Logitech harmony remotes
Discussion
Hi all, I have been looking at a 'one for all' type remote control and have seen the harmony one, it seems to be pretty comprehensive in its abilities and in what it can control and better still, you are able to programme them so that you can press one button for a variety of functionality.
Does anyone on here have one and can give me an ctual users view of the remote as opposed to anything that will be biased towards wanting to sell me one. Is the lack of coloured buttons really an issue, when apparently there are some on the touch screen or something like that. Are you limited to the number of one touch programmes you can set or the functions within these programmes.
Are they worth the money is what I think I am ultimately asking, I have read that people have bought them and literally never needed their OEM remotes again, is this true?
Cheers in advance for any answers I get on this.
Does anyone on here have one and can give me an ctual users view of the remote as opposed to anything that will be biased towards wanting to sell me one. Is the lack of coloured buttons really an issue, when apparently there are some on the touch screen or something like that. Are you limited to the number of one touch programmes you can set or the functions within these programmes.
Are they worth the money is what I think I am ultimately asking, I have read that people have bought them and literally never needed their OEM remotes again, is this true?
Cheers in advance for any answers I get on this.
I got a harmony 900, more expensive but I wanted the rf and the colour buttons. It works, but was a royal pain to set up. Very fiddly and lots of tweaking required. That's largely due to their software being only barely compatible with the latest macs, but we got there in the end. My wife likes it, but it does occasionally get things wrong and you it's not completely intuitive to use beyond basic activities if you are not tech savvy.
We've been using our Harmony One+ for around 6 months now, no real issues as such, once you accept IT is in charge of everything, as soon as you confuse it by switching the tv off or on by hand, it is out of sync when IT next tries to turn it on/off.
Its great for our setup which is probably not uncommon, tv for the screen, satellite for the channels, amp for the sound, all can be sprung to life just by pressing the 'Watch TV' button, and then controlling the correct buttons on the correct devices, without any need to select the device.
We've tried most (reasonably priced) brands of universal remote over the years, and this has probably been the easiest to live with. especially with the docking station charger.
Only slight gripe is you can only JUST reach some of the buttons holding it single handed.
Its great for our setup which is probably not uncommon, tv for the screen, satellite for the channels, amp for the sound, all can be sprung to life just by pressing the 'Watch TV' button, and then controlling the correct buttons on the correct devices, without any need to select the device.
We've tried most (reasonably priced) brands of universal remote over the years, and this has probably been the easiest to live with. especially with the docking station charger.
Only slight gripe is you can only JUST reach some of the buttons holding it single handed.
Edited by SeanyD on Thursday 29th March 15:44
I've got a Harmony 1100...... wanted it because it looked fab, in it's tablet form.
as mentioned above....
- setting up takes time, and lots of fiddling with settings which you have to do whilst connected to the computer/net so a right pain each time, but once you've got it just how you want it great.
- yep if you turn something off/on, switch input by hand or by other remote it screws the whole sequence out.... so you then have to go through get evry think back into sequence, to be honest once you've done it a few times it's not much of an effort.
- can't get it to work properly with remote control lights.... on/off not an issue... but dimmer is a no no.... either on or off, so have to keep the original remote to hand for that
- also if you damage them, like I did, put a scrape on the screen with watch clasp whilst I feel a sleep on the sofa there is no repair service. I ended up buying a new one instead.
as mentioned above....
- setting up takes time, and lots of fiddling with settings which you have to do whilst connected to the computer/net so a right pain each time, but once you've got it just how you want it great.
- yep if you turn something off/on, switch input by hand or by other remote it screws the whole sequence out.... so you then have to go through get evry think back into sequence, to be honest once you've done it a few times it's not much of an effort.
- can't get it to work properly with remote control lights.... on/off not an issue... but dimmer is a no no.... either on or off, so have to keep the original remote to hand for that
- also if you damage them, like I did, put a scrape on the screen with watch clasp whilst I feel a sleep on the sofa there is no repair service. I ended up buying a new one instead.
