Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: A very good remote with many advanced features but also a few problems.
Summary: 4 Stars
The Harmony 890 does what it needs to do - plus offering RF transmit which frees you from line of site operation. Configuration takes some effort, however, and rewards experimentation and some tweaking. Also, the layout of the lower button block isn't great - and takes some learning. Ergonomics, in general, are somewhat flawed.
I had the typical problem: audio visual setup with 6 different components (TV, home theater receiver, Tivo, DVD, VCR, cable box), 6 different remotes and problems with wife, babysitters, and kids using it. What makes the Harmony special is the activity based setup. Initially I thought this was going to be about key scripting - but what it's really about is configuring the remote to control multiple components with one set of keys. For example, while watching TV via Tivo the volume buttons control the stereo's volume while the navigation keys control the Tivo. The "off" button at the top turns off the stereo and the TV - but I was able to configure the cable box and tivo to never turn off. Very nice. I was worried about complexity setting stuff up - and the Harmony took about an hour to install and configure - but then I spent another 90 minutes or so reconfiguring buttons to my taste after test driving the configuration. I was worried about using the Harmony 890 to control a Tivo (I have a Humax 800, a Tivo/DVR combo). The Harmony 890 works fine for the Tivo, and everything else - just be prepared to edit the soft buttons after your test drive the default configs.
The RF feature also works very well. I love not having to point the remote any particular direction to make it work.
The downsides are:
1) the layout of the navigation buttons (pause, play, fast forward, rewind etc...) the block at the bottom, don't fall easily to the thumb and are not layed out in a logical and ergonomic way. They should be arranged in a circle like the cursor keys above (the Tivo remote has the dual circle layout - and it's superior). With time you get used to it, but I'd hope a state of the art remote would get this basic design aspect right.
2) The cradle is persnickety about charging. You have to really jam the unit down to make it stick to the contacts and start charging. This is pretty inexcusable. One of these days I'm gonna get my dremel and grind off plastic in strategic areas to fix this - but I shouldn't have to.
3) The buttons around the top oval - volume up/down, channel up/down and all the soft keys (user programmable buttons) are very thin and hard to learn and use by touch alone. Clearly form rather than function were design priorities.
Bottom line, this unit works and some nice luxury features. I love that visitors and technically challenged family can turn on the whole thing to watch tv with a single button push and turn it off with a single click of the silver top button.
Follow-up 4 months later:
With time I've grown more and more fond of this remote. The charging issue went away. After a few insertions and removals the remote finds the charging contacts just fine (no Dremel required). The key arrangement in the bottom block isn't optimal, but we've all gotten used to it. (By all I mean my wife, kids, babysitters etc... - everyone can use the complicated AV system with just a brief orientation (except for the tiny 4 year old girl who can't read the Tivo screens)). Bottom line, once you configure the Harmony 890 your AV system is just much much easier to use on a daily basis. It is definitely worth the investment in time and effort up front.
Follow up 2: 8 months out the unit stopped charging. The screen shows a red battery indicator for a moment and then goes black. It only intermittently lights up when pressed hard against the charging base. On-line advice is to shove some paper on top of the battery so the cover holds it down harder (didn't help). I ordered a new battery on Ebay (info on battery types is hard to find - but I saw on an rsa feed that the Nokia BLB-2 works). I post after I've received it and we'll see if it works.
Follow up 3: Watch out about the Nokia BLB-2 batteries. They come in two amperages (both have same form factor and 3.7 voltage): 720mAn & 920. Only the 920 will work in the Harmony 890. I found a source on Ebay that sells two of the right kind with a charger. It was a little pricey, but it worked. For some reason, the Harmony will not properly charge on the cradle any more, but I'm able to use the external charger and swap between the two batteries successfully. I'm addicted to my Harmony 890 - but I wish the battery/charger cradle issue were better.
Customer Review: A remote with serious problems and horrible support
Summary: 1 Stars
The Harmony 890 remote (Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control)
Reviewer experience level: Electronics hobbiest; considerable experience with both PCs and consumer electronic devices
I've owned this remote since December of 2006. Since then, I've had three major problems with it. In all three cases, tech support was awful.
