Which remote do I choose

[jeffvee]

My H/T guy is trying to sell me a Universal Remote (brand) control unit for 400.00 I think it's the MX 850. Plus he has to send out one of his tech dudes to program it for another 75 bucks. How do these compare to any of the Harmony Remotes that cost a lot less?
I'm not concerned with having to control these components behind walls or cabinet doors. I'm fine with just an IR type.

Here's what I currently operate:

H/K AVR 630
Yamaha DVC-750 DVD player
TV
VCR

In the near future I may have a dvd burner.

 

[jcPanny]

Remotes

Unless you want to pay the guy $75 every time you add or change one of your A/V components, I would recommend the harmony remote. The range in price from $100-300 and are easy to program using their website interface.

 

[agarwalro]

I have the Logitec Harmony 880. Got it on eBay for $190.00 shipped. Works like a charm. Here is its review by Audioholics,

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/LogitechHarmony880remotecontrol.php

 

[jeffvee]

Thanks, that's a fine review of the 880.

 

[brian32672]

Personally I like the Pronto's much more. As far as programming, all you need to really know is how to type on a keyboard and how to read a manual. Manual may not even be needed if you are somewhat computer savvy.
Here is a great place to start.
I have used the Pronto TSU3000 as a starting place - but this place also has a clicker picker for the features you want in a remote.
http://www.remotecentral.com/tsu3000/index.html

 

[MDS]

All of the Home Theater Master MX remotes in the 'total control' series are both IR and RF, so you could use either or both depending on your needs. The MX-850 must be programmed using your computer. The MX-650 can be programmed directly from the remote and is about $250. The 650 would probably be better bang for the buck. If you have fewer than 10 devices, you could even get away with the MX-350, which is around $125.

Either way, I personally would not pay $75 to have someone else program it - you can do it yourself.

 

[jeffvee]

reply to Samurai

Thanks Samurai, I''ll probably get the 350 or 650. Any significant differences?

 

[JPW]

Harmony for my money. It's the best remote I've owned. Very easy to program and use. Your HT guy is ripping you off at $475!

 

[MAX661]

For a Simple setup on a budget you can get the Sony Touchscreen remotes.

The RM-AV2100 is $99 US and controls 12 Components.

I personally would recommend:

Low Budget [$50-$300]: Sony RM-AV Series, Harmony

Mid Budget [$300-$1500]: Pronto Series, iPronto, Universal

High Budget [$1500 - $10K]: Crestron, AMX, Elan, RTi

Hope this helps...

 

[mfabien]

Harmony 880 does more than I hoped for. It replaced 5 remotes. It is very easy to configure or add functions and buttons.

I now have perfected my «Activities» so that I have no need to select «Devices» for specifics.

Fits in my hand like any other remote and wouldn't change that for a big beast sitting on a table in front of me.

 

[T2T]

Your HT guy is ripping you off at $475!

How do you figure that? The MX-850 sells at a list price of $399. Sure, you can buy it for less, but chances are, the vendor is not necessarily authorized to sell 'em. Plus, it takes money to run a company.

I bust my a$$ for lots of my clients. I do some impeccible things for their homes, but don't charge a lot for what I do. But, I do know what it costs to run a company. Heck, just the medical insurance for my family runs $500 a month - and I consider my policies to be pretty cheap.

The client can decide whether they want to pay for such things as programming remotes. Most people I know would rather pull their hair out than program a remote control. So, for them, $75 to do the task would seem like a bargain.

 

[jeffvee]

H/t $$$

I thought it seemed pretty reasonable for him to program it for 75 $ considering it would probably take him at least an hour for the service work.

I think the real rip off is the company charging that much for the remote, but what are we going to do about it?

So, to all you H/T techs, keep up the good work, you have knowledge in that area, most of us don't and I think the majority appreciates it.

 

[df4801]

$75 bucks! Are you kidding?

My HT store wanted $400 for my simple setup! LOL

 

[Audioholics]

$75 is a gift.

I see no problem with the price. The difference between Harmony 880 and the MX-850 is that when you get into RF (and Harmony has that, too) you enter a whole new world of wonder and magic where everything just works and life is beautiful...

Of course, it's generally a pain to get to that point...

Harmony has limitations, the MX-850 really doesn't.

But - you'll need and RF receiver/transmitter system to capitalize on the MX-850, so it's really $400 + the base station. In addition, I'd learn to program it myself - or be willing to pay the (very reasonable I might add) $75 each time you make a change.

 

[brian32672]

(very reasonable I might add) $75 each time you make a change.

Ha, thats a joke.........................
Heck, the amount I change a remote - The setup guy would be here every week.
MAN, that would get expensive...

