a different colour case....isn't it?

[ptmbradley]

I'm sure I read somewhere - can't remember where - that the Marantz can do one thing that the Pronto can't, and the Pronto can do one thing that the Marantz can't. Can't remember exactly what though, sorry!

A couple of people said they'd ordered through the Littlewoods catalogue.

Where is it in the catalogue? Blowed if I can find it! I want one now, and the mrs might let me get away with it for a couple of quid a week!

[This message has been edited by ptmbradley (edited 05-12-2000).]

[General Skanky]

Just received mine from Lets Automate.
£227 incl. charger in 36 Hrs.
The 2Mb version. is £300 +/- from Lets Automate.

------------------
Douch!!......Wot's da madder, da CIA got you pushing too many penzils?

Work: www.hughes-tv.co.uk (http://www.hughes-tv.co.uk)

1meg is enough for me. I'm controlling all my equipment with fancy icons and macros and I haven't run out of memory yet. I haven't got furbies and hundreds of x10 automated things though.

I went for the pronto without charger. I've had the remote about 3 months and I'm still on the same batteries. 40 quid for a charger = 4+ years of batteries. I should be able to upgrade to a voice activated one in a year or two (phones and pc software already with us).

what page can i find the pronto in the littlewoods catologue?.

[Mattie]

It's not in the regular catalogue. They have zillions of supplements they send out from time to time and one is called the "hot technology" supplement. They are A5-ish booklets and often the items in them get put into the next main catalogue.

So ask action line for the supplement (it has a "360 degree stereo" goodmans NXT style speaker system on the front) or ask again if you need the catalogue number. Offer code XX306 gets you pay June.

Incidentally they do supplements for major manufacturers, like a Sony supplement for example, and have a special order service so you can say, "can you get me a price on a Toshiba 40PWxxxxx?" and they will try. Of course you do pay a premium but, see my earlier post for why that's not a problem to me.

HTH

Mattie.


[This message has been edited by Mattie (edited 06-12-2000).]

[darren7]

have you seen the price on the www.sdb-electronics.com (http://www.sdb-electronics.com) site, well cheap
Originally posted by APPRIA40WR:
If you really want it...go get it!

Treat yourself -that's what Home Cinema's all about!

Who else is gonna buy it for you? http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/smile.gif

Gary
A Phased Plasma Rifle In A 40 Watt Range®

My DVDs: www.thepentagon.com/disinformationsection (http://www.thepentagon.com/disinformationsection)
http://members.tripod.co.uk/silverdiscs/cursor.gif

[Black 5]

Reference the comments on the memory size - I've got masses of pages used on mine to control everything in my 'cinema'. For example, I have over 90 help screens (created for when we had some HT rookies housesitting for 2 weeks) and an individual macro for each of my 180 DVDs for automatic selection of aspect ratio, the right soundtracks, etc. If you are careful in the way you plan this, you can create macros for performing common, set routines and call them up rather than repeat them over - this seems to save a lot of memory.
I've still got over 20% memory remaining and can't imagine running out.

[Gary Palmer]

OK, OK, I'm interested now as well good damn you all....

2 questions.

1) Can you genuinely operate it in the dark. I watch most movies using a projector and can operate the amp and DVD remote without having to look at them (I know where the play, pause, volume etc.. buttons are by the feel of the button layout!). Do you have to look at the thing to successfully select the correct button...

2) How do you handle OFF/ON. Most of my kit has a single OFF/ON button that toggles the kit on and off. The remote doesn't know what mode the kit is in... sooooo, if someone puts the DVD on standby and the machine and you press the OFF macro - hey presto the DVD turns on.. Am I right in assuming that you all have a wife-rule that you only switch on/off via the remote ? Do you switch EVERYTHING on/off. Finally, what happens if your kit is not in the same place as the TV... Is the infra-red powerful enough to bounce around the room no matter what direction you point it ?????

Come on chaps, convince me that 250 quid for a remote really is better than 15-20 DVDs...

[Gary Palmer]

Mattie,

Where did you get the emulator software ? I tried the Philips web-site for a download - no luck...

Cheers
Gary

[Caroline]

Hi Gary,
In answer to your questions:
1. Yes, you can operate the Pronto in the dark although you WILL have to look at the screen because you can’t feel the buttons. But after a while you’ll get to know where your most used buttons are on any given screen. A trick I used was to design the screens for each device so that they are very similar. The screens for our DVD, Toshiba and Mitsubishi VCRs are almost identical. Like a computer keyboard, you’ll get to know where the buttons are.
2. If you look on www.remotecentral.com (http://www.remotecentral.com) and check out the archive section you’ll find the discrete codes for various devices which will allow you to program, via Prontoedit, a single ‘off’ button and a single ‘on’ button. Sadly, not all devices have these discrete codes. So, if like us, you have a lot of Toshiba kit, weep gently.
For wife-rule, read husband-rule. We switch off only through the Pronto, apart from last thing before going to bed when the TV gets a poke from standby to off.
As for the last point, a lot depends on the type of kit. We have ours across one wall and the Pronto has no problem.
By the way, some of you seem worried about the memory – 1mb is plenty. Our Pronto controls 2 VCRs, a DVD, amp, satellite, lighting and TV, with screens for all the satellite channels, plus numerous macros – and we still have 60% memory left. That was achieved using Prontoedit and making aliases of various buttons.
How much convincing do you need?
Caroline

[Craig C]

Could someone maybe explain to me about "discrete" codes and the problems they can cause. Also I hear that some pioneer equiptment can give the pronto some learning problems, does anyone know if the DV626D is one such item.

