The opportunity to share my experiences about a product that exceeded my expectations is a unique situation. I expected to enjoy playing with and learning to use my new Philips RC9800i Touchscreen Remote Control. The idea of replacing all the remote controls in the house with a single unit appealed to me. I also thought that once the novelty wore thin I might revert to using the multitude of original remotes that came with our family s various electronics.
Confessions of a Convert Confession number one involves my obsession with all things technical and electronic. I inherited my father s ability to pick up almost any electronic item and intuitively know how it operates.
As a child, I spent an unusual amount of time dismantling and rebuilding old television sets, telephones, radios, record players and oddly enough, magnetizing anything metal I could hook up to a battery. While Dad expressed pride at my interests and accomplishments, my mother feared I would some day blow up our happy home.
Forgive me Philips, for I have sinned; I rarely consult a product manual unless all else fails. Most documentation remains in its original plastic packaging, free of fingerprints and never exposed to light. I may miss some of the fine points but as long as the object of my attention functions without a glitch, consider me Ms. Contentment.
No Manual Labor Required? Philips took into account the widespread market for their truly user-friendly remote control and provided various levels of information.
Flip open the Velcro-secured lid of the package to find brief descriptions in three languages beneath graphics of the set up and use processes. Short explanations of infrared and networked control abilities and the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) cover the basics.
Delve deeper into the package, below the device seductively displayed through a clear plastic window, and a quartet of informative tutorials awaits.
The Quick Start Guide (one each in French, Spanish and English) concisely covers each step from addressing the package content inventory through turning on the remote, charging the battery, updating the software, touch screen calibration, set up directions for various functions and rooms, controls, wizards and support. Graphic representations accompany each of the fifteen steps.
Single pink slips (one in each language) provide:
- The link to download current Windows or Mac software
- Additional advice on setting up the device to work with a wireless network
- A rundown on learning IR codes
- Advice on input selection methods
- Information on the One-Year Electronic Program Guide (EPG)
- A link to online support and their toll-free help phone number
The Philips RC9800i User Manual provides sixty-two pages of detailed directions in each language. The manual offers expanded coverage of every step, troubleshooting advice, advanced set up for devices and activities, technical specs and descriptions of the various functions and applications.
The Quick Start Guide should suffice for most users. The Manual makes taking things to a higher level or clarifying the simplified steps the other tutorials provide easy with everything imaginable listed under both the table of contents and an alphabetical index. To assist users confused by acronyms and technical terms used throughout the manual, Philips provides a basic Glossary.
Replicating some of the above, the Philips Connected Planet - simple, yet revolutionary control CD contains the Philips Media Manager, the RC9800i User Manual and the RC9800i Quick Start Guide.
$400.00 Buys The RC9800i Touch Screen Remote Control
Charging cradle
Power adapter
USB cable
Stylus
Guides and Manuals
Media Manager Software
End User License Agreement
Registration card for Philips One-Year Warranty
What it is, Mama! Subtitle: Welcome to the World of TMI Now my favorite toy, Philips developed the RC9800i Activity-Based interface to control new and legacy home entertainment electronics equipment. It also offers the ability to control Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices on 802.11 b/g compliant WiFi networks.
For wireless network users, transferring photos and video content to your TV or to view on the 3.5-inch remote display involves minimal setup. Transfer of MP3 and other audio files require even less energy; you can even listen to music using the remote s tiny speaker.
The design, intended for comfort whether using one or two hands, offers the options of primarily using the hard buttons on the right, the touch screen with stylus or fingertip and any combination of the above.
The hard buttons configuration and feel are identical to the basic functions most universal remotes provide. Toggles for volume and channel changing, oval buttons to control Page, Mute, Back and Home access and a larger wheel for scrolling menus, setting options and sliding guides left, right, up and down, with the Select button centered in the wheel, require no learning curve to become second nature.
Once the user adjusts the bright backlit 65536 color TFT LCD touch screen, the menus and options appear clear and crisp. The margin of error when using the touch screen is minimal; the screen is sensitive but not overly so. Most users will start out employing the included stylus to set up the device but some time down the line, fingers will replace the stylus. It is simpler, quicker and partly due to the fact that there is no slot to store the stylus on the remote, it makes sense to take that leap.
Tell us what you think, what you really, really think Some day I will get that song out of my head, until then, put up with it.
