Which universal remote?

TheDean

TheDean

TheDean

Soldato
Joined
3 Oct 2004
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Hi there,

My remote for my Onkyo 607 has sadly given up the ghost, so I am thinking a universal remote will be better value than just replacing the Onkyo one?

I have Sky HD, Onkyo 607, Panny G10, PS3 & a Revo R3600.

If i could get something to work with everything, and if Wife proof, I would be over the moon. If somone could reccomend one, and has personal experiences with what works etc, what doesn't, that would be great.

Cheers
 
No idea about the Revo, but I'm sure there must be a compatibility list on the website - try www/myharmony.com.

Also it somes with 12 months free telephone support - if you need a custom config that isn't possible with the GUI then phone them up and their tech support department can do it for you - I had my AVR input switching delay increased by them.
 
covenantuk said:
Just tried to add a Revo on my account, it's definitely on the supported devices list.
Click to expand...

Perfect, thanks very much mate! Would you mind checking if the Onkyo is there? (I'm sure it is!!!)

Also, you mentioned 'custom configs' - what exactly do you mean? Can you programme the on button to switch on Amp, Sky HD & Tv all at the same time, for example?
 
Yes, the GUI allows you to set up a sequence of events for your devices for a single keypress e.g. Under my "Watch TV" button on the touchpad it processes "turn on AVR, turn on TV, turn on Virgin box, select Sky/Virgin input on AVR"
Once this is done all the buttons on the remote control the Virgin box except the volume, which controls my AVR. You can individually amend buttons also if you wish to (I added the speaker trim function from the AVR).

There are one or two things you can't do though, one of them being increasing the delay after it turns on the AVR before it switches to the right input, but Logitech support can do this for you.

Onkyo will definitely be there, it had my 7 year old Panasonic TV :)
 
booyaka said:
any logitech within your budget- simple as that.
Click to expand...

+ 1,

I've got two Harmony one's, love them. Just put in the time to set them up correctly (once you have set them up you'll need to tweak them a week or two later, but worth the small amount of time this takes)

Enjoy
 
Personally I'm not so sure I'd like the Ultimate, it seems lacking in buttons to me and a touch screen is no substitute!

I came to harmony remotes from a Pronto, and while I loved the sheer power of the Pronto as it was completely configurable in literally any way possible, the lack of hard buttons meant you had to constantly look at the remote whilst using it which became annoying.

The Harmony 555 I had was brilliant but sadly the screen died on me, I was then stuck with what to get as the Harmony range was very poor and the only remote which could control enough devices was the One which is what I use now but the build quality is not so great and it lacks coloured buttons which is a pain but overall it's pretty decent.

Personally for me the Ultimate would be annoying, lack of numbered buttons would really get on my nerves.


As an aside though, what are the two sockets for on the end of the Ultimate? You've got the pair/reset button, the USB socket and then two others, what are they for?
 
I have the Harmony Smart, it has colour buttons, no screen but it does all that I wanted to do and more.

Plus, it only cost me £50 in the end !
 
That looks intriguing though annoying that without the smart phone etc the remote is a little limited...

I have to say the Harmony range is nowhere near as good as it used to be! Where are the low end models that allow a decent amount of kit to be controlled without an arbitrary low limit on the number of devices set on it?
 
valve90210 said:
That looks intriguing though annoying that without the smart phone etc the remote is a little limited...

I have to say the Harmony range is nowhere near as good as it used to be! Where are the low end models that allow a decent amount of kit to be controlled without an arbitrary low limit on the number of devices set on it?
Click to expand...

Actually, I don't use my phone to control it much. You can still switch between units (I do it by activity). I have the 3 main appliance programmed as an activity at the moment - Sky, Roku and Apple TV.

The only time I would get my phone out is when I want to control my CD player or my Bluray player since there isn't a button assigned to those on the remote at the moment. I can do I suppose ! But I think that for things like that, where I have to physically go put a disc in, I have to get my bum off the sofa anyway so not having it programmed now isn't a big deal.
 
valve90210 said:
Personally I'm not so sure I'd like the Ultimate, it seems lacking in buttons to me and a touch screen is no substitute!

