Price Paid:  $600.00 from Audiocenter

Summary:
Bought this remote back in 2001 as at that time the extra money for the color Pronto Pro, in my opinion, was not worth. Now that Philips is releasing the i.Pronto 6400 it may be worth. :-) Great product, although takes time to master its programming software. As I have no issues programming, I could do mine easily, even with very neat macros. But be aware! This is NOT for the average, non geek person. ;-)

Strengths:
- Totally Customizable interface. - IR power! Man it works from almost anywhere in my house. :-) - 3 year warranty (if compared to the Pronto 1 year).

Weaknesses:
- Price. A little steep I would say... Especially for us, poor Canadians. - Stability. Many times mine reboots itself. If you press a key many times, it will 'lock' and reboot itself. At first I thought it had Windows installed on it.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $400.00 from A&B Sound

Summary:
I bought this remote a few months ago and returned it. THe Software setup was very intimidating and I did not like it.

However after trying a good 1/2 dozen other remotes and not even finding one close to having the functionality of what I needed I decided to try it again

This time I stuck with the software and now I have a fantastic product that does what I want and then some. I had the RC2000 Mark II and that remote does not even compare to this. This is a great product and I recommend it to anyone with about $600 Canadian Dollars to spend :)

Strengths:
Lot's Of Memory
Easy To See
Rechargable Batteries included

Weaknesses:
No written manuals for computer software

Similar Products Used:
RC2000 Mark II

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Canada

Summary:
It rules.

Probably the most useful item of my H/T gear.

However, keep in mind that someone once described it as a hobby in itself. I agree with that statement, especially if you're going to build a killer GUI on your PC.

If an awesome GUI isn't your priority, you're also in luck cuz it's still pretty easy to use without complicated PC programming, although it'll still take you a couple of hours to program an average H/T system with macros, etc.

Strengths:
flexibility, programmability

Weaknesses:
temperature dependent display

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Prouds HiFi

Summary:
Am very happy with the product. Have totally customized the interface and am running my full system (6 components) through this remote. The memory in this remote is huge, have only used about 40% of available memory.
Programming through ones PC can be time consuming and addictivem, have spent a number of months refining my setup (Current setup can perform any function in three button presses or less)
Screen could be a little brighter. Excellent product!

Strengths:
Powerful, Easy to program, Flexible.

Weaknesses:
Colour (Why not supply a $1000Aus remote in a brushed aluminium case, or at least paint it black)

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha universal remote

Price Paid:  $325.00 from Direct

Summary:
I really like my RC5000i. After getting used to the programing software I must say I am impressed with this remote. Since you can label each button there is no need to program buttons that don't do what they say as you are forced to do with most other learning remotes. Also with the software you can manually enter hex codes for remotes! This way you can program on and off buttons even if the OEM remote only has a single power button. Also unlike most remotes this one has plenty of memory, 2mb to be exact. I must say that I don't like the help that Marantz provides on there web site, but I found all the help that I needed at www.remotecentral.com

Strengths:
ability to control all IR devices, strength of signal, versatility in programing

Weaknesses:
progamming software could be more intuitive, If you don't have a computer you lose alot of valuable features

Similar Products Used:
None