Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touchscreen
by Logitech
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List Price: Our Price: $159.99 You Save: $40.00 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touchscreen
Customer Review: Great remote - not reliable
Summary: 3 Stars
This remote (and other Harmony remotes) are a lifesaver. It is one of the only devices that will allow you to control your home-theater volume with the same remote as everything else - just by hitting the volume buttons - no need to switch settings all the time. You program it for tasks, like "play game", "watch a movie", or something similar. I use it for a PS3 remote, as well, with the PS3 adapter (sold seperately). If I choose an item, like "watch Blu-Ray", it turns on my TV, turns on the PS3, turns on my home theater, sets the TV to the correct HDMI port, sets the home theater to the correct port - all with just one button.
That is the reason I bought it, and I am totally satisified with the functionality. The reason I only gave it 3 stars, though, is the reliablity. I need to throw in here that I have a 3 year old son, and I got this remote when he was almost 2, so it's not an easy life for a remote control at my house. The first one I bought only lasted 2 or 3 months, then it went totally dead - it wouldn't ever finish booting up. The screen would power on, but nothing would ever be displayed, and it wouldn't work. I powercycled it, removed the battery, and tried to re-flash it from my PC via USB - still nothing. I called Logitech, and they made me do all the same stuff again, then decided it was bad. They did send another one, and it didn't take too long to get here, and the cool thing is that it was just a straight shipment - I didn't have to send the old one back, so I didn't have to give out my credit card info or anything. So far I was impressed, even if the first one died.
The second one, though, again lasted just a few months. This one started having a problem with the motion sensor. It is supposed to turn off the screen and go into a kind of "power saver" mode when it's not being used. It determines this from motion. This one stopped sensing motion, or maybe it just thinks there is constant motion, but either way - it stopped going to power save mode. I didn't want to call again, because this time I think my son had something to do with it - I think he dropped it. Still, a remote that costs this much should be able to stand being thrown onto carpet, let alone dropped.
So, I still have the one with the broken accelorometer. It still works, but - since the power save function doesn't work - the battery doesn't last long AT ALL. I have to keep it on the base most of the time, pick it up to use it, then set it back down. I can keep it off the base, and it the charge will last maybe 2 hours before it goes dead. Also, for some unknown reason, when the power-save thing broke, now the clock on the remote always says 1:06am - if I set it, it goes back to 1:06am.
It's a great remote, and I'm sad that I couldn't give it 5 stars. I just feel that it could be made sturdier. Even if they didn't want to do this, it would be ok with me, as long as there would be a button you can press to turn the screen off, or maybe a setting where it would turn off the screen after no button presses for 10 seconds or so. Both of these 2 options would be cheap to implement, much cheaper than how the sensor works now, but neither are present.
So, I just keep using it, waiting till my son gets to be about 4 or 5, because I'm scared to buy another one now - I would be worrying constantly if he was even looking at it funny.
Customer Review: Great remote, almost perfect.
Summary: 4 Stars
My wife got me this for Christmas (at my request). I love the remote and the setup was very easy and straight forward. I have 7.1 receiver, PS3, Wii, Big Screen television, and Dish Network HD DVR in my setup. The remote didn't have any problem with setup, although I was a little nervous that it ask you to type in the model number of each product rather than giving a drop down box to choose the model for each item you wish to set up. This proved to not be an issue as the setup program recognized each item I entered. The only issues I had with setup did not involve the computer interface. Keep in mind that to operate a PS3 with this remote you need a seperate adapter. I had to play around with this adapter for a bit to get the PS3 to see it as a remote and get the Harmony to pick it up. I am pretty technical savvy but this could be an issue with my refusal to go step by step reading the instructions. My next issue came in that the remote uses MACROS (a series of remote commands) to let you do a function such as "watch t.v.", or "watch a d.v.d.". When I would hit the touch screen area to "watch a d.v.d" everything would work as it should except my t.v. would not power on. I eventually found this to be easily resolved by hitting the "help" button on the remote which basically ask me what the problem was and immediately resolved it. This was not a major problem for me but could have been an issue for someone challenged with tech. Only other issue I can find with remote, which has not been a problem for me but could be for someone not into gadgets is that if something goes wrong, such as a component not powering on after hitting a macro command, you have to work through the remote's command menu to find the item and then find the function you need it to do. This is not all that difficult, but could be an issue for a non tech savvy user which might find a conventional remote easier to use.
