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Topic:
Pronto lcd screen differences
This thread has 123 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15.
Post 1 made on Thursday June 8, 2000 at 11:11
Ryan Carney
Historic Forum Post
I bought a U.S. version of the pronto with the light sensor about a year ago. The lcd display is very bright and crisp. This past week, I bought a European version (Silver) and the lcd is very dimm and washed out in comparison to the older U.S. model. Has anyone else noticed this or could it be because of the light sensor?
OP | Post 2 made on Thursday June 8, 2000 at 13:44
Cary Gerber
Historic Forum Post
It could also be due to the contrasting colors of the case. The only way you will know for sure is to turn on the backlights together in a very dark room.

I believe you are seeing an optical illusion. I think this has been brought up before. Maybe not though, but worth a shot.
OP | Post 3 made on Thursday June 8, 2000 at 15:43
Ryan Carney
Historic Forum Post
I looked at both LCD's side by side in the dark and there is no comparison. The silver LCD looks horrible!I checked my friends RC5000 with light sensor and it blows the silver pronto away as well. I suspect the older versions of the remote with the active light sensors are more crisp and detailed. I wish someone else had both and could also compare. I'm not sure where I can find another U.S. pronto with an active light sensor at this point? I may have to purchase an RC5000 instead. Either way, I'm not very happy with the quality of the LCD on the European Pronto.
OP | Post 4 made on Thursday June 8, 2000 at 16:43
David B.
Historic Forum Post
It is very possible that some models use a different source for LCD panels. Often when a new product comes out it will have high quality expensive components. Then some competing component manufacturer will show the company their "Lower Cost" part and convince them they can be making more money on the device if they use the lower price part. Of course the lower price part is also lower grade.

If you're not happy with the silver Pronto, get your money back. Tell them you paid for a quality Pronto, and not a cheap copy. Show them the difference.

Dave
OP | Post 5 made on Thursday June 8, 2000 at 19:23
Peter Dewildt
Historic Forum Post
Ryan, the RC5000 does not have the light sensor anymore either.

I have had both an original Pronto with sensor and currently have silver model without sensor (but still has hole where sensor would have been). LCDs are absolutely identical.
OP | Post 6 made on Thursday June 8, 2000 at 19:29
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
Ryan, Peter, post the serial numbers to your silver remotes. That would allow us to determine when they were built.
OP | Post 7 made on Thursday June 8, 2000 at 21:39
Ryan Carney
Historic Forum Post
Let me give you all even more information. I purchased the U.S. version of the pronto almost a year ago. It has an active light sensor. The LCD looks incredible. It has a very bright backlight and the icons are crisp. Last week, I ordered a silver pronto and docking station from etronix.com. I immediately noticed the LCD looked shitty. It's dim and washed out and the Icons look soft. I did all the tests. Shut the door, turned out the lights, fired up both LCD's and it was laughable. No comparison. I played with the contrast wheel and it only got worse! The LCD is a dimm blue instead of bright green. The bottons lack color and appear soft. I even exchanged battery packs and the result was the same. I figured it had to be a bad unit so I returned it to Etronix. They sent me a new one which arrived on Wed. Same result...no comparison what so ever in the LCD's. Two faulty units? Probably not! So know I'm thinking there might be something wrong with these new prontos that lack the active light sensor. Look at it this way...If I didn't already own an older pronto, I would never know there was anything wrong with the LCD. I would have nothing to compare it to. I would think the LCD looked great and the remote was amazing. Maybe I'm just unlucky here, but, if I purchased a pronto recently I would want to find someone with an older version of the U.S. pronto and compare the LCD's. There is a chance that some of you out there aren't getting your money's worth. Here are the serial numbers of the 2 Silver prontos:
1. PL 02 0008 01 1067
2. PL 02 0009 012123

I'd appreciate any input or help on this one. Thanks in advance!

Ryan Carney
OP | Post 8 made on Friday June 9, 2000 at 00:21
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
It's nothing to do with the light sensor. Sounds more like Philips has sourced a different LCD screen. Old ones were Samsung. Anyone opened up a Pronto recently?

Remember the whole "reboot" issue was due to noise generated by the LCD. Is it possible this was caused by the new screen?

