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,
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Customer Review: Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote
Summary: 4 Stars
Excellent product that works very, very well. With several Home Theater components to turn on and off for TV, DVD, etc., some family members wanted an easier way to operate the system. With the 890, users now just select WHAT they want to do -- Watch TV, Watch DVD, etc. -- and the correct components are turned on.
Best features:
- The OFF button. It simply turns everything off. Nice. Located right at the top of the control.
- Editable lables for text and size. Most pictures of this unit show the screen with 8 functions showing -- two on each level. You can configure the display to show only one function all the way across, easier to see.
- Setup is well done. All of my components were in their database so no customizing on my part was necessary.
- The RF capability. This control can operate as infrared or RF. I set the system up to use RF and it is GREAT to not have to aim the control every time you use it. The dogs don't get in the way and you can operate it from anywhere without having to worry about line of sight. FANTASTIC capability.
- Illuminated controls, a must for any remote. The 890 is cool in that it senses when you pick the control up and automatically lights up for you.
- The HELP function. If you components don't come on like you expect, push the Help key and a series of questions appears that by answering yes or no, correct the problem and remembers. Nice.
Less good features:
- A little complicated to explain but when you set up the ACTIVITIES and select the componets used with certain characteristics about them -- an easy task -- the control also loads a separate list of DEVICE commands from their database. This is handy if you need to access a feature of a device not normally used. Problem is many of the commands don't function or you have to step through many screens to get to what you want. However, you can edit the command list to your liking so it's not bad.
- A slight inconvenience is when you make changes you must update the control AND the RF receiver. Updating the control is easy -- it's loose anyway -- the but receiver has to be disconnected from everything. It's kind of a pain.
Overall, however, this is a great unit, nothing I know of is better. The radio (RF) capability makes it equivalent in function to those total home controls costing thousands. Setup is almost automatic. With some extra programming effort, you can make the control work exactly as you desire.
I highly recommend this remote control.
Customer Review: works great except when it doesn't
Summary: 3 Stars
Ease of use: *****
Features: *****
The Harmony 890 is almost identical to the model 880 I used for many years. In terms of end user functionality, these are the best remotes I have ever used, seen, or read about. You have to use one to understand how good they are.
Battery life: *
I don't know if the 890 will suffer from the same problems as the 880. But I will not give Logitech the benefit of the doubt after the fiasco that was the 880 battery charger.
I was forced to scrap two (2!) Harmony 880 remotes when they stopped powering up. There are well-known issues with model 880: batteries slide out of position, contacts on the base wear down, remote does not make full contact with the base. I was very sad when my 2nd 880 died, so I decided to take a chance on a new 890.
The 890 looks and feels almost identical to the 880. I'll be very satisfied if the 890 has a longer working life than the 880.
Ease of setup: *
Setting up the 890 can be fairly straight-forward. Or it can be a total nightmare. I don't know how the designers expect anyone to get these things working. Long story short: download software, connect the remote to your PC via USB, and use a GUI to build a configuration that describes your A/V devices and "activities"; upload configuration to the remote, test, debug, lather, rinse, repeat. If this process goes smoothly, and if the configuration is accurate, then the remote should work very well. But there are about a million things that can go wrong.
I've run through this configuration process many many times, and I still made a few mistakes, but mostly I ran into problems with the software itself.
My mistake: I should not have tried to tweak my existing configuration. Their mistake: the software was willing to give it a try, and failed. My old configuration wasn't 100% accurate, but after the "upgrade" to the 890, it barely worked at all. It took me quite a while to figure out that I had to remove one of the existing devices and add one with a different (precisely accurate) model number. I figured this out while I sat in queue waiting for Logitech Support to answer the phone. (My call is very important to them...)
The new configuration is fairly good, but some device remote buttons are not programmed in. As an experienced Harmony user, I know how to define new "soft" buttons. But as someone who just wants a working remote, I really don't want to go to all this trouble.
Customer Review: Great for what it does... product quality could be beter
Summary: 3 Stars
My brother got one of these and recommended it highly because of all it could do. I have about eight different devices and too many remotes, so it was a no brainer.
Setup can be intimidating but you start learning all the fine-tuning you can do to make it work how you want it to. It's always an ongoing process because I start needing certain functions and constantly tweak it. It can be annoying, but it always makes it easier to use. It also might be of note that I'm on a Mac. The software works fairly good. As far as setting up, my biggest complaint is the time it takes to update it. I'm glad I have a laptop, because you have to connect the computer to the RF extender and the remote EVERY time you update the remote.
As for operation, it's really a great product. I have outdoor speakers, so it's really convenient to be able to take the remote outside to control music. And above all, it's great that my wife can now press one button to watch TV, listen to music, etc.. It also pleases my wife that we can now hide all of my components. The RF wires can be run to the components' infrared eyes, so components can be hidden anywhere. And it certainly beats having 8 different remotes strewn about the room!
