The original Philips Pronto universal remote, introduced way back in 1998, offered a level of programmability and customization totally unheard of at its $399 price, and it instantly became a smash with installers and do-it-yourselfers alike. But over the years, love for the Pronto has waned as other companies created smartly designed models of their own.
But enough is enough: The European giant recently threw down the gauntlet by launching the Philips Pronto TSU9600 touchscreen control panel. Is it enough for Pronto to reclaim its crown as king of remotes? Read on and find out.
SETUP
Out of the box, the TSU9600 is kind of like Paris Hilton: an empty shell, beautiful to look at but unable to do anything. It's intended for professional installation, though if you're up for tackling it yourself, ProntoEdit Professional software comes with the remote. The software includes two templates to start you off, and they're crafted so that programming can be accomplished in six basic steps. Philips claims 30-minute programming times, and while that seems optimistic, it's a far cry from the hours required for other remotes. Of course, since the TSU9600 allows total customization, crafting an interface from the ground up would take far longer.
Infrared control is so last year. To stay on the cutting edge, the new Pronto features Wi-Fi. Additionally, Philips offers two extenders that stretch Pronto's reach beyond line-of-sight infrared control. The first is the RFX9400 Wireless Extender ($299), which has four IR outputs for controlling your system via Wi-Fi — perfect for gear hidden inside closed cabinetry or located in another room. The RFX9400 can be hard-wired to a router or piggybacked onto an existing Wi-Fi network in the home. Even more impressive is the step-up RFX9600 Pronto Serial Extender ($599), which I tested. This adds four RS-232 serial ports, along with power-sense inputs for smart power management and relay outputs to trigger things like curtains, projection screens, and other devices. The RFX9600 requires a hard-wired connection to your network. As many as 16 extenders can be added in any combination.
The ProntoEdit software incorporates several timesaving features that will bring smiles to installers' faces. One is a Fast Learn and Fast Test mode for IR codes. Another is a channel-macro design wizard that quickly creates station-logo graphics for channel selection. This adds a custom look to the remote in mere seconds. Also slick is the ability to add WAV-file button sounds.
Two of the Pronto's real "gee whiz!" features come from Philips's partnerships with Escient (media servers) and Lutron (lighting control systems). While Philips bragged of "out-of-box control" over these company's systems, I assumed that it would require a good bit of programming to marry them together. I was shocked and thrilled to see that full integration required little more than a mouse click on the "Insert Escient Music Server" or "Insert Lutron Lighting System" icon. You simply type in the Escient's IP address, and it's done. Finito. Controlling a Lutron RadioRA system requires slightly more work, but not much. Lighting control requires an RFX9600 extender along with an RS-232 interface from Lutron. This interface is included with the Lutron Chronos system and sold separately for other RA systems. When you hear about companies partnering, this is the kind of synergy you hope for.
One "feature" that will likely be loved by some and lamented by others is that the TSU9600 no longer allows programming stored within the remote to be uploaded to a computer. This prevents users from heisting the custom graphics and templates developed by installation firms and posting them on the Web for public consumption — but it also means that if you lose touch with your programmer and need a change, you may have to start over from scratch. A compromise is a feature called PackAndGo that lets installers e-mail executable files to clients to update their remotes.
PERFORMANCE
Merely sitting in its charging station, with its clear base bathed in a soft white glow, the TSU9600 just looks cool. The panel surface is perfectly flush with a gloss-black and silver trim that looks elegant. "Sexy" is such an overused term for describing electronics, but dammit, this thing really is.
The Short Form
Price $1,898 (as tested), $1,299 (base) / pronto.philips.com / 888-744-5477
Snapshot
Terrific graphics, support for Escient and Lutron, plus Wi-Fi control make this a worthy heir to the Pronto legacy.
Plus
•Beautiful high-resolution graphics
•Renowned programming flexibility
•Support for Escient and Lutron systems
•Promises of awesome things still to come
Minus
•Smallish screen for price
•Requires two-handed operation
Key Features
•3.7-inch TFT display with 640 x 480 resolution
•Built-in Wi-Fi
•USB 2.0 connection for programming downloads
•Built-in support for Escient Media Servers and Lutron RadioRA lighting control
•Includes rechargeable lithium-ion battery and docking cradle
•64 MB SDRAM, 64 MB NAND flash memory
•Up to 16 RFX9400 or RFX9600 extenders can be added for additional features
Touch a button or pick up the remote, and the real show begins as the 3.7-inch screen comes to life. Its 640 x 480 VGA resolution is fully twice that of other panels its size, and it produces gorgeous, super-bright, razor-sharp images. I loaded it with digital photos of my daughter that I browsed during commercials because they looked so great. Forget about 1080p; the pixel density on the Pronto is equivalent to that of a 50-inch TV with 4,151,193 pixels!
