Logitech Harmony 670 Universal Remote
by Logitech
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Our Price: $159.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $50.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 670 Universal Remote
Customer Review: Works okay, but it's not the silver bullet the price would suggest
Summary: 3 Stars
You'd think because you're paying 100-plus dollars for a remote, this must be plug-and-play simplicity. Don't be fooled--this is still programming, which means you shouldn't buy it for parents or the even the moderately techno-literate and expect them to get through it. The Logitech software has a relatively easy-to-follow wizard for setting up basic tasks, but once you get into the weeds of tweaking your experience--such as "teaching" the remote a missing device command, assigning that command a keypad location or placing it within the secondary menu that is consigned to a paged scroll in the LCD display screen--things get confusing and the experience begins to fall apart.
Despite ever-present help, Logitech hasn't really given much thought to smoothing the user interface out at this level, so you're confronted with the actual IR command nomenclature (e.g. "PwrToggle") and must, for instance, adjust settings for millisecond signal delays using numeric values that aren't explained. If you teach the 670 a command (for my LG flat-screen, the important "Ratio" button that lets you flip between aspect ratios was missing) and want to put it on the first page of the LCD menu, you have to click an up-arrow button for every position (that's _several dozen_) in the command queue; there's no "jump to top" function.
Given that fine-tuning will be an inevitability for many--you'll probably discover some oft-used function is buried in the LCD menu or doesn't respond as precisely as the original remote--much more consideration to the software interface should have been given.
Other nits:
- Backlight button isn't intuitively located
- Backlight itself could be stronger
- Longer command labels in two-column LCD display are truncated, so you can't tell what they are
On the plus side, the 670 does seem to broadcast its IR widely, so as long as you're pointing in the general direction of your components, none should miss a signal.
Customer Review: Only remote you'll ever need
Summary: 5 Stars
The Harmony 670 is well worth the money. First of all you install the software which is very user friendly and input the equipment info for your devices. The Harmony is then connected via a usb cable from your pc to the remote. Don't ask me what you'd do if you didn't have a pc. The remote is updated and then you walk through steps on the remote screen to verify if your equipment is working properly. My equipment has alot of custom settings so it took a few times to get it all programmed correctly. Note: If you perform a firmware update at any time then your remote is set back to default settings and you'll have to do it all over again. This was quite frustrating and I had to call the Logitech Help Desk in order to figure out what happened to the remote. Amazingly the Logitech Help Desk was wonderful. You don't have a long wait, they're very knowledgeable and helpful and there aren't any language barriers. I was surprised that with my Harmony attached to the PC and being logged on to my Logitech software profile that Help Desk was able to also do some customization on my remote screen. I was thoroughly impressed! On my initial setup I had a Dish Network dual pvr, an Oppo upconverting dvd player and a Panasonic plasma. A couple of weeks later I added an Onkyo receiver, Wii and Polk speakers so I had to go through the Logitech Harmony software to add new devices and change the operation order of my equipment. It was so easy to configure this remote with all of my personal customized settings. The Logitech Harmony 670 works wonders! If I didn't have this remote I'd be using 5. The actual remote itself is designed like any other pvr remote so you don't have to learn anything knew and the glow feature is good for dark rooms. The remote is very user friendly and fits well in the palm of your hand. And the battery life is also very good. I am so thoroughly impressed with Logitech. It is great being able to consolidate all features into one remote. Believe me, this is so worth the money!Customer Review: Logitech Harmony 670
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this remote. It is easy to set up, intuitively organized and incredibly easy to use. This is actually the second one I purchased. A few years ago after getting into home theater in a big way, I found myself trying to 'train' the universal remote that came with my AV receiver, with only about 75% success - and still dealing with 4 or 5 remotes on the coffee table. I had a sheet on the table for my family to use: to watch TV, set the TV to Video 3, the AV to Digital 1, turn on the cable box, etc. For DVD or VCR, it was all different settings of course. After doing some research, I decided on the 670 for two reasons. First, I've had other Logitech products for my PC and they work great, and the reviews were solid. Second, the 670 was the "top of the line" in