Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touch Screen
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touch Screen
Customer Review: Still falling short if its potential
Summary: 3 Stars
I've been a Harmony 880 user for a long time and while the Harmony remotes offer easy setup of basic functions for an AV system, the hardware was a disappointment. My 880 suffered from an LCD that shifted its viewing angle without any means to adjust it; it made unreliable contact with the charging cradle; and many keys were small with all having tiny, barely readable legends.
The Harmony One is certainly a better remote. The cradle contacts now mate reliably with the remote. The keys have larger, brighter, easier to read legends. I can't say if the LCD will hold up over time, but it's brighter and clearer than the 880's ever was. The touch display ergonomics are turning out to be a step backward, however. While the activity descriptions are larger, there are half as many accessible at one time. The left/right navigation cuts into the size of the center button so you have to touch the center button with some precision. Logitech completely ignored parallax. You must hold the remote fairly level to have the IR emitter work well, but at that angle it's hard to judge where to touch the displayed controls. I often accidentally hit the active areas for device/activity controls instead of the third button as I intended. It would be very simple for a remote to have the IR LEDs mounted at an angle, minimizing touch screen parallax and providing a better view of the controls as you use them.
For basic activity setup, the web-based configuration works very well. The system has improved since I started out with the 880 - but more advanced setup is still frustrating and slow at best. What's still difficult and very annoying is setting up custom button layouts for your device and activities configurations. Stupidly, all the device controls are presented by Logitech alphabetically. This results in very poor groupings of controls and the basics like power on/off/toggle are way down the list. You can move control items up and down the list so they're arranged more functionally, but but you can only move one item one space at a time. And you have to remember to save your changes and restart the setup every five minutes or you lose all your changes. I discovered the time limitation after spending the better part of an hour rearranging controls only to find the session had timed out long ago. The better way to customize buttons is to delete and reconfigure all the commands. Yes, doing that is just as slow and annoying as it sounds.
I tried adding a custom IR device for my subwoofer remote. The Logitech presets would let me add a device but would error out when I tried to configure it. Logitech has a lot of devices but some are very hard to find. My Clarion Sirius tuner was supported but it was hidden in an odd and vague category of devices. Logitech should add more categories specifically for digital audio players and satellite receivers.
You are likely to want to do more advance configuration of your Harmony remote simply because the canned functions leave out controls you're likely to need. For several activities, I want controls for surround and decoding but I had to add these manually. The device controls typically take up several "pages" on the LCD and the alphabetic listing ensures they're not grouped rationally. You'll also get all the commands you'll never use so if, for example, you have a Sirius receiver and don't want to wade through many XM controls, you have to delete them manually. I'd rate the Harmony much higher if doing those manual adjusments wasn't extremely slow and frustrating.
Customer Review: They really got this RIGHT!
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is my third Harmony Remote. I also own the 880 model and the 720. I have been sold on them ever since I started using the first one, but this one really gets everything right!
I have found the programming to be very easy. Just collect the model numbers of the equipment you want to control and write all the information on the handy form that is supplied with the remote. Then sit down at your computer, install the included software, and enter the information about your devices (as Harmony calls them). You may get further queries about some of the equipment which will require you to hold the original remote close to the Harmony remote to transfer a few commands. Or not. For my 7 devices, I only had to transfer commands from my Tivo remote. The others were all automatically programmed by the software.
Then you choose the activities, such as "watch TV," "record video," "watch DVD," etc. and choose the order in which you want them to appear on your remote. Everything is loaded onto the remote, you get a chance to check out how it works, and further tweaking if you want. And that's it. It took me about 15 minutes and everything worked on the first try.
The remote is then ready to be used by anyone in the household. It is so friendly in its usage that even a visitor could pick it up and know just by looking and following the prompts, how to control all of your entertainment devices. In case of problems, you push the "help" button and it talks you through what might need fixing to get everything working right. My husband used to complain that he never knew how to turn on the TV because the system was so complicated. He loves the Harmony remotes.
Now, as to what makes the Harmony One the epitome of Harmony remotes. First, it is just cool looking. It's shiny black with silver accents, and is pretty in a techy way. Next, the ergonomics are right. It fits well in your hand (either hand) and the buttons are laid out logically in groups.
Next, the button controls are bumpy so that you can use the remote without looking most of the time. You soon learn what the most-used buttons feel like, and they are in the "right place" so you can use them without thinking about it. Also, the touch screen portion is bright and easy to use, even if you have big fingers.
