Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
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Our Price: $399.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $159.99 (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 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: what the other reviewers are not telling you
Summary: 5 Stars
You may look at the price and say to yourself "Who in their right mind would pay $268 for a remote control?"
I, being a normal person, thought the same thing. But then it occurred to me that something was amiss. The product, after all, had 361 reviews at the time. I knew there had to be more to this than meets the eye. "Surely, there are not that many people with so much disposable income in our current economic condition", I thought.
So, the adventurous side of me took hold and I made the purchase. I did not know completely what to expect, but I knew it had to be good. Well, at first I was frustrated and sad as it appeared to be an overpriced remote control (as I had initially suspected before seeing the number of reviews). However, I spent countless hours on this thing and finally found what I was looking for. So, because no one else is being straight about this, I am writing to tell people.
Pressing the Menu + Guide + Rec keys simultaneously will open the inter-dimensional vortex between parallel worlds. I believe this is referred to as the "Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky bridge".
I took my first few trips last night and it was freaking awesome! The very first trip I made was purely accidental as I tripped over my cat when I had opened the vortex and fell face first into a concrete sidewalk on another world. (I chipped a tooth. Ouch!) I panicked instantly upon pulling myself off the sidewalk becaue I had no idea how I would get home. (I hadnt studied the remote long enough). Thankfully, Logitech made it easy. Simply pressing Guide + Stop will transport you back home. No, you dont need to jump into the vortex again when returning. Somehow it just forms a vortex around you automatically so there isnt any fear you will ever be stranded on another world. It seems Logitech has done some very large improvements on the design of Quinn Mallory.
Customer Review: Excellent remote
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned this remote for just over a month now and I cannot imagine fumbling around with 4 or 5 remotes ever again. As others have stated the programming can be difficult to some but not to others, this will depend on your own knowledge of computers. I have 3 hi-def tvs, living room, billiard room and our pool/patio. This remote allows me to control everything wirelessly except the powering on/off of the tvs which is not a big deal. (you can control tv's but my flat panels would require the infrared wire to be attached to the screen which I chose not to do) Sitting in the pool changing channels is the ultimate luxury in our hi-def world.
Changes to my system were made due to this device and it is much easier now (I used to use the tv volumes now I have my stereo controlling everything) The ability to create an activity name and instruct the remote with what needs to turn on, which input etc. has made life in our house so much better. Push one button and there you have it, everything turns on.
The other great thing is after you set it up and play around with it if you find a function that isn't working you simply get back on your computer, evertyhing is saved so changes are a breeze, find the button and the command it is receiving, if the command is wrong you change it and use the USB cable to reprogam the remote and wireless RF antenna, you can do this anytime and if you add new components. If for some reason the software doesn't command a function correctly you simply use your existing remote to program the Logitech, it's amazing, point the original remote at the logitech and it learns the command.
Obviously with all this said, I would highly recommend this remote to anyone. I even bought a second one to give to my dad for his birthday even though he doesn't have as many components to operate, the ease of use makes it worth buying even for a smaller set up.
Customer Review: Avoid this product and Logitech like the plague
Summary: 1 Stars
I am done with Logitech!
I have 2 Harmony 890 Pro remotes with extenders. My ordeal with this product has caused me to research alternatives and I will be going with the massively less cumbersome Next Generation Home Products Wireless RF Extender. I am appalled at Logitech for the following reasons:
1. I encountered the error "Unable to Display Content" on numerous occasions as I was attempting to update the settings on my remotes.
2. This is a well documented issue on the Internet and has existed since 2007!
3. The Logitech support representative informed me that the 890 Pro is a non supported product and that is why the issue still exists because the software has never been updated.
4. Even though this is a known problem with the product, the 3 representatives that I spoke to insisted that they could not help me unless I paid for a $40 incident assistance. Are you kidding me!
5. The best I got from each of my calls with the representatives was an emailed list of tutorials. In some cases, the tutorials did not pertain to my issue and in some cases they were repeats of previous tutorials that did not solve my problem.
6. Once I had done the various updates numerous times, each taking around 7 - 8 minutes for the 4 products to be updated, the one remote kept on crashing. The only way to get the remote to reboot was to remove the battery which was a challenge. I had to use a scissors to do this and landed up cutting myself. That little scar will be an appropriate reminder of the pain I have gone through over this.
I could keep going with my list of complaints, but I will leave it at that for now. I am disgusted by Logitech's lack of support for their product and their lack of empathy for their customers in a situation which is clearly a result of that lack of support. Shame on them!
Customer Review: Disappointed & Returned
Summary: 1 Stars
So much potential, but a non-starter for me. How lucky are you? Keep the packaging and box in case you need to return it.
I could not get the device to "wake up" when I tried to do the initial set-up. The lastest version(7.2.3 in December 07) of the "wizard" in the logitech software would not allow me go past the first few pages of the initial set-up and it never got to the point where it displayed anything but "safe mode". I'm comfortable mucking around the system & control panels and I know the device was connecting. I spent hours on the phone and interacting via e-mail in at least 3 sessions with Logitech level 2 tech support. I tried it on 2 different computers. I scoured the user forums, tried tech support's recommendation of their web-based software instead of the download, followed their advice to shut down/bypass all firewalls on my router and computer and deactivacted all virus/internet protections until my computer was naked on the internet, but never had any success. Tech support never told me anything I had not seen on the forums, and had no clue as to what else to do. Several times I was told to "upgrade the firmware", but that can't be done if their software doesn't acknowledge the device. The problem seems to be something blocking the connection from their servers through my network and computer, but the real problem is this thing isn't ready for use by the general public.
Finally, Logitech gave up and said they would arrange for me to exchange it and get back to me in 2-5 business days. I don't have the patience to go through this again, only to find out that their brain-dead software and lack of knowledge on how to advise users to configure the set-up leaves me with an expensive brick. Very disappointed, I returned it.
Thank you Amazon for being good about that.
Customer Review: Logitech 890 Feedback
Summary: 4 Stars
This remote feels solid, has good key layout and action / feel. The RF to IR portion works really well in the closet even though I did not really install it yet (just set it on the floor). I think it does an especially good job of controlling my Comcast Motorolla DVR, including coming pre-programmed for the commercial skip feature which you have to hack on the Motorolla controller. The Activity macros are pretty good, though you sometimes have to be patient to make sure all devices are in the proper power state (i.e., my DVR only has power toggle, not separate on/off signals so if it was already on to say, record a show, the "Watch TV" activity tries to turn it off.) But general navigation of the DVR is actually better than with the native remote.
Another plus was the ability to control an Onkyo receiver I have which has been finicky in the past with IR repeaters from Niles. All functions worked with no adjustments, telling me Logitech really does their homework on the makes and models it controls.
Slight negatives include the lack of icon capabilities at the top level of the activity menu (you can do channel icons at the "media" level, one screen down). And when you make adjustments to the programming with the desktop software, you have to wait for it to reprogram and reboot BOTH the IR repeater and the remote itself. This process is a bit tedious if it requires multiple iterations (which it will) to get your settings right, and if your computer and your media installation are not close to one another it could be rather irritating.
All in all, a great product for the money - it just takes a bit of tweaking to get it right and then you have to get used to using activity macros instead of individual component controls.