User reviews for the Philips ProntoNEO TSU500 from Philips Electronics. Ratings Reviews MSRP (USD) Average: 3.29/5.00 Median: 3.67/5.00 52 $249 The ProntoNEO TSU500 is a lower-cost addition to the Pronto Family. But with a graphical LCD touchscreen, full code learning, macros on any button and complete PC editing software with custom bitmaps, the ProntoNEO itself is no lightweight. Message Forum Add Your Review Get it at:

Written by Chris Hunt from Dallas, TX. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 38 made on Thursday January 23, 2003 at 8:26 AM. Strengths: -Easy to use -Fun to program -Girlfriend thinks its easy to use -Very lightweight -Macro capabilities Weaknesses: -In order to get the remote to do everything you want it to, you must spend a good amount of time programming it (not really a weakness, just not a strength) Review: First of all, keep in mind the only universal remote that I have ever used was the Sony RM-AV2000, which I was not very happy with. Wanting to get the Pronto Pro but not bring able to afford it, my home theater guy offered me the NEO. I took it home and I havn't been able to put it down. It took me about two weeks to get it exactly programmed to what I want it to do. Basically I've got it set up with a Macro page that, depending on what you want to watch or listen to, it makes all the appropriate setting adjustments and then jumps to the corresponding page of that component. I was able to program and learn all of the button functions of every remote I had for all of my components, which include a Denon AVR-3803, Sony DVD Player, Admiral TV, Sony 5-Disc CD Player, Sony 8mm Player, Sony Playstation, and a Sanyo VCR. Now I am going back to add different bitmaps, channel logos, and trying to make it easier to use for my girlfriend. I have found that this remote is very easy to use after you get all of your components programed. That is the only ordeal that is takes alot of time. But if you are somewhat technical and understand the basic layout of the remote, it won't be that difficult. Now that I have gotten to that point, I can now use all of the programmed functions to program great macro functions and pretty much anything else that I want my system to do. I can honestly say that this remote can do anything and everything I need it to do. I have no regrets on puchasing it and I would recomend it to anyone trying to find a universal touchscrene remote that you could run your complete home theater system with. Please do not believing the reviews that people are saying that the NEO is too difficult to use and has more negative comments than positive. Those people are better off just getting up and going to the CD player to push play and adjust their reciever than trying to program a remote. After getting the remote programmed with your components, the ProntoNEO is one onf the easier remote controls to use!!!!! Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Matt Banack from Edmonton, Alberta. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 37 made on Monday January 20, 2003 at 11:50 PM. Strengths: Very functional Nice backlite screen Very Programable Very Flexable Very affordable Well Built Weaknesses: IR learning ability Review: Over-all this is an excellent product DON'T BELEIVE THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS Anyone with half a brain and a little effort can make this remote do almost anything. Yes it may not learn IR codes as easily as its counterparts, but lets face it it is significantly less money. Any codes that cant be learned can usually be found in other peoples NCF files or by borrowing someone elses universal remote and learning from it. Personally I have successfully programmed all the IR codes for a Panasonic DVD player, Panasonic 47" Widescreen TV (With all PIP functionality), Technics 61 Disc CD Changer, GI Starchoice Satalite Reciever, Toshiba HI-FI VCR and a Harmon Kardon AVR 110 Reciever. THAT RIGHT, EVERY SINGLE BUTTON from the Factory remotes. The hard buttons are very durable, and the the touch screen is quite responsive. If you spend a little time on the internet, and download some of the tools like NeoHacker and Pronto2Neo, you will find this really is an exceptional remote for the money. As for all the bad reveiws, YOU SHOULD ALL STOP WHINING, THE WHOLE WORLD ISNT GOING TO HOLD YOUR HAND THROUGH EVERYTHING IN LIFE, GET USED TO IT! THE SECOND SOMETHING DOES NOT WORK LIKE YOU HOPED, GIVING UP, RETURNING THE PRODUCT AND CURSING THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE THE LAST OPTION. Great product, unfortunately a lot of novice users have purchased it and give up to easily. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Gene Bodel from California. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 36 made on Sunday January 12, 2003 at 4:29 PM. Strengths: Online support provided by other people that have the NeO. Weaknesses: Low Quality, Bad design, Poor ergonomics, Poor learning ability. Review: When I first got the NeO I noticed that in the shipping box was a return PadPak. That was my first clue that this product will be spending more time in the UPS truck then in the living room. I did all the "normal" things you do when you first get your NeO - Download updated software and firmware, get all the configuration files, documents and advice that I thought I would need. I made the mistake of thinking there was so much information on the web about the NeO, it must be a very popular product. Then I found out the truth. It just takes a lot of effort to make this thing work. After a day or so of getting "in to it" I had custom screens, bitmaps instead of buttons, etc. But, in the end I discovered a couple of things that made me decide to return it. 1)It does not like to learn from other remotes. You can search the Internet and find hundreds of messages about how to hold it, how to hold your tongue just right, take it in to a dark room, etc. 2)I found out that I really don't like "touch screen" remotes, they require too much work and usually two hands to operate. 3)The kicker is that the NeO could not learn critical functions from the main component of my Home Theater, the Outlaw 950 Pre/Pro. There are no ncf's or codes available for it. This meant that I would have to use the original remote to switch devices and then use the NeO after I got to the device. Sorry, but this does not work for me. I will probably get the TM MX500. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by DewMan from Florida, USA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 6-12 months.

