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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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touchscreen
Customer Review: If this were the 1980's, it would be a great product!
Summary: 2 Stars
It works but it could be a million times easier to program and that, after all, is one of the main reasons this remote exists. It's really not very smart technology: take a bunch of IR commands from a database and project them one at a time in an order the user specifies.
Here are my issues:
1. The "power on" commands for various devices can only occur one right after the other and all "power on" commands must occur prior to any other "non power on" commands. In other words, you can't power on the receiver, lower the screen and then turn on the projector after the screen is lowered! This is unbelievable! Also, you can't power on a device and then wait 5 seconds to turn on the next one. Search the forums, they are littered with users frustrated because they can't get the correct sequence of events to occur to lock in the correct input levels, etc. Yup, you can contact logitech support to create a custom delay, but I ask: are you crazy Logitech??? this is why I bought the remote in the first place so i can do the programming!
2. Has favorite channels which are great. However, when you program favorite channels and want to select a meaningful icon to represent that channel (say the HGTV logo), there are only a handful of logos to choose from and most are FOX channels! What the heck?! Why would i want to search the internet for the 150 other logos??? And why can't the set up system automatically give me the std. logos that are used by my preferred satellite or cable box like directv does when you select favorites?? I shouldn't have to go on a wild goose chase to find the logos.
3. The set up software ONLY RESIDES on the web. Yup, you are a slave to whatever connection speed you have. Also, you have to repeatedly log in if you take too long while making modifications to your set up.
4. The set up software is from the 1980's - most harmony one users are adept at technology ((hint Logitech, that's why they are buying it!). It takes forever to navigate through the silly wizard questions to find what you want to program and you can't move from one area of programming to another without continuing with questions you may not be interested in. Give me a true GUI application and put it on my PC not your servers. The software is 1980's era stuff. I thought since the harmony one existed for so long that it would be iPhone-like in its software slickness...nope, its more like a first generation windows OS - pretty bad.
I only have one question left: where the heck is the competition?! This isn't rocket science technology and the harmony one is a barely average solution for such a simple set of tasks. It works, but boy Logitech is making a killing with a mediocre product.
Customer Review: A Real Solution for End Table Clutter
Summary: 5 Stars
I got the Harmony One to eliminate the clutter of remote controls like everyone else. I had really studied the reviews and forums and had PDF'd the manual, so when it arrived, I was ready to see if it could be programmed in thirty minutes and then work as advertised. This is where the "good news, bad news" part started. Armed with all the make and model numbers of my gear, I dove right in and had the "devices" part done in no time. The "activities" half of the process also went well and I was off to test the device in well under 30 minutes. At first, everything went well. The "Watch TV" activity performed flawlessly, turning on the TV, turning on the Cable box and then going back to change the TV to the correct input. Slick!
The "Watch DVD" activity also went well. The remote turned on the TV, then turned on the DVD player, then turned on the A/V receiver and changed the inputs on the TV and receiver to the appropriate source and all I had to do was press the "Play" arrow to begin watching the DVD.
A problem arose when I touched the "Listen to Radio" activity I had programmed. Everything unnecessary turned off OK, but the A/V receiver would not cycle to the Tuner input. The supposed solution to all such glitches is to press "Help" and let the remote try to fix it. No luck. Finally, after about an hour of troubleshooting, I changed one of my answers in the software to "The remote never goes to the right input," and voila, the problem revealed itself. On my particular receiver, there have been two different original remotes packaged. One has a separate button for each source input, the other has a "Function" button that steps through the inputs in a sequence, e.g., "Tuner-CD-Phono-Aux-Video 1, Video 2, and Video3. Mine was the later, so while my Harmony One was trying to send a Tuner signal to the receiver, it was looking for an "InputNext" signal. Once I had straightened that out, the little jewel began to win me over.
Lastly, I like the Harmony Remote a lot and recommend it highly. It does what it promises and can do almost anything the original remote(s) can do. But, to get the little nuanced functions programmed into the Harmony, you have to be intentional about it. That said, out of the box it will absolutely kill a TV/Cable/Satellite set up. And with a little extra time in the software, Home Theater can be seamless and very specific. In other words, just "paging" through the device section for your receiver, you can toggle through to get the sound you want, Dolby 5.1, Phantom, Three Channel Stereo, Two Channel, etc.
My wife has actually used it on its first day and likes it! Nuff said. I am very satisfied.
Customer Review: Your New Best Friend
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to have a remote for my Samsung LN46A650 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color, Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD High Definition DVR Digital Video Recorder with HDMI and 160GB Hard Drive, Denon 3802 Receiver, Xbox 360 S 250GB Console, Panasonic DVD player, and Friedrich : WallMaster WS10B10A Wall Air Conditioner. That's 6 remotes sitting on my little table next to my couch which made it very difficult to have anything else like drinks or snacks without something falling down.
The Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote with Color Touch Screen saved the day. Not only did it get rid of all the remotes but made it easier to control my entertainment system.