Initial excitement and near tutorial overkill led me to take things, specifically the RC9800i into my own hands. A tiny switch on the back of the unit required using the stylus to set it to the on position. I believe the only real intended purpose of the stylus is to help the user access that miniscule switch and initially center the display. The touch screen and buttons cry out for fingertip control, stash the stylus once the display comes to life.
Primary uninterrupted charging of any electronic device contributes to longer time spans between charges as well as extended battery life. Philips recommends charging the rechargeable Li-polymer battery in its docking cradle for three hours before initial use. Impatient new owners can run the remote through the setup process during the charging cycle but three hours, folks use a little restraint. Following the manufacturer s recommendation afforded me with eight days of use, including downloading software and setting up four rooms worth of devices, before the low battery indicator chirped. I let the battery run down completely before recharging the full three hours. The second and third cycles increased that time span to eleven and then thirteen days between chirps.
Additional notes on rechargeable Li-polymer batteries: The composition of these batteries allow the designers more leeway as far as providing users with thinner, lighter devices. The promised cycle life of 300 to 500 charges may be less if the user ignores the low tolerance to overcharge warnings. The current $100.00 battery replacement cost makes paying attention to charge time essential.
Back to my experience, with the remote fully charged I plugged the USB cable into my computer and downloaded the latest Windows software from Philips Home Control site. The software included the Media Manager and drivers for both the device and my computer. The download and installation were fast and glitch-free. Once I clicked the download successful button, the RC9800i Settings menu appeared. I configured the device s Power and Screen Settings after I powered on the remote, the remaining options were Network, Audio, and Date and Time.
The remote instantly found my wireless network and prompted me to open the Media Manager, scan my hard drive for media files and presented me with a list of folders and files I could access, view or listen to with the RC9800i.
The Audio screen contains three slide bar controls allowing the user to set comfortable volume levels for Touch Screen, Hard Key and Alerts. Clicking Next took me to the Date and Time page where because of my wireless network I was offered the option to get the time from the Internet once I chose my time zone. Exiting that wizard, the remote displayed three wizard options: the RC9800i Settings I just completed, Rooms & A/V Devices and Services Setup.
I clicked Rooms & A/V Devices, prepared to let the intelligent setup wizard take me through the steps to add rooms, devices, connections and activities. The first task of letting the remote know what rooms I wanted included went well. I clicked on Add, selected the room type and used the touch screen keypad to name each room.
The wizard automatically took me to the Set Up A/V Devices page where I selected Office and Add . Choosing Cable box (no PVR), the next screen offered a list of cable box brands where Scientific Atlanta was listed among six-hundred brands. On the next screen I entered the model number and discovered later that it wasn t necessary. Clicking next brought up a page with three options for setting up the remote to operate the SA Cable Box: Learn & Match, Autoscan and Select & Try.
I chose Learn & Match, the suggested option for those who have the original remote available. Clear directions instructed me to aim the original remote between the two white bars at the top of the RC9800i when prompted. I clicked Next and pointed the remote between the confines of a white bar on the display while compressing the original remote s Power button.
At that point, my modus operandi of never cracking open a manual failed. I repeated the step countless times with no good result; the learning process let me know the RC9800i did not receive the code in time. I tried fast clicking, waving the Cable Box remote in front of the white box and moving the remote closer and farther away but the results were the same. Learn & Match appeared less than user friendly. I tried Autoscan with similar results and finally resorted to Select & Try where I was able to locate the code needed to operate some but not all features of the cable box.
I went through the same steps to set up an ancient Westinghouse TV and took a much-needed break to e-mail a fellow RC9800i user to share my experience. Once
she finished laughing, she explained the two white bars were on the top of the device, not the top of the touch screen display.
With renewed interest and a red face, I deleted the settings in place and went through the process while making sure to aim the cable box and television remotes between the two white lines on the top of the RC9800i. The setup process takes only a few minutes for each component if you happen to glance at the Quick Start Guide, poll the audience or call a friend. My wise pal claimed to be one with the remote; I silently vowed to serve her day-old, room temperature egg salad if she ever came over for lunch.
Once I had all the rooms and devices set up, I checked out the Electronic Program Guide. The documentation claims that RC9800i owners receive a one-year free subscription to the guide. I aimed my computer s browser at the URL provided and registered for service. The next step let me choose ninety-nine favorite channels from my cable service provider to access on the remote. Completing that task, I received a nice surprise; the one-year free subscription would expire three years from the date I registered.