Personally I love this remote. It is rechargable and battery life last days between recharges. The remote actually shuts itself down and powers back up by detecting motion in the remote being picked up or moved. It does everything a remote should, has back-light keys, and has buttons missing on most "universal" remotes such as those needed for dvr recording and playback. I can also appreciate the ability to "up-grade" through software to keep up with codes needed to control new products that come out.
All in all I would give this remote 5 stars for my personal use, 4 stars for use by my wife, and 3 stars if my Mother was to use it. I can't say enough good things about this remote, but it may not be for everyone. If you check your facebook everyday you will love it, if you don't know what facebook is you should probably do a little more research before buying. Your happiness will completely depend on your ability to navigate a menu.
One last note. I had looked at the "higher" level Harmony remotes with a lot more touch screen and a lot less keys. I have not used one and they are probably great remotes. I can say that I actually appreciate having the hard keys to work with. In this remote Logitech has been very thoughtful in including hard keys to control all the most popular current equipment that it is designed to control (which is pretty much everything).
I would give 4 and 1/2 stars if I could.
Customer Review: Awesome piece of tech
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned and loved the Harmony 880 for the past 4 years, but decided to make the switch to the Harmony One after several buttons on the 880 started failing. I recently went through the upgrade process and found many advantageous and disadvantages which I will share.
Pros
1. The docking station - several reviewers have mentioned this, and it is true; the dock is significantly superior to that of the 880 as it ensure adequate contact.
2. The button size and feel is designed quite well. The buttons feel very solid and are laid out well. There is plent of space between the buttons, which also happen to be back-lit so you can see them in a dark room. The 880 has very very small buttons that require you to look directly at the remote to ensure you are pressing the right one, and if you have large fingers like me, you can easily press the wrong one. The One does not have that issue at all.
3. You can set up favorite channels with graphic icons for each station. From [...], you can download icons for all of your favorite TV channels and have them programmed into the touch-screen. Way cool!
4. You can adjust the sensitivity level of the touch-screen, which was a pleasant surprise for me.
5. The overall feel of the unit is very solid. The backside has a smooth rubbery surface that prevents slipping/dropping, which has happened to me a few times with the 880.
Cons
1. It is worth mentioning that the response time seems to lag slightly as compared to the 880 when using the touch-screen controls. There is approximately 1 second delay after you press the button, and at times the command doesn't seem to respond at all, so you have to press it again. It may be due to the IR signal. Also, When using the programmed favorite channels, the remote enters the channels numbers for you one at a time, which can be time-consuming. During this process, you must make sure to point the remote at the DVR/TV to ensure proper signal is passed. I guess this is not necessarily a negative, but something to be aware of.
2. I'm sure others have already mentioned this, but the touch-screen is a fingerprint magnet, and it is difficult to clean because you can easily accidentally press a command while trying to clean it.
Other notes
The remote itself is noticeably larger in terms of overall length, but flatter in design as compared to the 880. This is not a big deal; just have to get used to it. I found that buttons I sometimes have to use my "off" hand to reach the touchscreen buttons towards the top of the screen, or shift the remote in my main hand. Again, not a big deal.
The upgrade process using the Harmony software was generally smooth. Just open the software app and click "Replace Remote". All of the devices and activities are transferred over seamlessly. However, the custom button commands for the activities are NOT transferred, so be sure to write them down so you don't forget them. I almost didn't realize I had to do this for the 7 devices I have, which could have created a lot of work!
Closing comments
Overall, considering all the pros and cons, after owning the One for a couple weeks, I am very happy with my decision to go with this unit!
Customer Review: Great Remote
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this remote for a few weeks now, which has given me some time to work with it and get a feel for its strengths and weaknesses. My advice: It's an awesome tool, but know what you're getting into.