The build quality and design is the main reason I give this a 3 star. The button layout is adequate but the buttons are REALLY easy to press accidentally. It's streamlined, so it's also kind of hard to feel around for certain buttons by touch alone. This is most aggravating for the arc of buttons that controls channels, volume, etc.. Another VERY big annoyance is putting the remote on the charger. It seems like such a simple thing, but it's VERY hard to get the remote to recognize that it's on the charger. And it never makes sense how it actually starts charging when it does. There's just no magic solution.
I've had this thing about 2 1/2 years and it's certainly been abused. But it's been acting a little squirrely lately. The clock will reset for no reason. The remote won't really "wake up" after charging. Taking the battery out always fixes these problems but it's also hard to do that!
I haven't done much research into Logitech's newer remotes, but I think it's safe to say it's time for an update/improvement to the Harmony 890. For what it does, it's a great remote, and there aren't many other companies making remotes with this functionality. I very highly recommend the product for what it does, but with quite a few caveats.
Customer Review: Does what is needed at a decent price
Summary: 5 Stars
All in all a good buy at Amazons price - Takes a while to get setup just the way you would want. I spent about 4 hours total fiddling with getting all on the configuration the way I wanted - My recommendation is to work in small steps and add activities and customizations as you find you need them. On the minus side the initial software setup was a little buggy - locking up the first time on the update of the unit - No major problems since then.
In my case it handles:
Nakamichi AV-8 AV Amp/tunner
Tivo series 2 & Cable Box
Panasonic Dvd Recorder
Hitachi HD Plasma display
Sirius Radio
JVC Dvd Player
Since I got it configured I have not had to touch any of the old remotes. They all went to live in a drawer in another room.
On the configuration side make sure that none of the devices that are being controlled by the remote are dependent on each other for switched power. In my case the Dvd player was connection to the Switched power on the Nakamichi - As a result when selecting the activity to watch a Dvd, the Dvd player would not turn on (Either the remote attempted to turn on the Dvd first, or there was not enough time after the receivers startup for the Dvd to wake up enough to get a signal).
My only current concerns are:
1) Documentation is a bit light (what does the media button do? )
Update: The media button is used for favorite channels etc....
2) I can't figure out how to get the activity soft buttons to return after switching to control a specific device, without actually selecting that activity again (which can cause a visual flash).
Update: Just hit device button one or two times (Depending on context) and the current activity will return.
3) The is no quick toggle for the arrow buttons - In other words when doing a activity the arrow buttons are dedicated to a single device.
4) The enter button (On the lower right side) is hard to reach with small hands, and you will often also hit the 9 button.
5) Had to adjust the timings for the Nakamichi to get the volume to be at a fine enough resolution - Online help was great for troubleshooting this problem.
After a 1 month operation still great, had to invest maybe another hour customizing things to just the way I want them - Have not had to touch any of the old remotes at all.
Customer Review: Great System w/ Hard-To-Use Software
Summary: 4 Stars
Before I got this, my first universal remote, I wondered how anyone could pay that much money for such a device. Now I don't know how I ever got by without one!
This remote eliminated six others. The software recognized most of my hardware just fine, including a Sharp Aquos, Motorola HD cable box, Apple TV and Emerson DVD player. After learning a bit about how to program the control, I even set it up to control my Media Center PC and my space heater!
The system Logitech has is pretty impressive. Most devices are instantly configured after selecting your model number in the software, and if you're having trouble you can call tech support who makes changes on their end that end up showing up on yours! For example, if you don't know how to program an action, instead of talking you through how to do it, they can do it for you and your software will pick up the change they made! Sometimes the support reps aren't very good at solving anything beyond the basics, but it's a good system nonetheless.
The RF capabilities are outstanding, too. In my case, I have my HDTV mounted on a wall where all of my devices are behind that wall, saving clutter and keping everything out of my baby's reach. I can just click a button, and the RF receiver relays the IR command to whatever device I'm trying to control with no noticeable delay (unless you program one).
The biggest drawback is that the software usability is very poor and it's confusing and awkward trying to perform seemingly simple tasks. For example, to change the order of a series of commands associated with a given activity, you can't just click a button that let's you reorder commands, you have to select a poorly named option from a list, go through the additional step of clicking a next button, then go through several steps of existing configuration to eventually gets you to the screen where you can then reorder commands.
If you didn't know where to look for things in the software, they aren't very intuitive to find, and many things require about twice the number of steps they should. The only reason I was able to figure out how the software worked is because I had a support rep explain it to me, so I could fix the problem that he couldn't figure out.
That said, I have to say that I love this remote, and would strongly recommend it to potential buyers. It's not perfect, but it's a good buy.