Anybody have a Harmony 680 or 880 remote? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Anybody have a Harmony 680 or 880 remote?



N. Abstentia
10-29-2005, 08:19 PM
The recent 'perfect remote' thread got me in gear to finally get a new remote :)

My searching has led me to the Harmony 680 first, mainly because nothing below the 680 has the buttons I need...so the 676, 659, 688..etc..are not even an option.

Right now I like the button layout of the 680 better than the 880, but that LCD screen and recharging base might persuade me to spend the extra $100.

But I have a few questions and I'd love to hear from anyone who has either the 680 or 880..good, bad, even the ugly.

Firstly, the little center round 4 way button...is that customizeable to handle 4 functions? Cursor direction would be the obvious choice. I'm also assuming the button in the center is also a seperate key that can be used as 'enter' or whatever?

How does device switching work? I could care less about macros and turning 43 things on with one button...I just want to program it to switch my receiver to the TV input when I push 'watch TV', and switch to the DVD input when I press 'watch DVD' and so on for 4-5 devices.

On the 880, can the screen be customized to include the keys that are not on the remote? For instance, when switching to DVD input, the remote does not have buttons for things like audio, angle, disc skip, zoom..little things like that...can you put those on the screen?

I think that's about it for now. Keep in mind I'm 100% comfortable with both the web interface and manually configuring each button for each device using the original remote in learning mode...don't matter to me!

Thanks for any info :cool:

N. Abstentia
10-29-2005, 09:55 PM
Actually now that I look again I think the 676 and 688 do have the buttons I need (Tivo) but not the 659, so the 659 is the only Harmony that's not an option.

Just an FYI..I need this to control a Tivo, 3 different DVD players, a projector, and a do the source switching on the receiver.

EdwardGein
10-29-2005, 11:31 PM
Before I go on & you should double check this with Harmony Customer Support which is excellent & this might apply to all universal remotes I'm not sure, but this definately applies to
Harmony Remotes- basically the remote is equipped to handle one brand of a device I think- IE If you have 2 Sony DVD players, there shouldn't be a problem with DVD operations. If you have a Sony & Harmon Kardon DVD player, you can't really use it/program it to do both brands as there will be conflicts all over the place. This does not apply too different brands of different devices. IE if you have a Sony DVD player, a Mitsubishi TV, TIVO/DVR, a Technics CD player, a Liteon DVD Recorder, everything will work fine. As a result of this, I have 2 676 remotes for my bedroom & living room which have different TV brands. I use my DVD recorder so infrequently because of my DVR, I didn't even bother programing it. I would check with Harmony on the above.

To me the best thing about Harmony is its excellent phone support. Chances are you're going to initially go through 3 or 4 programmings to get it exactly right & they will put the programs on the computer that you can directly download into the remote while your on the phone with them. For instance, I had to get them to make my "A" & "B" buttons the A & B buttons for my DVR interactive onscreen menu. You originally download on their web site, a basic program for your remote & then make applicable changes, which you may or may not be able to figure out using their web page so you then call them up. For instance, I wanted the TV menu functions put up in a certain order & they rearranged them for me.
After about a week or 2, you'll have ironed out the kinks. Its best to originally map out in writing what you want it to do and then see if the way you programmed it agrees with that.
One thing that regularly happens with my remote & its no big deal as it takes 30 seconds to correct, if you press the TV function & say the DVR doesn't go on or the TV is in the wrong input, you just click help & it guides you through some questions which you just click yes or no & it corrects itself. The best thing about this is all you have to di is click a single button for TV & your receiver & TV are on, 1 for DVD & your DVD player, TV & receiver are on, 1 for music, etc., it turns all the units needed to run, on.

The only negative is, if you're watching in the total dark, you have to push a small button to have the buttons glow & for me, they don't glow bright enough. Apparently the 880 lights up or something automatically if you lift it up according to a post here. I'm not sure how the buttons compare to the 676 in terms of comfort & easy to do things.

Lastly, definately do not buy one in a retail store as they charge way too much. You can get a great price for a sealed new one online from a bunch of large stores or even on Ebay new. I got mine for around $115 including shipping online (one from Ebay another from a store).

