We just got a couple 3500's in today and I had to post my thoughts on this and see what you think.
Apparently they have just about doubled the cost of these things for what amounts to including a charger with the unit now.
They have changed the LCD screen. I have to say - this screen looks absolutely horrible. It is simply black and white now and the contrast just looks disgusting. What was Philips thinking?
The "improved" case design is still up for debate for me. It feels cheaper but I like that the check button now says OK on it. I also like the raised buttons below the screen.
Aside from that - I don't feel any difference with this. For what we are paying for these things now I have to say I'm ready to look towards URC or RTI. Pronto has lost me as a faithful programmer and advocate. They are so far behind in technology and they rely on an unaffiliated website for their tech support team. I feel that Philips should trash the entire Pronto line - it's NOT wirth the money they are raping us for. And don't even get me started on that ridiculous "Advanced Programming" class they offer at CEDIA. I could have taught that class after a night of binge drinking with my eyes sowed shut and thier iPronto shoved up my hole.
So what do you think of the Nevo SL? :-D

So, ox? Are you a female pig? "eyes sowed shut"?

And.... eeeewwwww. I don't want to use your iPronto....

Sorry you've had misfortune with the Pronto Line. Quite a few of us love the remotes and cannot live without them. Hope you find the same kind of flexibility in other platforms.

Lyndel

I am still waiting to purchase one to see what it looks like. Is it avalable through the typical distributors?

Thx Dave

Ok - not sure what the pig reference means...

I have been programming Pronto Remotes for about 5 years now and have been an avid supporter of them. I have managed to overcome all the quirks in the software and feel I'm a highly skilled pronto programmer. I wouldn't say I've had many bad experiences with them, it's just that looking at the other offerings from other companies and the Pronto Line seems so antiquated, inefficient and just plain ugly. Not to mention their lack of tech support and interest for customer installers.

I think if anyone is still "pleased" with Pronto, you would be the one with your eyes sowed shut.

oxjoy -

I think you might want to switch to decaf.

As previously expressed by Lyndel, many members love their Philip's remotes and can't live without them. I being one of them. My remote has bought me and continues to bring me many hours of enjoyment. It was a worth while investment.

I don't mind you ranting, but it's how you express your rant that I did mind.

- wjjz106

The term "sewed" refers to needle and thread.

The term "sowed" refers to the offsping of a female pig.

That's why the pig reference.

I have recently puchased a RU960/3500 for my dad. The new screen is much brighter on them and you have facility to increase or reduce the brightness if you want.

Im still using the RU950 which im fairly happy with. Unfortunatley the Backlight has failed on mine :(

I been programming prontos arounf 5 years now and I warmed to them, they are pretty eary to configure once you grasp the concept. I could go back to using the pile of remotes like i used to.

My only gripe is they are over priced, especially the color screen versions.

Mediaman

A tsu 7500 costs the same as a URC MX3000 and less than an RTI T3. Way less than then Crestron stuff :)

As for function per buck... we have a lot of customers who really love there Prontos.

Springs - you do have a valid point. There are very few programmable remote controls in the sub $500 range (at least with touch screens).
Has anyone priced out the components to see how much Philips is making on these things? If it cost them over $50 to produce these I'd be shocked.
As an installer / programer, I look at it as far as support per buck. Is the company going to help me if I have a problem? How are the defective rates? How long is it going to take me to program a system on this remote. Other than that, looks and feel are all that matter on the manufacturers end. I'll take care of the GUI and ergonomics of the remote. Function is my responsibility not the manufacturers.

I still have NO CLUE why I was refered to as a female pig?!

WJJZ (are you in the Philly area?!) Your comment is exactly why I started this post. There are much more powerful and cheaper solutions out there than the Pronto. I think too many installers are still using them because that's all they know. Sometimes they are so involved with what they are doing they don't take the time to look outside the box and see what else is out there. I am proposing a revolt against Philips! We need to show them that we will not tolerate their lack of innovation and lack of competitive pricing. This is just like windows and dell. People use them because that's what they know and they know it well, not because it's the superior platform of choice, easiest to use or best value for the buck.

The pig reference came from your use of the word sowed shown in the quote below.


As Lyndel explained in a later reply the term "sowed" refers to the offsping of a female pig. The term "sewed" refers to needle and thread which is the word you should have used.


Lyndel even explained the reference to you in his original comment, though not as eloquently as when he explained it to you later on.

I SEE. I didn't realize I had misspelled the word. I'm so glad that my improper use of grammar is so relevant to remote controls. Maybe I will bring my comments to a more relevant forum. This is what I mean by lack of support. The only support I can get from Philips is from a forum where people are more concerned about how a word is spelled than the actual ergonomics of a very expensive piece of electronics. Thanks for helping me cumulate my desision to ditch the most over priced and inferior product in it's class. Hopefully you won't see me around here much more.

Hear, hear!

You are overreacting. Lyndel started his reply to you by playing off your misspelling of a word, then made a relevant comment regarding your post. I say get over it already.


At the time I am replying here this is your only post in this forum. You are not even seeking support at that. Do a forum search on Lyndel's user name, my user name, any number of active forum members user names here and read over some of the posts. You'll find that the majority of us are here to support other forum members, yourself included if you actually needed support for something.


More power to you. Everyone has an opinion and we all clearly know yours now. I don't happen to agree with you, but that's ok. What fun would that be. :-)


I could not really say. I've always wanted to try one out though.

Looks like that has been sowed up!

Forget the typos... he was kidding... I think!

As for not looking around.. I RESENT THAT!
New remotes come out and I am all over them to see if I can use them and trust them with customers. If you check my posts I test out remotes as soon as they hit the distro. I got one of the first MX3000s and one of the first Nevo SL. I post my thoughts here with other installers and users and want to get a feel for what is up with a product.

Ergonoimcally I like the MX850 for a real basic system with an advanced user. For a person who is not into HomeTheater you are going to spend a lot of time explaining it.

Used the TSU 6000 for as long as it was out there. As tivos became more common I needed more star and transport controls available at the same time.

The MX3000. I had a product that was ment to compete with the Pronto TSU 6000 when the 7000 was out. It had various issues wich have since been worked on and some actually fixed.

TSU 3000. Editor killed my computer. I mean it, like it was junked and I killed another before I got hip to the issues. Skipped the product all together after sitting in on the class. The 6000 was a better unit and appealed to customers more.

TSU 7000 had it home the day is showed up at A$%D and was testing for about 2 weels before I switched over to it.

MX 800 editor didn't actually work when you needed to use the universal browser. See yA!

TSU 7500 made sure I had the editor checked out and connections set before I brought it to the field. Found the RFX6500 to be a huge improvment in reliability! YEAH!

RTI T3. RF range is just not real! Have some ergnomic glitches I am trying to overcome in my OS that I am writing. But having everything stored on the RF unit means 100% macros.

Nevo SL...
[Link: remotecentral.com]
Still get annoyed when I think about how that went down. Prodcut has had a serious revisions since my fisrt testing... but it is ment for end user DIY guys. But A$%D has an exclusive...
[Link: remotecentral.com]

RTI T2+ don't like the feel as much as the MX850 but If I could use the RTI programer on the *%) and the 850 had the RTI range. THAT WOULD BE A GO TO REMOTE!

Trust me some of us put a ton of time into making sure that we are doing the best job we can for dollar with our installs and our work in
general.

Lowpro, thanks for the D-Fence (Falling Down reference).