The remote that came with the Z9X Pro is practically useless. Black On Black with no backlight. I have to turn the lights on in my media theatre to do anything besides simple menu browsing... The V12 should be the standard remote, that would save the hassle of ordering it separately. The price difference shouldn't be more than USD 10-15.
Damn, you are correct. But even that button is black on black, looks about the same as the others. I did not test every single button to see what they do... But it certainly sweetens the deal
What lets it down is no automatic backlight - It's the same remote as the V12 but without a motion sensor and bluetooth. The motion sensor is great - pick it up and the buttons are all illuminated automatically. With the Pro remote you need to press a button first which means you also send that remote action. But these boxes always come with a basic remote so nothing stopping you upgrading to a V12.
I've been using a V12 for over a year and it's great - regardless of the light level, when you pick it up, everything's immediately completely legible. Much nicer than the old Z9X remote.
The new remote is a cost cutting measure. I have both the old and the new remote and there are some plus sides to the new remote. 1. Smaller and lighter, I prefer this. 2. Smoother buttons. The older one have more stiffer buttons. 3. I like the middle square section, easier to locate stuff and intuitive button layout. 4. Not having BT is a + in my book because it frees up the BT for other devices. I don't know if the Z9X Pro or older devices allow dual BT connections along with the remote. My UHD3000 has had issues with the BT remote taking a few seconds to connect, on startup. 5. The back side has a nice rough texture for extra grip The downsides as others have mentioned. 1. No auto back light. This is not a huge deal breaker as the back light is on the lower right corner, which means once you know it, it's pretty easy to light it up. 2. It takes 3 AAA batteries, I think they should have gone with 2 AA ones for more capacity. I am not sure how long these will last due to backlighting.
The V12 batteries, again 3 AAAs, last very well so this should be the same. It's easier to leave the backlight switched on and then activate it using another key each time - I tend to press a cursor key first and they're easy to feel for. If you don't want to send a remote command when you wake it up, use the source button, top right.
