My professional and personal life depend on the Macintosh OS. Without inciting a riot, I would like to know from Mac users (and friendly others) if buying a ProntoPro is worthwhile for someone in my position. I need a powerful new remote and love all the features, yet even a casual look through the forum's threads about USB-serial converters, SoftPC issues, COMM 2, etc. make the task seem daunting. I'd like to get a ProntoPro; I'm just not sure I want to buy another computer and a OS that I don't need.

Most (if not all) PC programmable remotes have editing software built for the Windows platform. So not getting the Pro so that you don't need to deal with MS means you are stuck in the lower end of remoteness.

The Pro is a great remote (like any on the Pronto line up) and I am sure every one here will tell you that once it is PC programmed, all the initial troubles are forgotten.

Like you said, you have two options, software/USB or a Win machine. Both can have Comm problems. Which way is better, is a hard question. On the one hand PPE is not very demanding, and works equally well (or bad) on more powerful machines as well as less powerful machines, so you can get the cheapest PC you can find (even second hand) without any "More" problems.

Note: I have not had any problems with PE or PPE on any of the PCs I used, or on any of the PCs used by others at work (so that they can update their Prontos) If I am talking about problems (difficulties) it is because a lot of people have mentioned their not so pleasant experience and I don't want my good experiences to trivialize theirs, since I know how annoying it is to have a "malfunctioning" PC.

Note 2: I am not a Mac user (and I love to argue with my friends on which is best) but I hope you accept what I say as coming from "friendly others"

I use the Marantz version (RC5000Setup) and a Mac with the following config:

- iMac, MacOS 9.0.4
- VirtualPC (version 3x I think... not at that machine right now)
- Keyspan USB/Serial Adapter (not the PDA adapter)

The software runs fine and is stable under Virtual PC. Uploading and Downloading CCF's mostly works, but not always.

I have been a Mac user all my life. I even hated PC's. Since I got the pronto and tried using Virtual PC and all the adapters known... I decided I NEEDED a PC. I then bought a laptop and ever since then I love PC's. More now with XP. I still use Mac at work and have one for my wife here at home. I didn't have patience with Virtual PC... really.

Mac users might want to contact the guy in this thread

[Link: remotecentral.com]

You might be surprised.

The only problem that arises with a PC is if you buy a computer that turns out to have no built-in serial port--like I did. then you have to go through USB-Serial adapters until you find the one that works with your system. That's a definite hassle, but thank God for impaired short-term memory! If not for that, Win95 never would have gotten off the ground.

Thanks for all who replied. I think I can make a better decision now in getting a Pro.

The parameters needed for the serial connection are:
C. Bits per second = 115200
D. Data bits = 8
E. Parity = None
F. Stop bits = 1
G. Flow control = None

Also, as with a PC, if there is a handheld device used with a hot sync program running on the computer, the hot sync program will have to be closed before the Pronto will work.

I have an old PowerBook I can use for the connection to a regular Pronto TSU-2000. If I get one, what cable would I need? Is it like a modem cable or what? Thanks!

Depends on what PowerBook you've got. Since you say it's "old", I suspect it has a serial port, but it's the Macintosh round 8-pin version.

If that's the case, you just need an adapter from Mac-style to PC-style. I believe there are directions for making an adapter like this in the FAQ.

Best,
Brad

Yeah, it's really not that old (Original PowerBook G3 - 1997), but it does have a "Mac style" serial port, so hopefully it will work.

Just to let people know that one can do it on the mac platform.
I've been using Protonedit 4.0 on my mac through Virtual PC 5.0.4 running on Mac OS X. It works great.
I do all my design changes on the Mac side of things then import all my graphics to the Pronto edit and do my programming there in the Windows 2000 environment. Once I have my ccf all nice and done I drag it back to my mac OS desktop and use Tonto to upload or download it to the pronto pro. Tonto is a java Pronto edit "lookalike" application that works great in OS X. I don't use it to program my TSU 6000 because it has crashed on me a few times but it's fast and reliable for uploads.
(I don't upload through Virtual PC because that just doesn't work right and will crash my whole Windows system...)

I use a Powerbook G4 500Mhz with a USB Keyspan adapter (the fast one).


That setup works great for me. Better than having to buy a PC.

To find the Tonto program, just do a search for "Tonto project" in google.. The Author is really cool and keeps upgrading the program.

This message was edited by chezpaul on 06/28/02 10:06.13.

I'm on the verge of releasing 1.10 (within the week). It contains a fix for an image bug that could cause the TSU6000 to crash. You probably got bitten by that. I know of no other bugs in the last year that cause the TSU6000 to crash.

The Tonto Project

No Stewart, it's not the TSU6000 that crashes with Tonto (it crashes with Prontoedit through Virtual PC). It's Tonto that just crashes when you keep ccf's opened for too long. It did it again with the 99 version that I just downloaded. I can't tell you if it's after I've opened and closed a few ccf's or just when I stay too long on one. It just happens after a while using Tonto, I just need to reboot the program after that.

There are two reasons that I can think of. First, there is a Java bug under OSX. If the screensaver or power saving kicks in while a Java app is running, when you come out of that mode all mouse (and maybe key) events are eaten and never reach the app. This makes it look like the app is frozen when it's not. There is no workaround except perhaps trying the latest OSX system updates. Second, Tonto might be running out of memory. The JVM has a fixed amount of memory when an app launches. This can be changed in the app's Info.plist file, but it requires a restart of the application. Try looking in the console for OutOfMemory errors.