I came to harmony remotes from a Pronto, and while I loved the sheer power of the Pronto as it was completely configurable in literally any way possible, the lack of hard buttons meant you had to constantly look at the remote whilst using it which became annoying.

The Harmony 555 I had was brilliant but sadly the screen died on me, I was then stuck with what to get as the Harmony range was very poor and the only remote which could control enough devices was the One which is what I use now but the build quality is not so great and it lacks coloured buttons which is a pain but overall it's pretty decent.

Personally for me the Ultimate would be annoying, lack of numbered buttons would really get on my nerves.


As an aside though, what are the two sockets for on the end of the Ultimate? You've got the pair/reset button, the USB socket and then two others, what are they for?
Click to expand...

I agree the 555 was a great remote, good value for money and does everything i needed it to, the build quality was the only let down, mines is looking a bit tatty and im also looking at a replacement.
 
valve90210 said:
That looks intriguing though annoying that without the smart phone etc the remote is a little limited...
Click to expand...


I too bought the Harmony Smart Control (no touch screen) but only after careful consideration.

There's enough buttons for me to control:
ATV2
Virgin TiVo
Xbox360
Playstation 3
AV Receiver
Lights

Ever single button apart from the "off" button can be assigned two commands. So despite having only three "activity" buttons you can have up to 6 activities.

I specifically chose the one without the touch screen because this remote doesn't need a docking station (battery is meant to last for years) and I prefer to feel for buttons than look on a touch screen.

Since purchase me, girlfriend or flatmate have had no need to go back to the original remote or make use of the harmony software on our phones.

valve90210 said:
I have to say the Harmony range is nowhere near as good as it used to be! Where are the low end models that allow a decent amount of kit to be controlled without an arbitrary low limit on the number of devices set on it?
Click to expand...

I'd agree that it's a shame something like the Harmony 300 isn't still available as I still have 3 of these in the house used in other rooms. The device limit isn't really a problem as with all Harmony devices you can program commands from any number of other remote to individual keys so it's a problem I've never come up against. (e.g. Harmony 300 can only control "four" devices but I had it controlling six)
 
covenantuk said:
There are one or two things you can't do though, one of them being increasing the delay after it turns on the AVR before it switches to the right input, but Logitech support can do this for you.
Click to expand...

Can't you? I can...
Go to Devices -> Select your Device -> Change Device Settings - > Device Delay Settings
S7dQ7MH.png

Surely one of those settings will help?

EDIT: In fact, directly form the Harmony blog these are the full descriptions of how they all effect your decies (http://blog.logitech.com/2010/08/24...tting-so-you-dont-always-use-the-help-button/)
Power-On delay is exactly what you're looking for.

Another good one for all Virgin Media TiVo owners!

After some random update (to the TiVo box) it now make you press the power button twice to turn off the TiVo Box. This can means if you randomly change between activities (or turn off then on) then you might get out of sync with the power commands.

To fix this go to:
Devices -> Select Virgin Box -> Change Device Settings -> Power Settings -> Choose your preferred power option -> "Same button to turn on and off"

Now "Add Command" and select "PowerToggle" from the drop down list. A delay probably isn't required but mine works with 0.5s.

QMdvKER.png


This now means that whenever the command to turn you TiVo box is sent it will press the power button twice to skip the "are you sure" message.

If anyone knows how to turn off the power confirmation message that would be handy as well but I couldn't see it. Regardless the tip might be handle for others.

Also, generally useful information here: http://blog.logitech.com/tag/harmony-tips/
 
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FrankJH said:
Or try tablet apps for free before buying

They arent for everyone - but as they are free, it shoudlnt matter.
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Afraid they don't work as the first thing they do is look for a hub on the local WiFi network. If they don't find one you can't do anything.
 
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