In the first two instances, efforts to program / update the remote failed because of errors in Logitech's web-based programming utility. The first problem occurred when I tried to program the remote for the first time. I kept getting a Java error mid-way through the programming process. Eventually, after trying every troubleshooting trick I could find on the Logitech website, I called tech support. The initial tech support operator absolutely refused to believe that I wasn't doing something wrong in the programming process, and kept trying to talk me through the process over and over. Finally I was transferred to someone who knew what they were talking about. That person admitted that the problem was due to a programming error on the web site, and suggested that I "try again in a few days." They finally fixed the problem, and I was able to do the obligatory firmware update and program the remote and RF receiver, but having a brand new remote that I couldn't program for several days because of a software error by the manufacturer left me less than impressed. Sadly, that was the easiest of the problems to resolve.
A few months later, in early 2007, I changed TVs and needed to reprogram the remote and receiver. Once again, the programming process bombed, and once again I got to listen to a tech support operator who seemed convinced that I couldn't possibly be seeing the error I was reporting. After spending hours on the phone with tech support over a couple of days - most of it on hold, listening to snippets of classical music and unhelpful "hints" replayed incessantly - I was finally transferred to someone at Level 2 tech support who was able to tell me that I was experiencing a known problem, and that it could only be corrected by (guess what?!) programming changes at the Logitech end. Once again the problem was eventually corrected, but by this time the pattern was established -- try to program the remote, experience a problem in the web-based programming software, call tech support, talk to someone who tries to tell you that you're not doing something properly, be persistent, spend an hour or three on hold, and eventually get to talk to someone who can, sooner or later, fix the problem. That's not, in my opinion, a very good model for product support.
The latest adventure, and the one that finally prompted me to write a review of (or, more correctly, a warning about) this remote, occurred in September, 2007. The remote began experiencing recharging problems, so I carefully cleaned the contacts on the charger, remote, and battery. The problems persisted, and soon the remote wouldn't recharge at all. After visiting the online troubleshooting guide to check for known problems and advice, I connected the remote to a USB port and found that it would power up. This narrowed the problem down to either a bad battery or a bad charger. So... another call to tech support, another referral to the mysterious and elusive Level 2 support staff, and - after spending almost two hours on hold - I was able to talk with someone who didn't seem at all surprised to hear about a bad charger. Supposedly a new charger will be arriving soon; I'm not sure that I want to know what Logitech's definition of "soon" is.
During the few months that the remote worked properly, it worked very well. The problem is that the software is buggy (to say the least), the hardware is unreliable, and tech support is among the worst I've ever dealt with. The front-line tech support operators seem able to do little more than repeat the information you can find on the Logitech web site and the hold times are ridiculous. If you don't mind recurring problems, and lots of time spent on hold listening to endless repititions of basic user techniques set to classical music, then this might be the remote for you. Otherwise, I'd suggest looking for something - anything - else.
Customer Review: Probably The Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was hesitate to purchase this remote after reading some of the negative reviews few as they were. I also had concerns about being able to program my DirecTV HD-20 PRV correctly as it is a really complicated beast. But I purchased the 890 and couldn't be happier. This remote has every feature you could want and more. Nice size that fits in your hand, Feedback Icon on remote displays when a button is pressed. Cool charging cradle. Some people say the buttons are too small, they probably never had to use some of the remotes that I have. Buttons light up when remote is picked up (tilt switch that can be turned on or off). The remote just works flawlessly for me.
No actual problems. Everything was done correctly right through the Logitech On-Line Wizard (after upgrading the software and firmware). You are prompted and guided through the whole process. The only tweak I had to do was increase the latency from 500ns (1/2 second) to 1000ns (1 second) for my Sony BDP-S1 Blu-Ray. I had problems with the unit switching On. I went to the Help section within the On-Line setup. As the Help section explains when the activity button is pressed the IR signals are sent out, each device receives each IR signal whether or not it is for that particular device. Some devices have a delay time until they could read the next IR signal. So when you are powering on several devices and setting input sources, etc. a particular device may not be ready to receive it's signal to say Power On. Once I changed the latency to 1000ns (1 second) I have no other problems.
