Slashdot Mirror
Philips iPronto Does It with Linux
An anonymous reader writes "The Philips iPronto may well be a gadget-lover's dream come true. Ever glance around the family room in bewilderment at the number and diversity of remote controls required to make your entertainment systems go? If so, you might think you know why Philips created this brainy new remote. But getting rid of all those little button-studded black plastic battery-eaters isn't all this Linux-powered marvel aims to do." And all for the low low price of $1700.
In case $1800USD is too rich for your blood they do offer a greatly stripped down version for $20 and there's a free demo (registration required).
"And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
flash required!!
It's got a browser (well I assume that's what the hotmail screendump represents).
a quick rundown of the specs:
$ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
@(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
I went shopping for remote controls and checked all the models out at the local Home Theater store. Let me tell you, a remote should be easy to use and functional. This is not it. Anything more than a Hometheatre Master MX-500 is a waste.
Ironically, Philips makes a $149 programmable touchscreen remote (with a decent number of programmable hard buttons like the HomeTheatreMasters)--the Pronto Neo.
Some links:
Photo
Customized screen examples
Amazon $169/free shipping
BlueDo.com $149 (where I bought mine)
I really like it.
bp
The remote-control-via-PDA is a great idea, except that the range on the IR beam from most PDA's is terrible. I tried a similar piece of software on my Palm IIIxe -- the range was only about a meter and a half. Kinda makes it pointless if you have to walk half way across the room to use it.
I did train it to open my wife's Jeep Cherokee, though (that's an IR model remote as well). Newer cars are going RF, so YMMV.
Life is short: void the warranty.
Yamaha 400 Watt Dolby/DTS Receiver ($299.99)
Yahama "natural sound" 5 disc CD Changer/ MP3 Player ($150.00)
Sony Progressive Scan DVD Player ($250.00)
GRaphic Equalizer ($99.00)
Sony Surround Speaker Set ($499.00)
Oh yeah... Home Theater Universal Remove with LCD Display etc. etc. ($229.00)
With the change left, hmmm.. 10 DVD's? Monster cable? Taxes for the equipment?
Sure the remote is for the high end (like my boss's viewing room), but my Den could sure use the extra system above.
Newsfollow.com
I forgot to mention that you are wrong about the discrete codes. I have entered them into my Neo. In fact, theres a Pronto2Neo app that lets you convert standard Pronto discrete codes to Neo discrete codes.
As far as pre-done configs, who wants 'em? Nobody has the same setup as you--they're never quite right. With NeoEdit you can create your own pretty easily.
bp
http://www.java-browser.com
You may be interested in the One For All remotes -- they actually DO all of that! :) (or nearly all that anyway)
:) I also found I didn't need learning capabilities (at this time) because all the functions I was interested in have codes already.
:)
Check out http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/
They fit in one hand, and most have real buttons.
They are filled with codes for lots of units, and have Advanced Codes as well. For example, the default codes for my DVD player did not include the Zoom function. I looked up the Advanced Code for Zoom, and programmed it in, and now Zoom works.
They also have many Discrete Codes that are not available on the original remotes. My DVD player has an on/off button. Push it once to turn it on. Push it again to turn it off. I didn't want that. I JUST wanted ON. I set up a macro using the Discrete On function that switches my receiver to DVD, switches my TV to DVD mode, and turns ON the DVD player. I have another button that flips everything back to TV. When I hit the DVD button again, It switches back to DVD. I needed the discrete code because the original on/off code would have turned the DVD player OFF when I switched back...
Computer connection: They don't have USB capability, but they do have a serial cable that plugs into the JP1 port on the remote - you can have total program control from your computer. Note that the model I have has the firmware for the JP1 but doesn't have the actual connector - you would have to solder the connector into the holes provided. Not a big deal, but it does mean a little hardware hacking. The "nicer" OFA remotes have the actual connector already.
Learning: Most of them have learning capability. My current one does not, but I only spent $14 on the remote. I returned an $80 remote because my $14 OFA worked BETTER and was more hackable
TiVO/DVD jog. I mentioned my DVD flipping above. I don't have a TiVO so I can't comment. But I haven't heard any complaints.
Intuitive layout. The guide buttons are arranged in a circle (with Select in the center) and are located right under your thumb when you hold it. The channel up/down and volume up/down are also very well placed. I find it very intuitive.
Macros - every button except Setup and the Device Selection buttons can be reprogrammed as macros. And even the Device buttons can be reprogrammed via the JP1 connection. My only gripe is that there is a 1-second delay between each command in the macros (this is to allow a device to complete the previous command before continuing with the next command). My understanding is that the timedelay can be modified via JP1.
Multiple devices. My $14 remote is an 8-device remote.
Config files. the JP1 interface allows you to backup your setup to computer.
Reprogrammable buttons. See Macros, above.
Battery door. Seems sturdy to me. no problems so far
Multifunction buttons. Take a look at the OFA Kameleon (http://www.remotecentral.com/ureview/62.htm) -- not only does it have multifunction buttons, but only the buttons that are used with a particular device are illuminated.
FYI My remote is the One For All model 6012, purchased from Walmart for $14.