I've been going through the posts and have a few questions... When I
first set up my whole house system many years ago, I went with the Pronto T-1000 which was the only fully programmable remote that did everything I needed. I upgraded to the T-2000 when it came out but now am in the market for another upgrade and am trying to decide what's best.

For the past 3+ years I've been living in Europe and haven't been following technology very much. I am now home in the US and am hoping that someone out here who *has* kept up can give me some recommendations of where to start looking.

From what I've seen, the Logitech solutions are never going to work for me as I *like* macros. They shut the blinds on the windows, lower the screen (if in living room), adjust the lights, etc as well as let me put one big button up so my husband doesn't have to play with 4-5 remotes to watch the news. I don't care how much programming I have to do - I care that I can make a very complex system simple for a non-techie to use. And I want to be able to use a single controller to control the whole house. Most of my gear can be switched anywhere in the house via the patch panels - so a disc in the DVD Jukebox in the theater can play on the TV in the bedroom. I have found it easier to program one device and clone the macros than to program lots of separate devices and try to remember where I put the remotes. Macros make it easy to change which model TV etc without having to do much work. My husband just has to punch in the room he's in, what he wants to do, and then adjust the volume. He likes it that way.

I wired the house some years back with roughly 10 - 20 Cat 5-e jacks per room (6000ft!) and lots of dongles for Coax, S-Video, PBX, speakers, etc. The whole house is switched via two 96" rack patch panels. My Pronto(s) (with RF extensions) can control Leviton lighting systems as well as AV systems throughout the house. It even controls the waterfall and fountain we built in the yard (we're retired - lots of time to play). But it isn't what I need now to automate things like streaming video on the PCs etc.

So - I was leaning towards another Pronto - the TSU9400 - so that I can control the house, the AV gear, and the various PCs and other gear throughout the house, via Cat 5 or wireless IP (there are enough repeaters that there is signal everywhere). I have a mix of old Mitsubishi projection systems, home-built Windows Vista and 7 media PCs (using older SnapStream remotes), Sony and Pioneer DVD Jukeboxes, Dish network DVRs, Wurlitzer CD Jukebox (it has a retro-fitted IR remote that automated beautifully), Roku gear, INOi media drives, LaserDisc players, and a mix of Yamaha and other receivers. And some upgrades on the way. You name it, we probably have it and still maintain it somewhere in the house. Which is why I went with the Pronto initially - if I couldn't find the hex codes, it was good at "learning".

Oh - one more pertinent fact - I have macular degeneration so a video screen that has adjustable size icons is a must. My husband can see the buttons on standard remotes but on most they're a challenge for me. This also means that I can't solder anymore - which is probably not the issue it used to be.

So - the question. As I go through these posts, the Pronto TSU9400 seems to be quietly being vetoed but nothing really posted. Lots of recommendations for URC though - which I have never used. I'm interested to know why so many seem to be steering away from Pronto towards URC. Is there some technical superiority or is it just the time and effort required to program a Pronto?

As I'm planning on having to reprogram everything anyway, I'm open to suggestions. If you were going to automate technology that should probably be in a computer museum, control your house, and combine it with new HD and multimedia technology, what would you use now?

The newer Prontos are actually easier to program than the older ones you are used to. That being said, the URC remotes are even easier to program. Also, URC has a larger line of remotes to choose from, so when dealers are looking for a line to carry, they gravitate towards URC.

Personally, I like the Prontos. I would recomend you look into the TSU9800, simply because i has a bigger screen, so you have more real estate to but your bigger buttons on.

In URC's line you can build big buttons on their MX3000, MX5000, and MX6000 to whatever size you want (within the screen size limitation). Both the MX5000 and MX6000 support 2-way modules.