Can the Pronto be set up to list discs in a disc changer so that each disc could be selected by title (even track name?)

I imagine I could customize a button/macro for each disc or track, but obviously a heirarchical menu would be better suited for the task.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Darren,
I woudl have thought that the best way would be to scan the album title as a bmp file and load them as icons once the software is released. In the meantime, just have title buttons in macros that run stop, disc number sequence, then play. When the software releases, you just change the buttons for the icons. Might find the album cover icons on a website as gifs that could be converted. This being the easiest method.

I think once the software is available you could create several devices, each for a different kind of music (e.g. pop, rock, classic, etc) containing macro buttons labeled with the discname. just my two cents...

My CD changer holds 300 CDs -- I would think that that's too much to create a button for each. Sure would be cool though! I'll probably try and see how far I can take it.

I don't suppose the Pronto could just display a text listing on the screen when I press a button?

My original plan was the one said earlier -- to have buttons labeled "Blues", "Jazz", or "Enter Disc #".

You don't spose? Well you should spose.

No one ever said that you had to have a picture as an icon. It can just as easily be text. When the "text" button is pushed, it could run a "string" or could "jump" to another page anywhere else.

I hope this answers your question.

PS to last message:

300 discs would only be limited by the amount of memory all the bitmaps/buttons would take. It would not be a limitation otherwise as the matrix is essentially 255 devices x 255 buttons.

Thanks for the ideas.

I was wondering if those people that have been beta testing the software know if there is a heirarcical text menu feature (or something like it).

Ultimately, I would like to be able to program the Pronto to drive the CD changer to play a list of predetermined tracks from multiple sources, including the multiple CD changer. This would require some timing capability (to properly time the play track 2 after track 1 has been completed), but I think I have read earlier that this capability is not avialable.

Just some ideas.

I actually had the same concept as Darren and Keith, with the thought of being able to store a text list of CD titles and associated codes. In fact, some ability to store this list in a separate "file" would be great. With some PC software you could simply update the file in the Pronto as your CD collection changed.

Sorry, there's no support for a hierarchal menu or anything similar. I'm afraid the majority of people find such things a little more than they're willing to cope with on a remote control. Perhaps in a generation or so, when everyone has grown up with Windows Explorer being as natural to them as VCR and Microwave controls are to us (and there are still Microwaves I can't fathom...)

You may wish to consider purchasing a CD changer with an on-screen menu system. I'd suggest something like the Sony CDP-CX88ES, as an example. You may also want to check out Nirvis Systems, who make a PC-to-Sony S-Link interface. They provide a rather neat freeware program called CDJ to drive that interface. CDJ can look up each disc in your changer on CDDB to get title and track into, create play lists, and for some changer models, upload title and track info back to the changer.

HP, thanks for the info.

Let's be honest--the majority of people are not going to invest $300+ in a very hi-tech universal remote control. Technology-oriented people will buy this product, and a hierarchical menu system is not the hardest thing to navigate. I do understand your point though.

Maybe the features will be included in a future release. I'll post a suggestion on the Philips web site soon.

Thanks Jack for the idea -- It'll be interesting to see how much memory a 300 line text file takes when converted to xx black-and-white bitmaps.

I could also make it 300 "wide" buttons (which run macros to select discs) -- take more memory though. Wish I could play with the software now...

Ah, but I think you're missing an important point, Darren. In the computing world, the person who buys the product is usually the only user of it. In the CE world, the person who buys the product is not usually the only user - sometimes not even the most frequent user. Such a remote has to be usable by the whole family, not just the person who purchased it. Even if he/she is a rocket scientist, chances are that someone in the family isn't. I think others have made the point about 'special users' here before :-)

That's one of the challenges of designing such devices for consumers. UI designer talk about 'deep' interfaces - most common functions are on the surface, easy to navigate & identify. As you drill deeper into the UI, the level of sophistication rises, as the size of the audience it is applicable to drops.

Thanks for the comments. I do appreciate you taking the time out to respond

I do not profess to be an expert in UI design, so take these comments appropriately.

One of the major problems associated with the use of 100+ changers is the awkward way a disc needs has to be selected--usually by number. Many manufacturers have tried to build a better interface with a combination of remote control and console readouts with varying degrees of success.

To me, the Pronto presents an excellent platform to make these devices very easy to navigate, especially those that are at the lower end of the price spectrum that don't include many, if any, text features. I don't know what the right UI design is (a menu system may or may not be the answer) especially in light of your earlier comments.

Getting it right would take out some of the complexity and add a little more convenience.

The core point you made (making high-capacity CD changers easier to use) is a solid one, and is why many of the manufacturers have at least one model with an on-screen display. I agree that a touchscreen LCD remote is another good way to interact with a large changer.

I share the problem, having a couple of 200 disc changers myself (and when Sony finally ships the 200 disc DVD changer, I'm sure I'll 'have to' have that, too :-).

However, there are some technical hurdles to overcome. The first one is the need for two-way communications between the changer and remote. While you could create a list of the CDs you know you have in the changer, upload it into Pronto, and be happy, this doesn't solve the problem for the general consumer.

Remember the statistics on VCRs with the 12:00 still flashing? it's true for more expensive products too, albeit to a smaller degree. I honestly wish it weren't so, but the majority of customers are only interested in the end result (the experience) not in the technology or means of achieving the experience. The vast majority of changers do not have a significant number of the CDs labelled - it's just too much of a chore for 'the average consumer' (one day, perhaps I'll meet him/her :-)

You and I are in the minority I'm afraid, and most wouldn't go to the trouble of creating pages of channel icons or CD lists. Or hanging out in a forum on remote controls, for that matter :-) For Philips to continue to produce interesting products, they need to find a large enough audience for them to at least recoup the (sizable) development costs.

The second aspect is the need to develop the CD changer support in concert with the changer, since there are no two-way IR standards in general use yet (perhaps IrDA-Control may rise to the challenge in the future).

As to the right UI, my first guess would be more of a 'tunneling' approach - start with general categories (music genere) and refine it with successive choices from more specific lists (like a list of artists, then a list of albums). So you might choose 'Rock', then 'Pink Floyd' then 'Momentary Lapse of Reason'. It's a similar process to a hierarachial menu, but for some reason easier to fathom for the general population (probably because it's more 'stepwise' and more focussed at each stage).

The real answer to the dilemna of mass CD changers control has been done by tunebase.com. It is a PC based control system with full on screen graphic of all CD's in the system. Album covers are displayed and updated via the web as required. Of course song titles are fully listed, and play order is very programable. I think their entry level unit now is around $2500? May seem like a lot although they do work very very well. They've been around now for 3-4 years and have come from many years of custom installation. The ultimate rendition of this is the Runco SAR 200 disc CD/CDROM/DVD changer w/Tunebase controller...a cool $15,000, but again, works very very well. I think tunebase may even have a demo disc or downloadable demo. It may also provide some ideas that have been found to work.