Once again, it’s time to launch our new contest! This month things will be handled a little bit differently... but before getting into that, be sure to check out the correct solution to our last contest and find out who won which prize by viewing the results page.

The first thing you’ll notice about this month’s contest is that there are only two prizes to be won. Don’t worry – thanks to the folks at AVSmarts.com they’re bigger! This time you could win a brand new Philips Pronto TSU3000 LCD touchscreen remote control, bundled complete with the DS3000 rechargeable docking station. Or, you could walk away with the amazing Pioneer HTD-330DV 5-disc DVD player, receiver and 6-speaker system.

So don’t delay, enter today!

New and improved remotes...
It’s about time that we caught up on some of the new remote controls that have popped up over the past couple of months.

One For All Kameleon URC-9960
Acting as competition to the innovative Radio Shack Kameleon 15-2133 (see our review), One For All has finally released their own remote control in North America based on UEI’s Kameleon technology: the URC-9960. Taking a break from the previous Kameleon design used by both the Radio Shack and overseas model, the more expensive ($119) URC-9960 sports a more curvy design, along with control of up to 8 A/V components. Other classic One For All features include Home Theater Mode, learning, macros, modem upgradeability and channel scan.

B&K CK1.2
Ever feel like wall-mounting a Home Theater Master MX-700 remote control? Well, someone over at B&K sure did, because they’ve just launched the CK1.2 keypad which looks suspiciously like a MX-700 (see our review) that’s been chopped up and rearranged to fit in a box. The CK1.2 appears to include all of the standard MX-700 features – computer programmability, “gemstone” keys, full backlighting, customizable labels, macros with up to 190 steps, code learning and a preprogrammed database. Now, if only they could find a way to let you take it to the couch...

Philips SBC-RU885
Although Philips only markets the Pronto line of remote controls in North America (the low-to-mid range Philips/Magnavox line aren’t actually Philips original products), they offer a much wider range of remote controls overseas. For example, the SBC-RU885. This 8-device remote sports a small dot matrix LCD touchscreen display, preprogrammed and learning functionality, backlighting with pickup sensor, macros, timers and RF capabilities (with optional extender). It measures 9” long, 2.3” wide and 1.2” thick. The RU885, which seems to follow the same concept as the older Marantz RC-1200, retails for about $110.

ATI Remote Wonder
Next, ATI has just updated their Remote Wonder (see our review) with full Mac support and, from what I’ve been told, much better drivers than their PC brethren are using. The Remote Wonder Macintosh Edition features the ability for users to create custom profiles for any program – unlike the PC version which requires specific “plug-in” files. Currently this customization is limited to only a dozen or so buttons, but they say that this will be opened up to all buttons in short order. Here’s hoping that the PC team picks up on the same ideas!

Home Theater Master MX-800
Now shipping, Universal Remote Control’s Home Theater Master MX-800 takes the remarkably capable MX-700 and adds one more important feature: an RF basestation for through-the-wall (or cabinet) control! OK, well, there are actually two key new features: it’s also no longer beige! The $499 MX-800 package comes complete with the MRF-200 basestation slash IR distribution system, but lacks the MX-700’s micro SideKick remote. The MX-800 requires a special version of the MX Editor program for proper operation.

MX Editor adds CCF support
Speaking of MX Editor, Universal Remote Control has added major new functionality to their PC editing package: the “Universal Browser”. “Universal Browser?” Although it may sound like some sort of all-purpose Internet application, the Universal Browser will allow MX-700 owners to quickly and easily borrow infrared hex codes available in the wealth of Pronto CCF files available for download on this site.

Click on the “Universal Browser” button to select a CCF file and open the browser’s main window. Pick a device and page and MX Editor shows a full graphical preview of the panel. Select a button and the complete action list appears below. Finally, if there’s a command containing an infrared code available, simply drag and drop it onto one of the MX-700’s available buttons. Presto!

Download the new version of MX Editor with CCF import capabilities here.

[ Talk with others about MX Editor! ]