At CES Unveiled yesterday, we got a sneak peek of Logitech's newest touchscreen remote, the Harmony 1100. Of course, we weren't allowed to report about it until today. The new remote differs from the original Harmony 1000 in a number of ways. First, it's black, not two-tone silver. Second, Logitech promises it won't randomly freeze up like the 1000 did (though I'm not sure that's something that was ever actually admitted to...) A customizable, 3.5-inch full-color touch screen adorns the front and hard buttons are limited to Volume, Channel, Mute, Replay and Navigation controls (less than the 1000). This remote is more configurable than the 1000 in that Logitech is claiming users can do more to customize the LCD screen and arrangement of buttons and controls.
That looks fancy... but I think I would still prefer a smaller remote than can easily be held in one hand like my Harmony One. Was there any mention of a newer version of the One, maybe something with RF?
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That looks fancy... but I think I would still prefer a smaller remote than can easily be held in one hand like my Harmony One. Was there any mention of a newer version of the One, maybe something with RF?
Totally AGREE! The Harmony ONE is their best remote from a functionality (hard buttons, one handed operation) & coolness (some touchscreen with good graphics) stand point. The fact that they haven't done this in RF yet is incredibly shortsighted on their end!
That being said, the RF interface/connectivity issues (which supposedly were fxed with a software update?) & response of the 1000 was abysmal. I replaced 4 of them in the 1st half of last year for clients & never sold it again. I'll try the 1100 in my home for a bit 1st before I sell it again.
But the ONE is where it's at IMO.
Last edited by InTheIndustry : 01-08-2009 at 01:57 PM.
My 880 still works fine for me, especially since I finally got a Bluetooth/IR adapter and it fully controls my PS 3.
Cool lookin' remote though.
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I was ready to bet big money that at CES Logitech would announce a RF version of the ONE with bluetooth (read: PS3) support. While the rf ONE might still happen, this announcement make the BT support VERY unlikely.
At CES Unveiled yesterday, we got a sneak peek of Logitech's newest touchscreen remote, the Harmony 1100. Of course, we weren't allowed to report about it until today. The new remote differs from the original Harmony 1000 in a number of ways. First, it's black, not two-tone silver. Second, Logitech promises it won't randomly freeze up like the 1000 did (though I'm not sure that's something that was ever actually admitted to...) A customizable, 3.5-inch full-color touch screen adorns the front and hard buttons are limited to Volume, Channel, Mute, Replay and Navigation controls (less than the 1000). This remote is more configurable than the 1000 in that Logitech is claiming users can do more to customize the LCD screen and arrangement of buttons and controls.
I have some comments about their remotes and while they will probably sound awfully haesh, it's because I lost a buttload because of their issues. I won't charge a customer because a product has problems caused by growing pains and bringing a product to market before it's ready, so...
Harmony was making changes to the available buttons early on in the 1000's life but they weren't coming very fast and because of the remote's OS, they were difficult to implement, according to tier 2 dealer support. Also, they're painfully aware of the freeze-up issue and won't deny it existed. They finally fixed that in August of '07, about the time they took Z-wave control and killed their dealer partnership program, both with absolutely no communication with their distributors or dealers. All of the buttons are in the same places, although the lines at the sides of the touch screen are new, as is the color.
I also have to disagree about the batteries "never needing replacement". I just had a customer call with a <1 year old Harmony 890 Pro (the shiny new nickel they tossed to people who had major problems and complaints with the 1000) because at first, it wouldn't always light up when placed in the charging cradle and when I went on Friday, the battery had bulged and was totally dead. She doesn't leave it in the charger, either. Harmony only sells replacement batteries through their website and not through dealers or distributors. In fact, when I have called about batteries, tech support knew very little about what generic replacements will work and have the same capacity, so they refer people to Batteries Plus or Radio Shack. The 890 uses a 950 mAh 3.7V battery and the 1000 uses a 1350mAh 3.7V, neither of which is carried by these retailers although BP has a 750mAh part. Best Buy can't get them, a dealer shouldn't have to stock them and I really don't consider making them available only online to be good customer service, especially when a complex system makes using the OEM remotes A) confusing, B) frustrating and C) unnecessary when it would be easy enough to have a supply network in place or an available direct replacement instead of having to call or drive around, hoping to find one.
One thing I would like to see is this style with hard buttons for the numbers.
That said, I really like the 1000 and it will do things they tell people it won't. The two I sold are at one house, one for each system and there is some overlap of control, so the main one can power up/down and control volume for the whole house system, if needed. Their daughter was 3-1/2 when I had the system to the point of being operable but needing fine tuning of the programming and if she wanted to watch a DVD or Cable, she was completely able to. She also told her mom that she didn't like to go to her cousin's house because she didn't like the way their system worked.
That looks fancy... but I think I would still prefer a smaller remote than can easily be held in one hand like my Harmony One. Was there any mention of a newer version of the One, maybe something with RF?
This one will sit on your leg or an armrest and you can operate it very easily with one hand.
Do a firmware update of you still have it. I haven't heard a peep about issues from my customers since September of '07.
I was onsite for a customer in late July '08. Installing computers and our management software. They had a nice 50" Panny Plasma, Onkyo 605, Paradigm, Samsung BR player and the Logitech 1000 remote.
I was scheduled there for 3 days and actually finished a day early. The customer said that the AV guy could not get everything working the way they wanted (but very doable). The biggest thing they needed was 2 zone (inside and out). I spent an entire 8 hour day with that thing. Three calls to Logitech. The button response was horrible, the macro programming was horrible. I ended up showing them how to simply punch a few buttons on the receiver to do what they wanted. I most definitely let them know to get their money back on the remote. Logitech was less than forth coming about the performance of the 1000.
Logitech for a whole list of reasons is on my crap list of vendors. Everything from their Web cam software to the 1000 remote. I basically have sworn them off.
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Logitech Harmony 1100 RF Touchscreen Remote
Linear Mode
