Logitech Harmony 676 Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
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List Price: Our Price: $119.98 You Save: $80.01 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $48.25 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 676 Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: Great potential, but not quite there
Summary: 3 Stars
PROS:
The concept behind this remote (configure via the web) is absolutely outstanding! The remote will always be fully-customizable and compatible with all IR devices. The web allows for easy configuration using a fully-graphical interface and wizards. The IR transmitter is pretty powerful. The rubberized backing, interchangeable covers, and ergonomic shape make it pleasing to handle. Fully customizable buttons allow great flexibility. Ability to learn from existing remote controls ensures that all IR devices are supported.
CONS:
Almost all of the buttons on the remote have the same oval shape and size and they are placed too grid-like. Why is this a con? I like to use my remote without looking at it. I like to keep my eyes on the TV as I feel for the buttons on the remote. Tivo did a wonderful job with their remote -- each key has a unique shape and placement, making it easy to find any key. Using this remote without looking will take a lot of getting used-to (learning touch-typing is probably easier).
While wizards are wonderful for initial configuration, there should be non-wizard properties pages for advanced users. I don't want to go trough a wizard every time I want to make a small change -- just show me a properties page. The wizards can sometimes make setting up a customized configuration difficult.
While the remote supports several 'activity' buttons (which are wonderful), it does not support any sort of macros or programming. People that need this remote probaly have moderately complex entertainment systems are probably techno-savvy. This is the type of person that probably wants to be able to fully control the remote, so something like ability to create macros or a scripting language would be greatly appreciated.
I use it to control all of my devices (DVD player, receiver, cablebox, etc.), but not for my Tivo. When simply watching TV (a.k.a. watch the Tivo), I use the Tivo remote because of its easy-to-use key placement.
Great product overall, but it needs a few enhancements -- both physical and logical.
Customer Review: Great Remote - Nothing in the price range compares
Summary: 5 Stars
I had been looking for a harmony for a while, but didn't want to spend a ton of money on one. I considered a refurbished 880, but decided i didn't really like the button layout and didn't really think a color screen was all that important. Bling-tastic? Yes. Important? No. Then i found the 676 for about 1/3 the price of a refurbished 880 and jumped on it.
The button layout is perfect for a DVR, it works great with the DirecTv DVR, and the soft rubber buttons have a nice tactile feeling. The remote isn't heavy, but its not too lite, and it fits my hand nicely. I hate remotes that require you to reposition them to reach all the buttons you want, and the 676 has a great layout to avoid this irritation. The back of the remote is formed with two grooves that allow you to keep the remote steady in hand while you stretch for the buttons on the upper end of the remote.
After reading some reviews i was prepared for a somewhat long and tedious set up, but i was pleasantly surprised when it didn't take very long and it wasn't very difficult. I found the software and setup very intuitive and easy to use.
Some of my favorite features are: the ability to customize (and label) the buttons next to the LCD, the ability to bring up a list of favorite channels on the remote's LCD, and the help button.
Overall I am pretty impressed with this remote, especially at less than fifty dollars shipped.
About the only con that i can think of is that the LCD doest seem to turn off to save battery life, or at least i haven't found the option that does this. The back-light for the buttons shuts off, but the LCD appears to stay on all the time. The batteries would probably last longer if the screen turned completely off after a while, but i guess thats why i use rechargeable batteries.
I feel this is definitely the best remote out there in this price range.
+A
Customer Review: Great device but........
Summary: 3 Stars
First the good news. I have a pretty complex audio/video system including HD TV, cable with DVR, combination CD/DVD player, VCR, and home theater receiver. This remote controlled all the devices and all their commands. The "activity" buttons which let you "Watch Cable" or "Watch Movie" are great for my whole family as we now only need one remote.
On the other hand this device can be very difficult to program correctly and I am a very technical person. Most of my devices were easy to program except for my TV which simply could not figure out how to switch to the right input for cable vs. movies. Trying to get this to work right took me about 4 hours of trial and error. The remote has a "learning" mode which will allow you to use your current remote and teach the 676 the correct command. This never worked for me. Instead I had to guess which command in the online database was the correct one for the action I was attempting to get to work.
Technical support was very poor. The woman I got only had very limited knowledge of the device and did not even know how the troubleshooting screens worked! I had to repeat to her several times over the phone what was appearing on my screen and the options. She had very little idea what to try other than some simple techniques. She finally logged a level 2 service call after almost an hour. The level 2 never called back after 5 days so I gave up on them and continued trying myself.
What finally made it work? I had to guess the time in milliseconds that it took my TV to repond to commands and how long the TV needed between commands to wait until the next one. This information is not in my TV operation manual. I finally struck upon the correct delay times and voila!
If you cannot imagine programming this device with detailed instructions you may want to try another device or just live with your multiple remotes.
Customer Review: Now my wife can turn everything on with one button!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had to use 3 remotes just to watch tv, 4 if I wanted to watch a DVD. Now it only takes one. I just loaded the software on my laptop, plugged in the remote with the included USB cable, and followed the steps with the easy to use step by step setup wizard.
The software runs on Mac or Windows, I used a Mac. After you're done programming it, you can create activities that will then only require 1 button press in order to use. For example, if you want to watch tv, just press the button with the tv logo on it. The receiver, tv and cable box all turn on and are set to the correct settings. Say I want to watch a movie, just press the movie button. The DVD player, TV and receiver all turn on. What if the tv was already on, so pressing that button turned it off? Just press the Help button. It will ask you if the tv is on, answer no, it will turn it back on. Pretty cool.
Also, when the remote is in the mode for watching TV and you have your tv, receiver and cable box on, the volume controls on the remote run the receiver, the channel buttons run the cable box, etc. It knows which button should be controlling which device. That is also something you can program in the software. If it doesn't get something right, you can edit what it should do. Here's another bonus, if for some reason you have some special buttons on a remote that it didn't pick up, you can make the Harmony learn then. While you have it plugged into the computer, it will ask you to push a certain button on the other remote, when you push it it will tell you if it received it or not, then it will move on to the next one. No more guessing.
You could spend more money and get fancy touch screen remotes, but this little guy couldn't be easier. It even comes with four different color face plates to change the look of the remote.
Customer Review: Great idea - not so great execution
Summary: 1 Stars
The idea behind this product is excellent - one of those "why hasn't someone done this earlier" ideas.
In practice, though... it's not quite ready.
I purchased this to see if it would be a good option for my not-so-tech-savvy parents. So far, the answer is no.
Some obvious setup questions are not addressed - in my case, a Dish Network DVR appears as a digital set-top, PVR, and satellite receiver... what is the proper selection?
The web-based configuration system is awful.
The Dish DVR has a "DVR" button to display the DVR menu. I stumbled on a screen that allowed me to add "DVR" to the 'A' button. Seemed simple enough but this changed the operation of the remote, entirely. And, of course, I don't know how to get back to that screen.
So I thought I'd change my Dish selection from "set-top" to "satellite" to see if I could clean up operations a bit. I clicked the link to add the box, and the next screen had "Media Center PC" for my "watch TV" selection. I don't have a Media Center PC and never selected that as an option.
I thought about just "starting over" but there's no option to do that (other than to just create a new username, I suppose).
Web-based applications are, more often than not, poor substitutes for a decent client-side application. Aside from not being nearly as easy to use as a real Windows or Mac application, network latencies can be quite frustrating (did it do anything or not?). Web developers often seem to forget that users aren't connected to the company LAN.
In the past, I've been quite pleased with Logitech products. Hopefully, Logitech can clean this up and make an excellent idea into a useful product.