Review 35 made on Sunday September 29, 2002 at 3:56 PM. Strengths: Infinite programability. Powerful fairly easy to use PC software. Good IR strength. Good hard button layout. Good BIOS support for product upgrades. Great online community support Weaknesses: Poor quality construction. Even poorer warranty support. Poor built in component library. Review: After having purchased The Pronto NEO remote in late December 2001, to support a new home theatre setup with the following components. I was a little overwhelmed on where to start. Home Theatre Receiver: Denon AVR-3800 TV: Sony KP-57HW40 DVD: Toshiba SD-4700 VCR: Mitsubishi HS-U776 Cable Converter box: Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3100HD I purchased the NEO for the same reason most people purchase a universal remote. I wanted to fully replace all 5 remote controls with a single unit but still be able to control every aspect of every remote and to simplify the action of watching cable or a DVD by being able to setup macros for 1 touch configuration of my system. The NEO allows me to do this. I first attempted to use built in component configurations... This resulted in poor results due to not all buttons being present or some that did not do what they where labeled for. I finally settled on configuring it in the following manner which resulted in what I was looking for. I used the NEO Edit software to create each device and then creating however many pages of button layouts I needed for that device. After saving the configuration file and then downloading that configuration to the NEO unit I then learned each button from the original remote for each component. This was some what cumbersome due to some buttons requiring several tries for the NEO to accept the IR code from the original remote. But, I could immediately tell, via onscreen message whether is was successful or not. After verifying that all buttons worked I then saved the learned configuration back to my PC via NEO Edit. I then setup up the volume control from the Denon AVR to punch through to all screens. Yes, this was time consuming but resulted in superior results. Using this method I was finally able to remove the batteries from all my other remotes and put them away in a drawer. Once I had full functionality I then looked to see what I could to simplify daily operation. I used NEO Edit to create a Macro button on the main NEO screen. I then created a button for each duty I wanted simplified. For example I created a "Watch Cable" button. To watch cable it requires the following steps from a powered down status of my home theatre: Turn on AVR-Pause 2 seconds (to allow AVR to power up) - set AVR to Cable input- Turn on Cable box-turn on TV- set NEO to the main Cable box screen. Since the Sony TV does not have discreet codes to select video input I copied (via NEO Edit) the Antenna selection button from the NEO's TV menu to the main cable screen to allow me to change inputs if for instance I had last watched a DVD which is setup on a different input on the TV. I was able to setup the "Watch Cable" macro button to do all of this. I created other macros to other tasks such as "Watch DVD", "Watch VCR", "Listen to FM" etc I also created corresponding macros to shut the system down after doing each tasks. Multiple system power down macros where require due to the Cable box, TV, VCR and DVD player not having discreet power on/off codes. I have been using this configuration without any issues for several months. The unit feels less than solidly constructed. The plastic has a cheap feel to it. Button feel is solid with the exception of the 4 buttons directly below the touch screen. The touch screen is accurate and responsive. I am using 1700 mA hr rechargeable batteries that last approximately a week with average use. The battery life would most likely be much better if I didn't have the Backlight set to be on quite as much, but I like to watch TV in the dark giving me a movie theatre ambiance hence the need for the backlight to be used a lot. I also drain the battery by doing a lot of channel surfing. Within the last week the second plastic button from the left, right below the touch, screen has broken