Another great improvement to this Harmony model is the charging cradle. The remote drops fully into the cradle so the contacts connect without any "jiggle factor." On my other Harmony remotes, I find that I sometimes need to tweak the position in the cradle to make sure the battery contacts are connecting. This one takes care of that completely. And again, it even looks good enough to leave out in a handy location while charging.
Even though I tend to be an early adopter of tech goodies, I resisted the Harmony remotes at first because I was skeptical that they would really work as they claimed they would. My skepticism vanished with my first Harmony remote. Now with the Harmony One, the design has matured into a near-perfect package. The designers and engineers are going to have to think really hard to come up with improvements on the next model, because they got everything just right with this one. An unqualified success!
Customer Review: Unbelievably easy and intuitive set-up, a nearly flawless remote
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I need to qualify my perspective by allowing that the last time I took a chance on a universal remote, it was the Phillips Pronto. A thick, wide, heavy brick of an object with a monochrome touch screen. The programming process was so drawn out, that I never got all of my devices into it, and subsequently, this expensive piece of electronics sat in that box full of cables and other bits that resides in everyone's closet. So I admit to being apprehensive a bit when the Harmony One Advanced arrived.
Immediately as I opened the box, I was delighted at the look and feel of the remote. It has some substance, but isn't too heavy. The weight is fairly balanced front to back even with the battery inserted. The front face is a high gloss black, with a touch of silver at the bottom, the back a comfortable matte black rubber-type feel. It is, for lack of a better word, a 'pretty' remote.
So I did what the instructions said; I gathered the make and model numbers of the nine (9) pieces of equipment I wanted to control. I set aside an hour to start the process, and figured I'd continue later as necessary. After installing the software on my laptop, I connected the remote to it, and started following the prompts. I entered all those make and model numbers -- and lo and behold, that was the whole of my set-up experience. I chose how the devices work together, what settings they each need in order to perform an 'Activity' (such as watching a DVD, or playing an Xbox 360), and that was it. After about 10-15 minutes, I was disconnected, and using my new remote without a single hitch. I love that you can hit different activities on the touch screen, and the remote will control multiple objects at the same time, or you can select devices and control each individually as if you had the original remote.
After nearly a month of use, I only have a few concerns. That high gloss black on the face shows fingerprints and grime very easily. I feel like we're constantly wiping it down with a cloth they provided with the package. This isn't a complaint so much as it is an observation. Furthermore, there are already some very fine scratches over the touch screen. I may have to blame one or more of my three dogs for this one though, and not Logitech's choice of materials.
All my old remotes now live in that box with the old pronto. I don't keep them around just in case, because no scenario (no matter how complicated) has required them in my use over the last month. I added a new device (an HD-DVD player) a week or two ago, and it took just a few minutes to have it working just as well as the rest in the Harmony One's interface. This is a brilliant remote, and I literally couldn't be much happier with it. The only feature I wish it had, was its own 'sleep' timer for all the devices. Not all of my electronics do that on their own, and it would have been a nice touch to have been granted that ability by way of the remote's function.
Outside of those with specific RF or Bluetooth needs, I can't imagine anyone being unhappy with this remote. A wonderful addition (subtraction, considering I went from 9 remotes to 1 in this room) to my entertainment experience. Thank you, Logitech!
Customer Review: Great Remote
Summary: 4 Stars
I have only had the remote for 3 days, so these are just preliminary findings. This remote is being used to control : Hitachi 32HDL51 TV, DishNetwork DVR-625, Sony STR-DA7ES receiver, JVC HR-S9911U VHS, HP Z540 computer, Archos AV-500 PVR and an X10 light controller. So far the only problem I've had is with the X10 controller, but I haven't put any time into debugging it.
The computer I am using for programming the remote is a Dell E521 ( AMD 64X2 5600+ processor ) running Windows XP Pro SP2. Installing and running the software was quite straightforward ( I'm on a 3Mbps DSL connection ). I find the software to be fairly intuitive, but did note the "strange" English that other reviewers have mentioned.
The only glitch I ran into when doing the initial setup for the remote was that the software wanted to "read" some of the signals for the DVR-625 and the Sony receiver though I had checked before buying the remote to make sure they were supported. It then occurred to me that both of these units have TWO remote controls ( both have two-room capability ). The software was just checking to see which remote I was using. BUT that showed me that the folks who have complained about the remote's learning capability have legitimate concerns. I have had a number of teachable remotes, and this is the first one I've had a problem with. The main problem seemed to be lighting - I had to turn off a lamp about 3 feet away before I had any success at all. Then, if I had the remotes about 3" apart, and pressed the button for no more than 1 second, the signals were received ok. This is the main reason for a 4 star rating rather than 5 star.