I have a Harmony One+. We wouldn't live without it now. It makes life so easy, especially if you have a lot of devices. To get the most out of it, you have to "get" the idea of "Activities". Once you have done that you will be fine; it's the best multi-remote out there.
P.S. Logitech support is excellent. I e-mailed them about a fault on a previous Harmony remote, and they sent a brand new replacement without seeing a receipt or proof-of-purchase.
P.S. Logitech support is excellent. I e-mailed them about a fault on a previous Harmony remote, and they sent a brand new replacement without seeing a receipt or proof-of-purchase.
megy said:
Are they worth the money is what I think I am ultimately asking, I have read that people have bought them and literally never needed their OEM remotes again, is this true?
I have had a Harmony One for about 4 yrs and have never needed my OEM remotes 
My OH gets into arguments with it, she still hasn't adapted to the fact that you have to *wait* for it to wake everything up before you can put it down. Efforts to explain that this is actually easier than using each remote individually have fallen on deaf ears.
I've got the 1100 which the GF got my for Christmas and I've found it pretty easy to set up, although the software didn't work with my Mac for some reason.
Its quite fiddley when you want to input separate delays and output signals, but once you know what to do its not too bad.
When controlling the TV etc, i find the Activities very good, but if you want to do something in between, like say change a setting on your AV amp, then its a bit too many buttons to press to work smoothly. Its ok, but it could be better
Its quite fiddley when you want to input separate delays and output signals, but once you know what to do its not too bad.
When controlling the TV etc, i find the Activities very good, but if you want to do something in between, like say change a setting on your AV amp, then its a bit too many buttons to press to work smoothly. Its ok, but it could be better
justin220 said:
I've got the 1100
When controlling the TV etc, i find the Activities very good, but if you want to do something in between, like say change a setting on your AV amp, then its a bit too many buttons to press to work smoothly. Its ok, but it could be better
You can set/asign the settings you fiddle with most to one of the touch screens to negate going into the setting for the actual remote, thus only a button away from the relavant feature you want When controlling the TV etc, i find the Activities very good, but if you want to do something in between, like say change a setting on your AV amp, then its a bit too many buttons to press to work smoothly. Its ok, but it could be better
I have been using my Harmony One for around 2 years.
It controls my tv, sky, projector, xbox and WD TV unit.
Took around 20 minutes to set it all up which included entering my fav channels and adding pictures to the channels.
best bit of kit I have bought, only one remote on the table is a bonus too.
only down side is even after 2 years the wife cant work it so I am continually showing her.
It controls my tv, sky, projector, xbox and WD TV unit.
Took around 20 minutes to set it all up which included entering my fav channels and adding pictures to the channels.
best bit of kit I have bought, only one remote on the table is a bonus too.
only down side is even after 2 years the wife cant work it so I am continually showing her.
I've had a few Harmony remotes over the years. Started off with a 525, then upgraded to the 885 with had build in rechargebles & dock and colour screen. That eventually died, buttons unresponsive and screen cracked. Logitech offered me 50% off a new one, even though the 885 was 2nd hand and years old! Now got the 900. Bit posher, very nice. It uses RF, to fire off IR zappers place strategically in your cabinets etc. No mucking around having to keep the remote pointing at your kit.
As mentioned above, if your kit just has a power on/off toggle, it can be a pain, as the remote doesn't know if the item is already on or off, just makes assumption from what it sent previously - which is fine until you use another remote, press button manually, or fail to point your remote properly and the item misses the command. That said, many devices do have a discrete power-on and power-off command, in their database, even if the OEM remote just has a single button power toggle. This sorts matters out, as the remote can send power-on as many times as it likes, but the device will stay powered on. Some devices down need some manual tweaking to use these though.