I would definately call Harmony up on any specific questions you have. I know you're not into this but the remote almost paid for itself as I sold both of my Denon remotes & a Harmon Kardon DVD player remote (I kept the other one I had) as a result.

hermann_giron
10-30-2005, 05:20 AM
Harmony Remotes of the 600 series and 800 series are fully programmable. you can basically put any action on the screen, naming them as you like and putting them in the order you want them.

the 800 series does look a lot cooler, but the 600 series will do most anything that the more expensive series does, except: no color screen, no recharging base, no screen icons for your activities.

choose between the units according to your button placement and format preference, as the screen menus allow you to program all options individually.

N. Abstentia
10-30-2005, 07:46 AM
this definately applies to
Harmony Remotes- basically the remote is equipped to handle one brand of a device I think- IE If you have 2 Sony DVD players, there shouldn't be a problem with DVD operations. If you have a Sony & Harmon Kardon DVD player, you can't really use it/program it to do both brands as there will be conflicts all over the place. .

Wait..you're telling me that since I have an Onkyo 5 disc DVD player, a Marantz single disc DVD/SACD player, and a Sony 300 disc changer I can't program this remote to handle all three units? My 10 year old Home Theater Master does this beautifully and I find it hard to believe the Harmony works this way.

Does it not have 'device' buttons...where you for instance press 'TV' and it now controls the TV with the buttons you programmed...then you press 'DVD' and it controls the DVD player with the buttons you programmed...and so fourth.....I really don't want it to turn my stuff on, switch inputs, change the decoding, change the aspect and all that junk. My stuff is already on, and the correct settings are done by the receiver. I just want to program it to control 6-8 devices and switch the av inputs on the receiver. Do the Harmony remotes not work like that? I really hate living 100 miles from a store that sells these things, else I'd go in for an in person demo!

EdwardGein
10-30-2005, 09:19 AM
It does have the device buttons which work fine, the CD changer is a seperate entity from the DVD player, so that should work fine, the only area I see of conflict is the Onkyo DVD & Marantz DVD players- I would definately recommend you give them a call & specifically tell them that & see what they say.

N. Abstentia
10-30-2005, 09:27 AM
Wait it says it controls 15 devices (although I don't need nearly that many)..does it not have different 'pages' allowing you to control each device?

See my Home Theater Master controls 8 devices. It has 8 buttons at the top. You set them up to control anything you want. If you have 8 DVD players from 8 different manufacturers, fine. Choose the first device, set it up for your first DVD player. Choose the 2nd device, set it up for your 2nd DVD player..and so on for 8 pages/devices. You want to control the 1st player? Press the 1st player device button. Want to control the 2nd player? Press the 2nd device button. 5th player? You guessed it..5th device button.

Harmony will not work like this?

N. Abstentia
10-30-2005, 05:18 PM
Well, I got the Harmony 880 on the way. For $175 shipped, I figured why not. I've been suffering with an obosolete remote for 5 years now...time to splurge. The gyro that tells it to light up sold me :)

Geoffcin
10-31-2005, 06:44 AM
Well, I got the Harmony 880 on the way. For $175 shipped, I figured why not. I've been suffering with an obosolete remote for 5 years now...time to splurge. The gyro that tells it to light up sold me :)

I've got one of the older models, and they can control multiple DVD players & CD players too. The only problem would be is that you'll have to choose only one for the "play a movie" programmable button. I may upgrade to the 880, as my remote is getting a little long in the tooth now.

N. Abstentia
10-31-2005, 07:20 AM
Yeah I was hoping it would work like that, and that's one reason why I went with the 880 as it looks like it does not heavily rely on the 'activities' which I could care less about. It looks like you have to hit the 'activities' button then they pop up on the screen (unlike the others where the activities buttons stand out at the top). I'm banking that I can program it the way I want!

I'm hoping I can make it work like my Home Theater Master....if I hit 'DVD' it switches to the DVD input on the receiver and the remote now controls the DVD player. If I hit 'CD' it switches to CD and the remote now controls the CD player...and so on and so fourth. I hope that's not too much to ask from this remote.

