Any Harmony Universal Remote Users Here? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Worf101
06-24-2008, 04:43 AM
I've got a coffee table fulla remote and about 3 different "universal remotes" that turned out to be much more hassle than they were worth. Now my drummer says that the Logitech brand of Uni's are the shiznit. But I want to hear it straight from the horses mouth first. Anyone got any experiences they'd like to share?

Thanks in advance....

Da Worfster

f0rge
06-24-2008, 04:52 AM
i have an 880...so easy my GF can use it...

if that doesn't say it all then i dont know what will. it's really super easy once you set it up. it created "actions" like "watch tv" or "play xbox", so when you want to play xbox, all you do is press the "play xbox" button and the remote fires everything up, changes all the inputs to the correct ones and you're away to the races. when you're done there's one power off button that shuts everything down.

my only gripe is with the build quality, i've had mine for a couple of years and some of the buttons are getting sticky and dont click anymore. the quality doesnt really match the $250MSRP.

also, wait for sales, despite the $250MSRP i got my remote for $120 shipped from dell.

check out the Harmony One, that's what i would get, the quality looks much better.

f0rge
06-24-2008, 04:54 AM
that reply made it seem like the remote was hard to set up, it's not, it's done on your computer over the internet, and has just about every model available and is constantly updated for new models.

Rich-n-Texas
06-24-2008, 05:02 AM
Well, I'm not a horse ( :rolleyes: ) but I am an owner of the 880. L.J., musicman1999 and a few others here are also owners. Good experiences for me so far, but there's a lot more that can be done with it than what I'm using it for right now. It's a very powerful remote, and like f0rge said, it can be had for abou $120.

elapsed
06-24-2008, 08:52 AM
I own an 880, my parents have an 880, and I just got my uncle an 890. All fantastic remotes, highly recommend

I've had one replacement for a faulty remote where a button was stuck, Logitech support was exceptional, they quickly sent me a replacement remote with no shipping charges and no questions asked

L.J.
06-24-2008, 08:58 AM
I have a 880 and I love it. I paid $139 or something like that at Amazon. My wife and kid were able able to use it instantly. Before I had to turn everything on but now they never ask me to do anything. You can pretty much adjust anything you can possibly think of.

Rich-n-Texas
06-24-2008, 09:01 AM
I have a 880 and I love it. I paid $139 or something like that at Amazon. My wife and kid were able able to use it instantly. Before I had to turn everything on but now they never ask me to do anything. You can pretty much adjust anything you can possibly think of.
Might that not be kind of dangerous? :eek:

pixelthis
06-24-2008, 11:58 PM
I AM THE ODDBALL HERE, have a pronto, bought it five years ago before they complicated the hell outta it.
Regardless, get a decent universal, change your life, and make it a lot easier:1:

Groundbeef
06-25-2008, 03:32 AM
I have 2 harmony remotes. I have the 360 version in the basement, as that is where I have my 360. I bought that one because it has the 360 button scheme on it already.

It is pretty much a copy of the 550, except it has the actual X Y A B buttons for the XBOX. This is handy because I use the 360 for HD-DVD and DVD playback.

The 550 I use upstairs.

As stated by others, once you spend 10 minutes on your computer, and input all your devices, it d/l to the remote all your typical controls. I think there are options to also add your own "tweaks" but frankly I was too lazy to bother.

My wife who was constantly on my ass about the remote clutter now doesn't bat an eye to turn stuff on. It even controls my TiVO unti without trouble. DirecTV, HT in a box doesn't slow it down either.

It even has a "help" function that troubleshoots if a function isn't working.

And when I initially got it 3 years ago, I was having trouble with it shutting down my TiVO unit when I was done watching TV. I contacted Logitech, and talked to a tech personally. He logged onto my account, switched some settings, and made it so the TiVO wouldn't ever shut off. It was pretty cool!

I don't know the big difference between the 550 and the 880, but the 550 is around $100.

Rich-n-Texas
06-25-2008, 04:43 AM
If there were a remote control for the WIFE unit, maybe I'd get married. :yesnod:

Worf101
06-25-2008, 05:12 AM
If there were a remote control for the WIFE unit, maybe I'd get married. :yesnod:
I'm callin' Oprah on you...

