Let me know if the post above has helped anyone.
Got the remote back together tonite, still working.

Thanks

Got a reply from Belgium today apologizing for not posting a resolution on Remote Central by end of last week as promised.

What else needs to be said?

Count me in,
Lost backlighting yesterday, Got it back after reset.
Touchscreen still worked.

Lost backlighting again today. Put it in charger, tried after a few hours,
and now it worked.
Touchscreen still worked.

I have loaded the latest firmware, and I experience one other issue:
I sometimes now get an audible feedback that I've touched a key,
but no response from the TV.

Also, I'm a bit worried about the announcement of the new remotes;
Why announce them at all? that have to hurt he sales of the existing ones,
but maybe that was the whole idea.

Philips possibly have discovered a hardware issue remedied this with
a new product, and try to halt sales of the existing ones to minimize
warranty claimes.
And atleast externally, the new model brings nothing new to the market.

Well, I finally received a reply from Erik Gybels on September 16 saying that they had analysed the touchscreen problem and that they're working on a solution for all of us. That's just swell!!!!! It seems to me that they already have a solution, if only for a select few. What am I, made of chopped liver!!! Here's my reply to Mr. Gybel's reply to my e-mail:

Dear Mr. Gybels,

Thank you for your response to my follow-up. I have one more question. Why are others getting replacement remotes for units that are out of warranty? A post to the remotecentral.com forum thread regarding the touchscreen issues, from "bmduke" dated September 16 states that he's received an offer of an exchange. This seems to have happened for several people, but not me... Can you offer some insight into why this would be the case??

It's gone beyond the point of simply being disappointed with a product, I'm starting to feel personally offended by what seems to be uneven and selective customer service. It seems that some get new ones, and some get the shaft. I sincerely doubt that I'm the only one on remotecentral.com who feels this way.

Thank you in advance for your attention in this matter.

You're not the only one who feels slighted. Like I said earlier, I was basically told that I'm SOL, since my unit is out of warranty. I couldn't even PAY them to fix it. Crappy customer service so far, but we'll see if they make good on a solution for any/all of us.

I have received the same problem -- touchscreen is dead after 2 years of use. I sent a message to Philips through the customer support on their site and there has been no response. I have been a loyal pronto user, but I'm fed up with the poor hardware design and even worse customer support. I just returned from Best Buy with my new Harmony 880 --- farewell Philips, it's been nice....

Add another poor soul to your list of dead TSU3000 screens. I updated to 3.67 to see if that would fix it, and now I am stuck on the "calibration failed" routine. I won't go into the level of frustration and unhappiness I feel right now. I will say that if Philips doesn't find a fix for this error, it will be the last Philips product I buy. (Some marketing pencilhead may be saying, "yeah...right," but I'm serious.) I was one of the first to pick up the Philips Velo 1 (1997), and the Pronto NG was my top pick based on how great the Velo held up. The Velo is still running today and the TSU3000 is dead less than 2 years old. Unless someone conviences me otherwise, I'd say Philips quality has hit rock bottom. Please post a solution to the problem, and I'll take it all back. Thanks.

You can add me to the list. I can see the buttons on the screen, but when I press them, nothing. I have tried all the various upgrades adn resets... nothing still. I have e-mail Phillips with the info... I bought mine from the company that did my house in November 2003...

Sure is fun to deal with all those remotes again!! NOT!!!!!!!!!

I had some evacuees up from Houston this weekend and one of their kids managed to step on my TSU3000. Half the screen is blank and big "bruise" is in the top center. This visible buttons at the bottom of the screen still work. I was going to ask about how hard it is to first, find and then install a new screen; but after reading this thread I may cut my loses and buy a better remote. I spent $400 on programming for this remote, is there a better remote that I can transfer the same coding to??

Thanks in advance,

Add me to the list. My screen just died out of the clear blue sky. It has been working perfectly for the last two years. I've tried everything, downloaded the newest firmware, reloaded configuration, spent hours trying to calibate the screen and afterwards....nothing, still a dead screen. If Philips doesn't fix the problem ASAP add me also to the list that will never buy another Philips product. I have absolutely loved this remote but for what I paid I expect it to work longer than two years. Philips....are any of you boneheads listening.

I upgraded my firmware today and my screen is now unresponsive. I cannot believe this!!!!

Count me another victim of the touchscreen problem and of Philips poor customer service. I used the remote with no problem on Thursday night. On Friday morning the touchscreen would light up, but the LCD buttons would not resond. I tried to reset it, pulled the battery, recharged the battery, nothing worked.