Using the RC9800i Services Setup guide, I chose Program Guide, clicked Activation, inserted the code and then was prompted to assign channel lineups for each room. The service lets each user set up a number of guides, each tailored to the user s preferences. For example, in the den I could have added all the sports networks for my husband and in the guest room I could have set movie channels, if I wanted. Since I only set up one guide, I chose '1' for every room.
The final step to setting up EPG service was to manually download the guide and set automatic download times for the future. The remote displays the guide dates as they download, completing the process with one week s worth of data on file. I came across one bug in the EPG process; during the holidays our cable service changed Bravo from channel 77 to 78. The guide still shows Bravo as channel 77 so, we can see what s on and read the program details but we cannot simply click on the listing to change the channel on our TV to Bravo.
Only one of our television sets is hooked up to a cable box, the others have direct cable connections. One of the best features the cable box offers is a program guide that allows the user to scroll channels at will, while still being able to view one channel in a picture-in-picture format. The direct connect service only offers a slowly scrolling guide on channel 99 if you miss the guide s display for the channel you think you want to see, the user must wait for that channel number to come around again. The EPG guide not only allows the user to scroll to the desired channel, it also lets us scroll ahead in time to see what programming will come on in the next hour, day or even week. One click on Watch or one of the silver channel buttons and that channel s current programming comes up on the screen.
The feature my husband and I agree about is the remote s streaming MP3 ability. Hooking up the RC9800i to our Sony sound system gives us the ability to listen to MP3 files through the system s speakers. We have a huge collection of CDs so accessing files from our computers hard drives does not have the oomph it might if we were avid music download addicts. Playing audio files on the remote s tiny speaker is a hoot but the delight quickly passes once ear drum strain sets in.
We disagree about accessing graphic files and digital home videos. I enjoy playing with slide shows and viewing videos on our TVs. Being able to view those files on the RC9800i also gives me a small thrill. My Equal Half feels those features could be fun in the short term but will probably never see daylight again once we tire of playing with the remote s bells and whistles.
You had to test the limits, didn t you? Before receiving the RC9800i, I asked a Philips representative if the remote would work with our closed circuit security system. The response was no but anyone who knows me knows I rarely take no for an answer. Once all the rooms and devices were set up and I was familiar with the interface, I decided to see if I could make a liar out of that rep.
Part of our security system is a series of motion-activated cameras (wired to motion detector spotlights) that feed live images into a VCR. We are able use our TVs to view what s going on outside or to see what happened while we were asleep or away from home. Just let those criminal types try pleading innocent when we have them on tape. To date, the only instances we saved for posterity in our security library are friends coming to visit, deliveries and the two of us walking our dog.
I figured that since the cameras are wired to the VCR, all I would need to do was set up the VCR on the RC9800i, configure the same television sets we already use to view the tapes or live action and the new remote could take over those duties. I was right, it worked and I feel my position as electronic genius extraordinaire is as secure as my home.
Does this woman ever shut up? This time, the answer is no. Aside from the obvious benefit of using one remote to operate a houseful of electronic devices, the RC9800i is a huge step in the right direction as far as I m concerned. The EPG service is probably one of the best things about it but we seem to find additional features we enjoy as we continue to use the remote. We no longer use the cable company s guides, the cable box s guide reduces the size of what s on air and the direct cable guide is just ridiculous. We like the fact that we can view the EPG without obscuring the current program.
My husband and I still keep the cable remotes within reach for dueling purposes. If he isn t into what I m watching, he has no issue with grabbing the old remote and changing the channel. I, in turn, return the favor but only when provoked.
In case you actually read this entire review (bless you) and still have no clue what my recommendation is regarding the Philips RC9800i, believe me when I tell you this family gives the innovative product four thumbs up. I admit, it took a few weeks for the interface to become as familiar as the button configuration on the remote controls it replaced but that was expected. We both like the hand feel and the ease of use this remote affords us. The display is excellent, No Bifocals Required should be etched on the product packaging.
The best rating I can give any product comes in the form of recommendations to friends and family. Regarding the RC9800i, the bloom remains on the rose and I very well may be its biggest fan.
I received this product from Hass MS&L with the understanding I would post my honest review of the Philips RC9800i on Epinions.com.
