freonchill

discussion time:

im looking at getting a harmony remote
primarily so i can have 1 remote for my living room (rather than 4-5)

components
Sony TV (not worried about this, it will be supported)
Panasonic 5.1 receiver (not worried about this, it will be supported)
PS3 (i know i need the logitech adapter for the harmony to work with it)
PC (brief reading shows that some models have RF, and some have media center support, but i doubt it will work with my ATI remote RF device without some hacking, might just have to get a IR media center remote (so i have the dongle adapter), but i still think that is a moot point unless i can make it wake from USB from the IR adapter... doubtful!? (especially since its an old p4 intel oem board (no features)

so i guess that really i will still have 2-3 remotes even if i get a harmony without additional adapters. they all seem to have the basic programmable features. either way, just wanted to peoples views on the different harmony models, seems to go like this:

LOW END - HIGH END
monochrome - color lcd
limited device control (quantity) - no limit
(signal) IR - RF, IR
owner battery - rechargeable

im looking to not spend over $50 on the remote itself
and other than the lowest model (5xx series) only supporting 5 devices
looks like the 6xx & 7xx can be had for $40-60 (used/refurb) and have 7 or more devices supported...

thanks

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lothodon

i had two, gave up on both.

easy to program, terrible to use. there is such a delay when using it that i just couldn't take it anymore. plus, the "macro" keys always seemed hit or miss.

example. hit "watch a movie" and it'll turn on the tv, the stereo, the dvd player, set the tv to dvd input, set the stereo to dvd, and your all good, right....NOPE.

if your aim is off just a bit, it'll miss one step and your then stuck trying to get to that menu of that component to turn it to it's proper state.

plus, what if the tv was already on, yup, it turned it off instead of on.

there are a MILE of issues i could get into, like battery life, CONSTANT tweaking, or should i say endless tweaking, being forced to set up an account just to see what components logitech supports, ps3 (like you mentioned, which was my primary dvd player) and others.

all in all, i ended up using the original remotes far more often to fix the issues the harmony had. my opinion, simplify your setup as much as possible and live with the original remotes.

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Jim

I'm with Lothodon on this one.

My Misses got me a Harmony One for Christmas from Best Buy (about $275). Her best friend and hubby have an older model and she thought I'd like it.


I already cross program my present remotes (Shaw/Motorolla PVR Cable Box, Toshiba HDTV, Sony 6.1 Reciever) for each other; including my Pioneer DVD player but not the PS3 - I don't think that would work...

The added functionality of the Macros didn't seem to justify the cost. And the issue of the present state of the device (on or off) would just confuse things further, and frustrate the whole family.

So I returned it after New Year's unopened.

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Regards,

Jim

snakeye

Gotta say the same...I have a H628 and a H880 Wanted one remote for the complete system...JVC receiver, tape deck, CD player, DVD player and Panasonic TV and DVD player/recorder....everything programs fine for a one button on mode but I experience the same thing with one of them not coming on as well.

I had hoped that these remotes would control more of the special functions of each component....Neither one did so I still have to have each of the components standing by or get and changed it on the component itself.

Both remotes always seem to forget whether or not it is on or off.....the H880 requires recharging in a cradle so if you forget to charge it you have to wait. The H628 requires 2 AA batteries.

~o

freonchill

is there another brand of universal remote that has programmability that WORKS?

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lothodon

i haven't found any.

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cajun crawdaddy

I was using 5 different remote and it was driving me crazy and my wife could not get anything to work without calling me. I bought the 670 on ebay for $47 including shipping. Then I started programing and wanted to burn the dam thing. Then I realized I did not understand how it worked. Once I figured it out I love it and so does my wife. The only thing is when controling multipule divices you have to keep pointing it at he devices until it starts or shutdowns things. I guess it is turning them on or off one at a time. I wish I could have afforded a RF one so you would not have to have point of site. It has a little learning curve but once you learn it you'll never want to go back to multipule remotes again. And the online help it great. You can call them and they will talk you through problems. But that's just me. What the hell do I know.

Cajun

freonchill

do you program it on the pc or on the remote?

i know you can usb plug it for updates & such, but i would LOVE to program it on there, that way you have time to think it out and get it working RIGHT

then yea, all you have to do it hold on steady for a minute when using it.

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lothodon

both that i tried were programmed from the pc, as all my components were included in the software.

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insertdisk

I love mine. It did take a while to tweak it, there is a setting for everything, delay times in case a particular component is sensitive to a previous ir command for a different component, etc.

My wife could not operate the system without this remote. We sit about 12 feet from the system so directionality issues are not there. They do have a remote or an add on that uses RF technology so directionality would not be an issue at all.

I think you can download the software that programs them and look at the interface although I am not sure if it will open without a remote plugged in. Just checked and you can. Go download the software and check it out.

The only problem I have anymore is sometimes my onkyo receiver misses the on command. I replace/recharge the batteries when this happens and it fixes the issue.

Also, if I use the remote to turn on a device then the system "knows" that device is on and the scenarios mentioned above do not seem to happen. I always use the remote.

It is extremely tweakable and their support staff have been a big help when I needed it to figure out their programming.