For the o/p I highly recommend just setting up a remote yourself. It really takes minimal knowledge. There is plenty of online setup/and just read the manual. Obviously someone has to learn it from somewhere (hence read a manual) Honestly, a 12 year old could do it. The only thing that becomes a problem is artistic ability. Learning codes and adding pages on a remote is very simple.
Its the artistic ability, to get the page to look nice that is a problem. But then again - you could just have 15 black buttons on a remote page, and just type in the name for the function.

My recommendation is to just read the manual. These remotes do not need a rocket scientist to program and setup. It is very simple.
And if you really feel that you need help, then just PM me - I will do it for free.
I am somewhat artistic, and could make the remote easy enough on the eyes, and on the mind. Meaning I could make it easy enough for a 8 year old to be able to use it.

It really is not hard at all. The only time that even could be a remote (no pun) problem is doing lengthy macros or controlling more than 10+ components and more than 3 separate rooms.

In your case, you are only using it for 4 components. Trust me - that would be very simple....

But if you feel you can not do it, and you have the need to spend 75.00 each time you do a upgrade.
Then by all means - Pay it - for peace of mind.

EDIT:: Corrected 1 spelling mistake....

 

[T2T]

Ha, thats a joke.........................
Heck, the amount I change a remote - The setup guy would be here every week.
MAN, that would get expensive...

Not everyone changes gear as much as you might do. Chances are, for most enthusiasts who do a fair amount of upgrading, they are not technically challenged. For those folks, yes, programming a remote would be quite easy and they would be able to do periodic adjustments without taking much time at all.

Then, you have to consider the rest of the population. Yes, these are the folks who used to have the clock blinking on their VCR, because they didn't know how set the time clock to make the blinking stop. These are the folks who would gladly pay to have their remote configured for them.

In summary, there are two groups of people. Gadget folks can easily program a remote. Others, who can't. This does not mean that charging $75 to program a remote control is a rip-off.

 

[mfabien]

T2T,

The need to make program changes is an ongoing process because you learn a few things as you go.

I've had Harmony 880 for several weeks now. My "Activities" had menus to enable the essential functions but often I had the need to select "Devices" to get things done.

This week I reviewed:

Watch PVR
Watch DVD

extensively and I can now operate the Activities without selecting the Devices.

And I also created a new Activity called "Watch TV" for when I want to use the analog cable signal connected directly to the TV instead of the digital signal from the STB/PVR.

Note: I read a little and examined the MX-850 remote and doubt that the 880 would miss out on any possible function. As for RF operation within 100', Harmony has just introduced the 890:

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=10930

 

[MDS]

It takes about 10-15 minutes to learn all of the commands from your original remote. The time consuming aspect is the planning of layout and macros that you really need to do before you start learning commands from the other remotes.

The disadvantage of remotes that can only be programmed via computer is the difficulty of making simple changes, as described by mfabien. I found a small error in one of my macros. Because the model I have (mx-350) is programmable directly from the remote, it took me only 15 seconds to redo the macro. If I had the computer programmable version, I would have had to fire up the computer, attach the remote via usb, start the programming application, make my little change, save the new configuration, download the new configuration to the remote and then test it. If it still doesn't work, you get to repeat all the programming steps. For an installer or programmer that programs the remote for a fee, having a saved configuration is ideal because it can be used as a basis for the next customer with only minor tweaks.

$75 bucks for the initial custom programming is reasonable when you consider all the planning that has to happen before the actual programming, but after that, it's all gravy for the installer as they make minor changes to an existing configuration and can be done in minutes.

 

[Hi Ho]

I wouldn't trade my Harmony 688 for anything. I hate punching in codes and setting up extensive macros for every little thing. The Harmony setup does the macros for you. You can customize them afterwards.

PC programig is much more user friendly than trying to do it all on the remote. Yes, it takes a little longer to transfer the updated program to the remote but for me it's not a problem.

I love my Harmony, as does everyone else in the family. Everything is literally a one button operation. Plus it only cost my $80.

 

[gcmarshall]

mx-850

i just purchased the MX-850. i will get it programmed in the next few days and try to report back with a brief synopsis of my experience for anyone who might interested. i was looking at the mx-850 and the harmony 890 (both have RF capability). i chose the mx-850 over the harmony 890 b/c the mx-850 buttons appear more user friendly for my tastes (in the sense that i like being able to allow my fingers to memorize the feel/location of the buttons, whereas the harmony's buttons are smooth-top and right next to each other; this struck me as being potentially more difficult to use in a dark room). also, i felt that the harmony buttons and the remote in general did not feel or look quite as solidly built. just my initial personal impressions.