the segmenet of their products that used disposable batteries. This was important to me as the research I did suggested that the rechargable units worked great - until the batteries wore out and it was then expensive to replace them and they could also be hard to find. The backlight button is easy to find by feel in the dark, and illuminates the screen perfectly, without overusing the batteries. Batteries last nearly a year and the remote remembers it's commands when they expire (very handy!). So, I settled on the 670 and was delighted to discover that my family can now run the system, switching between TV, DVD, VCR, Radio, CD's, Game controls etc. without incident. The HELP feature is also very slick, as it resynchronizes the remote when needed and keeps things working as designed. All the other remotes are where they belong - in a shoe box in the closet. The 670 is all I need (even for the DirecTV Sattelite DVR). I recently purchased the second one to service another area in our home...the first one is still going strong, 4 years after my original purchase. Finally, the Amazon price and availability was impossible to beat. Great job guys, thanks for the great product and the terrific service.Customer Review: Reasonably pleased, but certainly not excited
Summary: 3 Stars
This is my second Harmony, the first one died after about two years (676). This unit is about the same, but maddening in that some keys were moved to different spots for no apparent reason (guide, exit...). Still, that's my problem or any repeat customers if Logitech has any other than me.
I use rechargeable batteries (people, they are out there and work great, so use them or do you own stock in Duracell?), so the short battery life is no big deal to me.
The set up could be done much better. Finding a model number on a cable box is anything but convenient and after all that contortion, I would have liked to have seem the Harmony software acknowledge I had the right number. Turns out I did, but there was no clear notification from the software saying, "Yes, we found this model, is that what you meant?" How about some type ahead feature like iTUNES vs. having to scroll through a 400 line pull down menu to find, "Motorola?" Little things sure, but nothing new and it exists elsewhere, so why is Logitech's software so half baked? I can only imagine how non tech savvy people struggle with this.
As for the unit this one is less well lit than my old 676. It is not so easy to see the backlighting, even on buttons let alone the little screen.
So, why did I get a second one? Well, quite frankly it makes life easy for my wife and they had them right there on the rack when I bought my new TV. I have an extensive AV set up and when she wants to watch a movie or TV she has no patience for inputs and sources, nor should she.
Here is my advice from someone who has had this unit and one like it for over two years. If you have the time, do some research. I am sure there are better units out there. Logitech started a great thing, but now seem to be slacking.
All the reviews with defective issues has me worried. This is a bit too much money to have so many defects and if mine dies this will be my last Logitech.
Customer Review: Exactly what I was thinking that I needed!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was researching universal remotes to replace 5 remotes on the coffee table. The problem was that to do anything: watch TV, watch a DVD, listen to music, I had to use at least two remotes and most of the time 3 remotes to get the job done.
Then I came on the Logitech Harmony. After researching those, the harmony 670 seemed to be the best choice: USB/Internet programming, LCD screen, DVR functions, etc. I got from Amazon.com in 3 days.
Programming was straight forward (not sure why some have had problems). I entered the model numbers of each component, and the application did the rest. After about 20 minutes of programming I tried it out. I pushed the Watch a Movie button and all my devices came on, Inputs were set and no problem. I pushed the button Watch TV (or DVR) and again the TV and Comcast box and DVR came on, the picture was set, inputs set and AV receiver was set. Next pushed Listen to Music. I have a HP Digital Entertainment Center (an older model) that would never work on any Universal Remote. It worked on this one! Everything worked as programmed.
Next I went back into the application with the remote on the USB cable and fine tuned some of the buttons. Such as Aspect on the TV was brought to the fist page of the LCD screen so I can zoom or justify the TV screen. Oddly the remote software sometimes places in numbers or letters in the LCD's first screen that have no effect on the components. But you need to customize the remote buttons in the software application to remove those and replace them with features you use.
The downside: the buttons are small and their text is small. But after a few days you memorize the positions of most of the buttons.
Anyway, I can place the original remotes in a drawer and just leave the Harmony Remote out. My wife picked it up and was able to one button Watch TV, a movie or listen to music. She says it is worth every penny.