Howdy Guys,

I have been thinking of picking up a T2 for a while now but there are a few things that have been holding me back. I hate buying a remote without holding it in my hands first, but I figure I can return it right away if I hate it so that is no big deal. The major thing that has been holding me up was my love for the Pronto.

I still love the Pronto, but I dropped mine recently and broke the backlight. I have dropped this many many times in the past and have always been very happy with the durability of the Pronto. Having no backlight has really opened my eyes as to how often I need to look at the screen in everyday use. I want more hardbuttons to minimize this issue.

The RTI T2 looks like the best replacement, though to be honest I am a little put off by the small size of the touch screen. I felt cramped with the Pronto, but I figure the hard buttons will probably ease this issue some.

I was wondering if anyone could comment on the build quality and the durability of the unit? I *know* I am going to drop this a number of times and I want to make sure it can withstand that kind of abuse. I was also wondering if anyone could comment on repair policies? I know it is a huge hassle to get a Pronto's screen replaced and that it costs 150 bucks. Does anyone know how this kind of thing would be handled by RTI?

Hehe, basically I am now a little paranoid that I may break it and want to know how likely that is and how big a pain it would be to get things fixed?

Oh yeah, I was wondering about one other thing too. To take the pronto apart so I can take a quick look and see if I can fix it requires a Torx #6 screwdriver, which is a huge hassle to find in my area. Does the T2 use any funky screws or will a standard screwdriver open it up? I hope to never need to find out, but I am curious. :)

Very sturdy. Don't drop it on your toe. The remote will survive it, but your toe may not.
It is screwed together with 6 small Phillips screws.

It seems very stury. Despite the long length, you can't twist the remote. It's heavy, strong and seems to be made out of quite thick plastic. However, I expect if you drop it on a stone floor a corner may shatter -- it's hard, but not very flexible.

Will,

It's really well built and feels great in the hand. It looks and . It looks and feels, and undoubtedly is, more robust than the Pronto. "Industrial Schik" comes to mind. It's held together with philips-head screws.

I do not miss using my now shelved Pronto at all, although I'm still somewhat emotionally attached to it, undoubtedly due to the man-weeks I spent programming it :-). That was reduced to man-hours with the T2.

DJ

Thanks for the all the great input on the durability. I ordered a T2 this afternoon and am anxiously awaiting its arival.

Oh man do I hear you about the emotional attachment to the Pronto! I think the problem is that the Pronto is so cool. I was messing around with it today and I almost felt guilty that I ordered the T2. The Pronto is an amazing remote with unreal flexibility, it just does not have the useability that I need to make my TiVo navigation become unnoticable.

Will

Will, I have been following your comments here and on the TiVo forum. I would like to know your impression of the T2 after you have had a chance to mess around with it. I too have a Pronto and have been thinking about getting the T2. Good luck with it.

Gary

I shelved a Pronto in favor of the T2 and also have a TiVo. I have to say, the hard buttons make all the difference in the world as far as TiVo operation goes.

The lack of transport keys is a drawback in this regard but I and a few others have worked around that by using the navigation keys as transport keys. Search this forum for a few different ways of handling this issue and good luck. You'll love your T2.

So far I do love the T2. I can really see what you mean about the build quality, it seems very sturdy. Unfortunately I have already put that to the test having dropped it about 2-3 feet to a concrete floor. I am glad it was sturdy enough to survive without even a scratch.

Will