It's understandable that Philips is/was looking for new screen sources -- the whole reason there were/are so few Prontos available is due to a lack of LCDs.
OP | Post 9 made on Friday June 9, 2000 at 03:50
Ron Brinksma
Historic Forum Post
I don't like that idea at all, Daniel!

IF this is true, it sure sounds like Philips preferred quantity above quality... not very smart.
OP | Post 10 made on Friday June 9, 2000 at 06:01
Steve13
Historic Forum Post
I own an RC5000 with the light sensor and a Pronto without (blue/green case). I loaded the same CCF into both of them, and looked at them side by side in my dark theater. The screens looked virtually identical.

Sounds more likely that different screen sources/brands is more likely. If that's the case, I'm not surprised at all there is a a difference. I suspect that when Philips went looking for new screens, they simply bought screens that met their minimum tech specs. It wouldn't be too hard to believe that no one at Philips actually sat down and compared the screeens side by side.
OP | Post 11 made on Friday June 9, 2000 at 10:06
Ryan Carney
Historic Forum Post
This is very dissapointing because it's virtually impossible to find a brand new U.S. version that is old enough to have the good LCD. However, I have done some research and found a number of places that still have older model RC5000's in stock. By older I mean they are old enough to have the active light sensor so I'm assuming they will still have the good LCD. Trust me, the difference in the LCD is substantial. Your lucky If you have an older model. For those of you who just purchased recently, if you could see the difference in the LCD's, I think you'd be pissed. I hate to say this but the new LCD sucks! People are getting ripped off! I bought my U.S. version pronto a year ago with charger from Controlyourhome.com. It cost 329 dollars including shipping. I paid 389 delivered for the new silver version with the charger. So, basically It now will cost you around 60 dollars more to buy a pronto with a horrible LCD. The worst part is that I have recieved great customer service from Chris at Etronix but I'm going to have to send my entire order back for a refund. To top that off, I'm going to have to take my business elswhere so I can purchase a quality remote. I don't like having to do that. This is certainly not the fault of the retail outlets. This is a problem with Philips and it's unfortunate. I wouldn't want a new pronto after seeing the difference in the LCD's...I feel like there have to be a ton of you people out there who've been cheated and you probably don't even know it.
OP | Post 12 made on Monday June 12, 2000 at 19:20
Peter Dewildt
Historic Forum Post
My silver Pronto definitely has a bright green LCD as opposed to a dim blue as described by Ryan. I received my silver Pronto in January.
OP | Post 13 made on Monday June 12, 2000 at 22:37
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
The backlight is a aqua blue-green. Probably a bit more green than blue.
OP | Post 14 made on Tuesday June 13, 2000 at 14:40
Ryan Carney
Historic Forum Post
Maybe it's possible that I was just unlucky! All I know is that the LCD screen on both of the silver prontos looked horrible when compared to the LCD in my old pronto. I showed my friends, family, anyone who was willing to take a look and they all agreed the difference was night and day. I wish I would have had some means of taking a decent photograph and posting on this site so everyone could see the difference for themselves. I still think there has to be someone out there who can back me up on the difference in the LCD's. I can't believe I'm the only person in Prontoland who's come across this problem...and I also find it hard to believe that I was shipped two faulty units. There has to be something to this..Hey Daniel, were you able to learn anything from the serial numbers that I posted? As far as the color of the backlight goes, green or blue, it's dull and dimm in comparison to the backlight on my old pronto. I'm not comparing apples to oranges here. The difference is substantial and I stand by everything I've said.I'm sure that Peter's LCD looks great to him. Like I said earlier in this thread, if I had nothing to compare my silver pronto to, I would have thought the LCD was fantastic. However, it's not...and I still feel like there are a few of you out there who don't know what you are missing. Find an older pronto and compare...some of you are going to be very dissapointed considering the price.
OP | Post 15 made on Tuesday June 13, 2000 at 16:55
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
No, didn't learn too much. One was made the 8th week of 2000, and one the 9th. Very close together. However, I've put a question into Philips as to whether the screen has changed... they initially thought not, but it seems something must have happened.
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