aiight...i'm a little new to this whole high-end home theater stuff, but i was wondering what some people would suggest for the following setup:

TV: Toshiba 61' - not sure about the model, it's from 1995...i would like to take advantage of the Pic In Pic option for the football season ;)...last year w/ the Sony Commander i had to keep switchin to my TV remote :(

STEREO: Yamaha receiver - middle of the road - $299'ish new...all my audio runs through this...the speakers on the TV are off

DVD: Apex 1500 - cheap, plus plays EVERYTHING (i'm sure u guys/gals already know this :))

DSS: RCA DRD222RD

DVR: ReplayTV 4504 - my new baby :)

VCR: GE - older...will prolly never use again, but would still like a remote for it

CD: RCA 5 disc changer...same as the VCR...i pump all my mp3's to my stereo, but MAY use the CD player once in a great while


that's about it. i have the older Sony Commander right now, but the compatibility is pretty crappy and the programmed buttons don't seem to respond too well (ie, the '1' and the '3' buttons for the dss are hard to get to work even though it's a touch screen). i would like something in the $100-200 range, PC linking (not a deal-breaker tho) to update the RC component database and to customize labels, and push buttons...the touch screen is a little annoying.

someone on the replaytv boards recommended the Universal MX500....i read the reviews and it seems nice...i like the smaller form factor too....my Sony is a bit large. thanks for the info.


sturmie

Well, your pretty much gonna get three suggestions here..

1) Philips Pronto or clone...
2) TheaterMaster
3) AMX or Crestron.

they all have their benefits and drawbacks.

Personally I like my Pronto TSU2000, does pretty much everything I need. Along with my Ocelot I can control almost my entire house.

thanks for the reply....how does the TSU2000 work with ReplayTV? in particular, the newer 4xxx series units.

thanks....sturmie

You program it so it works however you want it to work!

k....but how WELL does it work w/ the RTV units? my old sony commander can 'learn' as well, but it still doesn't work very well.


sturmie

There are no known issues . If there are I'm sure some creative person has cum up with a fix .

Go for the 2000 you will thank me in the morning . lol

does anyone have any experience w/ a ReplayTV 4000/4500 series unit and the Pronto? just wondering about the compatibility and if there are pre-programmed codes for the RTV on the Pronto....i would hate to have to program all those buttons myself :).


sturmie

If you don't want to do a lot of programming, you should probably consider one of the newer One-For-All remotes like the ~$30 URC-8811. They have built in support for Replay and the Apex-1500 and they can be programmed with discrete codes.

Many of the OFA remotes, including the 8811, have a JP-1 connector 6-pin connector in the battery compartment that can be used with a cable between the remote and the parallel port of a PC with freeware to program a wide variety of features. You can program macros, save the configuration, add devices etc.

The best place for more information is Rob Crowe's excellent unofficial OFA website www.hifi-remote.com and it has information on how to join the JP-1 Yahoo group that has the files tools and programs to use the JP-1 connector.

I think that if you go this route, you will be pleasantly surprised at how versatile and well these remotes work.

-Jon

Sturmie this site has a huge file section. Here is a link to the file that would work for you. This forum is made for custom installers, try the Home Theater forum or the Pronto forum.

[Link: remotecentral.com]

Yeah, but the pronto isn't a code style remote, it's a learning remote...

It does have built in codes and it can learn new codes and use codes from other ccf files.

just so i understand this, the Pronto can use these CCF files as 'codes' for newer devices that are not in its database? i'm REALLY new to the whole programmable remote thing (besides my Sony Commander)....is there any where i can check out that is like a beginner site for remote programming? a lot of people have been recommending the Radio Shack OFA remotes b/c u can basically 'hack' them to do ur bidding :), but it seems a little complicated for me ATM. i'm a cpu geek and know more than the 'average' person about home theater equip, but i'm still light years behind most of u in this forum ;).


thanks....sturmie




This message was edited by sturmie on 08/14/02 10:18.03.

What you need to do is download the Pronto software and a ccf file and then play around. This how we all learned and it is how you will learn too. Then spend some time in the PRONTO FORUM because this is not the place for pronto questions.

VinnyBag...gotcha....thanks. i did start this thread to FIND a remote and have pretty much decided on the Pronto now....i appreciate everyone's input. i also have friends w/ Pronto's and they swear by it as well.

guess i've got some playin around to do :)...thanks all....sturmie