Thinking about a Harmony universal remote, please help

[jmanlp]

Hello, I'm probably going to place an order for the harmony 880 remote either tonight or tomorrow. I want it to be easier for my wife to work the home theater and I am tired of remotes all over my coffee table. I just wanted to know one or two things...

First, what happens if the remote gets out of sync, what do you do? For instance my tv doesnt have direct button input selection, and my dvd player doesn't have seperate on/off commands. Say one of these devices doesn't receive part of the macro and so the remote thinks the dvd player was successfully activated but in reality it is still off. Is it easy or hard to reconcile something like this? could someone kind of explain the process? I'm hoping even if something like this went wrong my wife or a guest could easily fix it themselves without having to call me, or just not watching tv or a movie.

I guess the only other thing I want to know is does anyone have some compaints or praise for the remote not already mentioned in the audioholics review? Thanks.

 

[AndrewLyles]

Hello, I'm probably going to place an order for the harmony 880 remote either tonight or tomorrow. I want it to be easier for my wife to work the home theater and I am tired of remotes all over my coffee table. I just wanted to know one or two things...

First, what happens if the remote gets out of sync, what do you do? For instance my tv doesnt have direct button input selection, and my dvd player doesn't have seperate on/off commands. Say one of these devices doesn't receive part of the macro and so the remote thinks the dvd player was successfully activated but in reality it is still off. Is it easy or hard to reconcile something like this? could someone kind of explain the process? I'm hoping even if something like this went wrong my wife or a guest could easily fix it themselves without having to call me, or just not watching tv or a movie.

I guess the only other thing I want to know is does anyone have some compaints or praise for the remote not already mentioned in the audioholics review? Thanks.

Jmanlp:
I just got one of these (Harmony 880) for christmas and have been using it at the family's house until I get back home to my set-up. The set-up process was pretty striaght forward and simple, you do need the make and model number of each component, but once you have it there are no real complications. You can fully customize the software buttons, a reassign many of the hardwired buttons.

To answer your question, I have been extremely pleased with how the remote deals with an "out of sync" situation. Simply press the help button on the upper right hand of the remote control and it will ask a simple question that you answer "Yes" or "No" to. Example if I'm trying to watch a DVD I press Activities --> Watch a Movie... the remote then turns on the DVD player, in my parents case sets their player to DVD from VHS, turns the TV on if necessecary, and then sets the TV input to DVD. Once this happens the remote displays a prompt "The system is now set for watching a move, if there is a problem please press the help button." Or someting very similiar to that. Lets say that the TV input was not set incorrectly so I press the help button. The remote will ask very simple questions with yes no answers... "Is the DVD player set to play DVDs?" You answer yes or no... answering yes lets the remote move to the next step, answer no and the remote takes an action, and then asks if what it just did fixed the problem. It can get very specific, after a while, not letting anything slip through the cracks and remedying the problem. So far the remote has had no problem re-syncing with my system using this process.

It should be noted that if you get tired of this feature, or you find it annoying, it can be disabled, but it is very nice for people who are technically inapt... much like my parents when diagnosing their setup.

Once you are used to the remote I don't think that you will be going back to the regular one ever again. Hope this answered your question.

 

[charmed101]

Hi, I also got a harmony for X'mass. Very easy to set up ( half hour from start to finish ), once its set up, your kids can use it, its that easy. If a problem comes up, the help button can solve almost anything.
This remote is replacing 5 remotes for me,, which is remote bliss !
Get one and you'll never go back !

 

[jmanlp]

Awesome, thanks for the help guys, I was hoping it would have a feature just like the one you described. One last question, (although I will probably order it right now anyways) does it automatically map the rest of your buttons for your device, for instance, say on my TV I want to change the aspect from stretch to full or say I want to enter the OSD on my receiver, do these buttons automatically get mapped to different buttons on the remote, or do you have to program each one. Thanks again.

 

[AndrewLyles]

Awesome, thanks for the help guys, I was hoping it would have a feature just like the one you described. One last question, (although I will probably order it right now anyways) does it automatically map the rest of your buttons for your device, for instance, say on my TV I want to change the aspect from stretch to full or say I want to enter the OSD on my receiver, do these buttons automatically get mapped to different buttons on the remote, or do you have to program each one. Thanks again.

When you perform the initial swt-up on the remote, every feature, including many that were not on my OEM remotes, gets stored in the remote which ca be accessed via the LCD screen. The obviousbuttons get mapped to the hard wired ones and everything else is customizeable via the 8 (i think) buttons located next to the screen.

 

[GeorgeM]

"I'm probably going to place an order for the harmony 880 remote either tonight or tomorrow."

I hope your intended source is selling the 880 for a price significantly lower than the suggested retail of $250.00. They are available for approx $180.00 (US).

-GeorgeM

 

[jmanlp]

Yep, i ordered mine and payed about $180 shipped, can't wait until i gets here. Thanks for all the help guys, this thing looks like exactly what I need and want.

 

[Khellandros66]

You won't be dissapointed at all.

I have the 880, and upon my recommendatation my neighboors got one (love it btw) and my dad's just came today so later when he gets home we'll set it up.

~Bob

 

[Nick250]

Yep, i ordered mine and payed about $180 shipped, can't wait until i gets here. Thanks for all the help guys, this thing looks like exactly what I need and want.

All this Harmony talk has me thinking this is a good way apease a wicked case of upgradeities that I am experienceing at the moment. Where did you order from? And would it also work on my Motorola digital cable box?

Nick

 

[westcott]

I think the Harmony remotes are the best bang for the buck.

I bought the 688 model because it is supported by Next Generation.

They provide RF trans\rec system that allows me to control my equipment from anywhere in the house.

