thunkgeek.com

So I’ve dropped from the ranks of the Home Theater Elite now that my Phillips Pronto has given up the ghost. Some might say I had already dropped from the ranks given the fact that I was still using the original Pronto… but hey, I don’t really have $700 to blow on a remote control every time they come out with a new one, ok? In fact, in this case, I don’t even have the $300 it would take to get a refurbished Pronto TSU3000 and the charging dock, so I paid a visit to my friendly neighborhood Ars forum and found a recommendation for this little beauty. A learning remote for $32. Not bad. So I got it home and proceeded to code it for my components, soon discovering that they don’t have a code in the database for my Onkyo receiver. Gyarr!!!! Flummoxed, I began to have it learn some of the basic functions of the receiver, only to discover that you can’t learn to the power button. Gyarrr, again!!! I resorted to the forums at remotecentral.com and was surprised to discover that the thing is capable of programming via the JP1 header that is in the battery compartment. Evidently you can basically reprogam the entire remote, including every single key, shifted keys, macros, device names that display in the LCD. The whole shebang. All for $32. The cable to attach it to your PC can be made for $5 in parts or purchased pre-made for $15. Being the geek that I am, the cable is on its way.