I've only had the controller 7 months so I checked the warranty card that came in the box and found that it has a one-year warranty. I followed the instructions to arrange for a replacement to be sent. The young man on the other end asked me to check the firmware version to confirm it is the latest. I had just upgraded earlier in the week. So he agreed to give me an RMA number and instructed me to send in the remote with all of its components (never mind that there are no components other than the remote). I read to him the warranty card that clearly states that Philips would send me a replacement, then I should return the defective unit in the same box. He said that his system says that I am to send in my unit and that he would have to get someone from Customer Relations to see if they could help.

After a long hold, a young lady came on to tell me that I needed to send in the unit. I again read her the warranty card and she told me that was only for the more expensive remotes and that it must have been put in the box by mistake. She said that if I checked the owners manual I would see that I have to return the unit for repair that this was not a model that they replaced. My owners manual says nothing about the warranty.

So far I have over $500 (controller, RF extender and charger) and dosens of hours of my time invested in a controller that has lasted only 7 months. Then Philips, and the nice lady in "Customer Relations" insults me by telling me that I have the inexpensive unit that doesn't warrant replacement.

I'm not through yet. Come Monday I will take another stab at reaching a reasonable customer service employee at Philips.

The irony is I really like this product. When it works.

Count me disapointed and frustrated,

And it goes on...

Here is my status report (especially since I was identified by name in a ProntoTeam posting).

I eventually received 2 rechargeable packs from Philips (the first one
was delayed by being sent to Warwick, UK instead of Warwick, RI, USA
(I have not lived in the UK since 1983...).

The TSU3000 replacement they sent me now sits as a monument to indescribably bad customer service, software and quality assurance. I won't use it again - considering the hours that I put into it to get an interface I wanted (and I used many GUI features from Mr Tonks as a starting point) the quirky behavior, slowness and crappy backlight - I prefer the simplicity of the Harmony (and I can even get the latest, more capable model for a total for 2 remotes that is less than I wasted on the TSU3000 and its charging cradle (has anyone considered what a rip-off that cradle is? $70 +/- plus shipping for a wall-wart, plastic castings and minimal electronics?).

Philips still seems to be in denial believing that they have seen only a small sample of their customer base - I wonder how many TSU3000s are out of action in the world outside RemoteCentral (lots of users don't even know it exists).

I continue to tell anyone who will listen to the Pronto saga and, to date,
I have warned off 3 intended Philips purchasers - they have bought Harmony remotes.

BTW: I predict that Philips will announce a fix for the firmware on March 14 (pridie idus Martius)...

TOUCHSCREEN FIX:

My TSU3000 had the same problem as everyone is experiencing, see my post #130 on 9/29/05. Changing the batteries, hitting the reset, upgrading the firmware, reloading the configuration, etc. WILL NOT repair the problem. The only fix is to open up the case and clean the contacts (see post #95 from PeraV). There are four torx screws on the back of the unit (after you remove the battery cover) that need to be removed. The bits in my Torx set were too big so I bought a new set at Radio Shack. Once the 4 screws are removed, you need to open the case. Run your fingernails in the groove and pry it open. I found it easier to start at the top. Once the case is separated, there is one more torx screw at the top of the circuit board. Once that is removed, pry the green frame off the touchscreen. Take care that you don’t break the frame near the side four buttons. Note that there is a small plastic piece that goes over the usb and battery charger connector and another small plastic piece at the top of the touch screen. You now need to clean the four contact points on the flexible plastic at the top right of the screen. Also, clean the metal strips at the top and bottom of the screen. Use a pencil eraser to clean the contact points (a computer engineer trick) and then spray the contacts and the entire unit with a spray contact cleaner. This will clean and lubricate the contacts. Put the unit back together and download the latest firmware. I knew right away that I had mine fixed because I was able to calibrate the screen on the first try. The remote is now working perfectly.

DISCLAIMER: Try the fix at your own risk!

I have to believe that Philips knows the fix to the problem but they would rather increase their sales by charging you $160.00 for a refurbished unit they repaired by
following my procedure above. If they were really interested in quality customer service at a fair price, they would charge no more than $25.00 to clean the unit. I love the TSU3000 but I question whether I would buy another product from Philips.

Mine seems to be working again...it started working a few days ago. It appears as though it stops working when it rains outside, and after a few days of good weather, it starts working again. Maybe I'll start putting it in a plastic bag with some dessicant packets on rainy days, until the day I can either a) afford to buy a new, non-Philips remote or b) Philips fixes my current remote, whichever comes first.