Version 4.1 All of the graphics have been completely redone again – this time I managed to give them a glass-like look. The transport buttons are based on Mike Ventimiglia’s ‘Envision’ design, however, they have also been redone from scratch and given a glass-like appearance. The icons at the top of each device are loosely based on John Sollecito’s design. I even designed a new battery icon which turned out quite nicely. I am an avid SCUBA diver and so the background pictures are themed after this. I have included the original generic background pictures if you wish to use them instead. I completely overhauled the underlying layout of the configuration file and moved the IR codes sections out from each of the devices. The reason I did this was to better access these hidden sections from the remote itself. There is, however, an access code required to enter the macros and IR codes area. It is set as “1, 2, 3, 4, Enter” and can easily be changed to whatever you wish. You can access this area by pressing the “setup” icon an then choosing the “IR Codes & Macros” button.
This time I am made a modified version of my PCF file for those with the Pronto version of these excellent remotes. However, in both cases, I have only included the devices that are in my own personal system. There is a gallery.pcf file that has some additional layouts for other devices as well as some other buttons (i.e., macro buttons, surround, IR signal and battery icons, etc). Again, I have included all the original Adobe Photoshop templates for all buttons, text frames and dialog boxes so that you can easily create new ones based on this design.
The satellite television section has graphical one-touch buttons to their favorite channels. There are also sections to directly access the Satellite radio stations via one-touch buttons as well. I have also included a Rolodex – for important phone numbers, a Clean the Remote section – that will allow you to clean the surface of the touch screen without sending off any IR commands and finally a Helpscreen – which explains the functions for each of the icons at the top of the device sections.
When executing macros (turning the system on, switching between devices or power the system down), a screen will appear giving you a visual cue as to the progress of the task being completed.
Each device section of the remote has a series of buttons at the top of the screen that will: 1) turn the entire system off, 2) access power for all devices in the system, 3) switch to another device, 4) access the display options (if appropriate), 5) access the audio options, and finally 6) the help section. If you have lighting control in your system, you can substitute the help icon for the lighting control icon (available in the gallery file).
The Home page will allow you to: 1) power the entire system down, 2) access power for all devices in the system, 3) access the information page – battery level, memory and firmware version, 4) The remote setup page – change clock, screen and button ‘on’ times, 5) direct access to each device – without sending any IR codes and finally 6) the help page.
Note: I have played round with version 2 of the Wizzit.9 software that Marantz has finally made available. It pretty much has all the same capabilities and feel as the current version of the ProntoPro NG software. The new firmware does open up the rest of the memory available for the remote. However, I noticed it made the remote extremely sluggish in it’s response to soft-keys being pressed. I therefore reinstalled the older firmware. Hopefully they will fix this issue in a future upgrade – if they ever get around to it.