May not help existing owners but potential buyers may want to take this into consideration if line of sight is an issue.

 

[Naves74]

I just got the "lowley" 659 from my dad for Xmas. And I have tried a couple of different all-in-one remotes in the past. I had a Cameleon but it was a piece of crap. Logitech has really got their stuff together on this line I would have to say. I replaced 6 remotes with this one and it is the cheapest harmony remote and I love the thing.

My girl friend sat down when I programmed we had this conversation

girlfiend -- "ohh god not another remote, now I have to learn all this crap all over agian."

Me -- "No, honey what do you want to do."

girlfriend -- "Just watch tv that is all!!!!"

Me -- "Press watch TV"

girlfiend -- presses one button TV turns on switches to component, turns reciever on and switches to DTV and controls PVR so she cant watch her soaps " Ohh my god I like this one!!"


No muss no fuss just works and learns which is rad.

 

[jmanlp]

I got mine from comp-u-plus, here just got my tracking number today, only a few more days. I kinda wanted this to stave off upgraditis too. I'm not buying any electronics until the new standards are hammered out w/ hd dvds and all, and no speakers until I see Klipsch's new ref. line so what does that leave me to buy? I mean, I gotta buy something for my HT, I am human after all...

 

[westcott]

I got mine from comp-u-plus, here and no speakers until I see Klipsch's new ref. line so what does that leave me to buy? I mean, I gotta buy something for my HT, I am human after all...

You wont be disappointed with the Harmony remote. My wife loves it! She listens to the system more now than she ever did in the past.

What reference speakers are you considering?

 

[jmanlp]

Namely the RF-83 and 63, but I will have to give all the new reference speakers coming out a listen.

 

[darien87]

When you perform the initial swt-up on the remote, every feature, including many that were not on my OEM remotes, gets stored in the remote which ca be accessed via the LCD screen. The obviousbuttons get mapped to the hard wired ones and everything else is customizeable via the 8 (i think) buttons located next to the screen.

This isn't exactly right. The extra buttons that are not connected to the hard-wired buttons of the remote DO get connected to the 8 buttons next to the LCD screen. However you DON'T have any control over which buttons the remote assigns them to. You can go in and delete the extraneous buttons though. Of the 20 or so buttons that the remote programmed via it's online database, I ended up deleting all but about 5 or so.

I got mine a few days ago, and it wasn't as easy for me to set up as these other guys have said. I had a problem with the remote not picking the correct input on my TV. With my TV you have to press a button to bring up the input menu, scroll over to the input you want and then press "enter", (3 seperate button presses). It turns out that it was a problem with the way my TV has the inputs ordered. On the review screen, the inputs are one way, and on the menu screen, the inputs are shown another way. You just have to make sure that you have your inputs keyed into the Harmony EXACTLY the same way they are on the TV.

It seems like I finally got everything working right tonight. Although it did mess up once tonight when I tried it. But other than that, it's a pretty damn cool piece of equipment. I think I can FINALLY get rid of my other remotes. The other universal remotes I've used in the past, never really did everything I wanted them to do. So far, this one does.

Set up was kind of a pain in the ***. And it's kind of hit or miss with their customer service line. I got good and bad people there. But once you get it going, it's great.

 

[jmanlp]

Well i did the initial setup on my 880 last night and I must say so far I'm pretty impressed. I will be doing some reading when I have a little time in the near future to get it adjusted more the way I want it. Namely there are a few buttons that I can access through the devices menu that I would like to appear on the main menu when on of my tasks or whatever is in use. For instance I would like the tuning up and down buttons to be on the menu when I am listening to the radio function, right now only the presets up and down are on there. Not that major since my presets are programmed but some days going up or down a little helps pick up a station better depending on the weather and whatnot.

Other that a few very minor things I'm very very impressed with the usability. My other remotes are stashed in a decorative box on the end table like always, but my wife wants to keep this one out on the table (probably because she actually knows how to use it). If I ever needed to seriously get into the menus or OSD I could just grab the main remote, but for day to day activity this thing rocks. Thanks guys.

 

[Kandiru]

I have had Harmonys for 4 years and will never ( i say loud and clear NEVER) go back to non-web-based remotes ever again. Imagine ordering the remote and having it already programmed before you receive the shipment.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and go to Sam's Club or net and get the SST659 for less than one hundred.

Thos geniuses at Harmony deserve a Nobel prize, i cried at how easy it was to set up my entire system on one remote when they came out with their first 10 button remote.

 

[gnagel]

I have had Harmonys for 4 years and will never ( i say loud and clear NEVER) go back to non-web-based remotes ever again. Imagine ordering the remote and having it already programmed before you receive the shipment.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and go to Sam's Club or net and get the SST659 for less than one hundred.

Thos geniuses at Harmony deserve a Nobel prize, i cried at how easy it was to set up my entire system on one remote when they came out with their first 10 button remote.

Which Harmony remote would you recommend for my situation?

I will be using it with a Comcast HDTV box (with built-in DVR). It should also be able to control my DVD player, CD player, receiver and Lutron lighting.

Would the SST659 be able to accomplish this? Or should I be looking at the 880?

Thanks

 

[RMK!]

Which Harmony remote would you recommend for my situation?

I will be using it with a Comcast HDTV box (with built-in DVR). It should also be able to control my DVD player, CD player, receiver and Lutron lighting.

Would the SST659 be able to accomplish this? Or should I be looking at the 880?

Thanks

My 659 handles my Comcast HD DVR (Motorola 6412), AV receiver, CD/DVD player and DLP display. It is an easy to program/use remote. I'm sure the 880 is very nice and has a few more features. Let your wallet be you guide.