If you are home theater enthusiast you know how annoying it can be having a countless amount of remote controls. Lots of the remotes that you get with your devices can be programmed to learn other commands so that you can control other equipment but none of them really work all that great as a universal remote. Several years ago my wife and I had had enough and we set out to buy ourselves a universal remote that would do everything that we wanted it to, one that was highly customizable and one that would just make it easy for us to control our home theater system. After doing lots of reading on home theater forums and www.remotecentral.com we finally settled on the Philips Pronto TSU2000.
The thing that really sold us on the Pronto TSU2000 was that it was completely customizable. Instead of a traditional remote with lots of buttons that you get to choose from the Pronto TSU2000 uses a touchscreen LCD where you can design your own remote control layout. I was a bit intimidated that I would have to program the thing but I knew in the end that if I could figure it all out I would end up with a remote that would work they way that I wanted it to work and I wouldn’t be held back by a remote that had a limited amount of buttons. We also like that we could control an unlimited amount of devices with this remote so it would be very future proof, I could also program as many macros as I wanted really making it easy to control the home theater.
Setting up the Pronto TSU2000 is not exactly easy. ProntoEdit, the software that comes with the remote that you use to set this thing up can be a hair pulling, punching the walls and screaming piece of software. After more hours than I care to count and countless reading on the net I was finally able to get the remote programmed but it was not an easy task. Over the years I have really learned the ins and outs of the program and when I get a new device now it’s not too bad getting it all programmed in but it sure was hard in the beginning. That said, once everything is programmed in the remote is very easy to use and, in the end, it’s definitely worth the trouble.
Most of the work you do on the Pronto TSU2000 will be done on the LCD screen but the remote does have some hard buttons. To the right of the screen there are five buttons; mute, channel up and down and volume up and down. Beneath the screen are two more buttons that you can program to do whatever you want.
We did opt for the optional charger for the remote and we are glad that we did. It was a bit pricey but it sure is nice not ever having to worry about batteries and as long as you are good about placing it on the charger, you always know where your remote is. The cradle also makes for an attractive stand for the remote.
Overall I am very happy with the Pronto TSU2000, I pity those of you new to ProntoEdit because it sure can be a frustrating program but in the end it’s worth it. I do sometimes miss the tactile feel of real hard buttons and I wish that the Pronto TSU2000 had a few more but the versatility of the LCD screen is worth the loss of hard buttons. The Pronto TSU2000 is several years old now and I am not even sure if they still make it but I know that Pronto still makes remotes so if you are looking for a nice universal remote that will do everything that you want and more take a look at their products. Programming them can be tough, this may have gotten better over time too, I haven’t really kept up to date in that department, but there is plenty of tips and people out there to help you on the internet if you should happen to get stuck. In the end, the headache of programming the remote is worth the end result, it’s a great little remote.