Logitech Harmony 1000 Advanced Universal Remote (Silver)
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 1000 Advanced Universal Remote (Silver)
Customer Review: Very very good, but nothing's perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
I set this device up tonight for a neighbor with a somewhat complicated home theater. First, I used my Mac laptop to set this up and it worked flawlessly. It DOES work great on a mac. The software works very well, and never once did it fail me. However, tools are a bit convoluted and hidden. If you own the device, though, I'm sure as you look for more and more features you won't be dissapointed, and eventually you'll find them. The screen is incredibly bright. The menus are decent, but I don't like the fact that in the "Star" part where you have extra buttons you cannot make tabs, only pages. The touch response is very good. Devices showed up very well, but when you program extra buttons you have to make sure you guess correctly what functions actually do what. (the naming is odd for some of them).
Negative----
Very little surprisingly. I could not find where you can edit images and such. I am a very experienced tech person, and I found every feature I was looking for, but I got the feeling the average user would have to work hard to find certain things. Concepts such as power order, or what devices to leave on, or even renaming activities is a little hidden.
Lastly, and most importantly. The device was used only as IR, but the range kinda sucked. I was in an average sized bedroom and it just didn't produce range like I wanted. The device, however, wasn't charged and kept asking me to plug it in. Perhaps a fully charged device gets better range. Anyways, if you can afford getting the RF adapter, I'd say do it.
I didn't use logitech support so I can't comment. The packaging is very nice, and I downloaded the program from their site to make sure it was the newest version. I really want one of these for myself, but I'm just a college kid so Im not sure I cant justify 400+ to have an awesome remote and RF adapter, might be better spent on the devices it would actually control!
Customer Review: Logitech Harmony 1000 Universal Remote
Summary: 5 Stars
This is by far the best and easiest Universal Remote on the market. I have owned the Phillips Pronto 6000 and 7500. The Harmony "freezing up" issue has been resolved. Customer service is responsive, both by email and telephone. Telephone support is in North America not India.
The remote is intuitive to use, and very easy to program compared to other remotes on market. The product is very well engineered. I have surround sound, DVR, DVD, CD, and tuner currently programmed. Every model number unit I owned is supported by the Harmony 1000. I am able to use remote room speakers, multisource inputs, PIP on my tv, and use all my DVR functions.
The short comings are limited to vague user manuals and less than perfect on line instructions. If you are the slightest techno geek, almost everything is intuitive if you just think about it.
All functions are programmed using a PC with the enclosed software. Using the PC you can just about test everything and see what the screen layouts will be before you download the instructions to the remote with the provided USB cable.
I would suggest that Logitech give their telephone support geeks the unit to use themselves to improve their customer support ability, rather than reading on screen answers to FAQ's or guess at answers.
My particular unit came with a defective charging station, but after a phone call, I received a replacement within a few days.
Another great feature is live help on the remote. If for some reason, a particular device did not get turned on (or off) and the devices are out of synch for a particular activity, pressing help on the remote, walks you through a simple (though tedious) yes or no menu, to resysnch all the devices. A real nice feature, appreciated by anyone who has used a universal remote, and knows what a pain it is to not have ALL the devices turn on for an acitvity. (ie, the DVR doesn't turn on with the monitor and amp).