I like to sometimes watch my TV using it's own internal sound system and sometimes I like to watch TV using my Theater Sound System, so I set one activity to turn on the TV, PCR and use the TV sound and a separate activity to Turn on the TV, PCR and AVR. Works Great, same for my Blu-Ray player. You can operate virtually any devise including Lights, Heating/Venting using the Z-Ray modules.
As for people having problems with components turning On then maybe they didn't try the Help System Available On-Line. I have read here someone complaining about the 890 not having macros. What do you think the Activities buttons are for? One Button turns on every necessary component, sets up your TV input source, turns off other components that you might have been using prior. Seems like a macro to me! I have replaced 5 remotes with this one and the functionality of this one is better then any of the included remotes I had.
You can even have the remote set on in feedback mode where it will ask you "Is Everything On?" and if you answer "No" it will start correcting the problem asking in each step "Is the Device On Now?".
Some people say it was too complicated to setup! Well these people are probably the same people who had their VCR clocks constantly blinking from lack of setting the time on them because they could either not figure it out or too lazy to read and learn.
I even read that this remote is totally unusable with a Macintosh. Well that's a big lie, I have a Mac and I had no problems, just uploaded the software upgrade.
I think most of the complaints and problems could be resolved with a few simple rules:
1) FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
2) ALWAYS, as with any software, UPGRADE TO THE LATEST VERSION of Both the software and firmware.
3) If you are still having problems, first use the On-Line Help System, If that doesn't get you through the problem then contact Logitech. You can even go to the Logitech online forums where almost every conceivable problems had been already discussed and if not ASK there.
Bottom Line: This remote works better then advertised. It works better then I ever thought it would. You are not going to get a better remote at this price or even higher. And Amazon has the lowest price for a trusted source. If you need a remote to control all your devices without the hassle of click-and-learn (although this remote has learning capabilities too) then this is the remote for you. It may not work with each and every device, i.e. Bose systems, PS3 systems or whatever, but it probably works with more devices then most. When in doubt contact Logitech.
P.S. Yes this remote comes with the IF Wireless AV receiver and all necessary cables such as UBS, etc.
Customer Review: Incredible Remote / Horrible Interface
Summary: 3 Stars
This is my first Harmony remote. I was considering the Pronto but selected the Logitech mostly because I was very familiar with their computer products. I have nothing but good things to say about the remote itself, and nothing but bad about the interface program.
The remote is very sleek and modern, it will make a nice addition to anybody's coffee table (especially since it will dispose of all other remotes (I personally replaced 4 remotes). All activities of the hard buttons are very intuitive for all functions. I have had it for 4 days, and already find it easy to navigate the functions. The tilt sensor works fine, and after 4 days of being a couch potato the battery is still above half.
Now for the software: If you're one of those people who will open a computer out of the box and never "customize" the settings, you will probably get along with this program just fine. The initial setup has a relatively thorough question-answer process that will get your remote ready to operate all your equipment. Of course that operation, even for the most basic options, may take you scrolling through several screens to get to your button.
If you would like to make even the most basic customization, you will find this program very very (very) frustrating. It took me 7 hrs the first day to get a set up I could live with, and another 3 hrs the next day to fine tune it. I have a few other minor issues that I will be correcting after a few more days. It only took me the first 30min to see how the software was set up, and the other 9.5 hrs to get through the very redundant, very tedious, very cumbersome, very slow setup, all along the way hoping it did not lock up again. Other specific problems with the software:
1. Scroll wheel on mouse doesn't work in their program. (Come on Logitech, scroll wheels have been around for over 10 years. You are known for your input devices, including mice. I have 4 wireless keyboards and 6 wireless mice in my household, and have even recommended them to friends. Now one of your programs doesn't have scroll wheel functionality. -- YOU REALLY BLEW IT ON THIS ONE.)
2. The program is internet based and very slow over broadband. . . If you have dial-up, you'd probably have more fun gouging your eyes with a butter knife than using this program.