Pros:
- Ease of use: The Harmony One fits great in your hand. The buttons are all easy to get to. You can add buttons onto the display and have every single button from your old remote. You're not limited at all. You can add or subtract any and all buttons from your old remote.
- Programming: Just input your devices and connect the remote via USB and the website will upload all the info to your remote. You can always customize it at anytime. It will figure out how to turn on the exact devices you need and the appropriate settings.
- Help Button: It actually figures out what's wrong if something didn't turn on or for example, the TV has the wrong input. It works great.
- Save on batteries: With my 6 remotes x AA and AAA batteries I've saved 12 batteries right there. Gone. The remote and the charging station fit like a glove and it's not obtrusive.
- Real estate: More room for drinks, snacks, and other useless items to put on your side table now that you got rid of your old remotes.
Cons:
- It doesn't make popcorn.
Before the Harmony One, I didn't watch movies on my Xbox 360 with Zune or Netflix because it was a hassle (lazy) to turn everything on to the proper settings. Whether I want to watch cable or watch a movie on Xbox 360 or watch a DVD, I just press one button now, the Harmony One figures out the rest.
I highly recommend this remote and I would buy it again if anything happened to this one.
Customer Review: Solves all my remote problems but freezes when updating
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great remote and I'm glad I bought it. However, my second update froze at 3%. Despite all kinds of attempts at resolution (different USB cable, different USB port, reinstalled computer software, turned off anti-virus and firewall protection, installed on another computer), it still hung at 3%. I finally called Customer Support who had me repeat everything I'd already done but still no success. The Rep. said he'd escalate the problem and someone would call me back. It's now been over 48 hours and still no call back. But the good news is that I finally solved the problem myself by changing one of my power-on parameters on one of my devices and it then updated no problem. There's obviously a bug in the software somewhere but it's still a great control. However, I'm disappointed in LogiTech's support. If it were not for this update problem, I'd give it 5 stars.
Update 1: After 4 days I received an email from LogiTech explaining their high volume of recent sales, apologizing for the response delay, and giving me a special 800# to call. Before I had a chance to call, Robert from Tech Support called me to follow-up. Since I had already solved/bypassed the problem, it was too late to diagnose the cause but I was impressed with the Tech Rep, Robert, and the fact that he followed up with me. Although there was a service support delay, I think LogiTech's effort to recover is quite impressive. They get my vote of confidence!
Update 2: Updating problems continue. After 3+ hours of phone time with Customer Support and many attempts to update it, the remote became "corrupt" and completely inoperable. I'm awaiting a free replacement. Although I'm certainly experiencing with this product, I will say that customer support has attempted to be responsive.
Update 3: Replacement never arrived. I called CS. Level 1 acknowledged that a mistake had been made in the replacement order and passed me on to Level 2 to expedite the replaement. After a brief conversation, the CS Rep. decided to overrule the prior CS Rep. and would not replace it. At this point, I had had it! I asked him for an address that I could send a complaint to. He refused to give me an address and told me to talk to his supervisor or go to the website to get the address. I've since written to corporate headquarters and am awaiting a reply.
I've now purchased a Universal Remote Control R50 for $86. It works great! Does everything the Harmony does at less than half the price, does not require the internet, operates on batteries, and the control has a better layout. I made one all to Universal's CS and the service was great!
Customer Review: Harmony One
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all you have to get rid of your idea of common universal remote controls. Then you should accept the different ideas of Logitech, such as thinking in happenings (actions) more than only replacing older controls. Put a name to an action (like "Watching DVD") and then see how step by step with the push of one virtual button (touch screen) the remote control starts the action. In this example:
Starts TV, puts TV to the channel or input, that goes with the DVD, starts the DVD, starts the Surround Sound, changes the input of the Surround Sound to DVD etc. etc.
Missed to start the DVD? The help action on the remote control will correct it, in a few seconds.
As it comes to the setup (actually the first step) it helps a lot to know your entertainment devices well. Model names and numbers are of great importance as well as certain steps of functionality of your equipment. If your devices are common, it is easier and quicker to set it up, as if there are strange and rare types. How ever, the Logitech online base covers a great deal of brands, models and details. Finally if you give up with an unsolvable problem, the customer service helps quick and correct.
Good idea: Setup is done online. All your setup is available online. No need for backups and you can review your settings from all around the world.
So this is a tentative + - list for the Harmony One
+
Excellent quality finishing
Rechargeable
Easy and precise manipulation
Works for tech dummies as well
Motion sensitive (helps in the darkness)
Sensitive touch screen
Huge database and online setup
Good customer service
Nice design
-
Setup takes more time than announced
Most model names and numbers are available but not always as shown on your device.
Touch screen does not allow amplifying character size (you'll need your glasses).
No parallel commands, so don't move the remote to much until finished the action.
Most buttons are virtual, so standard buttons as Power on/off for each device, if used individual and not within the action, is not easy to find.
Overall impression:
A very nice and cost worthy control that has everything to be a star and may be the next software updates will erase some of the minus points. As said: Change your idea of a common universal remote control and you will be a happy user of Harmony One.