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Original thread:
Post 9 made on Monday August 15, 2005 at 15:21
conley_jb
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
June 2005
22
It has been a while since I have contributed to my own posting, so I thought it was time to update things after using my 9800i for a couple of months.
Over all I am very pleased with the device, it is fairly simply to use and it seems to control all of my devices as advertised. I still find myself reaching for the television remote or Directv remote when I need to adjust settings on these devices (i.e. color adjustments, brightness, etc). Overall my favorite feature is out easy it was to setup... I do miss my Pronto some days, but even though I don't use it the EPG feature along is worth the cool factor. Speaking of the EPG, it is nice to have and I can see it being really useful if there was only a way to speed it up. It is still easier to hit the guide button and have the Directv EPG comeup on the TV than use the 9800i's guide.
A few things that I was not able to do initially with this device I eventually was able to setup using the programmable buttons (which I still haven't figured out how to relabel as Philips claims you can). The first was the multi-room activation... I have a separate amplifier and an ABUS adapter connected to my Harman receiver, after some fiddling I was able to cut on the separate amplifier from my remote, there are lots of steps involved to get there but it works. The second issue I had that was resolved, was on my Harman being able to change surround modes, adjusting between the different Dolby and proprietary settings. I also added a button and this worked. My biggest complaint about the device is what I eluded to above is the fact that in order to make system adjustments or change screens you have to jump through tons of screens… a direct access to “other components” while watching Sat, or DVD, etc would be useful.
The biggest disappointment was that I have yet to be able to get the MediaServer software to work, maybe I misread the capabilities or had to high of expectations, but I can not access media content through my Showcenter 200HD like I had hoped, it is suppose to be a UPnP device, but all I can do is access my files (audio only) on my server and they play on the 9800i… I don’t really see a use for listening to MP3’s on this thiiing, it sounds aweful. I thought you could access files on your server and based on the file type it would activate a device in your theater and play it if you had a UPnP in you system… for example, my Showcenter 200 can access my DVD’s on my PC hard drive, I had hoped I could access that list or those movies on the server and by clicking the movie have them play through the Showcenter, but to date I have not been able to get this feature to work. It would be nice to be able to pull up a file and like you do with the EPG, when you press on it, it plays.
The biggest factor for me with this remote was whether or not my wife could use it… that test turned out to be tougher than I had thought. My wife has been able to use the remote to cut things on, but we have found that the IR transmitters isn’t as powerful, as it should be or something. Because of the delay the remote built in for our DLP TV to warm up, if the remote is not left in a particular place the sequence (cut on TV, cut on A/V receiver then Sat receiver) will get messed up. If things don’t happen just right, than it creates a problem…. This in addition to changing more complex settings, my wife has had problems with. Either a stronger IR transmitter, one with greater range and angle or the ability to ad RF as has been discussed would make things easier. I have yet to try something like an IR Hotshot or IR receiver with stick-on IR Mouses to see if this helps.
Overall I am pleased with this product, for the money it will serve the masses very well, however at a retail cost of over $500 I really don’t see the masses embracing this product. If I were Philips I would wake-up and realize that their primary customer base; those individuals who shop at Bestbuy and the big chain stores and want movie theater quality picture and sound for under $1000, won’t be the ones buying this product. I can only hope for slightly more customization and flexibility in the next firmware releases.

My Wishlist:
•Better integration of various UPnP devices, i.e. Pinnacle Showcenter, etc
•Ability to switch between devices without having to jump through multiply menus
•Ability to access the EPG, while on the same screen as the device you are controlling
•Ability to re-label, and reposition buttons
•Richer colors on the color display – color is great, but are sort of dull (16m upgrade)
•Upgrade IR capability (improve range and angle of attack
•Upgrade or add an RF adapter
•Better manual as to features and how to use them
•Faster EPG access
•Place to mount or store the stylus
•Easier way to go back and change settings once you have setup the device… I have had to adjust the timing on the sequences for “watch Sat”, “watch DVD” three times, and each time it is a pain. Why can’t they us seconds instead if MS.
There's no such things as a quality Hometheater for under $1000.


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