Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
|
List Price: Our Price: $223.88 You Save: $26.11 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $77.98 (click here) Category: Speakers See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: Probably the Last Harmony remote before Logitech destroys the company
Summary: 3 Stars
I've had 4 harmony remots and been a user since the first model came out. everything work on all the remotes. My latest remote is the 688 which came out right when Logitech was buying the company... I have watch Logitech infuse their horrific customer support, total lack of driver updates, and pathetic coding work jsut eat away at a great product. The 880/890 was in development at the time and will probably be the last real harmony remote, going forward I'm sure it will all be based on Logitechs incompetent engineering department to push out a defective product.
The key to the Harmony remote is the website which customizes your remote and updates the firmware, allows you to add devices etc... The site under Harmony's control was a little slow and dated, but it did everything and worked perfectly. Logitech has come along and now made it so you can not choose the order of your customized buttons, you get 6 per page, but logitech wants to alphabetize it for everyones inconvience... so your least used buttons on the top, and important buttons such as power are 5 menu's into the remote. Different activities use to have independant buttons you could customize... until logitech stepped in and now anytime you add a button to one activity for a particular device... it now shows up in ALL of your activities. i.e. for your receive if you want to have a button availble while watching a DVD, you would add it to the DVD activity... but now logitech makes that button appear while just watching TV, or listening to a CD.
One last thing, since logitech took over they no longer maintain their IR code database and it has fallen into complete shambles. If you try and add your TV, i.e. Samsung DLP HL-P4674, instead of seeing the TV and adding it as it would in the past when Harmony was running things... now you will get hundreds of TV's all with slight variations in the model number because users are making custom labels and have full access to add garbage to the master database, now you will see hLp4674, HLP-4674, Hpl4674, hlp46744, and so on... now because these are all inputted by users, 1/2 of the TV's don't work, the IR codes are wrong, they are missing commands, or have incorrect labels i.e. PowerToggle, PowerToggle1, PowerToggle2, PowerOff, PowerOn, PwrTgl1, PwrTgl2, Power, Pwr, Powr... etc... and you could spend hours trying to figure out how the frig' to turn on and off your TV... and every change to the remote is a solid 5 minute upload, verify, reboot process, then go test with TV, then come back, rinse, repeat.
Logitech has been cripling this product since the first week they took over. It's still a good product overall, but I can tell you that if you think this thing is easy to use... you are sorely mistaken... with Logitech's new web site as your backbone you WILL spend 20-40 hours of effort trying to set this thing up... take a week of vacation for this one.
I hope logitech fires all the staff and starts off fresh with some people who know what they are doing... this one's slipping quickly. and at a price of $200+ I demand more customer server and a better interface.
Just to give you an idea of how back-ass-ward Logitech is... go visit the support forums and you won't find anywhere to get support on the Harmony remotes. Then go look at their products page, and you can't find a picture of their products larger then a thumbnail, click the larger picture view and it pulls up a medium size thumbnail.... you can't see any of the buttons or anything... that's the level of effor they put into trying to sell a $250 remote... imagine the effort they put into supporting it after the sale!
Customer Review: Superb...Simplicity at it's finest
Summary: 5 Stars
I am becoming more and more familiar with this beautiful remote. I will cover a few of the aspects so people can understand the great value in this remote.
This remote comes with a rechargable batterey, USB cable, charger plate, startup disk, and of course the remote. Make sure to charge the remote when you get it so you can enjoy it that evening.
I was familiar with the basic setup of this remote since I have the Harmony 360 remote with green backlight. I was looking for something with a little classier presentation for my living room. The 880 has the sleek looks and colorful interface. The black design makes it almost unnoticeable among other remotes. Installing the program was easy and it quickly went online to check for any new updates which there were. Once that was out of the way I was able to do basic setup. Like I said I was familiar with the basic setup. First off make sure that you have the model numbers of every product you are registering with the remote. Logitech has an excellent database that has thousands of different products registered so finding your product is very simple. I have some newer products so I was happy that they were all registered. Now if you have a Playstation 3 or any other device that uses bluetooth you are out of luck. The remote only works on the standard signal. During the setup process the program asks a couple of simple questions regarding your knowledge and familiarity with setting up devices. These questions are to help the program better assist you. Once you have all your devices logged in the program will come up with what activties are best suited for those devices. Whether it's watching movies or t.v., playing games, or listening to music. After you are finished assigning the responsibilities to each group you will be asked to connect the remote via USB cable. The computer will then link up with the remote and update the remote to your programs. Once that is done it's all about testing to make sure the devices turn on like they are supposed to. Some times it's all about trial and error since many new HD t.v. have many inputs that can make it confusing.
