I totally share your frustration. I have been
trying for over a year now to get the iPronto
to control a complex home theater installation.
Using one way IR code is just not good enougth,
especially as some devices, such as my projector,
need 2 way RS232 to control them properly.
2-way RS-232 I just don't see happening full stop as there is no easy way to slot that functionality (for handling incoming events and data) into the existing iPronto/Pronto type of programming environment. 1-way should however be possible.
I have been playing around with a software alternative
to GC-100 from CharmedQuark. I can implement
all the distributed control I need to operate
house lights, amplifer, projector and software
applications on my HTPC, but I am stuck for a
handheld control device. My iPronto would be
perfect - the right size, the right weight, the
instant on etc.
BUT I CAN'T USE IT!
It won't send TCP strings. It won't allow me
to run a fast version of VNC so that I can duplicate
an interface on another PC. It won't run Windows
.NET so that I can implement the interface directly.
It's just an expensive paperweight that makes
me sad evertime I look at it.
At the risk of making myself sound like a complete tw*t, were you told that it could do all these things when you bought it - if so then you should be taking this up with your dealer. I haven't seen anywhere that the Pronto is capable of sending TCP/IP data (even though it obviously can) or that the user should have access to such functionality. If you bought the iPronto expecting it to do something without checking that it did then - unfortunately - more fool you. If you bought it knowing that it didn't do what you wanted but expecting that you could find a workaround or someone would hack the functionality into it then you took a calculated gamble which could still happen.
You can get such functionality from kit like Crestron and AMX so if you need that then go for it ... buy Crestron or AMX and pay the pricetag. I see what you're saying though - there's no reason why it *CAN'T* do what you want (other than the functionality isn't supported from the manufacturers) but the plain fact is that - at the moment - it *DOESN'T* do it.
The CharmedQuark bulliten board along with other
boards have many threads about people looking
for a handheld touch screen device for home control.
If you forget the expensive and closed devices
such as those from Celestron and AMX, there is
really nothing between large tablet PC's and small
PDA's.
Why the iPronto team does not see this market
opportunity and do something about it is beyond
me? Perhaps it is part of the same lack of vision
that is bringing down Philips as a whole.
I don't see Philips being brought down by a niche market remote control ... the marketplace for the iPronto is very limited, we probably sell more Pronto's in two days than we have iProntos in a year but it's a good bit of kit and does the job it was designed to do well. Of course there are things that shouldn't be hard to implement and would allow a much inproved functionality but whether they ever do get implemented is a different matter completely.
Phil
