Harmony Series Remotes

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Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone uses the Harmony remotes (im specifically looking at the 650) and what your impressions are. They get good reviews, but its not something ive ever tried before myself. Is setup as easy as it sounds and are there any issues with losing functionality from your original remotes?

My components are:

Onkyo 607 amp
Samsung 40" original shape LCD
Sony DVD player
HTPC running media centre

(sorry ill update with component numbers when i get back home)

Thanks for the input guys.

Hawker
 
I'm using the 515 and it almost seems like a magic wand. Almost.

The response from the remote isn't quite as sharp as I would like, especially when fast forwarding. Then again, with Media Centre it works like a charm taking me where I want with one button press.

I found the Logitech software to be rather intimidating and clunky to start with, but after a short while it became pretty straightforward, though probably requires some time to set everything up 'just so'. My only problem is my ancient, and rather cheap HD telly. Getting to the correct AV input (HDMI) requires multiple (as in 6!) button presses and the Harmony software doesn't seem too helpful here. As it's the core my HTPC setup this is a large problem, but ultimately it's a self inflicted one.

Once I get a new telly in the new year then I can imagine everything falling neatly in to place and the Harmony remote being quite wonderful.
 
I've got the 525, two mates have it as well, another has the 515 and another has the 555. Would definitely recommend getting one, use mine with my AV system, Xbox, tv etc. Takes a bit of faffing to get it just how you want it, but that just time, not difficulty so get one and you won't regret it.
 
Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated. I think ill wander over to the shop and have a look at one later today then :)

Cheers

Hawker
 
I have the harmony one, setting up individual devices is a doddle but setting up macros is more time consuming. It is worth the time though when you get it right.
 
I have the 555, it's fantastic. The software isn't amazing but does the job. It takes a while to get everything set up exactly. Even if you have a device the remote doesn't support, you can use the original remote for it to learn from. Very clever, and a backlit remote with and lcd display looks way better than 5 or 6 odd remotes I had before!
 
I used to havea Logitech 1000 however the screen response was awful so i got rid almost immediately.

I've got the 525 now and find i still don't really tend to use it very much. It works very with individual devices which i sometimes use however i never bother using my macros as i turn most things off at the source which means the auto on doesnt work.

The other issue is that if the TV is turned on and you have your "Watch a DVD" macro programmed to turn the tv on it'll send the signal and turn the tv off which i found was always happening to me.
 
I used to havea Logitech 1000 however the screen response was awful so i got rid almost immediately.

I've got the 525 now and find i still don't really tend to use it very much. It works very with individual devices which i sometimes use however i never bother using my macros as i turn most things off at the source which means the auto on doesnt work.

The other issue is that if the TV is turned on and you have your "Watch a DVD" macro programmed to turn the tv on it'll send the signal and turn the tv off which i found was always happening to me.
tbh, you aren't using it correctly, just set the activities up, and let the remote sort it all out, rather then you turning things off manually. When used as intended, its a godsend, even the kids can easily use my quite complex AV setup, they want to 'watch TV' ?, They just press the activity button, and no matter what you where doing, it'll turn off what isn't being used, turn on what is, set everything to the right inputs etc, and off they go, if they want to then play on the 360, they just press 'play 360', the remote turns off Sky, switches the tv input, and turns on the console, when they've finished, they press the power button and everything is switched off that needs to be, simplicity itself.

Since I have a projector and TV, I've set activities to watch any source on either TV or Projector, I love how easy it is to setup, just simple questions like "which device controls the volume", and from that it knows what devices are then used, then just asks what inputs each used device should be set to. It even knows it has to wait 15 seconds if the projector is switched on, before it then switches to the right input, etc...

I do prefer the older 785, but have now got a 700 and a ONE, which still work very well.
 
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I have the 525 and the PS3 adapter and it has replaced 5 remotes. Its a godsend and I am seriously considering getting another one that handles more devices and has a better screen.
 
I have a Harmony One and can honestly say its one of the best things I have ever bought. It replaces about 6 remote's and both my wife and kids use it without any issue. It takes an hour to set up but once that's done its pretty much flawless.
 
Harmony One in use here, I used to have a 525 but smashed the screen and was on the lookout for a One after reading reviews on AVForums.

Got one in the end and what a cracker it is, the 525 was great but the ONE is a much better product, same easy programming, although can take a while to set up properly, but once it is they are great, but the build quality on the Remote and feel of it is 100x better than the cheaper 525. Definitely worth the money.
 
+1 for the harmony one (I ve got 2 of them) Software ain't great though useable. There are also no hard coloured buttons (red, green blue...). You can program these on the touch screen
 
Expensive remotes just to make life a little easier :O?

And massively family friendly..

The USP with the Harmony remotes is they are 'activities' based, this means you add all your 'devices' to a list, but you then setup activities such as 'Watch TV', 'Watch a DVD', 'Play a game', it asks simple questions whilst setting these up so although it can take 20mins-1 hour depending on complexity, it's not taxing.

The real beauty comes when you can give it to your Mum, and no matter how complex your setup is, all she has to do to Watch TV is to press that activity button, the remote turns on/off what it needs to, sets all the inputs etc on the various devices automatically.. which sounds like a 'macro', but once you are watching TV, if you then want to Watch a DVD, you just press that activity button, and the remote knows the TV is already on, so leaves it, switches the DVD player ON, switches the TV over to the correct input and even then turns off SKY for example (assuming this was used when watching TV).. If you use your AV Receiver for movies, it would turn that on to, and switch it to the correct input..
Once you've finished, you just press the power off button and it turns off anything it knows was on, and it all synchronises really well.

It even has a 'help' button, so if something didn't quite work correctly, it'll try and fix it, asking simple questions, like "Is the TV ON?", "Is the TV Set to Input 1", and it resends commands based on your yes/no answers..

This isn't just some expensive 'macro' capable highly configurable remote, it has some real convenience/accessibility features that are truly worth the money when you have anything but a basic setup and want your missus/kids/parents etc to be able to use it all without needing indepth knowledge of which HDMI/Scart input you need to set the TV to for the SKY Box, or what input the DVD player is on, or how to get sound out your AV Receiver etc.

They are very customisable too, so you can set exactly what each button does in each activity, and what features are on the display (scrollable), which can be a mix of devices commands etc, and you can even tailor power on order, and add in delays/extra remote commands on power up/down, it pretty much caters for the simple up to the massively complex.
 
The other issue is that if the TV is turned on and you have your "Watch a DVD" macro programmed to turn the tv on it'll send the signal and turn the tv off which i found was always happening to me.

If you like to manually do things sometimes, but use macros other times, you can change the remote settings for tv so that it sends one command for on, and another for off. This way it would just try to switch the tv on again, and should stop the problem you're having.
 
Thanks guys, all the input is great, from what youve said I think I may well pay the extra and get the harmony one, seems its the better choice.

Hawker
 
Another vote for the Harmony One.. Luckily i got mine brand new for £80 and then bought the PS3 adapter.. Fantastic piece of kit, simple enough to setup. Not really done any of the more advanced stuff with it..
 
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