Point 1: Expect a learning curve. And not just for you, but for the remote too. You have to be willing to dedicating time to learning the remote's programming software, and then to spend a bit of additional time training the remote to work with your setup. Single function remotes have the ease of use benefit of working "out of the box." They know exactly how your hardware works... but you wind up with a dozen of them. On the other hand, this remote has the power to work with almost anything, but you need to take the time to program it properly. You start by adding in the basic device models and design a few Activities (Watch TV, Watch DVD, etc). Then you try it, and see what you get. It probably won't work completely, but that's normal! You still have to go back and tweak things, test, and tweak some more. You'll most likely need to use the "learn" feature for certain buttons. You'll want to adjust the activities to get the right devices responding to each button for every configuration. But after several trial runs, and a bit of dedication, it *will* replace all of your remotes. Your patience will be rewarded.
Point 2: Use the Activities. Really. An Activity is essentially having a given set of devices on at once. Your TV and DVD player and Speakers for movies; TV and cable box for television, etc. The remote allows you to use a single button to enable each activity... one click and you're watching TV, one more click and you're in a movie. There is a temptation to be lazy and skip the activities, because you can also control devices individually. I started out this way, and although it does work, it hides the real power of the remote. Controlling devices individually is slow and frustrating, because you can only fit so many functions on the touch screen at once. Fight the urge to be lazy. Instead, spend the time setting up the Activities right the first time. Using the remote software, you can customize every button for each activity, and even create your own. You can select which device each physical button maps to (Mute on TV or the cable box?). For functions that don't have their own physical buttons, you can create your own via the touch screen and enabled all the advanced features you'll ever need. If you do it right, the Activity menu and remote buttons will give you access to every function you could get from your old remotes, with none of the ones you don't need. If you find yourself needing the Devices screen more than rarely, you're probably not using the remote to the best of its ability.
So, to sum it up, it's a great product... just expect to spend a bit of time making it work for you.
Definitely go for the Amazon Frustration Free Packaging too. A+ Amazon!
Customer Review: Shall I compare thee to a root canal?
Summary: 4 Stars
OK, I really like this Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote. Much more than the Harmony 880 that I had purchased a few years ago (and which I successfully re-sold in just one day through Amazon's Marketplace). The reason that I like this one so much better is that my eyesight is not what it used to be years ago, and the on-screen / touch screen format is so very much easier for me to deal with than with the Harmony 880 (which some reviewers say is functionally equivalent except for the user interface). Also, the keys are all all black and back-lit in brilliant white (except for the red "Record" backlight), and that makes them much, much easier to identify.
So, why the allusion to a root canal? Well, I had a re-do of an infected root canal on a molar on Monday. The Harmony One arrived Monday afternoon, and I set it up on Tuesday. By Tuesday I was still suffering from the after effects of the dental procedure. So, I am not sure which was more discomforting on Tuesday: programming the Harmony One or abiding the after effects of the root canal. But, after I finally figured out how to remove the settings for my previous receiver (trivial once you notice the wastebasket icon!) and replace them with the settings for my new Denon AVR, things went pretty smoothly. Except, in practice, of course--when I tested out the new array of activity settings several things were not quite right. I was able to correct some of the settings with the built-in Commander help on the remote, for which I give Logitech tremendous kudos. But, others sent me back to the drawing board a few times to tweak the sequences. I still am not sure that I have things 100% up to snuff yet, but I am comforted that once things have been set up, they stay pretty much the same without further need for programming the remote.
When I wrote this review earlier today, I forgot to mention how pleased I was to see that Logitech now has "profiles" loaded for so many peripherals that one might wish to control without having to resort to teaching mode. So, basically, all that you need to do is to identify the peripheral and click on it to add its profile to your remote. Several years ago, their storehouse of profiles was nowhere near that replete. This is a huge improvement, and one that reportedly would work with just about any of the Harmony remote versions.
Would I buy this item again? Yes, by all means. Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes, as long as [s]he were at least minimally proficient with the nuances of programming, though no deep expertise is needed.
BTW, there exist more than one price on Amazon at any given time for the same item, and I also note that Amazon's pricing seems to vary by a few dollars from day to day. Not just on this item, but on many more. So, caveat emptor.