Just ordered the Philips RC9800i at Costco's $249.99 price. I figured that if the remote doesn't perform for me as expected, I can easily return it to my local Costco store and re-look at remotes again.

I recently dropped my Pronto TS1000 and the backlight no longer works on it, so I need a replacement to save my eyesight. I've read the good and bad on this remote, and decided to take a chance on it. I realize I won't have the programability of the Pronto, but that's fine as I really don't have the time to spend hours and hours on customizing another remote.

An activity based device should be fine for me as long as I can get all my gear programmed without too much of an issue. If anyone can recommend anything I should do once I receive the remote, it would be much appreciated. Here's my equipment list:

- Pioneer 50" HD (non-Elite) plasma.
- Sony TA-E9000ES preamp.
- DirecTV HD-10 Sat receiver.
- Panasonic DVD player.
- Sony VCR
- Pioneer Elite 510 LD player.

I don't have all the model numbers for the above equipment handy right now, but an anyone see any issues that I might have with any of the above?

Thanks,
Ron

Any other Sony TA-E9000ES preamp users with the Philips RC9800i? Just curious if you've gotten the remote to handle most of the preamp functions?

Thanks,
Ron

I have to say I am pretty happy with it so far (I too bought it at Costco).

A couple things are just really nagging at me:

1. Philips choice of graphics/colors could have been better (at least themes)
2. Custom functions cannot be relabeled (yet other things can) Huh?
3. "List" button appears, but is not in any codeset (pre-learned or not) Bug?
4. I have to live with Philips decision on which buttons get on which page. I would like to have all the transport controls AND the normal Info, Guide, LiveTV, etc for my TiVo on one page. Philips decided to break them up on 2 pages (and there is room BTW). This means hitting the hard page button, but it only goes one direction (there is no forward page or back page). This means sometimes cycling through 3 or more pages just to get "back" one.

I wont even get into the fact that the remote has to be in the cradle to route music to the audio out...

I am on the verge of returning it, but still undecided. I think the only remote I will be truly happy with is one that I can totally customize with a PC/Mac, and of course those are out of my price range.

Thanks for the info. I should have mine at home waiting for me once I get off work. I figured that even though this remote hasn't gotten exactly glowing reviews, that it's worth a shot trying out anyway with CostCo's very liberal return policy.

My original Pronto TS-1000 was nice, but the screen was getting to a point where it was hard to read even before the backlight went out after dropped it. But that unit did take quite a bit of my time to get it programmed where I wanted it. But once the layout was done, it worked quite well.

If the RC9800i turns out not to work the way I want it to, it's likely I'll next try out the new Logitech Harmony 1000 activity based remote that's due out this fall, and expected to retail just under $500. Another option for you might be to check out eBay for some color Pronto remotes that might suit you better. They're still likely to cost more than the $250 I paid for the RC9800i, but you'll have the color screen and flexability you need.