I would like something just a little more versatile than my 9000 but I dont want to frustrate myself with computers. Is the pronto worthwhile without all the downloading and blah blah etc. I may very much like to do all that later, on my own free will, but I do not want to "have to" before I can enjoy some sort of upgrade to what I have now. What can I expect "out of the box?"

Rick the marantz Rc5000 is just like the pronto and you can program both of them without using a computer.
All you have to do is read the book. If you want to use a computer its not that hard to program in fact its easer than you think. To do something fancy like what you have seen on this site it gets a little dificult. good luck.

Yes, you can do a lot on the base Pronto's configuration. You won't be able to realize the remote's full potential, but it'll still work.