Da Worfster

f0rge
06-25-2008, 05:56 AM
I don't know the big difference between the 550 and the 880, but the 550 is around $100.

colour screen and rechargeable battery with charging base.

function wise it's exactly the same.

frenchmon
06-25-2008, 09:22 AM
I have 2 harmony remotes. I have the 360 version in the basement, as that is where I have my 360. I bought that one because it has the 360 button scheme on it already.

It is pretty much a copy of the 550, except it has the actual X Y A B buttons for the XBOX. This is handy because I use the 360 for HD-DVD and DVD playback.

The 550 I use upstairs.

As stated by others, once you spend 10 minutes on your computer, and input all your devices, it d/l to the remote all your typical controls. I think there are options to also add your own "tweaks" but frankly I was too lazy to bother.

My wife who was constantly on my ass about the remote clutter now doesn't bat an eye to turn stuff on. It even controls my TiVO unti without trouble. DirecTV, HT in a box doesn't slow it down either.

It even has a "help" function that troubleshoots if a function isn't working.

And when I initially got it 3 years ago, I was having trouble with it shutting down my TiVO unit when I was done watching TV. I contacted Logitech, and talked to a tech personally. He logged onto my account, switched some settings, and made it so the TiVO wouldn't ever shut off. It was pretty cool!

I don't know the big difference between the 550 and the 880, but the 550 is around $100.

Thought about this remote. (550) Build quality seemed a little flimsy in my hand. I also read a few reviews about bottons sticking.

In three years have you had any trouble out of the bottons sticking, or the flimsy feel?

frenchmon

Groundbeef
06-25-2008, 09:34 AM
Thought about this remote. (550) Build quality seemed a little flimsy in my hand. I also read a few reviews about bottons sticking.

In three years have you had any trouble out of the bottons sticking, or the flimsy feel?

frenchmon

The 360 remote has been replaced once by BB because of a sticky button. It still worked, but required a fair amount of pressure to activate the function. Somewhat problematic as the button in question was "Down Volume".

Other than that they have worked flawlessly for 3 years.

As for the advantage of a base that recharges the 880, I say "Meh". I use rechargable AAA that last about 6 months. When they get low, I charge them when I go to bed, and its ready to go again in the am.

I am also not sure about the color screen bit. The 550 for upstairs has a blue LED glow, and the downstairs XBOX 360 has a green LED screen. Neither are hard on the eyes, and very easy to read in the dark. Remote also lights all keys in the dark when you push any button.

Worf101
06-25-2008, 09:38 AM
Thanks for the knowledge folks. I appreciate it.

Da Worfster

Rich-n-Texas
06-25-2008, 10:08 AM
That's it? "Thanks for the knowledge folks" ???

Don't you think Groundbeef and pix deserve some green reputation points?

f0rge
06-25-2008, 10:48 AM
Remote also lights all keys in the dark when you push any button.

oh that reminds me, the 880 has an accelerometer or something so it lights up when you pick it up, you dont even have to hit a button.

kexodusc
06-25-2008, 10:53 AM
I too have a Harmony - might be the 880 actually, twas a Christmas present. I use it, but I confess to using my receiver's learning remote more.

All the talk here makes me wanna explore its virtues a bit more though....hmmm

Groundbeef
06-25-2008, 11:45 AM
oh that reminds me, the 880 has an accelerometer or something so it lights up when you pick it up, you dont even have to hit a button.

So does the 550. I'm not making this up either. When it's inactive, like sitting on my coffee table and you walk in front of it, it lights up either.

Groundbeef
06-25-2008, 12:00 PM
That's it? "Thanks for the knowledge folks" ???

Don't you think Groundbeef and pix deserve some green reputation points?

No, he's a Borg. Just assimilates stuff from around him, but never reciprocates.

Oh, I'm sorry, he's a Romulan...I mean Klingon...Borg...whatever. They are all the same thing anyways. Just Aliens in tight pants. Ungrateful at that!

L.J.
06-25-2008, 12:53 PM
I too have a Harmony - might be the 880 actually, twas a Christmas present. I use it, but I confess to using my receiver's learning remote more.

All the talk here makes me wanna explore its virtues a bit more though....hmmm

Really :out:

Not sure which remote you got, but the one for the 2700 is a mess. It has like a thousand freakin' buttons :rolleyes5:

And don't get me started on that little zone 2 remote.