Customer Review: Harmony 1000, Not one problem
Summary: 5 Stars
I read plenty of the reviews and paid good attention to the negative ones. So I knew what I was getting into when I bought this remote. I have to say that I had not one problem with this remote. I logged online, set-up all my devices and then downloaded everything to my remote pretty fast. I have been using it for over a month now and it has worked perfectly since I first started using it. Maybe I am just lucky. I can't say. I can say that I love this remote. I put my other six remotes in the drawer and I have not used them since. I would suggest that everyone update to the latest firmware once you get the remote. Then again the first time you log on the software does this for you. I have used other universal remotes in the past without much luck. For me to be happy with it I have to be able to not use the remotes that I am trying to replace in the first place. If I had to get them out of the drawer for any reason then what's the point? I cannot say why some others have had problems, but I can say for a fact that I have had no issues to date. Even my Wife was impressed. I received the normal eye roll when I showed her the remote. After a few tries she loves the remote too. The touch screen helped here. I will admit that the comments about having to look at the remote more to use it are true. Though for me that only happens when I and trying to fast forward through commercials on the DVR. I can live with that when the remote gets rid of the other six remotes off of the side table. Volumes, and navigating the cable on-screen guide I can still do from touch. Will you have the same luck I did? I cannot say for sure. I can say that I would recommend this remote to my friends and family. If it is like anything from my past uses of universal remotes it is that the newer your video and audio equipment the more issues you may run into. I will have to say that Harmony had me completely covered this time around.Customer Review: Best Universal Remote Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I purchased this remote I read all of the reviews. There were some negative ones that disturbed me but I decided to take a chance anyway. I'm glad I did. Prior to this remote I had a Home Theater MX 500. It was adequate for me but it did take a while to set it up and my wife disliked it. What a difference with this remote. Now you just select what you want to do whether it's watch TV or watch a DVD or put the computer on the TV/Monitor and it just does it. If there is ever a problem you hit help and it guides you through a solution. Setting it up was the easiest thing I've ever done. I know there were some people who complained about the touch screen but I haven't found that to be much of a problem at all. Some people have complained about the touch screen itcons being too close and not configurable in terms of where they're located on the screen and once again this hasn't been an issue. I purchased the wireless extender with this and now we can close the door on the cabinet that houses our cable box, stereo and DVD player. It works seamlessly. Basically I can't think of anything to say negative about the device. There was some indication that the device locked up. That happened to me once. I removed the battery and put it back in and that took care of the problem. Since then it's never happened again. I think, although I could be wrong, that it might have been related to putting the remote in the cradle while I was using it. I haven't done that since. I basically use it for the evening and then put it back in the cradle at the end of the night. Thus far this has worked well. I'm glad I purchased this item. It didn't hurt that with the rebate it was about half of the original retail price. I've seen it even lower since. Perhaps more importantly than any of the above, my wife loves this remote. If you've thought about getting one of these stop thinking and get one. You won't be disappointed.Customer Review: Better than most $500+ remotes
Summary: 5 Stars
I've purchased and configured a lot of universal remotes over the years for my family, and I just purchased the Harmony 1000 for myself. It was by far the easiest one to program ever. The small size of the remote and its ultralight weight makes it easy to handle with one hand, and the layout of the buttons is very intuitive. So onto the bullet points:
Pros:
-Lightweight
-Easiest universal to program I've ever seen
-Incredibly extensive database of devices
-Intuitive default button layout
-Easy to customize button functions
-Just the right number of physical buttons
-Easy for guests to figure out at a glance
-Unlike other Harmony remotes and other brands, sequence and repeated commands execute very quickly, which is a huge benefit
-Can control a Playstation 3 if you buy the PS3 Nyko Infrared USB adapter
-Has database of commands for most game consoles that recognize infrared
-Assigns codes based on device model number instead of an ambiguous 3 or 4 digit code (i.e. For a TV, most remotes will just list a brand like "Sharp" and then give you 3-12 codes to try. The Harmony 1000 will ask you for manufacturer AND model number so that it gets the codes precisely.)
Cons:
-If you do want to change the button layout, it's a little more difficult than in some other remotes
-Default graphics can't easily be changed
-It takes a little practice to figure out how to avoid the remote truncating command names
-Doesn't come with the RF extender (additional $93 purchase) - I would highly recommend the extender if you are using sequences just so that you don't have to think about where you are aiming the remote
I've spent as much as $2,000 for a remote for my family members, but I'm happier with this <$300 remote than I have been with any other remote (including Phillips and other high-end remotes).