How come no one talks about the BEST REMOTES??

Hi Angela,Baz, I too wish there was a bit more activity here regarding home theater remotes. Remote Central is a great resource, but can be quite daunting when you want the short story. I am considering various remotes, but will wait a while due to slowdown in business here.
So far many people lean toward the Pronto.

Bazmataz:

OUCH!!!!!! $3,000.00???? For a remote?!?!?!?!?!?!!! That's an awful lot of money for a remote control system, isn't it?? But $3,000.00 for a remote control system?? That's about how much my entire home theater system costs. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of system do you have that justifies you to spend $3K on a remote control system??? If I had a home theater system that costs in excess of about $40K to $50K (or even more), then I can justify an expenditure like that. But for anything less than that, $3K for a remote control system seems like overkill to me. Why don't you look at either a Sony RM-AV210 ($180.00), an "All For One" URC-9900 ($350.00), or a Philips Pronto ($400.00) intstead?? You may find that they'll do most of what you want for substantially less. I am looking into a Philips Pronto myself. But I am going to try to find one in which I don't have to pay $400.00 for it if I can help it. If I can find one for around $200.00 or $250 or so, I'll be pretty happy or satisfied.

Good Luck.....

--Charles--

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!!!