3. It installs itself in the start-up folder of WinXP, and slows your computer down even when you are not using the remote interface.
4. It often locks up, and forgets your options.
5. It puts the soft-buttons on the LCD in absolutely no obvious order. My TV PIP open button was on the first slide, and the other PIP buttons were on slide 3.
6. It adds soft buttons for many of the commands that are covered by the hard buttons.
7. Although it is rare to need to learn a command, that process is very cumbersome. The command you learn goes to the internet first, then gets sent back to your remote - this is confusing to me.
8. There is no way to make hard buttons still control options on one device when you select another device. For example, if I go to the TV Device, I can't use the Guide button on my Satellite TV, even though those buttons don't do anything for the TV.
9. There is no activity to "turn all your equipment off" for the end of your evening.
10. Updates to items that don't affect your RF extender still require update to the RF extender as well as the remote.
11. I could go on, but I'll stop here (I think I got all the major problems in here). Bottom line, the software is HORRIBLE, and nothing like what I would expect from Logitech.
So overall, Remote earns a 4.5 stars, and the software earns 0 stars (I'd like to give it a negative score), for an average score of 3 stars.
Customer Review: If you make a bit of effort, it works fine. Highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my second customizable remote. I've been using a $400 Home Theater Master MX1000 for several years. It's capable, but fragile. Mine's been broken twice. The software hasn't been updated since Windows 95 (!) and I can't get it working well with Windows XP, so I have to do all the programming from the keypad, which means my programming can't be backed up. Suffice it to say, i thought it was time for a change.
The last time I programmed my MX1000, it took almost three days to set up the keys and learn the codes, and it only went that fast because I'd done it twice before. I finished setting up my Harmony 880 in about four hours from startup. That may seem like a lot of work, but my experience is that nothing works out of the box for a home theater system. When you're trying to get several brands of components working together, it takes some tinkering.
Several things weren't right after the automatic setup process. Some of the functions didn't control properly and I needed to remove some buttons and add others. My 400 slot DVD changer required the most work. My iPod had to be added from scratch. My Philips TV worked without changes, as did my Technics receiver. I had to work with the power off/on settings to get things working to my satisfaction.
A problem with almost all macro-capable programmable remotes is that almost no devices have discrete off and on functions. To save a button, manufacturers have one button that toggles between off and on. Consequently, the remote can't be sure what the power state of a device is, and it's possible for devices to get out of sync. The 880 handles this situation as well as can be expected. If you start with all devices off, and if you keep the remote squarely pointed at the system until all the functions in an action are completed, your devices should turn off and on as required. It's a tricky situation, and errors are easily possible. If things get messed up, pressing the Help button starts a dialog on the remote that should get all the devices synced up again. My MX1000 has nothing like that, and I'm constantly turning things on and off manually.
The Web configuration process isn't quite as straight-forward as I'd like. Sometimes I can't figure out how to get to a particular screen where I made a specific setting. So plan on spending some time learning the configuration process. But I was able to accomplish everything I wanted. My DVD changer takes a long time time to initialize, but I was able to force it to remain on when changing functions. Some of the DVD functions weren't set up by the automatic configuration process, but they were defined in the device definition, so I could add them without having to have the 880 learn any codes.
I was able to create an action for my iPod. For that, I had to teach the 880 all the codes for my navipod remote for the iPod. It took about a half hour including testing and minor revisions.
Given my experience, the 880 is about as easy to set up as one could reasonably expect. Part of the configuration reflected my own preferences. Some reflected characteristics of my equipment. Manufacturers tend to use the same control sets for many devices. My 400 disk changer uses many of the same codes as a Sony 5 disk changer, for example. A bit of custom work was required to add the special buttons I needed to really use the 400 disk changer.
The point, though, is that I was able to achieve everythign I wanted in a reasonable period of time, including my learning. The 880 works as well as my previous remote, is easier to configure, is lighter and feels better built, and costs $150 less. I think that's a bargain by any terms. No, it didn't work right out of the box, but it did everything I wanted, and I'm pretty demanding. I recommend the Harmony 880 highly.