[Mad Max]

Try www.remotecentral.com/files (http://www.remotecentral.com/files)

look for the ProntoEdit link http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/smile.gif

Have fun !

------------------
An adult is just a kid with expensive toys.

Rui

[Caroline]

Here is the RemoteCentral site’s explanation of discrete codes:
How to use discrete IR codes:*
What are discrete codes?
They are versions of toggle codes that only perform one function. For instance, a "POWER" button on a remote would be a toggle, in that when it is used the current power state is reversed. If your device is on, it turns off. If it's off, it turns on. A "discrete" code would be a signal that ONLY turns the device on. If it is already on it remains so. These are most often used to ensure your home theater components stay completely in sync for powering on and off and changing inputs.
Such specialized and otherwise hidden codes may also be available for direct access to other "toggled" or "rotating" functions such as television inputs, receiver soundfield settings and on-screen display modes.
If these codes are "hidden", how are they found?
Mostly by hard work. Often a remote that came with a single model of a component may have a few discrete codes that could be used on other similar models. Or, as with many of the ones on this site, the actual structure of an IR code is analyzed and then changed to see what the resulting code does.
Do all brands and models have these hidden codes?
No! Entire brands of equipment have been found to have no discrete codes whatsoever. Even if a brand is known to feature some discrete functionality, particular models or lines may not.
How do I use these codes in ProntoEdit?
All codes found in the "Individual IR Codes" section of this site are presented in ProntoEdit's internal hex format. In order to use them with your Pronto remote control please follow these steps:

1. In the ProntoEdit software package, double-click on the button you'd like to use the code with. You must already have an IR listing in the action window in order to paste the new hex code into, however if you do not the easiest way to create one is to click on RC5/6 and choose the default listing (0 0).

2. Next, double click on the entry (shown as "[C] RC5 0 0" if you followed the above directions, or "[C] Learned" if you are replacing an existing code). This will open a new window with the hex code displayed for that function, already highlighted for easy replacement.

3. Return to your web browser and select the code you'd like to use by clicking and dragging the mouse cursor over it. Copy it to the clipboard using the CTRL-C keyboard shortcut.

4. Next, switch back to ProntoEdit and paste the code into the opened window using CTRL-V. If you'd like you can rename the code's internal listing by clicking on the text at the bottom left (do not use any spaces), otherwise press OK to return to the button's property screen. That's it!

The TOAD List
TOAD stands for "Toggle-Only Actuated Devices", which basically means these devices do not have discrete power and/or input codes. Note that the models listed are merely ones that have been verified -- others may or may not support discrete codes. Workarounds may exist. Revised 10/04/00.
Aiwa Mini System All Models (inputs supported)
Denon Receiver All models PREVIOUS to the AVR-5700 and AVR-3300
Funai VCR F2860L
General Instruments Cable Box CFT-22xx, DCT-1000, DCT-2000
GO VIDEO VCR All Models
Hitachi TV All Models
* VCR All Models
Kenwood Receiver VR-209
* CD CD-2260M
Panasonic Receiver TX-SV717Pro (inputs supported)
Panasonic VCR PV-4060, PV-4268, PV-4690, PV-S7670
Philips VCR VRZ360AT
Rotel Receiver RSX-965 (inputs supported)
Sharp TV 20RU719
64LHP4000 (A/V inputs; no power or ANT)
Sony DVD DVP-S500D, DVP-C600D
* DSS SAT-x50
Toshiba ALL DEVICES
ALL MODELS

Simple eh!!

[Craig C]

Wow. Thanks for taking the time to give me such a concise reply.

I do have another question however, with components where you have to hold your finger on a button, eg turning on a tv, can you just hold your finger on the pronto screen to carry out the same funtion or would you use one of the hard buttons?
Thanks...Craig.

[Black 5]

Craig C,

You decide which hard or 'soft' buttons do what. That's the beauty of the Pronto. I quite enjoyed playing with the edit software, getting the hang of the most efficient way to do everything I wanted. Some people even take this up as another hobby http://www.homecinemachoice.com/ubb/smile.gif However, it's pretty satisfying (and very cool) when you have a finished item and you have designed a personalised configuration file, that has just the things on it that you want, displayed where you want them.
The Pronto is definitely worth 10 DVDs in my opinion (though you may get it for 8!) if you have a home cinema setup of separates. I've bought 2 for use in different rooms!

Its shortcomings? Well, the programming does take some getting used to and some aspects of it require careful thought and workarounds to achieve what you want and, as it's infra red (IR) you still need fairly good line of sight for it to work properly. For example, I have mine sitting on its docking station which is fixed permanently to a coffee table where I know it can hit all the receivers around the room. However, you can buy infra red splitters and amplifiers which will route the signal from one receiving 'eye' to equipment inside a cupboard for example and you can adopt that solution where your kit is scattered over a wide area of the room. Check out the letsautomate site to see what's available. More expensive remotes use radio frequency (RF) signals and have a 'converter' you can place near your equipment to beam out the IR and these are not fussy about where in the room they are used, but they are a good deal more expensive (000s).

Black

[Gary Palmer]

Ummmm

that comment about the wife-rule... sorry about that

8-)

[Caroline]

Merry Christmas everyone.

Gary, you’re forgiven.