I was too cheap to buy a Pronto. Since I had an old iPAQ 3900 lying around, I evaluated all of the PDA software I could find and settled on PDAWin.com's TV Remote Controller 5.5 (TVRC). It is very cheap (about $15 US) and does a pretty good job on everything except repeat keys. The reasons I picked it were:
1. Good CCF support
2. Support for an IR extender card (in CF format). The iPAQ 3900 has a CIR interface, but still has marginal range (ca. 4m.) using Nevo, which came with the iPAQ. TVRC doens't appear to use the CIR I/F. IAC, the range is much better (> 6m.) with the CF card. The card is cheap (also about $15 US), but I had to buy a CF adapter for the iPAQ (about $45 US) to use it.
The main shortcomings for me are:
1. No RF option. There is an option in the menu, but it is disabled. Apparently it was something they planned on, that never got realized. There isn't any evidence of continuing development on most of these products, with the possible exception of Promixis. PDAWIN.com doesn't respond to e-mails.
2. Number of hard keys. TVRC supports using the cursor control and 4 below the iPAQ screen, for a total of 9 hard keys. The newer Prontos (e.g. SBC RU950 & 980) seem to have 18 (assuming the cursor control also has a "center" button), which would definitely be a big improvement. Hope this helps.