Which Harmony remote?

[highfigh]

I bought the 1000 but returned it out of frustration with trying to use it. IMHO, it's a matter of style over substance. The limited number of buttons on the unit leave the user scrolling through pages of device pages to perform any function other than volume or channel changes. The more conventional remotes with separate buttons for each function are much easier to use and understand. Following my weeks of using the 1000, I find it difficult to recommend, of course YMMV.

Did you do any custom button mapping? The most frequently used commands can be grouped on the first page with more added to that, with another page, if needed. If the activities were set up and no mapping was done, you wouldn't have seen what it can really do. I would have liked the transport controls as hard buttons instead of on the touch screen.

 

[jerico]

I have a One, which replaced an 880. I find the One kind of clunky - the touch screen isn't very accurate, and the buttons stick sometimes (i.e. I'll turn up the volume and after I lift my finger it continues to send the increase volume signal - one time this happened and it jacked my volume so high that I had to run across the room and turn off my receiver).

That said, I also found the 880's base station to be unreliable (I went through two of them) - it would lose its alignment and getting it in the right spot to actually charge was actually difficult. That might have been an older model though (the One has a slightly different base station layout).

I'll live with the One for a while, but I'll look for a better non-Harmony replacement in the meantime...

Justin

 

[jostenmeat]

My wife and I went to BB today to check out the different Harmonies and we figure we would give the 670 a try. We liked the button layout and feel of the remote so if they don't end up liking it or it gets frustrating we can get them another and keep the harmony.

Hope it suits you guys fine. Programming Harmony is a lot more tedious. I'd say at least 10x longer. You want to add one single button, you gotta plug in, open program, log-in, wait for pages to load, wait for remote to update. URC, adding a button is 5-10 seconds, all-in.

If the activity is set up correctly and the devices all have discreet commands, it's hard to get out of synch.

I've never seen a cable box with discrete codes. However, come to think of it, since cable boxes seem to be eating up so much energy even when off, you could just leave it on 24/7. Is a universal really even necessary in this case? I suppose the backlighting is a welcome thing.

That said, I also found the 880's base station to be unreliable (I went through two of them) - it would lose its alignment and getting it in the right spot to actually charge was actually difficult. That might have been an older model though (the One has a slightly different base station layout).

I hear you on that, they were just awfully designed. However, someone, maybe it was Matt34 (can't remember) said they have been re-designed.

 

[jopela]

880 here and I love it. One thing you may want to consider is do they have and RF remote devices like a remote controlled ceiling fan or light. If so you may want to go with the 890 so they can control both RF and IR devices with one controller.

 

[GlocksRock]

I have the harmony one and so far I have been loving it. Once you get it programmed to your liking, it's a breeze to use, and mine rarely loses sync. The battery life is decent at best, but since it's rechargeable, it's not that big of a deal, and replacement rechargeable batteries can be bought on ebay, so I don't worry to much about being able to get one when I will evenutally need it. There may be better, and less expensive options out there, but if you can get a good deal on one, I say give it a shot.

 

[highfigh]

I've never seen a cable box with discrete codes. However, come to think of it, since cable boxes seem to be eating up so much energy even when off, you could just leave it on 24/7. Is a universal really even necessary in this case? I suppose the backlighting is a welcome thing.

The fact that Time Warner doesn't allow discreet power commands is the reason we, as integrators usually leave it on. DirecTV has it, Dish has it, and according to the person in the technical department at Scientific Atlanta, there are many things their cable boxes can do but the cable companies set them up so they can't. All of the other commands are discreet.

I agree with the tediousness of the programming, especially since they changed the hardware to always go back to the home page after making one little tweek. The biggest problem I have, and I have mentioned it to their tier two tech support people, is that if Logitech ever decides to pull the plug on Harmony, nobody will ever do another update unless a third party comes up with a format for programming or they sell the servers to someone.

I have an old H676 that works great, after more than 4 years and while the fine points of programming amd button mapping can be tedious, they tend to work well as long as the line of sight isn't broken.

 

[GlocksRock]

My harmony one turns my scientific atlanta 8300 box from Time Warner on and off with no problems.

 

[EJ1]

My harmony one turns my scientific atlanta 8300 box from Time Warner on and off with no problems.

Agreed. Mine is a 8300HDC.

 

[GlocksRock]

I think thats the one I have too.

 

[highfigh]

My harmony one turns my scientific atlanta 8300 box from Time Warner on and off with no problems.

It'll turn it on and off with no problems as long as the line of sight isn't disrupted. If you go have a delayed repeat or anything like that, it can turn the box off again. It's not a Harmony issue, it's the cable company's fault for not setting it up in a way that makes it much less likely that a problem will occur.

 

[Swerve]

get the cheaper harmony for this basic application. The 550 is plenty!

The 880 is overkill.

 

[Livin]

ALL Harmony Remotes function exactly the same.
- they vary the # of buttons, shape,color/touch screenm etc.

Only the multi-zone & RF units differ at all...

get the cheapest one you can find!