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2007/022/h022RXV3800-r.jpeg

kexodusc
06-25-2008, 01:39 PM
Really :out:

Not sure which remote you got, but the one for the 2700 is a mess. It has like a thousand freakin' buttons :rolleyes5:


That's her...I guess I just learn...Actually, come to think of it I do use the Harmony for the TV and DVD player, the Yamaha remote for the cable box, receiver, and CD player...
Damn.

L.J.
06-25-2008, 02:30 PM
That's her...I guess I just learn...Actually, come to think of it I do use the Harmony for the TV and DVD player, the Yamaha remote for the cable box, receiver, and CD player...
Damn.

I wouldn't mind the Yammie remote too much if it was just me, but I must admit, I'm pretty spoiled now that I've been using it for so long.

It works miracles for the wife though. This is a woman who was putting BR movies in the DVD player and asking why isn't it working. I think she finally gets it after explaining about 10 times now.

I have it setup pretty nicely too. I have 12 different activities set and have must tweaked out so you have complete control over most used features on the main remote screen.

Music Choice
Watch TV
PS3
Watch a DVD
Listen to CDs
CD Changer
Watch HDDVD
Watch TV/w Speakers
Outside Music(Zone2)
Network Music
Play Gamecube
Play Dreamcast

pixelthis
06-25-2008, 10:27 PM
No, he's a Borg. Just assimilates stuff from around him, but never reciprocates.

Oh, I'm sorry, he's a Romulan...I mean Klingon...Borg...whatever. They are all the same thing anyways. Just Aliens in tight pants. Ungrateful at that!


UMGRATEFULL FOR WHAT?
All of the missinfo you spew on a daily basis?
Good for a laugh I admit...:1:

BTW, found a pic of you, GM, and rich, which is which?

pixelthis
06-25-2008, 10:30 PM
oh that reminds me, the 880 has an accelerometer or something so it lights up when you pick it up, you dont even have to hit a button.


Part of our evil plan.
MAKE YOU EVEN TOO LAZY TO TURN ON A REMOTE.
Then we swoop in...:1:

jeskibuff
06-26-2008, 02:54 AM
I tried 2 of the Harmonys: the 659 and the 768. I didn't like the layout of the 659 - I like a remote that I can control by feel and you constantly had to LOOK at the Harmonys to find common buttons like Play, Pause and Mute. The 768 was especially flimsy, but I couldn't pass up the $50 price to check it out. My sister got one too. Mine had intermittent operation because of the poor design of the case, but Logitech replaced it with a 676 because they had discontinued the 768 (REALLY, I wonder why?). The 676 was promptly sold on eBay, mainly because I didn't like the button layout, I could claim it was "brand new/box never opened", and I wasn't thrilled at all with Harmony's setup process. I just didn't like the inability to tweak the control the way I wanted plus the way the devices would get out of sync with the remote (whether they were currently powered on or off).

My sister's 768 got a couple years of use before it started to malfunction. The scroll wheel started to work intermittently. I found a Home Theater Master MX-500 on eBay for just $40, shipping included! It was like brand new and a much nicer layout. The construction is far superior to the Harmonys. Although the setup is not as automated as Harmony's, the remote can be setup precisely the way you want it. There's no fussing with the automatic power-on fiascos, but it takes a few more button pushes to turn on what you want to turn on and turn off what you want to turn off.

I've had my Home Theatre Master MX-850 for about 3 years now. It's like an enhanced version of the MX-500 my sister has. Although I didn't get such an incredible deal on it that we got that MX-500 for, I've been totally satisfied with it. I would never go back to a Harmony. My sister (and brother-in-law) are "technologically challenged" and they both like the MX-500 much more than that Harmony.

Their Harmony still works (the scroll wheel just doesn't always register linearly) and is still in decent condition, complete with manual, CD and PC cord. I'm sure they'd part with it for $5 + shipping if anyone wants to try a Harmony on the cheap!

Groundbeef
06-26-2008, 08:58 AM
All of the missinfo you spew on a daily basis?


Got any links for that? Or are you just drooling in your cup again?

pixelthis
06-26-2008, 11:43 PM
Got any links for that? Or are you just drooling in your cup again?

