@Lyndel McGee

Yep I did, also my last mail and they just don't reply....

Also found a nice thing to add mailed that as well to prontoteam, distributor and shop.

In the original manual of my pronto they refer to the Pronto site for soft and firmware upgrades, so it was part of the deal when I bought this device !

It IS part of the deal! Without software it is useless and without updates it will be worthless sooner or later! I did not steal my Pronto but bought it at full price and now they don´t want to support me anymore only beause this dealer does not sell Pronto anymore. In my area there is NO Pronto dealer I could go to for updates and I can do this by myselfes very good!

I am a DIY and this is how I see it.

In the pronto community there is two groups; installers and DIY consumers.
I don't believe that shutting out the DIY guys will lead to DIYers will hire
an installer to configure his/hers remote. More likely it will lead to that the DIY's will
leave the Pronto arena. I also believe that Philips would gain much more
if the DIY´s and installers live in symbiosis. This because the installer and the DIY has
different goals.

The installer goal is to have a happy customer while the DIY´s goal is to have the best, most
perfect remote ever. This means that a DIY can spend hours and hours on developing a script for his needs (sWORDs denon script is a perfect example of this) and share it with others.
The installer can not spend 200 hours making a two way script for just one customer, it will
be to expensive. There are several talented javascript/prontoscript users here that installers
can get help from. Learning how to program a pronto does not take that long, but learning
prontoscript take a whole lot more time and effort. I´m sure that there are several installers
who write prontoscript but not that many. I think the best world for all is how thing have been
when all help each other, Installers, prontoteam and DIY. After all this is community is a really good test bed is it not? I really hope that Philips will come to there
sense and do something good of this.

@spacema,

I fully agree with you... when I bought this remote the dealer did not have the knowledge yet to program it. It was just released, so I did it myself and even send them my files to see how I did it. So it's both way... the question did philips really forbid the dealers to provide access codes, because the mailing say's that you need to contact your dealer for a code. It's does not say that a consumer is not allowed to get a acess code. But due to the fact that Philips does not reply I cannot get an answer on that

I have been around here for a LONG time and have invested heavily in Pronto remotes. I currently have 13 of them (including retired ones ) sitting in my home as well as an RFX9600 and RFX9400. While I am in no way thrilled with what is going on right now I am trying to understand what Philips is going through. After all Philips is in business to make money and apparently the remote division is not doing well, I believe that they got themselves into this jam by pushing these things out the door as fast as they made them and not following up on where/how they were being sold. I’m sure that they are going through a decision process right now that will determine the future of the Pronto. I know that everyone wants an answer NOW, but as I stated earlier they rushed into things before and I think planning and strategy is what should be guiding them now. Everybody is upset (as am I) about what is going to happen but the truth is that if this plays out that we, the common folk are not given access to the new software/firmware I think that I will still be able to use my existing configurations to maintain my home system for many years to come (hell I am still using PEP1). I personally don’t see how excluding the enthusiast here is going to turn things around for them after all there are new solutions that are becoming available which are more powerful, comparably priced, easy to work with and I am sure that the custom installer base is pursuing them as I write this. I think that this approach is a day late and a dollar short and will only be a stopgap measure that will unfortunately lead to Philips closing the remote division all together. I hope I am wrong about this and only time will tell. Just remember as they say in the Mafia it’s nothing personal it’s just business.

Tom

Had they just locked us out from the old site, I might agree. This appears to have been well thought out to coincide with new software,hardware, and a new website. Next move is all new remotes and some marginal support for the old models.

I don't see Philips coming with new remotes within two years. They're still busy with the processor and wouldn't have come with the inwall based on the "old" remote. They've talked about a new line for a few years, but my guess is that they just planned features and have no prototype. I also think that the best way to get the software will be asking your dealer or team up with a dealer if they won't support DIY directly.

Just to throw my .02 in the ring:

I've programmed and implemented my own Prontos since the very first model. Honestly its more of a labor of love than anything. A slick little device that no matter how much time I've spent setting it up and tweaking it to perfection, I can always think of new things I want to accomplish with it.

Even though I registered on the Philips sight long ago, I never went for the certifications as I had no need for them. I program my remotes for me and thats it.

I'm truely disappointed if it is indeed Philips decision to lock this customer out of future firmware/software updates.
I feel I should not have to take my remote to a dealer and pay for what I can do myself (possibly even better). If Philips wants me to pay a small fee for getting the latest firmware/software updates, I'm fine with that. I just don't want to end up with a device that isn't fully enabled.

And a sidenote: I've been following this sight for a long long time. I just dont have a need to post all that much as with a search I can usually find the answwers I need.

Adrian,

No need to qualify the post count. I recognize the user name and have seen posts/questions before. Plus, you've been here practically since Day #1. :-)

I am in Qatar in the Middle East and am very disappointed that I am struggling to obtain a verification code given that Philips have agreed to give me access previously. It is not as if I have anyone locally who can support me and having taken the trouble to learn how to program the TSU9800 I am surprised that it is proving so difficult to continue to access the site, particularly as I have completed the level 2 courses.

such a shame.. this section pronto will be history in a few years.. oh well.. Pronto had a good run :(

So I guess this whole thread and debate just became irrelevant because of this . . .

www.remoteshoppe.com/index.php

www.cepro.com/article/philips_shuts_down_pronto_business_unit/

Sort of. Please see this:

[Link: remotecentral.com]

or this:

[Link: remotecentral.com]

finally got the code and have access now.... but now I read that Phlips stops with the Pronto Line... pfff why... this is really such a amazing product....

My sympathies go to the Pronto staff. They have done great work with the Pronto.

My rant is over. If the latest news had been divulged earlier, I don't think that there would have been any ranting, from anyone. That's hindsight.

I regret any untoward comments I have made.

It is some good news that we will have access to PEP3, but incredibly sad that there will not be any further development (at least by the Pronto Team). I hope that the Pronto range is taken on-board by someone and that the Pronto Team won't won't have to look very far to re-gain their positions.

Thank you Pronto Team!

2Many (An obsessive Pronto TSU9600 owner)