Pete -

That was my CD-ROM idea, however, I don't agree with you. The cost of pressing a CD is measured in the sub-$1 range nowadays - an insignificant cost to a manufacturer.

Also, while I agree the Web does have it's own special attributes, not everyone has Web access... where ROMs are ubiquitous, I believe.

Here's a thought for us. I'm in the IT industry, also; sales & marketing. Let me lay out a vision that we can possibly "sell" to Philips.

Presumptions:
1) Multiple device IR databases by brand, subcategorized by model (Yamaha, Denon, Sony, etc., then 495, 795, 995, and so on)
2) Multiple CCF templates arranged by activity, and/or device and/or navigation, or whatever other styles might be available, to set the "paradigm" of operation.
3) OK, ok... so Philips provides bot web AND CD-ROM access for what I'm suggesting here. (g)

So, why not make the configuraiton setup process "Wizard" driven, instead of from scratch? Ever use Microsoft PowerPoint or Lotus Freelance Graphics to create a screenshow?

During the installation of ProntoEdit, or the creation of a new CCF, the user would be walked through a series of "setup wizard" choices on the PC, where he or she would be:

1) Prompted to select from checkboxes or radio buttons, the Equipment Families (brands) of units that are in question (sets IR code base?).

2) Select the specific devices (model numbers) for each device (sets specific discrete commands where available?).

3) Select a "operating template" from different style CCFs that woould be available, corresponding to those paradigms I indicated earlier.

4) Select "graphic themes" much in the way you can change the color, backgrounds and fonts of a PowerPoint or Freelance presentation, without affecting the content or layout of the presentation. The user could chose between, say, buttons or tabs, between square and round, etc. to personalize their choice.

5) Select the "most common activities", such as: Watch TV, Watch DVD, Listen to Music, to set the operating paradigm.

6) When done, the ProntoEdit "Setup Wizard" would take button classes, alias them into the proper templates, and downloaded into the Pronto!

Ok, so what we have here is a down and dirty way for a user to get the IR codes he needs into the device, and select an operating paradigm, without any programming intervention. And it is presented in a familiar Windows-based "wizard" style that users see every day when using other common software packages. All the "intelligence" is offloaded to the PC. No new firmware or ROMs would be required on the Pronto.

What do you think? Is that a solution that would work?