If it is, I'll be getting the Home Theater Master MX-500 and I'll just have to deal with the hard buttons it does not have on the face, which are mainly Tivo functions.

GMichael
10-31-2005, 07:26 AM
I've got one of the older models, and they can control multiple DVD players & CD players too. The only problem would be is that you'll have to choose only one for the "play a movie" programmable button. I may upgrade to the 880, as my remote is getting a little long in the tooth now.

This remote sounds like a good idea. I'm tired of having 5 remotes. But my DVD hard drive remote has a few specialty buttons. Does this have something I can use for these? I have a 30 second skip forward and 15 minute skip forward.
Also 7 second skip back and 15 minute skip back. I find these very usefull.

N. Abstentia
10-31-2005, 08:25 AM
Hey GM,

Here's the way I understand it...if you're looking at the 880, notice it has the screen with 8 buttons surrounding it. You can program those 8 buttons for anything you want (since it's a learning remote), and label them anything you want (since it has PC based setup).

This is also how the Home Theater Master MX-500 works, just not as fancy. And of course it's only $100. It just lacks the face buttons I need which is why it's my 2nd choice. They can be programmed to the top buttons but I want them on the face, which is why a Harmony was my first choice.

GMichael
10-31-2005, 09:16 AM
Hey GM,

Here's the way I understand it...if you're looking at the 880, notice it has the screen with 8 buttons surrounding it. You can program those 8 buttons for anything you want (since it's a learning remote), and label them anything you want (since it has PC based setup).

This is also how the Home Theater Master MX-500 works, just not as fancy. And of course it's only $100. It just lacks the face buttons I need which is why it's my 2nd choice. They can be programmed to the top buttons but I want them on the face, which is why a Harmony was my first choice.

Cool, thanks.

Maybe I can talk Mrs. Santa into buying me one for X-mas.

evil__betty
10-31-2005, 12:09 PM
Once you get the thing home and play around with it, you will be blown away by what you can do with the thing. I picked up the 880 about 2 weeks ago and absolutly love the thing. I haven't even scratched the surface of what the remote is really capable of doing. Hell, you cna even upload digital pictures on to the thing so you can show your friends a slide show on your remote! I wouldn't worry in the least about any kind of compatibility issues between brands, or even the same brand. The 880 is the Cadillac of remotes (there are Ferrari remotes out there, but a hell of a lot more expensive - I'm happy with my Caddie).

EdwardGein
10-31-2005, 12:52 PM
So at least in the 880, you can have say the programing for 2 TV's- lets say Mitsubishi & Samsung & when you push the TV button it won't turn both TV's on (they're within 15 feet of each other) & the commands will work the same for watching TV? I'm pretty sure on my 676 this won't work correctly. Even if it doesn't, the 880 sounds like a winner from what you're describing.

N. Abstentia
10-31-2005, 01:24 PM
I would assume you can't have them both as the TV device, you'd have to name the other one TV2 so it would have a different device page.

HAVIC
10-31-2005, 04:34 PM
N. Abstentia, after I got this remote I spent many hours custom tailoring the remote to be as easy to use as possible. However I found out later that if you want call their customer service number and they can program it for you over the phone, then you plug it into your computer and the remote will be custom tailored for you. You just tell them the equipment you have and how you want to use it. After that you can tweak it they way you want. I suggest you do it this way as you want to use it slightly different than the norm and their customer service is awesome.
I also feel you made the right move with the 880 because you will have more activity buttons to customize.
I have finally been able to get rid of all of my remotes with this one and would recommend it to anyone.

The only issue I have had with the remote is with the charging cradle. When I put it on the cradle I have to fiddle with it to get it to charge. I got this remote when it was only released at best buy and not sure if it was a rush to market issue. I have always had great experiences with logitech support and am not worried about this issue. I have only need to call Logitech once for a problematic device in 20 years and they took care of me like I bought a $1000 xbox controller.

Enjoy the remote
Greg

N. Abstentia
10-31-2005, 04:58 PM
Yeah that is cool. They can set it up and you just download the program. Nice!

The charging cradle is the only thing I've read bad about it, and that seems to be a common gripe. I figure if it's that bad they would have it fixed by now. If not, I'm sure they will be offering a better charging cradle.