Which Harmony Remote

nicknack35

nicknack35

nicknack35

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Evening all just after some advice on which Harmony remote to go for looking around and seeing different reviews exc. What i have seen the older models seem to get better reviews over the newer remotes, But want something that is wife friendly and easy so im guessing the newer models would be easier looking to operate a Rasp pi3 a Minix Neo u1 My Samsung tv. Sky HD BOX and Dali Kubic One Soundbar. Anybody got the Harmony advance 700?
 
Mine was only June 2016 :) But then it was my fourth or fifth harmony as I have slowly upgraded over the years.

OP - there is a Harmony 525 for sale in the MM - good basic harmony for trialing the ecosystem.
 
I have the Harmony advance 700, I dislike touch screen so avoided anything with that.

It is good but I preferred my old 525, marginally.
The back on the 700 is rounded, to be ergonomic I suppose. The downside is it constantly slides off things and hits the floor. The 525 had a flat battery tray so no issue, the 525 tray was also like a matte plastic, where the 700 is shiny.

The flipside of that is the 700 controls my xbox one, where the 525 I could not get it to work.

The Mrs does not like it though, mainly as the button layout with Virgin media is not the best, I keep going in and tweaking settings but not got it quite right yet.
 
I'm never a fan of touch screens on remotes.

It usually either means low battery life or requires sitting in a dock (not always a bad thing but annoying if you forget!) AND either the touch screen in unresponsive (not as much of a problem with the latest harmony remote) but generally I just find them not very "other user" friendly as you need to know how to go through all the options on the screen etc, or where to find them.

I much prefer the Smart Control range of Harmony remotes with no touch screen. Much more user-friendly, the battery last years and every button can be used from touch rather than having to look at the screen.

This is probably the case with the other harmony remote as well but it's good to know that every button on the Smart Contol ones can be bound to two functions. So tap and long hold (if you want).

The advantage of the latest harmony remotes (even the ones listed above by the others) is their hub that they come with. The remote uses radio to talk to that so you don't need line of sight. The hub itself is the IR transmitter and comes with wee IR extenders so you can put things in your cupboard out of sight.

I wrote about how great I thought they were many moons ago and my personal opinion hasn't changed (https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/go-buy-a-harmony-smart-control.18631835/)

They're also slightly cheaper (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-H...e=UTF8&qid=1493812524&sr=8-4&keywords=Harmony) or the same price if you get one with an echo dot for only £10 more (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...d_t=201&pf_rd_p=1232848247&pf_rd_i=B014GXQ3S4)

EDIT: Oh yeah, if you're "sold" on the idea of a touchscreen to control your TV and AV equipment buying any Harmony remote that comes with the Hub you can control it with the Harmony app on your phone.

The hub is internet connected to let you do things like this:

Although the Alex/Harmony integration is a bit of a pain and I had to hack it around to get working exactly as shown in the video.
 
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Maybe I got lucky, but I've had mine 3 ½ years now and just went away on holiday for 8 nights and disconnected it from the mains

The remote still had pretty much full battery when I returned...
 
Thanks for the advice gents think ill go with the Companion. Im not sure i need the HUB cause we don't have a cabinet everything is on show we have Off the wall tv stand
 
You can't get the Companion or Ultimate without the hub.

Neither remotes have an IR emmiter. They both use radio to talk to the hub which controls your devices via its IR out.

Regardless of where your kit is placed it gives you more reliable performance anyway as activities (the buttons you press to "turn on the tv, change to correct input, and turn on sky box and amp" in one click) have to work in a sequential manor, turning each deceive on over a period of 2 or 3 seconds.

With any remote that does this kind of thing one of the biggest issues is holding the remote in the right place over this time so that everything gets a signal. Or if someone walks between you and the remote while it's trying to turn things on it might only turn on 1 out of 2 devices.

Again, a usability annoyance that can make an all in one remote lose the wife approval factor.

The hub solves this issue as it's usually impossible to get between the devices and the hub if placed next to one another.

One disadvantage to be aware of however is that because the remote itself uses radio to communicate with the hub (and doesn't require line of sight) if you sit on the remote it can bugger up your viewing pleasure by doing every button press your backside makes :)
 
VincentHanna said:
Maybe I got lucky, but I've had mine 3 ½ years now and just went away on holiday for 8 nights and disconnected it from the mains

The remote still had pretty much full battery when I returned...
Click to expand...

I've no doubt that battery life has improved over the original Harmony One Touch I had but that's a little different from expecting the device to last that long without being charged but still being used by forgetful kids the entire week.

I still personally much prefer the usability of a full button remote.
 
I've bought my Harmony Touch in Nov 14 as a Black Friday deal for less than £60, it's been great and I wouldn't hesitate to get another when I need to.
 
nicknack35 said:
There be no worries about me sitting on it. So what remote do you have then Roy the link you posted me to was the Companion?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the one. They keep changing the names as they iterate the design over time. The Smart Control I've got is the same as the Companion, but the Companion has dedicated light buttons.
 
I had the original harmony one and loved it, was thinking about getting a new one.

Does anyone use the harmony ultimate with Sky Q, what's the everyday use like?
 
So, again, just my opinion, but the heavy reliance on the use of the guide button and the coloured buttons on many DVR's these days make Companion (previously Smart Control) make the Companion the easier to use remote in this regard.

SWd79Vj.png

Playing finger gymnastics to use the guide/coloured buttons on the ultimate looks like a pain.
 
RoyMi6 said:
Playing finger gymnastics to use the guide/coloured buttons on the ultimate looks like a pain.
Click to expand...

As it doesn't need to be pointed it isn't an issue, I use my thumb for the buttons below the screen in one grip and my index finger for the buttons above the screen in a very slightly different grip that has a simple smooth transition between the two. Sometimes I will even aim the remote at the ceiling with the bottom rested on my thigh and use my thumb for all buttons ust by moving it around the remote.

Been using it for a year now and would now not want to be without.
 
Don't have Harmony, I have another brand (URC Aeros) But from my ownership I would recommend

Hard button & LCD. Don't go for full LCD or full hard button, as you need both.
Backlight hard buttons.
Must be able to be used without looking at it for the hard buttons. If the buttons are small, feel all the same, and close together it's a bit useless.
 
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