My TSU7000 arrived today, and what made me curious and baffled is that there is no place to put standard batteries? It was NEW, came with a USB cable, AC adaptor, docking station, rechargeable battery pack, CD-ROM, and various paperwork like the warranty slip, registration mail-in, installation guide, and user manual. I thought you could put AA or AAA batteries in this thing, but the plastic inside the slot for the battery pack does not have any metallic ends or coils or anything for standard batteries. So I looked up the review of the TSU3000 and it shows standard batteries being used, but with a plastic spacer that appears like it snaps in and out of the slot, in which holds standard batteries. This wasn't included in my package. Was that for the TSU3000 only? The owners manual mentions nothing about batteries other than the rechargable pack. I am a bit taken back by this (I wish this option was there, even if I would rarely if ever use it...the case being that I need to use it right away and forgot to charge it, or if I took it somewhere else and the battery pack died out).

All in all, the remote is very nice and I'm so happy that there are no dead pixels on this like I have had on other LCD screen based products I have purchased in the past.

Brian L

Yes, the battery snap-in adapter only came with the 3000, as the charger was (and still is to my knowledge) offered as an option on the 3000. So, they needed to offer a way to use throw away batteries on that model.

Dave D'Arche

Yes on the 3000. I originally wanted the 3000, until I noticed that the 7000 came with the docking station. So after tacking on the additional $100 to the price of the 3000, I found that paying an additional $200 or so for far more memory and also color was now worth it. Thanks for the reply and answer...I see that since they supply the docking station, they don't include the snap in part for standard batteries. Can you order this snap in adaptor for the 3000 anywhere, and also, would it work with the 7000 (without damaging it)? I would want to pick this part up if it works with it.

Why would you want to use standard batteries? They would only last a few hours and end up costing a lot of money.

You only need to put your 7000 on the charger about once a week. The occasional times that I have let it run out of charge, it worked instantly the moment I put it on the charger. It would take far longer to put batteries in it (even if it was possible).

Okay. So I take it from your reply that the battery life is long enough that I wouldn't need to worry about it dying within a day or two of normal use if I took it elsewhere.

I am charging it right now (as recommended in the user manual), and still waiting for the LEDs on the charger to go out (it has been 2 hours). While doing this, I'm wondering if there's any makers of travel cases for this?

Thanks,
Brian L

There are high capacity battery packs available that are inexpensive and highly recommended. Contact Dave d'Arche or Eric Remy.

I may look into those at some point depending what kind of battery life I get out of this and whether or not I like it...

BTW, later on I noticed there is one "stuck" pixel (light blue). It's more to the side though not on the edge. I am not going to return because the possibility exists that a replacement would have one in the center of the screen, and that would be worse. Plus, this probably falls within acceptable limits.

This message was edited by Brian L on 04/14/05 05:20 ET.

The 7000 should have ZERO stuck pixels. Return it as you have a bad LCD.

I have setup approx. 10 TSu7000 units so far and the only problem I have had is one unchargeable battery. They seem to have a good quality control and I really think this is easier to use than the TSu6000 which is the first units I used. I never tried the 3000. The battery life is good on these units, why would you recommend the longer life batteries? Just time in between charging?

I had already sent in the warranty registration before I noticed. I couldn't tell since all the default backgrounds are blue already. It took a while before I even noticed it. I will try this, though..

According to the store policy listed on their site, they won't accept a return because I sent this and it's not 100% complete.. maybe they will do an exchange as that is what I would be looking for. I bought an extended warranty, too...

BTW, I just sent them an e-mail, I'll wait for a reply and hope for the best. I hope I did not screw myself over here. If they tell me I have to go through Philips, would it be possible that I could talk them into sending a NEW unit? I didn't buy 'new' to have a refurb. Rats..

This message was edited by Brian L on 04/15/05 18:27 ET.

They responded to me saying to contact the manufacturer first to make sure it is defective. If not, they provided a RMA for the unit. Again, they asked for all contents including warranty card unfilled (which I already told them I didn't have). If the item is defective, then what would that matter? They could not sell it as "open box" (which is my guess at their reasoning). My other concern is that I bought a 5 year extended warranty from them (it's a Philips warranty), and they submitted it to the company already (for the model I would be returning). This would have to be straightened out also. This is turning out to be a lot of hassle :( but then again I did pay a lot of money for the remote in the first place..

UPDATE: I got a response from Philips on this first. Around a 14 hour turnaround time. Very good. Anyways, here is their response:

Dear Mr ***********,

Recently you have asked us about: 1 pixel error and warranty

Please ring our
US hotline:

888-486-6272

If a repair takes place it will always be a refurbished Pronto.



We hope we answered your question satisfactorily.

With kindest regards,

***** *****
Philips Customer Care Centres
P.S. Please keep this email complete when replying.

P.P.S. Please do a backup of your programming / configuration
of the Pronto on the PC.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since I do not want a refurbished unit at all (at this point), I will see what the store has to say on the matter regarding an exchange. If they won't do an exchange, I'll keep the unit. I think one stuck pixel which is very dim and a light blue (I've had other devices which the stuck pixel would be red and it would seem to glow very bright..annoying!) is much less bothersome to me than having a "used" unit. Like I may have said, if I would have wanted a refurb, I would have bought one (for $500, rather than the $670 I paid). I do routinely buy refurbed products (and plan to buy a refurbed A/V receiver by the end of the year), but in a case where I just paid for a new one? I think not. I've read here about refurbed units being of differing quality, some nice, some with scratches, cracks in the screen. Any cosmetic defect would annoy the hell out of me. Perhaps this is even just a piece of dust on the LCD itself? I have been told before that a speck of dust can cause a similar symptom.