I have a television remote. I have a cable remote. I have a Roku player remote. I have an AppleTV remote. I have a Blu-Ray player remote.
I have a lot of remotes.
The Pronto for iPhone requires a newer model iPhone or iPad with Bluetooth connection, as well as the free Peel for iphone app. The app also is available for the Android without the Pronto. The product retails for $49.99. More information is available at getpronto.com.
Let's face it, "universal" remotes aren't always that universal, and usually they take forever to program, because you have to input several numeric codes to find the right signal, or worse, have to do one of those seemingly endless manual searches.
So, I have a lot of remotes. At least, I did, until I tried out the Pronto system.
The Pronto for iPhone is a receiver that connects with an iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth and broadcasts infrared, or IR, commands to various media devices from the Peel Smart Remote app. The app is free to download for the iPhone, but it works on the iPad, as well.
The Pronto is pretty basic. It's simply a receiver that runs on four AA batteries, which are included. It has an IR extension cable, but I found I didn't need it. Because it doesn't need to be plugged in, you can set it just about anywhere to transmit to all of the media devices at once. The receiver broadcasts in all directions, so it was easy to send the signal to all of my devices.
The Pronto is only compatible with the latest iOS products, such as the iPhone or iPad. There's a good reason for that -- some of the latest Android smartphones include an infrared, or IR, transmitter. They can work as a remote directly. The iPhones lack this feature, so the Pronto is necessary.
Honestly, I wasn't over enthusiastic about testing the Pronto. I tested a similar product in the past, and while it worked, it was very sluggish, and it didn't work too well with my streaming media devices. I expected a similar performance with this.
Boy, was I wrong!
The Pronto and its accompanying app, the Peel Smart Remote, are just what they advertise to be -- an easy-to-use system that can take the place of all the remote controls scattered about the living room.
This app absolutely blows my mind. What shocks me the most is how incredibly easy it is to set up and to use.
Setup was a breeze. It asked me what kind of device I wanted to set up. It then asked me the brand name, and it had tons of brands from which to choose. On the off chance the brand isn't there, you can send a note to the developers to find the code for you or add it to the app's next update.
The app then needed to input the proper code to set up the remote function. Anyone who has ever had to program a universal remote knows the drill -- punch a bunch of buttons, enter a code, test it out, realize it doesn't work, punch more buttons, repeat. That's what I expected here. Instead, the app gave me a simple button to push. I touched it, nothing happened, so I hit "no" at the bottom of the screen where the app asked if my TV turned on. So it slid that button off the screen and put a new one on the screen. I touched it, my TV turned on, I tapped "yes," and that was it. My television remote was programmed.
It was that easy.
The best part is, it was that easy for every device I programmed. Television, cable box, even my Roku and AppleTV -- the Peel app took each one of them in turn. The Roku and AppleTV were the easiest, since they only have one type of remote. I just had to put in the streaming device, say what kind it was, and the remote was ready to go.
I was even able to program in the devices in another room. The Peel app allows you to separate your remotes by room each time you add a device. I had to move the Pronto to use the iPhone or iPad with the back television, but the Android phone and its built-in IR worked fine with just the app.
The only issue is my television is pretty old, and the Peel remote didn't include a decimal button. My antenna-fed channels on that television require a decimal, so changing channels was a bit of a challenge. Still, I did have the basic channel up/down, volume and power buttons available.
The app is easy to navigate. It shows the current programs in categories, such as comedy and drama. A quick touch allows you to switch to that program instantly. It also has a channel guide, so you can scan channels, though it doesn't scan forward easily. You can only see current programs. It will let you search for programs, and you can set a reminder to watch with one touch. In short, the app is loaded with great features.
Whether using the app alone or with the Pronto for iPhone, the system doesn't disappoint. It worked just as it should, providing full remote controls to multiple devices without hardly any delays or glitches. The app can run just fine in the background, so you can pop it up whenever you need it to change the channel. If you're looking for a way to ditch all those remotes and you don't mind using your smartphone to do it, this is definitely the system to get.
It looks like I have a lot of remotes to put away.
Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at mljones72@me.com.
SundayMonday Business on 04/20/2015