Love ‘em or hated them??? Logitech universal remotes

[lovinthehd]

With 890 the issue wasn't liquids or food residue. It was down to button switches with were not designed to be nearly robust enough. Case in point most used controls, such as volume, always died first.
This is not to throw shade on all of their controllers, but I have URC's MX-850 remote for the last 10 years. I got it right after Harmony 890 died. It still works like new with zero issues.

Yes, I've had worn out buttons on 650s and a 700 too. If you're careful you can get this stuff and paint some conductivity back on the innards....just don't overdo it (ask me how I know .

 

[BMXTRIX]

With 890 the issue wasn't liquids or food residue. It was down to button switches with were not designed to be nearly robust enough. Case in point most used controls, such as volume, always died first.
This is not to throw shade on all of their controllers, but I have URC's MX-850 remote for the last 10 years. I got it right after Harmony 890 died. It still works like new with zero issues.

What's funny is the MX850 has the same issue. Like an insane number that I get via eBay have dead volume and mute buttons on them.

Both the Harmony and MX850 (as well as others) have button repair kits which work fairly well that you can get off of eBay. I recently restored a couple of MX850 remotes to operating condition and was blown away that they work so well. All buttons 100% working again after being completely dead. Instead of painting conductors like @BoredSysAdmin did, you just drop in the new conductors, and they can be swapped in the future should they fail again.

 

[highfigh]

With 890 the issue wasn't liquids or food residue. It was down to button switches with were not designed to be nearly robust enough. Case in point most used controls, such as volume, always died first.
This is not to throw shade on all of their controllers, but I have URC's MX-850 remote for the last 10 years. I got it right after Harmony 890 died. It still works like new with zero issues.

Ijust posted about an 850 that I set up in 2008. The only issue I know of in those is caused by dropping on a hard floor, causing the IR emitter board to snap off. It can sometimes be repaired, fortunately.

 

[highfigh]

I loved mine but google TV and the musicast app for my receiver killed it. I've always had great results using arc so yeah...... was fun programming and sorting routines etc.

Google TV and MusicCast killed your remote? How is that possible?

 

[Bucknekked]

I loved my Harmony remotes while the setup was current technology and supported. Unfortunately, once they pulled the plug on support and they quit the business, that's when I started having troubles. My chief trouble is that my Harmoney 890 will not talk to a computer anymore. I have several different computers around the house and the remote isn't recognized by any of them. It needs reprogramming because all my devices have changed. Alas, it has become a victim of no support on the one hand, and only having one path to get to support (the USB connector) and it is kaput.

For those who complain about Harmony's function, I tried some of the newer startup company stuff and it was freakin' unusable. I ended up sending it back. I bought a $20 universal, and it is barely serviceable compared to the Harmony. Progress? Nope.

The good news is my TV setup is pretty simple and even though its not as nice as with the Harmony, we make it work without too much fuss.

 

[cerwinmad]

Google TV and MusicCast killed your remote? How is that possible?

It was a fight to the death! I kid....
Well I just use my Sony A90j remote for all streaming etc and musicast app for adjusting subwoofer trim etc.

 

[3db]

I purchased a Harmony 890 used off of ebay and it works like a charm controlling everything in my bedroom system.

 

[lovinthehd]

While priced well above original retail, still a good option https://www.ebay.com/itm/3852377291...qBO4HJtYV03EA9fUQAph0LQroPPr|tkp:BFBMkNXOzadh

 

[Kleinst]

I have harmony hub simple remotes for all my TVs and love them. Definately worth picking up

 

[Kingnoob]

how long will you be able to program these remotes I lost me usb cord cannot find it and the charger haha. What a shame the touchscreen model was very quality, my lower end one isn’t programmed to my avr somehow . So it’s never used either .. why does such a good product bite the dust , does it not sell well enough?
I see a few models failed to be durable tho .

 

[Cos]

I had like 5 or 6 different iterations of the Harmony Remotes. I still have 3 Harmony Ones in a drawer. They worked so well for me in the beginning.

 

[Kleinst]

Does anyone have a Harmony Companion? I have the Smart Hub and love it. Very simply and durable as a result. Can pick up a companion as a backup for $20 and figure I might go ahead as they don't make em anymore. Probably a waste of $20 frankly but I tend to do this when I find something I like

 

[Rictor133]

A little update. Since purchasing my Yamaha Aventage receiver I was surprised to learn that it controls everything from the Blu Ray player, Apple TV etc… without having to search for codes. I assume that it is doing this through ARC since it knows the devices that I have connected.

Really happy that Yamaha went with a nice beefy weighty remote. It is backlit, and water sealed in the sense that the buttons are not open. Other than turning the devices on, everything can be controlled with the Yamaha remote. I am sure that there is a solution for the power button issue too.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!!!

 

[everettT]

Remote controls should have a few basic requirements:
Discreet codes
High macro count
IP control, RF at the very least
All buttons programmable
Direct learning
Backlit
Minimum of 10 devices
Web based app
Weight, balanced in the hand feel.

There is only a couple of consumer remotes that fit those requirements, sadly.

 

[Trell]

A little update. Since purchasing my Yamaha Aventage receiver I was surprised to learn that it controls everything from the Blu Ray player, Apple TV etc… without having to search for codes. I assume that it is doing this through ARC since it knows the devices that I have connected.

Really happy that Yamaha went with a nice beefy weighty remote. It is backlit, and water sealed in the sense that the buttons are not open. Other than turning the devices on, everything can be controlled with the Yamaha remote. I am sure that there is a solution for the power button issue too.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!!!

It's not through ARC but HDMI CEC (that has many brand names for the same thing):

Consumer Electronics Control - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Rictor133]

Thanks for clarifying Trell!

 

[everettT]

Thanks for clarifying Trell!

You're lucky you don't have any issues, CEC or HDMI control typically caused more problems then they fixed, maybe things are changing! Glad to hear that your devices are playing nice :⁠-⁠)

 

[lovinthehd]

You're lucky you don't have any issues, CEC or HDMI control typically caused more problems then they fixed, maybe things are changing! Glad to hear that your devices are playing nice :⁠-⁠)

I see people post quite a bit about problems with hdmi-cec still I certainly had my issues with it when I tried to use it for ARC but went to harmony remotes instead. I'm not really expecting the HDMI-CEC issues to get fixed, as apparently between some leeway for the manufacturer's choices as well as no real enforcement for intercompatibility testing....

 

[Trell]

You're lucky you don't have any issues, CEC or HDMI control typically caused more problems then they fixed, maybe things are changing! Glad to hear that your devices are playing nice :⁠-⁠)

I've had mixed results with HDMI CEC in my old setup and just enable as much of it as needed to work with my Logitech Harmony remote (power on/off disabled where I can, for instance). But my Harmony activities does more that CEC can do, though, so there is that.

 

[Trell]

I see people post quite a bit about problems with hdmi-cec still I certainly had my issues with it when I tried to use it for ARC but went to harmony remotes instead.

Same here when I got my new shiny LG OLED CX a couple of years ago (replacing my old Panasonic plasma) and using the internal apps (that works well, better than Apple TV 4K 2022 model apart from sound). Before I mostly used Chromecast for that.