Philips Upgrades Pronto™ Remotes To Enable Advanced Two-way Multi-room Control

September 6, 2007

For the first time, Philips has introduced a significant upgrade to its award-winning Pronto home control system to allow two-way, multi-room control in a mid-end, touch-panel unit. The add-on, called ProntoScript, is available for the Pronto TSU9600 and TSU9400 models. The latest release of the ProntoEdit Professional editing software, available as a free download from the Philips Web site, includes the ProntoScript tool that enables two-way communication with the Philips Pronto remote. The increasing integration of home entertainment and automation systems, together with the advent of multi-room A/V servers that allow content to be shared throughout the house, has driven consumer demand to control and monitor diverse home systems from a single device. The Philips Pronto TSU9600 and TSU9400 control panels with ProntoScript provide a completely integrated two-way home control solution in affordable, easy-to-use touch panels. The unit can receive feedback from RS232 or IP-controlled devices in real-time, providing advanced two-way functionality beyond controlling home entertainment and automation systems. The Philips Pronto TSU9600 and TSU9400 with ProntoScript allow the user, for example, to check whether the lights are currently on in a given room, consult temperature levels of HVAC systems or quickly read volume levels for A/V devices – all from the screen of the control panel. ProntoScript allows custom installers to easily configure system feedback and dynamic user interfaces on the Pronto control panel by selecting from a list of preconfigured modules. Thanks to its straightforward, JavaScript-based, programming language, ProntoScript also offers the ability for custom installers to write simple modules to further enhance customization and adapt to set-ups to particular client needs. Several manufacturers have already joined the Philips Pronto partnership program to enable their equipment to work with the Pronto TSU9600 and TSU9400, with many more manufacturers to deliver modules toward the end of 2007. "The Pronto TSU9600 is already the preferred touch-screen controller for home installations, thanks to its flexibility, reliability and razor-sharp display with the highest resolution available on such a device," says Xavier Delmeiren, General Manager, Philips Home Control. "With ProntoScript, Philips is the first to offer a programming environment for advanced home remotes to integrate with A/V components, A/V servers, lighting and HVAC systems, making multi-room control with two-way communication affordable and simple to set up." Wide range of support Philips Pronto includes integrated support for the Escient Fireball Music and DVD managers, Imerge Music servers, Lutron Radio RA and MCE PC. In addition to these systems, a host of manufacturers have created modules which allow Pronto to control their systems: * In the lighting domain, Lutron HomeWorks, DynaLite, LiteTouch and iLight are supported. "Adding Lutron lighting control to the Philips ProntoScript lineup brings custom installers a new way to add value to their projects," says Andy Wakefield, Director of Lutron's HomeSystems Business Unit. "With the Pronto TSU9600, installers can now offer wireless two-way touch-panel control of Lutron lighting control systems with exceptional ease and affordability. The pairing empowers the homeowner to reliably control and monitor their home's lighting as part of a rich multi-system control solution. This not only adds value to the individual system components, it reinforces the value of the custom installation profession." * With HVAC equipment, Aprilaire Systems are supported. * In A/V Servers: Escient Fireball DVD and Music Managers, Imerge SoundServer S3000 and Xiva supported music servers (Elan VIA! DJ series 2, Revox M37 mkII, Niles DMS4, SpeakerCraft Mode Jukebox and Xantech Xmusic W+), NuVo, Arcam, moodSeer and Kaleidescape Server Systems are supported. "For some time the Pronto provided the best hand-held control experience for Imerge SoundServers," states James Meredith, Technical Sales Executive of Imerge, "Now with the TSU9600 and TSU9400, Philips has taken the Imerge & Pronto experience to the next level, utilizing the latest technology to place metadata and cover art right in the users' hands, enriching their music experience." * In Media Centers: Life|ware's digital entertainment and home automation solutions enable direct Pronto control of all Life|ware features from television, music, digital photos and videos to lighting, security, HVAC and multiroom audio distribution. "We are thrilled that the Pronto TSU9600 with ProntoScript can now be used to control and communicate with Life|ware," said Mike Seamons, vice president of marketing for Life|ware. "Philips has been a leader and an innovator in home control for years, and this new development provides our dealers with a compelling new remote control option for their customers to utilize the power of Life|ware." * For high-end amplifiers, two-way communication (e.g., volume feedback) with Denon, Marantz, Yamaha and Onkyo models is supported. * For multipurpose systems integration, Vantage modules are developed; "Everything controlled from the Vantage system (lighting, HVAC, curtains, audio, video, etc.) can be controlled from the Pronto TSU9600 control panel." Said Bart Stuyven, Product Manager for Vantage EMEA, "The simple communication between Vantage & Pronto can be done over the standard IP network or using RS232 communication ports. This makes the integration between Vantage & Pronto user-friendly and efficient." * The following partners are working on modules to be released in the course of 2007: Russound, Gira, Hawking, HAI and Clipsal. For further product information, please consult the Philips Pronto Web site at http://www.pronto.philips.com

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