Universal Remote Recommendation

[dpriest]

I'm not sure where to post this but here goes...I'm looking to get a remote that can control my Yamaha receiver, Sony TV, switch between video inputs, etc. I am also getting some Sonos speakers that would be nice to control also. In my parents house they had a professional installation of a home theater/music setup where they setup a custom remote. Personally I found the thing confusing as all hell and a headache. Without paying someone for a custom setup I see there is the logitech harmony elite and the SevenHugs smart remote. Who has experience with any universal remotes with ease of setup and then once setup, ease of use?

 

[lovinthehd]

Haven't heard of the SevenHugs thing before but have been using a variety of Harmony remotes for years. With their online data base its fairly simple to setup for basic use (might have to dive a bit deeper for some of the more in-depth options/setup settings).

 

[MTVhike]

I have steered clear of universal remotes, because (at least the early ones) couldn't emulate all the buttons on the original one, and some buttons have necessary functions for which there are no front panel settings. However, I recently acquired an old Outlaw AVR which was missing its remote and was told that the Harmony can emulate all functions. I don't know if that's true or not; looking at the Logitech/Harmony web page was not informative.

 

[tmurnin]

Harmony has always worked fine for me. Pretty straightforward setup and have never found a piece of equipment it wouldn't support

 

[BMXTRIX]

While I use an advanced control system for my setup, I will swear by Harmony as THE brand to use for most people. The guided setup of the system will help those who have different components get it setup and their database of devices extends far beyond what any other manufacturer that I'm aware of has available to it.

Plus, they are designed for end-users to program them instead of professionals. My personal system I can only program because it's part of my actual career. For those who want to give DiY a try, then Harmony is definitely the direction I would recommend.

 

[dpriest]

While I use an advanced control system for my setup, I will swear by Harmony as THE brand to use for most people. The guided setup of the system will help those who have different components get it setup and their database of devices extends far beyond what any other manufacturer that I'm aware of has available to it.

Plus, they are designed for end-users to program them instead of professionals. My personal system I can only program because it's part of my actual career. For those who want to give DiY a try, then Harmony is definitely the direction I would recommend.

Thank you!

 

[3db]

+3 for the Logitech Harmony recommendations.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Another for harmony.

 

[fast fred]

I just bought the Sevenhugs U remote - the harmony elite was giving me issues with my Denon 6700, APPLETV, and LG TV and not setting the right inputs, macros, etc

Lets see if the Sevenhugs is good

 

[lovinthehd]

I just bought the Sevenhugs U remote - the harmony elite was giving me issues with my Denon 6700, APPLETV, and LG TV and not setting the right inputs, macros, etc

Lets see if the Sevenhugs is good

Never saw that one before, sounds like Logitech style, tho....let us know (and what the problems with Harmony were)

 

[fast fred]

It never really set the macros right - The apple TV would not turn on, the denon wouldnt go to right input, tried many times to re-run the activity - hit help to have the remote fix it plus the HUB would constantly go offline (red light) several times a week - weird because I have used these remotes before with better luck but this time around on this new system I have it really is piss poor

 

[lovinthehd]

It never really set the macros right - The apple TV would not turn on, the denon wouldnt go to right input, tried many times to re-run the activity - hit help to have the remote fix it plus the HUB would constantly go offline (red light) several times a week - weird because I have used these remotes before with better luck but this time around on this new system I have it really is piss poor

I have no issues with my basic Harmony remotes (I use several 600/650s)....I did buy a hub used and didn't like it at all (it came with an Ultimate which I apparently broke by spilling some coffee on it).

 

[fast fred]

Wow
So far I must say the seven hugs remote is fantastic

Really nice and accurate with TV macro scenes and handles hue lights with ease

I hope I can leave harmony behind

Only issue battery life is terrible. Just need to charge it daily

Cheers

 

[lovinthehd]

Maybe you should contact them and see if that battery is defective or not, I'd hate to have to charge constantly like that. Especially for the prices I saw on their site....

 

[fast fred]

Maybe you should contact them and see if that battery is defective or not, I'd hate to have to charge constantly like that. Especially for the prices I saw on their site....

I think it’s been noted by users as a con.

I wish we had control over Screen brightness and haptics which I believe are causing battery drain.

Plus this thing is so small kinda like apple’s remote only thicker so the battery must be tiny.

Maybe they will release a firmware fix???

Don’t know but I’m loving it so far.

Cheers

 

[lovinthehd]

I think it’s been noted by users as a con.

I wish we had control over Screen brightness and haptics which I believe are causing battery drain.

Plus this thing is so small kinda like apple’s remote only thicker so the battery must be tiny.

Maybe they will release a firmware fix???

Don’t know but I’m loving it so far.

Cheers

Which one did you get?

 

[sweetness34]

Do any of these newer universal remotes like the Harmony control devices via your home network instead of IR? My Sony TV, Yamaha AVR, Apple TV 4K, Xbox Series X are hardwired to my home network and I'm able to control each device using their associated app on my phone even if I'm in a different room. It would be nice to have a universal remote that would control all of them and not rely on IR but also know the last known state of each device so you don't have to worry about the Harmony remote getting out of sync with all the macros. I almost bought a Harmony with the HUB because I thought the HUB would control devices via the network but I think I misunderstood what it actually does.

 

[fast fred]

Which one did you get?

The U model

 

[fast fred]

Do any of these newer universal remotes like the Harmony control devices via your home network instead of IR? My Sony TV, Yamaha AVR, Apple TV 4K, Xbox Series X are hardwired to my home network and I'm able to control each device using their associated app on my phone even if I'm in a different room. It would be nice to have a universal remote that would control all of them and not rely on IR but also know the last known state of each device so you don't have to worry about the Harmony remote getting out of sync with all the macros. I almost bought a Harmony with the HUB because I thought the HUB would control devices via the network but I think I misunderstood what it actually does.

I do think the harmony hub does what you are asking for.

You login to iOS app with saved configurations and are able to communicate through the cloud with real time operations of macro control etc

 

[sweetness34]

I do think the harmony hub does what you are asking for.

You login to iOS app with saved configurations and are able to communicate through the cloud with real time operations of macro control etc

Interesting. I thought the cloud based portion was just for setup/admin of the remote but it still used IR commands either via the remote itself or from the HUB (which sounds like it's an IR blaster of sorts). I'll have to try and do more research as I stopped once I thought it wasn't going to do what I wanted.