A recent customer was completely baffled by the non-functioning Philips Pronto system in their newly acquired home.  They asked us to take a look at it and provide a quote to get it up and running again.

After a full day on site carrying out a thorough site survey we had enough documentation to be able to provide a quote. We gathered info covering all aspects of the system from the lighting control to the audio and video switching to the wireless network and even the remote controlled fireplace.

After doing this we en-devoured to locate the company who were responsible for the original install as they may have been able to provide us with documents and even programming code to help us get this job done faster and cheaper for the customer.  We managed to find out who had installed it by speaking to the lighting control system manufacturer. They were able to give us some help with understanding the lighting as they had been involved in project directly. Sadly the company who did the original install would not return our calls or emails and we had to press on without the original code.

Upgrades:

The last owner of the property had taken many items with him and had left a partially installed system. The first thing we had to do was replace some critical items such as TV’s and Satellite boxes, we then added some extras such Apple TV.

Before any programming began we checked the firmware versions of all the Pronto handsets and the RFX9600 serial extender which was installed in the rack. We upgraded all devices to the latest versions.

The client’s wireless router was not sufficient to spread a strong wireless signal across the whole house so we installed 3 new wireless access points allowing the Pronto’s to maintain a good connection the network at all times and also dramatically improving the speed and reliability of the client’s internet browsing.

Lighting & Shading:

The most worrying part of this job was the lighting and shading control, the Niko lighting system was installed well but the Philips Pronto system had been set up to control it via Infra Red rather than the more common RS232. We had to painstakingly figure out the correct IR commands for each room using trial and error. Fortunately, with the assistance of Niko Uk we cracked it and had full control of all rooms.

Multi Room Audio & Video:

The main lounge and master bedroom both had surround speakers and used AV receivers for  amplification so we controlled these the same way they had been controlled originally, using IR.

The other bedrooms, bathrooms and communal areas had audio provided by a combination of a Niko multi room audio controller and a Xantech multi channel power amp. We used the same IR technique as before to figure out the IR commands for the Niko audio controller and eventually we had control of these rooms too.

The video needs of this client were much less than the system was capable of. The system was equipped with a Gefen HDMI matrix switch with capable of switching up to 4 sources to 4 zones. Our client only needed video in one zone. We hunted down the technical documentation for the video matrix and programmed the RS232 commands into the Pronto for the lounge.

In addition to what the original installer/client had installed, our client wished to be able to listen to their Apple iTunes music through the system. We set up a 2-way control system allowing them to not only listen to the music playing on their Mac but also to be able to browse through the artists and albums from any of the Pronto handsets in any room.

Temperature:

To finish off the job we input the remote control commands for the fireplace into the Pronto so that the client can turn on, of up and down the heat in the lounge.

After a few days of hard work our client now has a fully functioning system with control of practically everything in the house via their 4 Philips Pronto remotes and are already considering some future additions or upgrades.

If you have an old Philips Pronto installation which needs re-programming give us a call on 0800 195 4825 to discuss it and arrange a site survey.