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Circular logic
Another major change to the Yamaha RAV-2000 is with the user interface: Yamaha has changed the non-user-editable portion to something entirely unique. The basic conventions are the same - the three Macro, Home and Device sections, the lower Mode Menu, plus dual scroll arrows, all appear in similar locations. However, Yamaha has chosen to go with a more modern and stylishly animated interface that matches up nicely with their default CCF layout's circular theme, giving the RAV-2000 a very distinctive look and feel. Yamaha's layout is based heavily on graphics and is thus much more adventurous than the Pronto layout, which heralds back to 1998.
However, all things considered, the striking new user interface animations add delays when switching between major remote sections - up to a half second in some cases. The good news is that the time it takes to scroll between pages is reduced by almost one third, thanks to the remote devoting less time to the scrolling effect. If they had continued such efficiency throughout the rest of the remote's animations, the RAV-2000 would have been the clear interface winner. Animations are a novelty for the first week; after that it's operational speed that counts. As a side note, the Setup Menu preserves the Pronto's original button design.
Connecting to the world
Complementing Yamaha's custom remote control is an equally customized (and thankfully less buggy) version of ProntoEdit, known as RAVedit. As of the time of this writing, RAVedit is more closely related to ProntoProEdit than it is to ProntoEdit - indeed it was the first instance where we got to see the new "replace bitmaps", "self-installing CCF file" and "multiple gallery" features. But, other than these functional additions, RAVedit remains comfortable and familiar to anyone who has spent time working with ProntoEdit (although certain users may not agree). The RAV-2000 picks up the same feature set as the Pronto TSU2000. You get a built-in infrared code database, timers, custom beep tones and a maximum editable screen resolution of 240 by 219 pixels. "CCF" files for the RAV-2000 are fully compatible with the Pronto TSU2000 and thus all other Pronto-based remotes.
One noticeable change in RAVedit is the replacement of Philips' "RC5" code entry box with new "Yamaha Codes". Basically, what this section allows you to do is enter minimal information about a particular infrared signal and have the software automatically generate the rest for you. Though this only works with codes in Yamaha's own format, it is a great addition for anyone who already owns or plans to purchase one of Yamaha's newer receivers, starting with the RX-V800.
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