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Philips Pronto Pro
Posted: July 30th, 2001.
PHILIPS LAUNCHES PRONTO PRO,ITS MOST ADVANCED REMOTE CONTROL YET!
New SBC RU970 adds colour screen, huge memory and amazing new features to therevolutionary Pronto ‘learning remote handset’ concept.
Since its launch in 1998, Philips’ Pronto has revolutionised and simplifiedthe use of infra-red remote controls. The new ProntoPro takes the ‘learningremote’ concept to a new level with the addition of a 256-color LCD touch-screen,eight Megabytes of memory, infrared (IR) and radio-frequency (RF) controlcapability, plus the most extensive multi-brand IR code database.
Pronto was the first learning remote control to use a graphical touch-sensitivescreen, and to include a fully customisable user interface. By consolidatingthe infra-red commands of numerous remote handsets into one neat, elegant unit;and by allowing users to program groups of commands (macros) for activationunder a single button-press, Pronto has become the essential accessory forevery high performance home cinema and hi-fi installation.
Cloaked in a sleek, stylish design with silver finish, the new ProntoPro (SBCRU970) is a high-end alternative to the SBC RU940 Pronto, launched in January.
The 256-colour LCD screen, with bright backlight, lets users exercise theirfull creativity in the choice of on-screen button and background colours, andenhances ProntoPro’s icons, animated graphics and menus.
A further enhancement over previous models is a ‘pick-up’ sensor, whichactivates the LCD screen when a user lifts the handset. Power now comes from amobile-phone style Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery, which is recharged inthe supplied docking station.
To make life easy for users, there’s a user-friendly, on-screen set-up routine,and programmable direct-access buttons on the side and front of the unit-tosimplify operation of basic functions such as mute, channel and volume setting.Infra-red codes for all Philips and Marantz products are pre-programmed, plusthere’s an unrivalled universal database containing IR codes for over 500electronics brands in 13 different categories.
ProntoPro also makes it simple to programme additional functions, add supplementarydevices, record macros and change the user interface to suit its user, all viathe touch-screen display.
Connection with a PC (using the supplied RS-232 data cable) allows ProntoPro toreveal its full potential. When used with the accompanying ProntoEdit software2,this enables the creation of sophisticated macros, but also allows configurationof ProntoPro’s essential look and feel.
Users can import graphics such as TV channel logos, or pictures of AV components,to form the icons for actual control buttons on ProntoPro itself. These cannow be displayed at near-photo quality thanks to the high-resolution colour LCDscreen.
ProntoEdit stores these configuration settings as custom configuration files(CCFs), which can be shared with other users via the Internet. With its huge,eight-Megabyte flash memory, ProntoPro can now control and configure even themost sophisticated home entertainment systems, having the capacity to accommodatethe largest custom configuration files. Plus, users can easily keep operatingsoftware up to date by downloading from the official Pronto website,www.pronto.philips.com
The new RF control capability will equip ProntoPro with true multi-room controlcapabilities, which hitherto have been the sole preserve of much more expensivesemi-professional products.
Though ProntoPro’s powerful infra-red transmitter already outclasses normalhandsets (with its maximum operating range of 10 metres), in conjunction withan optional RF Extender, ProntoPro can now also command infra-red-controlleddevices concealed in a cabinet or situated in a different room. The RF Extenderwill receive commands via RF and convert them into infra-red for local relay.ProntoPro can accommodate up to 16 RF Extenders.
With all these amazing features on board, it’s little wonder that the SBC RU970ProntoPro was selected as Innovations Award winner and ‘Best of Show’ in itscategory at CES 2001 in Las Vegas. It will be launched in Europe duringSeptember 2001 at an expected price of £749.99.
News page content input by Dominic Robinson, 2001.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.