How come no one talks about the BEST REMOTES??

thx all - yes, good remotes do cost that much. i saw one going for $13000! crestron has great home automation stuff like it can control lighting and all that. the benefit of better remotes is that it can do discrete operations with the push of a button. a problem with pronto and such is that they dont current sense, meaning sometimes they will just toggle TV or sources on/off getting things out of sync which can be a pain in the butt. i like crestron, but am wondering if the extra $$ are worthy of what I'm getting in return... remotecentral doesn't really discuss these high end things in detail i think, imho... baz

The Pronto is a very good remote, I've had one for almost two years and it works well for me, but you're right Bazmataz, you cannot hook it up to 'current sense'. If all of your components have discreet power codes, (or any way to get to a 'known state') this isn't necessary.

If you can't, and it sounds like you can't, the Creston is a great system, there are other Phast systems that can be worked to do this as well....you've got your work cut out for you, none of them are cheap, but their are cheaper remotes, though not as pretty as the Creston.. The creston is the coolest looking remote I've ever seen!

I don't like that you have to have someone else program it though, one perk of the Pronto.

I have a marantz RC5000i, cost $500.00 new. It runs my entire home theatre system. I'm talking every function on my components and TV. It is a lot like the pronto. I have been very happy with this piece. It is very easy to program and works great in the dark thanks to a back lit LCD touch screen. You can find them used from time to time for half price. Good luck!!!

Glen, can you program things like the editing functions of a minidisc recorder, access to all parameters of a pre-pro or the slow mo and jog wheel of a DVD player into the RC5000i?

Check out http://www.remotecentral.com/
"The Philips ProntoPro TSU6000 is aiming to be the most sophisticated remote for under $1000. With a bright high-resolution 256-color screen, pickup sensor, optional RF station, more hard buttons and an updated version of the ProntoEdit software package, this remote is the answer to many Technicolor dreams!"