Introduction Like many Audio Video Revolution readers, I have a table adjacent to the main seat in my theater room completely covered with various remotes to run my AV system. For years, this situation has been acceptable because, barring the morning after a big night out on the town, I can manipulate my system by grabbing one remote after another to fire up my gear. This has long been a safety mechanism that prevents my roommates from using (or abusing) my gear, as they can’t figure out how to start it up even if I left them alone for a week with a stack of NetFlix movies six inches high. The problem is that I personally have the whole remote routine down, but I am getting to the point where I want to let others use my system from time to time. However, none of them can figure out the system and often ...

Introduction There comes a time in every man’s life when he completely loses control. It happened to me at the early age of 30 and it was nothing short of embarrassing. Despite being fortunate enough to have a rack full of the coolest audio/video gear in the world, I could no longer effectively manage the operation of my system. I had 11 – count ‘em – 11 remote controls for everything from my projector to my SACD player to my VCR to my HDTV tuner to my TiVo and so on. The process of watching a movie or even listening to music had become a pathetic display of flailing remotes, missed commands and overall system failure. Something had to be done. The solution was to invest in a big-time remote control system. The two most prominent players in the market are AMX and Crestron. I chose AMX for a number of reasons, including the ...

Introduction Home theater systems are increasingly complex. In the old days of audiophilia, you likely had a tape deck, stereo preamp, power amplifier and two speakers. Maybe you even had a television in the same room. Well, those days are long gone and systems today likely include a digital cable box, digital video recorder (TiVo), audio/video preamp processor, DVD and/or CD player, VCR and television. Throw in a high-resolution disc player (SACD or DVD-Audio), music server (Apple iPod or ReQuest) or video processor (Faroudja), and if you can successfully make it all work seamlessly, you deserve an honorary engineering degree from Radio Shack. If you are anything like me, you yearn for a simple, one-stop solution to control it all and rid your living area of those unsightly remotes. There can be little debate that modern technology has spurred a revolution in quality and functionality of home theater gear. This revolution has been driven by consumer ...

Introduction With the increasing complexity of modern home theater systems, it’s vital to have a good method of controlling all the components. Of course, many systems these days come with remotes that can handle more than one device – the one you just bought plus another, such as TV and DVD player – but before long, you find you have a whole bunch of remotes on the coffee table, and while you yourself might be able to work out what extensive combination of devices is required to switch on the TV, set it to the component input, power up the receiver, set that to the correct input, and switch on the DVD player, the chances of your girlfriend being able to manage it are minimal (not because she's female, but because she didn’t put the system together and therefore doesn't know anything about it). The answer is a single learning and/or programmable remote control. ...

Introduction Good things really do come in small packages. The 5"x4" Pronto from Philips is a unique and flexible touchscreen learning remote. It is pre-designed with a number of pages and buttons for a wide array of AV products. For a mere $399, this impressive remote will learn the commands of any infrared controlled device. Moreover, just like the most sophisticated learning remotes, macros can be created which initiate a series of commands at the push of a single button. Evaluation When I broke open the 100-page manual, I shuddered at what initially looked like a complicated programming process. In actuality, it only took a few minutes to learn Pronto's basic programming functions and about two hours to turn this unassuming little remote into a powerful personal command center for my entire home theater. A simple tap on the screen automatically activates it. On the right side of the screen are direct access buttons ...