Product: TheaterTouch T2 Univeral System Controller
Manufacturer: Remote Technologies, Inc.
Price: $649 for T2 remote, charger, extra battery, and TheaterTouch Designer PC programming software and serial connector. Optional IRF-6 System Interface Module for RF and RS-232 control, $299. Component power sensing modules, $49.
RTI TheaterTouch T2Review and images by
Philip Brandes, SMR Group, © 2001
I'm a button pusher. Ask anyone who knows me.
When it comes to remote controls, nothing makes me feel *in control* better than old-fashioned tactile feedback. When I'm immersed in a movie, I want to be able to issue commands by feel alone, without the distraction of having to pry my gaze away and squint at some device panel. Which is why, much as I appreciate cool toys — I mean, advanced entertainment productivity enhancement technology — I simply haven't been able to muster much enthusiasm for the trend towards all-touchscreen designs that dominate the exploding market of universal remote controllers.
Spearheaded by the stratospherically-priced home system automation controllers from the likes of Phast, Crestron, and Lexicon, the touchscreen philosophy is most prominently represented in the under-$1,000 price range by the Philips Pronto (previously reviewed here at SMR). But despite its glossy expanse of programmable GUI real estate, the Pronto's paucity of hard controls has left many die-hard button-pushers like myself unmoved. And so, for the last four years I've remained loyal to the more limited configurability of my venerable but long-in-the-tooth Marantz RC2000 Mk II.
Until now.
RTI TheaterTouch T2Enter the programmable TheaterTouch T2 Universal System Controller from Remote Technologies, Inc. (RTI), the company who developed the highly regarded LexiDraw software for the Lexicon 500T and 700t touchscreen remotes. With this first product marketed under its own name, RTI applies its expertise in a new quest for the Holy Grail of A/V system remotes--implementing the power and flexibility of multi-thousand-dollar high-end controllers in a user-friendly, under-$1,000 package.
Given its vast experience with all-touchscreen designs, RTI could easily have stuck with the approach the company knows best. Instead, to their credit the TheaterTouch T2 designers recognized that with a control device aimed specifically at home theater systems, the flexible customization of a touchscreen should be complemented with fixed buttons, since many common A/V device functions (menu navigation, for example) are more conveniently implemented with the latter. From the photo at right, anyone who shares my reservations about all-touchscreen remotes can immediately appreciate the advantages of RTI's approach.
When I first heard about the T2, I was smitten — finally, here was a remote that seemed to address my usability needs. The all-consuming question was, did the T2's implementation live up to its potential? To find out, SMR Group obtained a review sample and many helpful answers to our most esoteric questions from RTI's Dave Palmer and Mitch Mortenson. I won't, however, force you to wade through a lot of detailed discussion of this product's capabilities to know where I stand on this evaluation.
The Bottom Line: Thumbs UP
The short answer is: the RTI TheaterTouch T2 is a phenomenal price/performance breakthrough product that rules the under $1,000 remote control category. Among the features and capabilities that trounce its competition are:
Well-balanced integration of touchscreen and hard button controls
Ease of setup and use
Elegant programming software for mere mortals
Flexible customization previously found only in much more costly products
Expandability options for one-way RF and RS-232 communications
In fact, after extensive use the T2 proved the best fit for my A/V remote priorities of any product at any price — including the upmarket controllers. With that out of the way, let's explore this answer to a button pusher's prayers in more detail.
Manufacturer: Remote Technologies, Inc.
Price: $649 for T2 remote, charger, extra battery, and TheaterTouch Designer PC programming software and serial connector. Optional IRF-6 System Interface Module for RF and RS-232 control, $299. Component power sensing modules, $49.
RTI TheaterTouch T2Review and images by
Philip Brandes, SMR Group, © 2001
I'm a button pusher. Ask anyone who knows me.
When it comes to remote controls, nothing makes me feel *in control* better than old-fashioned tactile feedback. When I'm immersed in a movie, I want to be able to issue commands by feel alone, without the distraction of having to pry my gaze away and squint at some device panel. Which is why, much as I appreciate cool toys — I mean, advanced entertainment productivity enhancement technology — I simply haven't been able to muster much enthusiasm for the trend towards all-touchscreen designs that dominate the exploding market of universal remote controllers.
Spearheaded by the stratospherically-priced home system automation controllers from the likes of Phast, Crestron, and Lexicon, the touchscreen philosophy is most prominently represented in the under-$1,000 price range by the Philips Pronto (previously reviewed here at SMR). But despite its glossy expanse of programmable GUI real estate, the Pronto's paucity of hard controls has left many die-hard button-pushers like myself unmoved. And so, for the last four years I've remained loyal to the more limited configurability of my venerable but long-in-the-tooth Marantz RC2000 Mk II.
Until now.
RTI TheaterTouch T2Enter the programmable TheaterTouch T2 Universal System Controller from Remote Technologies, Inc. (RTI), the company who developed the highly regarded LexiDraw software for the Lexicon 500T and 700t touchscreen remotes. With this first product marketed under its own name, RTI applies its expertise in a new quest for the Holy Grail of A/V system remotes--implementing the power and flexibility of multi-thousand-dollar high-end controllers in a user-friendly, under-$1,000 package.
Given its vast experience with all-touchscreen designs, RTI could easily have stuck with the approach the company knows best. Instead, to their credit the TheaterTouch T2 designers recognized that with a control device aimed specifically at home theater systems, the flexible customization of a touchscreen should be complemented with fixed buttons, since many common A/V device functions (menu navigation, for example) are more conveniently implemented with the latter. From the photo at right, anyone who shares my reservations about all-touchscreen remotes can immediately appreciate the advantages of RTI's approach.
When I first heard about the T2, I was smitten — finally, here was a remote that seemed to address my usability needs. The all-consuming question was, did the T2's implementation live up to its potential? To find out, SMR Group obtained a review sample and many helpful answers to our most esoteric questions from RTI's Dave Palmer and Mitch Mortenson. I won't, however, force you to wade through a lot of detailed discussion of this product's capabilities to know where I stand on this evaluation.
The Bottom Line: Thumbs UP
The short answer is: the RTI TheaterTouch T2 is a phenomenal price/performance breakthrough product that rules the under $1,000 remote control category. Among the features and capabilities that trounce its competition are:
Well-balanced integration of touchscreen and hard button controls
Ease of setup and use
Elegant programming software for mere mortals
Flexible customization previously found only in much more costly products
Expandability options for one-way RF and RS-232 communications
In fact, after extensive use the T2 proved the best fit for my A/V remote priorities of any product at any price — including the upmarket controllers. With that out of the way, let's explore this answer to a button pusher's prayers in more detail.