I'd like to welcome everyone back who has been having difficulties logging onto Remote Central for the past few weeks. You should now have no problems accessing the site using your regular connection. In addition, anyone who has had problems downloading files from our archive should also now find it fully functional at all times of day. I hope everyone enjoys the new server - but if you see something that doesn't work as you think it should, please be sure to email me with the problem. There's always something!

Since I've been spending most of my time this past while getting the new server functional, there's not too much new content. However, the CES 2001 report has had additions for Refac's voice activated remote, Sharp's new lineup of products, plus Tonyx's wrist remote control. View them here. More reports will be added this week.

Pronto & RC5000 software...
Rumor also has it that Philips ProntoEdit v2.0 will be released for TS-1000, RU890, RU940 and TSU2000 owners sometime later this week. Since v2.0 is already out, I actually expect this new version to be called v2.1 or (if they want to match Marantz) v2.2. We can hope that all of the bugs that have been identified with the existing v2.0 have been corrected. I'll be sure to report when the software is actually available.

Did I say Marantz RC5000 Setup v2.2? Yes! Available now, v2.2 features a small bug fix over version v2.1 - some bitmaps loaded into the old version would display in strange colors, rather than greyscale as they should. What's not included with v2.2 is new firmware - however, updated firmware is available in separate downloadable files, upgrading your RC5000 or RC5000i to SYS v4.8. This upgrade is supposed to correct the rechargeable battery pack problem some owners have been experiencing, where the remote will show an incorrect battery power level. Be sure to download the correct firmware for your remote - US or European, 1mb or 2mb - and unzip it into your RC5000 directory, overwriting existing files.

Speaking of which, the Marantz website has two problems with their software. First, their version of RC5000 Setup is corrupt and will not install. Second, they have mixed up the firmware updates, labelling the European version as the US version and vice versa. All files on Remote Central are correct and can be downloaded from this page.
[Talk about the Philips Pronto & Marantz RC5000...]