O.K I've got 5 remotes now, suggestions?? (1 Viewer)

[John Tyrone]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a few good remotes, any opinions on Marantz, Sony , RCA. Touch screen good?,etc...
These are my remotes:
Sony de-845 Remote
Panansonic RP-56 Remote
Sony VCR Remote
Toshiba DST-3000 Remote
Mitsubishi 55809 Remote
Thanks,
Johnny Ty

 

[Thomas_Berg]

Pronto, Pronto, Pronto! and yes, touch screen = good
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-Thomas
My HT

 

[Brett DiMichele]

John,
The first stop for a remote seeker should be http://www.remotecentral.com
Brett DiMichele
My Home Theater Site!
[email protected]

 

[Andrew V]

Check out the following thread if you are interested in the Pronto: Convince me to buy a Pronto
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~Andrew~
~Pronto Programmer~
AIM SN: FFU Productions
ICQ #: 21603991
Home Theater Pictures
Equipment List | My Growing DVD Collection

 

[Kevin C Brown]

O.K I've got 5 remotes now, suggestions??

You need a few more. I currently have 9 of them!
But I refuse to get an all-in-one because I don't want the hassle of programming one, paying for one, or reading the instruction manual for one.
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[PaulKH]

Kevin - don't you find using all those remotes a big hassle? Setting up a universal remote isn't a five minute exercise, certainly, but at least once it's done it's done except for minor tweaks from time to time, but having 9 remotes is forever a pain.
[Edited last by Paul Higginbottom on November 11, 2001 at 10:11 AM]

 

[Chris PC]

Only 5 remotes? Thats nothing

 

[Steve Morgan]

You need 3 or 4 more Remotes. My SO was having a Shower for one of her friends.With the party in full swing one of the ladies remarked,Now I know what your hobby is,Collecting Remotes.Great for me.I now own the Marantz RC5000(Pronto like)Now there is only 1 remote and my wife is no longer afraid to use the system.Pronto or Marantz is the way to go.
Good advice about Remote Central a must stop.
Good Luck,
Steve
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[Bhagi Katbamna]

O.K I've got 5 remotes now, suggestions??

Buy 4 more components so that you will have 9 remotes.

Seriously, I second the above suggestion that you check out remotecentral.

 

[Mike Burke]

Well I will be the jerk here and NOT recommend the Pronto and here's why! I have the Sony AV2000 touchscreen remote.
#1 Cost. This is the best 179.00 I spent on my Home Theater!!!The Pronto is $400.00 so if cost is an issue..the Sony wins hands down!
#2 Ease of Use. I convinced a friend to get the Sony and due to running out of memory he returned it for the Pronto and his 1st comments was "Man, the Sony is so much easier to use!!"
#3 Quick access to all the devices (DVD,TV etc..). Negotiating the menu is sooooo easy vs. the Pronto which requires a little practice to negotiate.
#4 Cool macro feature: The Macros allow for 1 button setup of my whole system: Press System 1 and BOOM..TV turns on, changes input for DVD, turns on DVD player, turns on Receiver, initiates DVD..all with 1 button. Now my favorite is System 3: Stops DVD, Powers off Receiver, changes TV input back to CBL and then goes right to ESPN! YEAH BABY!!!.... I believe the Pronto does this too but you have to go thru the menu to get to it where are the Sony it's right there!
Where the Pronto is a HUGE winner is the # of units it can control. The Sony is preprogrammed to run Sony Equipment. When you teach it to learn other manufacturers the memory is limited to about 3-4 devices (this will vary on how many keys you program into it). I ran into this problem having a Denon receiver, Panasonic DVD, Kenwood CD player, and panasonic VCR, and Zenith TV. When I moved in with my fiance and my system changed to a Sony TV and Sony CA70ES CD player so I am eliminated my memory problems.
If my system had NO Sony equipment then I would have to tip my hat to the Pronto w/o hesitation but since I am NOT in that dilemma..then the Sony is my choice!! Plus I got my AV2000 2 years ago Xmas and I am STILL using the same batteries!! (though they are showing some age).
Don't be "brainwashed" by these Pronto owners!! LMAO!!!
My best advise would be buy the Sony at a place that sells the Pronto also and has a good return policy (I think Circuit City has a 30 day no questions asked one)..try it out...if it fits to your liking then Happy Usage..if not return it for the Pronto. Just looking at your setup, I don't think you'll need the Pronto.
Mike

 

[Jim Lenneman]

With all due respect to Mike (i.e. this is not a flame), I believe a response is in order. With respect to your numbered bullets.
#1 Not anymore, a 1mb refurbished Pronto (with 1 year warrantee) can be had for $150 or less. It's cheaper than the Sony.
#2 It might be easier to set up, but not to use. I've seen Pronto configurations which emulate the Sony look. I honestly don't why you'd want to though. Custom graphics are much nicer looking
#3 Same as above. You can set the Pronto up any way you want. ANY button you can set up in the Sony you can set up in the Pronto.
#4 Again, same as above. ANY macro you can set up in the Sony you can set up in the Pronto, including your System 3 button.
This is not a question of being "brainwashed by Pronto owners". Anything you can set up on the Sony can be set up on the Pronto, PERIOD. In addition you can control many more devices, have custom graphics/button labels, it's much more flexible, and now CHEAPER. The only place the Sony might win is in ease of setup category, which is a small price to pay for the increased benefits.
Jim L

 

[NickSP]

I would highly reccomend the MX-500. It truly is an awesome remote and does everything you ask for it short of doing laundry.

