Update: I have received RC mail about users contacting their distributors and gaining access. So, please make the phone call first. ;-)

On another note. BluPhenix posted about respect and being polite and I do agree. However, the full impact of the decision by Philips is yet to be known.

Let me remind everyone that it is the policy of this site that offensive posts can be reported and I do know of at least one user who had his account/posting priviledges revoked.

I can assure you that although I have rights to edit posts, that will not be done as I do not believe in censorship.

I just talked to B&H - I bought my tsu9300 from them - they assured me that they can do nothing, except give me the full refund, including s&h.

The two local installers do not sell this model. One can only sell tsu9400, which I don't want (and, besides, they claim that it's 'discontinued'), the other only has a demo tsu9600 which, again, I don't want too.

The nearest distributor suggested me to talk to one of the installers above, so it also was a dead end. Basically, I am out of options.

It's really sad to see that Pronto - the last bright spot in the niche of truly programmable remotes that still were available to hobbyists - is going to be the thing of the past.

Well, that goes to show you right there that their grand plan is not being implemented consistently.

I was told from my dealer that while they where able to order my remotes from Avad at my request, they are not an authorized dealer to the pronto line and they have no interest in carrying it since they already carry C4, crestron and AMX.

Basically I too am out of luck. I really wish I would have listened to myself after the ipronto debacle. That's twice they have got me. Never again will this happen.

Tengizk

Have you had a look at the dealer list on the new Pronto Site and tried the guys near you?

I may have misspoke. It could have been dealer vs distributor.

There are no dealers on there site for Canada only distributors. As for a distributor in Ottawa, there is one but the link to there website is a dead link. I will try calling tomorrow but I see no incentive for them to help me out as I am not a dealer of theirs and have not bought anything from them.

Either way this whole situation is horrible and should not have went down in this manner. If anyone is interested in a nice pronto setup let me know.

Gopronto, that's exactly what I did. What happened after that I already described.

I sent a polite inquiry to Philips when I noticed their site had been redecorated and my login no longer worked. It is too soon to expect a reply, but I decided to drop in over here to see what others had experienced. Quite the storm.

Regarding someone else's post that the V2 code is still available here, I have a couple of concerns that that doesn't address.

For example, what happens if I buy a new unit (if I even can - the supplies seem to be drying up), either to set up for a friend, or just as another one for my own use, and it comes with a newer version of firmware on it which can't be configured with PEP2, and which can't be downgraded to a firmware version that can?

I have a pair of TSU9600's here and must have purchased and configured a half dozen or so more for friends. That isn't a large number, but given the number of "dealers" listed on the Philips website that responded "Oh, we never sell any of those", I'd like to think I qualify for continued access to updates.

And yet another here.

Tried contacting the only listed distributer in the country who (predictably) replied along the lines of "Not our customer, not our problem".

Hopeful this situation will be fixed. Shame for Pronto to become another dead end for enthusiasts.

Not only that but there inwall panel is being tours as able to configure existing configurations. I was planning on adding a few in my house, now I cannot without paying someone to redesign what I already having working.

Also I have been waiting for a firmware to fix my remotes automatically waking up all the time and killing battery for no reason. If I no longer have access it's either live with a product that doesn't perform as it is suppose to or pay someone to redo my system yet again.

This really is not a good way to treat customers who pay extremely high prices for a touch screen remote than is far inferior to a much cheaper iPad. The only reason for me was it is easy to program, this forum will help with whatever is needed that you cannot handle and it did what I needed. Now it does not do what I need, they are saying stick with what you have or pay someone to redo it and then you can have some inwall panels and the rest of our new products.

I have started looking at the iPad, just because I am curious. I am sticking with my Prontos. The iPad is cheaper. The Pronto is not necessarily inferior. It is superior on some points and inferior on others, but that is generally true when comparing any two solutions to the same problem.

Some who have seriously looked at the iPad do not like the absence of any hard buttons. Programming the iPad to release its full capability is significantly more difficult than doing so on the Pronto, but it does have more glitz in the way of a UI than the Pronto. It has problems maintaining a wi-fi connection. Sound familiar? Battery life according to some is very good, according to others it is very poor.

There is now a builder app being sold by a third party that is like PEP to allow for an easy start, but it is really limited in what it allows the iPad to do for now. One way only. Requires extenders (gateways) for RS232 and/or IR just as the Pronto does.

If you think Philips makes capricious decisions regarding product marketing and customer support try dealing with Apple. I put MAC OS X (snow leopard) up on my development system, took me about half a day. The Apple people would not discuss any aspect with me because they only support the OS on a MAC. OS X is designed for Intel based machines. I have an Intel based machine.

Take a look at Sony. Sony has announced that their high end equipment will only be sold to custom installers / registered dealers and will no longer be provided to plain end users. That decision was made without any concern for those that have some of their high end gear or wanted to buy it. Yes I know it is not the same as most Sony gear is not "Programmable".

Nothing Philips does can take away from me what I have enabled my Pronto's to do through my own efforts. The Prontos work for me in my home more than adequately so I do not need any form of upgrades. Sure I want the latest and greatest, but there is no contractual obligation for anybody to supply me such items, in fact there is no contract between Philips and I of any sort. We can talk about moral contracts at which time I just smile. When you buy a piece of electronics today, you get a warranty of mercantability (A toaster shall make toast) but no guarantee for continuing upgrades and free support for the rest of the products life.

It seems some of us are actively helping their friends to setup and configure their Prontos. If I was a registered/certified installer making my living by doing that I might want to try and stop it, but I am not so I do not care but I uderstand their side of it.

I am not defending Philips, they can defend themselves. They have always said that the Pronto is aimed at the custom installer market. People who sold Prontos may have said otherwise, but Philips never did. I was burned by the iPronto but eventually got over it.

I know that Philips is reviewing their decision.

Lastly, I find it very interesting as pointed out further up in this thread, that a large number of the more virulent protesters to this thread have very low posting counts. I wonder how many of their posts were giving help or receiving help. Curious, but too lazy to do the research.

When reading the above, try to understand that I am trying to state what I understand to be true, not my personal opinions on the situation which should be obvious to all who know me. I do not like the situation, I am not really affected by it, and I will do what I can to try and rectify it for myself and others.

typical philips

For me, the real challenge here is one of competence. Custom installers have no interest in writing code as the cost benefit of an install for a single user cannot pay and most have no grasp of java script. The Pronto was envisaged as a platform with bolt on modules. However module coverage has been patchy and there is a need for an app store so that freelance developers can recoup their outlay. Sure you can get free stuff here but that doesn't incentivise developers.
The major issue then becomes the need to balance module IP with testing and robustness as Philips cannot QA everyone's code not least as they don't have access to all the hardware.

Having seen some of the content in the pro site before I was locked out I wonder if they are more goIng to go this route. However, they cannot do it without this developer community so I hope they will carefully consider what they are doing