I spent most of today setting up the "favorite channels" on the remote. The only reason it took so long was that I searched the web for appropriate icons to use, then had to edit them to get 75x44 pixel images ( don't try to use any other size - the icons "stretch" to fit 75x44 ). A really good source for "nice" icons is http://www.iconharmony.com/icons/
After getting the icons, setting up the favorite channels feature was a breeze. And, best of all, it actually works.
As far as the physical design of the remote, I find it very easy to use. A lot of thought went into the placement of the buttons, and I have no trouble using it with "one hand operation". The remote I replaced with this one was also a touch-screen ( rather old Sony one ), so I have no problem with the touch-screen. I also have fairly small fingers, so that may help! It is a fairly small screen. I find the lighted buttons to be extremely useful, and it's pretty neat that they turn on as soon as you pick up the remote. I can't comment too much on the battery life, since I've only had it for 3 days. But the battery indicator hasn't moved very far from full during that time.
In conclusion, I'm quite satisfied with this remote. Before buying one, make sure it will control your components with a minimum of "teaching", because that's a real bummer. You can check all your components on Logitech's home page.
Added after initial review: Just noticed the remote wasn't really turning the DishNetwork DVR on or off. The "help" and "device" could turn it on/off, but not the "activity". I wasn't able to correct the problem with any of the adjustments, but the setup allows one to add steps to activities. I added a "select" to turn it on and "power toggle" to turn it off. Now it works fine.
Customer Review: Awesome remote
Summary: 5 Stars
This is only my second advanced remote like this - first was a Phillips Pronto. This one leaves it far behind.
I didn't research too much, just knew I wanted something programmable for my media center and TV. So it was a great surprise to plug in the remote, tell it what I had, and offer preprogrammed options based on those devices. So it has all the steps to get to all the options on my media center PC, saving me even having to set up the steps! It does it automatically. Incredible.
What I expected to be about a 30 minute job to set up the various macros for the options on my media center (listen to music, watch DVD's, watch my movie files, look at pictures, watch live TV, go to recorded TV, etc) was actually about 4 minutes, and it wouldn't have taken that long if I had been familiar with how the software was going to work rather than just delving into it blind. But it's so straight forward and simple that you CAN delve into it blind. Even the remote will double check that things worked right and offer to adjust things if they don't, asking obvious things like "did the TV turn on?" and fixing it if it didn't.
Even turns on the backlight and screen as soon as it senses it was picked up, so unlike most, you don't have to press a button to get the lights even to turn on. Very nice touch that I had never though of, but once I experienced it I thought "This is obvious, why don't all of them do this?"
Selectable 12/24 hour time format (something nice when I find it since I prefer everything in 24 hour format), even can program how long the backlight buttons and screen stay illuminated.
Ergonomics are outstanding. It has, for lack of a better term, two "detent" positions. There are two major parts for use, one is the normal transport buttons, one is the main select d-pad. So the bottom of the remote is sculpted so that it fits perfectly in the hand if you are holding it in either of those most used spots. So it's always comfortable regardless of whether you're holding it farther back for the transport controls, or farther forward for the selection controls.
Buttons are about the best I've ever felt on a remote. Nice positive feel when you press them. Like my preference for Thinkpad keyboards for laptops. It just feels better than everything else.
I was expecting something good, but this exceeded even my wildest expectations. I used to think the Pronto was a cool remote, but this one is just outstanding. Worth every penny.
EDIT after a month of use - I returned the unit. Nearly 10 years ago I had my first Philips Pronto, and was able to program buttons anywhere for anything. I've spent a month trying to get Logitech to add a TV Power Toggle button, that already exists on the remote's screen for my TV device, to my Media Center device screen on this remote. They can't. Nearly a decade later and they can't do what joe average could do on his own PC. This was a deal breaker for me since I hated having to jump all the extra steps to get it under another "device". The whole point of these is to make things easier, and after seeing what can be done when I had my Pronto, the limits that even the company itself can't get past were a dealbreaker, which is too bad because this is the most comfortable remote I've ever had, and I spent a month back and forth with Logitech trying to get it to be useful for what I want, and they just can't do it.