New Philips Pronto Professional

[remoteshoppe]

Looks like Philips is trying to make some big news with the new Pronto Professional that they will be announcing at CEDIA. I jts received my second teaser from them today and it looks like it's going to be in the same housing as the RC9800i.



I'd love to see some specs on this thing

[Brian81]

I wonder if they will support it

[rcfactory]

you are right.

[alanw]

Does anyone have any additional information yet ? Prior to CEDIA........

[AnthonyP]

remotecentral has two teasers on it. Don't know if they are the same two that remoteshoppe mentioned

[remoteshoppe]

same two. this is all the info Philips is leaking. The only other way to find more is to register your email on their site at http://www.pronto.philips.com/index.cfm?id=1286

[wjjz106]

For your viewing pleasure ... teaser 3

http://www.pronto.philips.com/

[remoteshoppe]

The newest flash animation shows the Pronto Edit Professional and their new. easier way to create favorite channel buttons with channel macros

[AnthonyP]

some more info on RC

[AnthonyP]

think this is interesting



look at icons 2,3 and 9

[CJO]

Looks a lot like a T4.

CJ

[remoteshoppe]

Philips released the 4th teaser today and i found this actual photo of the remote

[Freddy C]

When and how much

[remoteshoppe]

It's being introduced at CEDIA in mid September and beyond that there really hasn't been a lot of info regarding price & availability. The TSU7500 was launched with an MSRP of $999 so my guess is that this baby is going to be closer to $1500

[AnthonyP]

a lot more info on it http://www.remotecentral.com/cedia06/show01.htm

but no price yet. two (I would guess optional) WI-FI bases

[b curry]

USD MSRP

TSU9600 $1299

RFX9600 $599 (RS232)

RFX9400 $299 (WiFi)

[KenLand]

This thing is too awesome. The screen is gorgeous and the response is instantaneous. The fit and finish and the weight distribution are just right. The extenders are very powerful control units. You can make a nice robust system with these components.

I like the live state feedback. I hate crossing my fingers when I hit the remote button.

The only downside I see is weak battery life. Of course not a problem if you keep it in the cradle most of the time.

Ken

[AnthonyP]

Ken, what is the battery life like?

[KenLand]

Well, I don't know for sure he said 1-2 days off of the charger. I said that wouldn't work well for people that like to lose the remote in the couch cushions.

Then he added, "Well, it has auto shutdown so the battery won't drain once it goes to sleep". So I don't know exactly what that means. If it was 1-2 days of continuous use then that would translate into 4-6 months.

I took it all to mean that wifi does draw its share of power.

BTW, I went back to the Harmony booth to ask more questions about the 1000. It doesn't do two-way like the Pronto Pro.

Ken

[aag]

when and where available? Does anybody know at this stage?

[KenLand]

Can't remember if he said October or November....

Ken

[AnthonyP]

Well, I don't know for sure he said 1-2 days off of the charger

cool that is all that is needed for a remote with a charger. Enough for an evening of TV/movie watching

. I said that wouldn't work well for people that like to lose the remote in the couch cushions.

I used to be like that and still am with the other remotes. But my Pronto TS-1000 just tends to stay on the charger when I don’t use it. I find that when a remote has a “home” it is much more likely to be put there then when it does not. My Pronto is in my HT and I am never looking for it. ON the other hand the Harmony 768 in my bedroom is always lost

PS with a touchscreen you also don’t want to sit on it by mistake

[b curry]

Is this going to be an installer only remote or will it be for sale direct to the public?

[dSly]

Originally Posted by KenLand

...BTW, I went back to the Harmony booth to ask more questions about the 1000. It doesn't do two-way like the Pronto Pro.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that the Harmony 1000 is not fully customizable like the TSU-9600.

For example, buttons may be nice on the Harmony 1000 but you cannot make one with a picture of your kid (or dog) as you can with the Philips Pronto.

I understand that the TSU-9600 (much like the TSU-7500 or Marantz RC-9500 for that matter) is fully customizable and would allow you to have a single button as large as the entire screen (if you wanted to). With the Harmony, I believe you are stuck with the standard config.

Now I am not sure though about the conditional programmability that is apparently available on the URC MX-3000.

[AnthonyP]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that the Harmony 1000 is not fully customizable like the TSU-9600.

you are right

For example, buttons may be nice on the Harmony 1000 but you cannot make one with a picture of your kid (or dog) as you can with the Philips Pronto.

the 880 had a pic slideshow screen saver. So there might be upload pics for a slide show like the 880. But if you wanted a button with a personal icon for something

[jacket_fan]

I need a remote with RF capability. I did not see anything about RF with this remote. How does the Pronto handle RF?

Sharp looking piece of equipment .

[Waza04]

Originally Posted by jacket_fan

I need a remote with RF capability. I did not see anything about RF with this remote. How does the Pronto handle RF?

Sharp looking piece of equipment .

Ditto, I would also like to know this.

Does anybody have a date for the UK on the device yet?

[dSly]

AnthonyP, I see you are in Montréal. Are there any TSU-9600 out there?

[AnthonyP]

dSly: no idea. Back in the day (6000/7000/3000) Philips stopped shipping to Canada (from what I heard it was an RF issue (i.e. they did not bother getting it certified in Canada). Hopefully that has changed.

PS you might want to try asking Daniel Tonks. I have seen his name here once or twice, but he is a fellow Canadian and the owner of remotecentral. He has contacts in Philip and might know more.


I guess this opens up an answer to the otyher two questions.

jacket_fan, Waza04: it uses standard wifi and not propriatery RF like many remotes. Even with RF remotes (like the 3000,6000,3500,7000,7500 and European counterparts) RF is built to talk to a base that then transmits IR, some times you can luck out (Like the Prontots and X10) but there is never a guarantee that it will work in RF with an RF device, RF is propriatery and the only reason it worked on the Pronto was that they bought the RF from X10)

the nice thing about wifi is that it might work with other networked devices. They already added support for RadioRa and Escient
http://www.remotecentral.com/cedia06/show01.htm

[jacket_fan]

I know I need to do some more research, but the quote below does not completely clear up what hardware is required if I want to control components that are in a cabinet somewhere.

Optional to the Pronto Professional are two different network-based extenders, the basic RFX9400 WiFi-based model for out-of-box use with wired IR emitters, and the deluxe RFX9600 model that offers advanced capabilities including RS232 control and power status sensors. The built-in wireless system can also be used with Escient music servers and Lutron lighting systems

So you buy one of the RFX9400 extenders, then run IR to your components? If you have more than 4 components you have to get multiple RFX9400s?