I'd recommend the ones with rechargeable batteries built in. The old 525 went from 4 AAA's in about a month (rechargeable Mg-Hd's). The RF system is great, but pricey. Agreed the software to configure them is a bit pants. Basically a website, built into an app, that forces you to click through about 2 dozen pages to tweak basic options (e.g. change 'Watch Telly' activity to use input 7 on AV receiver). And only Win/Mac support. Also getting my Mac to see the plugged in Harmony 900 needed some mucking about in the network setup.
Still, once setup, you don't go near the software until you buy new kit. The hardware is good, solid, stands up well to kids. Great for getting kids and wife to use complicated cinema setup. They're not cheap, but you get what you pay for. They do have good 2nd hand value too, for when you want to move up the range.
As mentioned above, if your kit just has a power on/off toggle, it can be a pain, as the remote doesn't know if the item is already on or off, just makes assumption from what it sent previously - which is fine until you use another remote, press button manually, or fail to point your remote properly and the item misses the command. That said, many devices do have a discrete power-on and power-off command, in their database, even if the OEM remote just has a single button power toggle. This sorts matters out, as the remote can send power-on as many times as it likes, but the device will stay powered on. Some devices down need some manual tweaking to use these though.
I'd recommend the ones with rechargeable batteries built in. The old 525 went from 4 AAA's in about a month (rechargeable Mg-Hd's). The RF system is great, but pricey. Agreed the software to configure them is a bit pants. Basically a website, built into an app, that forces you to click through about 2 dozen pages to tweak basic options (e.g. change 'Watch Telly' activity to use input 7 on AV receiver). And only Win/Mac support. Also getting my Mac to see the plugged in Harmony 900 needed some mucking about in the network setup.
Still, once setup, you don't go near the software until you buy new kit. The hardware is good, solid, stands up well to kids. Great for getting kids and wife to use complicated cinema setup. They're not cheap, but you get what you pay for. They do have good 2nd hand value too, for when you want to move up the range.
Hoover. said:
- can't get it to work properly with remote control lights.... on/off not an issue... but dimmer is a no no.... either on or off, so have to keep the original remote to hand for that
What light switches do you have? I used a Harmony 1000 with Lutron switches and it all worded fine. The dimmer function never got boring as it gave me a slide bar you just run your finger over Autopilot said:
Hoover. said:
- can't get it to work properly with remote control lights.... on/off not an issue... but dimmer is a no no.... either on or off, so have to keep the original remote to hand for that
What light switches do you have? I used a Harmony 1000 with Lutron switches and it all worded fine. The dimmer function never got boring as it gave me a slide bar you just run your finger over maybe I need to drop logitech a line, it may need a little more programming by them on their data base.
Hoover. said:
Mines a GET...... Can turn on/off or up the light, but as soon as touch the button to lower it turns it off. I tried adjusting the the setting which varies the speed of signal but to no avail....
maybe I need to drop logitech a line, it may need a little more programming by them on their data base.
Yip, drop them a line. I had he same problem and I had to do that with my ONE and GET dimmer. They just add a few commands to your account for you to try.maybe I need to drop logitech a line, it may need a little more programming by them on their data base.
Superb. Turns on TV, A/V, Sky Box with one button. Then does the same for DVD and switches to all the correct inputs with another button press.
Wife can't understand that you have to select "Device" from the menu first
I found it very easy to set up on a Mac. Download software, plug in Harmony and then just work through the database of devices you want to control.
Wife can't understand that you have to select "Device" from the menu first
I found it very easy to set up on a Mac. Download software, plug in Harmony and then just work through the database of devices you want to control.
Just reprogramme the soft buttons for those devices, so she doesn't have to select Device first?
My mum was the funniest - she just couldn't ge tthe hang of it being touch screen and got confused because whenever she picked it up (by the touch screen end) random things would turn on :lol:
My mum was the funniest - she just couldn't ge tthe hang of it being touch screen and got confused because whenever she picked it up (by the touch screen end) random things would turn on :lol:
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