Sorry, but the grays repoed my 500 teraflop per second machine, and I have a life, so others will have to dig into that.
However I will do research in my spare time, between supermodel boffing and world saving,
etc :1:

f0rge
06-27-2008, 06:02 AM
Play Dreamcast

:o you still have your dreamcast!

i miss mine, when i moved home from univ is broke somehow :(

i still have like 300 games for it, at least i think, they might have gone in the trash in the last move.

L.J.
06-27-2008, 06:16 AM
:o you still have your dreamcast!

i miss mine, when i moved home from univ is broke somehow :(

i still have like 300 games for it, at least i think, they might have gone in the trash in the last move.

Yeah, I have a bad habit of taking care of all of my stuff. Everything we own seems to last forever. My kid gets more use out of it than I do. But yeah, it still works just fine. We have a Nintendo that works too but it's boxed up.

My original PS1 finally died a few months ago but my PS2 is still going strong.

f0rge
06-27-2008, 06:21 AM
it was tied for my favorite system of all time with my super nintendo.

filecat13
07-08-2008, 10:04 PM
I've had a Harmony 880 for several years, and it's been a lifesaver for the GF. It's easy to set up, and easy to use once you get past the goofy ergonomics of it. All of the buttons and their descriptions are too odd, small, and impossible to read. But once you know what is where, it's pretty easy. The small screen helps with the big actions, like switching everything on to watch TV.

However, some of the buttons were weak even when new, and now they require too much pushing and messing around to get them to activate. The volume control works fine going down, but is a major pain to get going up.

I also have a Harmony 1000 touchscreen remote. It looks very cool, is easy to set up, and has a large amount of customization with the touchscreen-based controls. There are still some hard buttons, too, like volume, channel, mute, etc. The only downside is that the software is unreliable and it sometimes freezes or fails to complete its routines. This can be humiliating when you're trying to show off. :blush2:

Both remotes suffer from the dreaded out of sync issues. If one of your components is on and the remote thinks it's off, then everything goes to heck pretty quickly until you manually fix it (or push help and go through a number of steps to help your remote get back on track while your GF nags you about how it was supposed to be easy).

Rich-n-Texas
07-11-2008, 11:46 AM
I couldn't find the Harmony 880 thread that I had asked some setup questions in (:mad2: ) so I'm just going to piggyback on Klingon guys thread instead...

Can someone with a Yamaha 2700/3800 receiver tell me how to setup the remote so I can put the receiver into Internet Radio mode as well as change stations? What's throwing me is the switch that has to be made from "AMP" to "Source" on the Yamaha remote. Is this done with a "sequence" on the 880?

L.J.
07-11-2008, 01:12 PM
I couldn't find the Harmony 880 thread that I had asked some setup questions in (:mad2: ) so I'm just going to piggyback on Klingon guys thread instead...

Can someone with a Yamaha 2700/3800 receiver tell me how to setup the remote so I can put the receiver into Internet Radio mode as well as change stations? What's throwing me is the switch that has to be made from "AMP" to "Source" on the Yamaha remote. Is this done with a "sequence" on the 880?

Rich, I'm not completely sure what your trying to do(I haven't messed with the network radio in awhile), but you may have to "learn" whatever your trying to do from the Yammie remote. Since your gonna be in "AMP" mode, learn the "SOURCE" commands you want to use and put them on your main screen.

I've had to do this for a few different things. I also have my zone 2 set up as a completely different AVR since it can be turned on/off independently from the main system.

pixelthis
07-11-2008, 08:04 PM
I programmed a 550 yesterday for a friend with no net access,
and was very impressed.
I am sure I missed a lot, but it seems like automation was a
tad too intensive.
Also no pictures in the device mamager, I want pictures, dang it.
PLEASE tell me you can configure this thing a little more precisely?
My pronto has to die someday, and I will need a replacement:1:

frenchmon
08-07-2008, 06:59 PM
Walked into Tigerdirect last week and found the 550 for $49. Talked the manager down to $43. because there was no software, instruction book or usb cord.

The software and instuction book is down-loadable, and the usb cord is universal...I have lots of them.

Got it all set up...aint bad at all, considering for 43 bucks.

frenchmon