loose in the case. This is the button I have programmed for pulling up the on screen program synopsis display for the cable box and is the most used button of the 4 located directly below the touch screen. I now have to fiddle with the loose button to get it to work, I called Phillips customer service to get warranty service on the NEO since it comes with a 12 month factory warranty. I was pleased to see they have a toll free support phone number within the United States. I was not pleased with the response I got from the representative I talked to. I was told "Damage is not covered". I explained to the gentleman that I did not "damage" the unit. I explained that during normal use the button has broken loose. His reply again was "Damage is not covered". This remote is in excellent shape. No scratches on the case or touch screen. I have done nothing but treat it as the high priced piece of electronics that it is. This is not the type of quality and support I expected for a $200 remote control. So I guess the warranty is just useless rhetoric from Phillips. I am now reluctant to purchase any product from Phillips. If you plan to purchase this remote I strongly recommend getting a retail extended warranty from the dealer if available. I purchased mine from Best Buy which offers a free replacement guarantee. But I was, of course, too short sighted to purchase the warranty. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by shannon o'rear from phoenix, az. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 34 made on Friday September 27, 2002 at 3:20 AM. Strengths: Purchased @ Best Buy for $200. Very customizable with latest BIOS & Sware. Weaknesses: VERY VERY VERY unreliable and difficult to learn some codes...from three different remotes. I read some "IR learning" tips and tricks...held the Neo at every possible angle and distance...on and on...it would take 5 minutes or more sometimes to learn the code from another remote. It has locked up twice during the past week. After purchase you MUST dload the latest BIOS updates for it and the neoedit sware...otherwise it has tons of bugs. Review: I do like it, but I'm considering returning it since I stil can't get it to learn some of my DVD player codes (Daewoo $59 special from Fry's electronics). I know some people are willing to drop $1,000 or more for such devices, but I'm not...I still think the $200 is spendy for a remote, but for what it can do, I guess it's worth it...it's just not good enough learning codes. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Scott O. from Silverdale, WA. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 33 made on Thursday September 19, 2002 at 11:58 PM. Strengths: Maximum Flexablibly! You chan set up the screens and the controls the way you want, even having multiple devices under on page. Weaknesses: Won't learn one command (Eject on DVD player). The Software could be better. Review: This is by far the best universal remote I've ever had. Very flexable, only one command it wouldn't learn. I think its biggest problem is with the software. It does not sync. (like a PDA does), you down load the button configuration, teach the remote the command, then upload and save the new configuration. This problem is a little annoying and time consuming, but the features far outweight this problem. Costomizable, functional, and replacing six remotes, this is worth the money. Quality: Features: Value:

Written by Clyde from West Virginia. The reviewer has used this remote control for 1-3 months.

Review 32 made on Saturday September 14, 2002 at 9:13 PM. Strengths: Controls all of my many devices. I figured out how to make the back light turn on with each key press. Weaknesses: Looses the date and time with each upload/download. Review: Great remote! It took few minutes to figure out how to properly program it but once I did, it worked great! To make the back light turn on with each key press, go into the setup and turn the Backlight to "On" and then set the LCD for whatever time you want. This will make the Backlight come on with each key press and go off with the LCD. Quality: Features: Value:

Return to the user reviews index...

Add your review