Using the remote works like a charm. Not only does it become adequately familiar with all it's assignments it also seems to know each device better than you could have imagined. For instance I have a dvr cable box. The cable remote has many different menus and assignments that can take a while to get used to. Transitioning to this remote was simple as can be. The volume and channel changing controls are in a very good location. But also the menu and display buttons make this remote seemingly simpler than my cable remote. I have went from having four remotes to just two now. The other one is for my playstation 3. Life is very easy now and I don't have to look for what one works for volume and what one changes channels. Also the remote senses movement as it's interface lights up when you lift it. Talk about smart.
Overall I would say this is an excellent value for anyone looking to invest in a universal remote. If you are tired of having several remotes for many different tasks or if you have a confusing univeral remote this one is your best buy. Now the price may seem steep for a remote but I believe it's a great value. If you are like me and have a new hdtv this remote is an excellent value especially on Amazon. Considering most stores will charge you at least 20-30% more. Make life a little simpler and make your living room a little classier.
Customer Review: Great remote-great gift-NO Brainer
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the Harmony 880 and the Harmony 890. I prefer the layout of these compared to the Harmony One, although it may be a personal preference and others may disagree. this remote is EASILY programmable with about 10 minutes of time. You can personalize it however you want and with just the push of a button, everything turns on as it should, settings go to the right place (like audio 1, 2, 3, dvd, whatever a receiver needs to be set to, etc.) I have this hooked up to tv, receiver, dvd, dvr, ipod, xm and it works perfectly. And everyone in my house, including occasional visitors can use it with ease as the icons are totally self explanatory. Push one button to watch DVR--it's done. Change your mind to watch DVD--DVR turns off, tv changes to appropriate video input, dvd turns on. Genius. If something ever goes wrong, you can just press the help button and it goes through a series of questions, diagnosis problem, and fixes it in usually less than a minute. I find that typically this would happen if you happen to press a command and then aim the remote away from the devices.
After about 1 1/2 years of battery use, I had to replace the battery. not bad. Prior to replacing the battery, when the old battery wasn't holding a charge, the remote reset itself (my clue to get a new battery). I charged the battery. Plugged the remote, nervously into the computer (I had not remembered by username, password, settings, etc.) But alas, Harmony took care of that as well--it recognized my remote and reset it completely without me having to do anything but press a button.
some people complained that the battery doesn't fit in the compartment securely enough and thus doesn't always charge. Simple solution, tear up a piece of paper, put it in between the battery and the back of the remote and no more problems. I hadn't really had problems to begin with but when my battery wasn't charging because of length of use, I did this to maximize any charge. I heard harmony will send a rubber piece to put in place but I never asked for one (it is suppose to be free).
The difference between the 880 and 890 is that the 890 comes with the RF signal so that you can use the remote with hidden electronics. And the 880 is black and the 890 is silver. I prefer the black but it isn't a big deal either way.
The 880 is currently at a fantastic price--even cheaper than the 880 refurbished. And it is worth every penny to get rid of all of those crazy remotes that you have to switch back and forth between to get anything done.
And, my pet sitter is grateful for my remote because prior to getting this, she could never use my tv and electronics. I'm happy because my daughter isn't losing remotes since there is only one to keep up with. And I am thrilled with Harmony's easy interface as well as the ease of reprogramming if necessary.
Really, do not hesitate to buy this, you won't regret it. And if you do, there is always the 30 day return policy-but after day 1 you will never give it another thought.
Lastly, I prefer this to the 1000 because of the smaller size. Again, a personal preference.
And one more thing--this is the perfect remote for gifts for parents who are finding that they enjoy DVR/DVD/TV but are overwhelmed with remembering what to do. Once my dad died, my mom had to have cheat sheets written down in order to operate everything--but even with that, there was reticence. With this there is no problem.
Customer Review: Integrates the control of my peripherals
Summary: 4 Stars
INTRODUCTION
Requiring a universal remote for my Television, Digital Cable Box, BluRay Player, Wii and DVD Player/CD-G Karaoke Player, I chose this model for its capability of uploading programmed keys (from the internet) into the remote. I was looking for a remote that had codes that I can just upload, rather than painstakingly push buttons for the remote to 'learn' the various functions. There were numerous devices covered under the Logitech Harmony line, and all of the devices that I had attached were in their database.
