I just purchased a ProntoPro and I have been trying to decide whether to go IR or RF. I have three items hidden and three out in the open. Which would be the best way to take care of the hidden ones. RF extender or an IR repeater? Thanks in advance and any and all comments appreciated.
John

You don't need to choose, the Pronto does both. When you program a device you pick IR or RF. then when you alias the command it will use what you originally decided. So you can send IR to the devices that don't need RF and RF to the hidden devices.

Anthony, I understand the ProntoPro will do both. The deal is I don't have the RF Extender at this time nor do I have an IR repeater. I will have to purchase one or the other so I can control the hidden devices. I was just wondering what everyone thought would be the best way to go. Seems like some people had problems using the Extender in the past.
John

Sorry I miss read your statement

I thought you meant two types of Pronto Pros.

I have not used the RF portion of a pro (but I guess that will not stop me from giving my opinion :-))

If your choice is between an RF extender or the Pro's extender, then I would go with the Pro's (or at the very least use half of the radio shack pyramids). with an RF extender you will need to point the remote to the IR receiver, so there can be interference with the macros (someone standing between them...) but with the Pro in RF mode there is no chance of that.

I'm sorry I guess I wasn't clear. Would anyone recommend the ProntoPro RF Extender over a IR repeater for controling hidden devices. I am not referring to a pyramid type repeater for the IR.
Thanks
John

John,

I have the RF extender - it came with my Marantz 9200. I am currently operating 2 devices via the extender with no problem. However, it is not the easiest sucker to get working. Quite a few little nuances. There are a number of people who have recently posted about problems - some of them have never gotten it working right. If the extender hadn't come with the 9200 and I needed something (such as your situation), I'd probably go with an IR repeater. Just my 2 cents.

Jim L

Yes this is an interesting one. I have a Pro RF unit AND I have used powermid IR extenders. As I am typing this I am modifying my ccf file to go RF. Why? because it cuts down on the hardware. BUT as Jim said previously the RF unit can be a real pain to get working properly. I kept getting the light blinking for ever on the RF unit when sending codes, having tried everything. As Jim stated if the RF unit did not come with the remote I would have gone the IR extender route.

Are they still in use? The Pronto works on the same RF frequency. Can they be causing the interference?

I use the ProntoPro RF extender, have had no problems and I like it a lot. Since I have no hidden components I haven't tried the emitter cables though.

Purchased the RF extender so I could control the system from the adjoining room (office which is zone 2 in my sound system). However, I like the convenience of not having to point the Pronto in the main room also.

I have the extender also. I am still in the testing phase with it as my equipment is not yet hidden but I went to the other side of the house and it worked great so far. I hope to have my theatre construction done in a couple of weeks to really try it out. I won't have a choice then so it better work like it has in the tests. LOL

Anthony:
No I have removed the powermids. I find that the RF units location is critical. I must have lots of RF floating around. I can move the unit say a couple of inches and the light stops blinking. It took me AGES to find a location that did not cause interference. I very nearly gave up on the whole thing and went back to the powermids. However it is great when it works, and the ability to not have to point the Pronto at the IR extenders is really great.