RAV-2000 Touch screen

By Yamaha

After a first presentation somewhat snubbed by the professionals during the last Cedia 2000, Yamaha has added a “slather” for the occasion of the CES 2001, exhibiting, with great pomp, their first infra-red touch pad remote control: the RAV-2000.

Following in the example of Marantz and Vity, Yamaha went "to the roots" by associating themselves with the manufacturer Philips, makers of the famous Pronto. The RAV-2000 picks-up on, apart from the general ergonomics which appear similar, from the technical specifics which were behind the success of the latter:
- monochrome touch screen,
- resolution of 320 x 240,
- flash memory of 2 Mo (as opposed to 4 Mo for its competitors), offering up to 255 controls available by macros, thus allowing the editing of a large range of commands.

One should also note that apart from an operating programme - similar to that of the Pronto – has been developed by Yamaha, which is a little similar to that put in place on the second version of the RC5000 and is characterised by the speed of execution of its controls, as well as an increase in the ergonomics of its "virtual buttons".

In terms of functionality, the RAV-2000 boasts total compatibility with all functions of units by the same brand, as well as with a great majority of units from other manufacturers. We should also underline that the RAV-2000 is delivered with a connecting lead armed with a mini jack 1.5 connector and a RS-232 (the latter serving to link the remote control to a PC), allowing you to transfer data in order to create, edit or save, on your PC or another remote control… in the same way as the competitors have been doing for a little while now.

Still in the footsteps of the Pronto, the RAV-2000 also disposes (as an option), of a charger base which allows the user to limit the consumption of its four LR6 batteries.

We should also add that as the version exhibited at CES 2001 was not the final version, the brand worked hard to improve performance levels and do some fine tuning. Finally, in terms of availability, Yamaha plan to launch this new baby in their US Springtime 2001 catalogue, for a price of around US$500. As for good Olli’ Europe, we’ll have to wait until autumn.