 

[Chuck Kent]

John: All of the advice above is good. Especially, the remotecentral.com link. Just a fantastic resource.
Try to do a good bit of studying on button vs. touchscreen. There is no "best" remote because they all have their strengths and weaknesses.
For me, I have found that touchscreens are just too much work. I just hate having to always look at the remote if I want more than volume or channel changes. At this point, my 2 remotes of choice (1 in each system) are the One-For-All Cinema 7+ and a Home Theater Master MX-500.
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[Brian Schucher]

Ive had all three of the Marantz RC2000 the Pronto and the MX500. I really liked the RC2000 but wanted the touchscreen so i got the Pronto. I loved the techie factor of it and using prontoedit was a blast to me. After the endless nights programming and enjoying it..the novelty wore off and i just didnt care for the touchscreen part of it. I sold it and went back to my RC2000. A few months ago i decided to givee the MX500 a shot and ill never look back. I absolutely love this remote. IT does EVERYTHING i need it to and is relatively cheap..It also doesnt eat batteries the way my first generation RC2000 does.

 

[Joseph W]

I too recommend the Pronto. But you must know that you will have to spend some time to get it set up right. The software to do it is all available however on remotecentral.com as others have said. It took me about 8 hours on a Saturday to get it all done (programming in the remotes for DVD, Karaoke, TV, VCR, receiver). You can spend $400 for the basic silver model or $1000 for the new color remote but for less (I think I paid $220 for my 1 MB blue-black old model) you will have all that you would ever need IMO. My wife could never operate all the remotes but now she can pretty much play a DVD because the macros allow you to program it to start the DVD, receiver, and TV just by pushing a button I named "PLAY DVD". This is way-cool and all of my kid's friends are impressed that you can do this. Also controls all the lights with X-10.
My 2 cents
Joe

 

[John Morris]

I've owned a HTM MX-500 for about 5 months now and I will never look back. This baby is all that I'll ever need nor want... and my wife and kids don't need any detailed instructions on how to use it either!!!
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Take Care,
merc
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God Bless America!!!

 

[Neil Weinstock]

1) I also recommend the MX-500. I absolutely love the thing. If you like hard buttons (as I do) you can't do much better. It's also very easy to program. If I were into touchscreens I'd probably be a Pronto owner.
2) I will never understand why someone would rather struggle with a pile of remotes than try to program a universal (I've seen this type of comment before). They're not that hard to program in general, though if you want to go crazy with a Pronto you certainly can. Plus, the remote is your primary interface with a big complex system. Why not spend a hundred or two and get one that makes using the system a pleasure? As mentioned above, the programming is a one- or two-time affair, while juggling 9 remotes is forever.
3) Do certainly check out remotecentral.

 

[george kaplan]

I see a few people have mentioned not liking the touchscreen on the pronto, so I'll just kick in and say that for me, it's no problem whatsoever. There are seven hard buttons on this thing, that are programmable to be different depending on what screen your on (i.e., a hard button can do one thing for your tv, and another for your dvd player, etc.), and the touchscreen lights up in the dark, and frankly, if you set it up well, even with a touchscreen, you often don't have to look. And taking 1/2 sec to look just isn't a big deal in my opinion.
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001

 

[Tom Rags]

Run, do not walk, to your local Radio Shack and pick up the RS 15-1994. This thing is absolutely awesome and it only costs $39. You can program a macro to any key, and it can learn just about anything from your current remotes. Check out remotecentral and their "All-4-one" section and they have advanced instructions on how to customize your remote since the manual stinks.
However, the 15-1994 was recently discontinued and when RS runs out of stock, it isn't being replaced. It has been replaced by the 15-2*** something (I can't remember the exact number), but it is not nearly as powerful as the 1994. The 1994 has backlighting and really nice ergonomics. I swear by this thing and often wonder why anyone would want to spend hundreds of bucks when this thing can do just about anything you ask. It doesn't have volume punch-through to the receiver, but you can copy your receiver's volume buttons to the volume keys in any other mode.
Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed with this remote. It runs my entire home theater without any problems.
--Tom

 

[Mike Witt]

I echo Tom's sentiments - the Radio Shack 15-1994 is the best remote for the money, IMHO. You can usually get it for $30 on sale. You will not find a more powerful remote for this money. Also, the One-For-All Cinema 7 (7800-learning) is essentially the same remote without the backlighting.