WHAT COMES IN THE BOX
CD-ROM for SET Up (Mac OS and Windows)
USB Cable
Rechargeable Battery
Remote
Charging base
SETUP
First of all, I had to charge my remote with the charging base. There is a rechargeable battery supplied with the unit. Installation of the software onto the Mac OS was pretty simple. The software detects when the remote is attached through the USB Cable. Setting up the device was simple. First of all, you must register online for the software to work. Registration is pretty simple to do - filling up the standard information. All I had to do was choose the Manufacturer and the Model Number of the devices. Next, I chose which activities that I needed (i.e. Watch TV, Play Video Games, Watch Blu-Ray, or Watch DVD). Set up time from installation of the disk, registration, and uploading the pre-programmed data took about 25 minutes.
USE
The use of the remote is self explanatory and easy to follow. Some of the buttons are quite small but they are backlit (if you like) to operate in the dark. The Screen is color and has the optional menu system for which you can scroll. Using the control from my eat in kitchen which is about 25 feet away, is no problem. Detection of infrared signal was very good. There is a slight click with the numeric buttons, volume control and the channel control. I am not a fan of the buttons on the sides of the screen - they do not feel as responsive.
For the most part, the remote works for all functions - except for the "Down" arrow, which did not work for me, despite "Learning from the Original Remote". Aside from that, the remote works well.
CONSTRUCTION
The remote is lightweight and solid in feel (without flex) but I do question its ability to withstand the impact of falling onto my ceramic tile floor. The buttons are composed of hard plastic as opposed to rubber keys on the several remotes that I was integrating into one device. I personally like rubber buttons, but that is my personal preference. The top of the unit contains the USB port and Infrared port. The bottom of the unit contains the Infrared port for learning commands. The back of the unit is where the battery compartment is, as well as the contact points for the recharger.
The color screen is clear, and can be customized with whatever background you wish. I opted for the default Blue Background. A battery life indicator is in the top right hand corner, but if you replace the remote back onto the charging base, you do not have to worry.
PROS
Ease of set up
Backlit screen
Rechargable battery with charging base
CONS
Cost
Solid but lightweight plastic
OVERALL
Overall, I am happy with my purchase and it serves the original intention for me. The Harmony 880 is worthy of consideration.
Customer Review: Wonderful product, easy to setup, works like a charm!
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this item as a Christmas gift and was thrilled to start playing with it. I had read up on it and decided I wanted to get one, but hesitated in buying one for myself. Luckily for me my wife took note when I was telling her how cool this remote was and Santa brought me one for Xmas.
With 2 1 1/2 year olds the thought of reducing my 4 remotes to one was exciting. Also, knowing that it had a cradle to sit on when it was not in use was appealing to me because it would give us a reason to keep the remote on top of the TV when not in use. All this equals 3 less things for my kids to chew on, break, etc. Now I just need to make sure they don't get a hold of this one :)
As anticipated this remote easily replaced my 4 device remotes. Setting up things was fairly simple. Being primarily a MAC user I was a little worried the software would be a little buggy or lack some support when installed on OS X. I'm happy to report the install and device configuration via USB went off without a hitch. Logitech's wizard in the software and troubleshooting wizard built into the remote itself made things very easy to get setup. One thing you'll need to do before you get started is to write down the makes and models of all of your devices. For me, it was fairly easy since I have 3 Sony devices and my cable box.
The cable box was the only thing that needed an extra tweak. The On/Off buttons they setup by default didn't seem to work for my box, so I tinkered and found that the TogglePower was the way to go.
After setting up my activities I tweaked the "Watch TV" activity I setup so that I could have all of my favorite DVR features on the upper touch screen. One of the nice things too is that you can setup custom buttons that represent a sequence of events. This, is very cool! So, you can have it go to "On Demand", "Move down", and "Select". This is cool if you're always going to the same menu all the time or something.
One thing that disappointed me about the sequence is that you seemed to be limited to like 5 steps. My wife and I always put in Mickey Mouse or Pooh from the On Demand and wanted to setup a Sequence called "Mickey" and one called "Pooh" on the screen. Well, since you need to move around the menu 6 or so times, it went beyond what the standard sequence offered. Obviously this is really no big deal, but just a bummer I guess (after only 1 hour we already started to get greedy, see how great this product is?)
The only other thing that I think could be a little better is the placement and size of a few of the buttons. This too isn't a huge deal for me/us as we don't have those monster/sausage hands and fingers. I'm sure that after using for a week I'll be able to use it in the dark with no problems without even looking for what I'm pressing.
Oh, another cool feature is the tilt sensor that turns on the remote display when you, well, tilt it. Man, is there anything this remote doesn't do? This feature, as with all others, is customizable too where you can turn it off, adjust the time, etc.
So, don't let the 4/5 rating fool you. If I could have given this a 4 1/2 star or 4.9 star rating I would have. I will DEFINITELY be telling all my friends and anybody else that will listen that they MUST go out and get one of these. If it wasn't so much I would buy 10 of them and tell all my friends that they'd thank me later.