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Several hard buttons augment the touchscreen control, giving tactile access to frequently used commands. As with most other touchpanels, I found it tricky to use the Pronto with one hand, and it just worked and felt better when using both. Since the remote is so programmable — allowing you to resize, reshape, relabel, and even redraw buttons — if you don't like the design, change it. Any command from any device can be added to any screen. Large-fingered operators might also appreciate the hidden stylus that slips into the top-right corner of the case, though I never felt the need to use it.
Because of past experience — acquiring the network upon picking up the remote took too long, some commands in macros weren't transmitted while others repeated over and over — I was skeptical of controlling my system via Wi-Fi. No such problems here, however. First, the Pronto is lightning fast at acquiring the Wi-Fi network, never making me wait before issuing commands. Second, controlling components with the RFX9600 via Wi-Fi produced results identical to those obtained using the remote alone, except I could roam the house at will and never needed to point the remote at my gear. I'm not sure what Philips is doing differently here, but it works.
Battery life seems quite reasonable based on the screen's size, brightness, and resolution, especially since I had the remote set to not "time out" its Wi-Fi connection until after 2 hours of idling. With moderate use, the remote easily lasted several days between trips to the charging cradle.
NEW TRICKS
If the new Pronto were just another smart remote — admittedly with the sweetest of sweet resolution — there wouldn't be too much of a story. But its support for Escient music managers and Lutron lighting control is what makes it truly special.
Since I was reviewing Escient's new FP-1 iPod Music Manager concurrently, it seemed the planets had aligned for me to run the Pronto through its paces. With the FP-1 connected to my audio system, the Pronto freed my iPod tunes, letting me amble about selecting whatever music I fancied right from its screen. Whether lounging in bed, outside by the pool, or anywhere within range of my Wi-Fi network, the Pronto kept me connected. Escient owners will love controlling their music libraries while wandering around their homes, no longer needing to fire up a TV to make song selections. When a song is playing, the screen displays artist, album, and track metadata, along with a thumbnail of the album art and a time-progress bar. The scroll wheel's sole function is navigating Escient song lists, and it's quite effective. Currently, two-way Escient control is limited to music, which isn't too big of a problem since you'll usually have the TV on when browsing the movie collection in your Escient DVD manager. (Nonetheless, control for movie content is slated for a mid-May software release.) At the time of my review, Philips hadn't fully completed its fine-tuning with the FP-1, so I experienced some glitches that other Escient owners likely won't, including albums that occasionally appeared as "Unknown" despite having metadata attached and, less often, albums whose track lists were populated by songs from another. Philips says it's working with Escient to resolve any issues, and the remote's firmware is fully upgradable for customers in the field.
The Lutron lighting interface worked flawlessly, exactly as promised. If you own a RadioRA lighting system, the Pronto lets you carry your lighting automation with you around the house. The interface gives you instant access to 17 different lighting scenes, including All On and All Off. A scene can be programmed to control a single light or groups of lights, with feedback on the remote indicating whether a light is on or off. Plus the Pronto lets you raise and lower lighting levels.
Philips Pronto TSU9600 Touchscreen Control Panel
Philips plans on releasing several enhancements to the TSU9600 that are scheduled to be available by the time you read this. Among these will be support for music stored on Media Center PCs, as well as control of iMerge music servers. Even more exciting is the forthcoming Pronto script programming language that will offer two-way feedback via RS-232. This will enable the remote to display volume and input settings on receivers, track and time from DVD players, and so forth. This is a first at such a price, and these features will further separate the Pronto from the pack.
BOTTOM LINE
The Philips Pronto TSU9600 touchscreen control panel offers virtually everything you could want from a remote. It's totally customizable, has terrific graphics, and with optional extenders offers Wi-Fi, RS-232, and relay control. About the only thing you might want is more of it; at a base price of $1,299, a 6.5-inch screen would be even sweeter.
The Pronto line has evolved over the years, and the TSU9600 takes all the best from past designs and throws in several new tricks, such as Escient and Lutron control. It's a worthy successor to the Pronto name and would be a welcome addition to any system.
TSU9600 Specifications
Display
* 3.7” color TFT touchscreen
* VGA 640×480 resolution, landscape orientation
* 65,536 colors
* Memory
* 64MB SDRAM
* 64MB NAND Flash
IR
* Maximum 36 feet operating distance
* Maximum 15 feet at 45 degree angle
* Learning distance 3.9-5.9”
* Learning frequency range 17kHz to 1MHz
Wireless
* WiFi based operating at 2.4 GHz
* Escient & Lutron support
Interface
* USB 2.0
* Docking station with pass-through USB connector
Battery
* Rechargable Lithium Ion
* 2100 mAh
* Includes 110-240V 50/60Hz power adaptor
Power Management
* Power on by tilting, tapping the screen, pressing the backlight button or tapping the keys
* Power off automatically by time out
* On/off power switch on remote
Dimensions (WxHxD)
* Panel: 6.2 x 3.9 x 1.3"
* Docking station: 5.4 x 4.1 x 1.9"
Reviewed by John Sciacca
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