Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
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Our Price: $175.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $70.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: Absolutely the best for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I are DIY'ers, so our entertainment system has a lot of different pieces that all play through each other, and for every function except listening to the radio, more than one piece has to be turned on; even for listening to the radio there was more than one button-click, as we had to turn on the stereo and switch it to the tuner if radio wasn't the last thing we had used.
A couple of years ago when we had four separate remotes we decided to try one of the cheap universals (I think we paid $30), and it didn't work at all so we took it back pretty quickly. After moving into a new apartment we decided to drop our cable and just get an over-the-air signal, so we were down to three remotes: TV, stereo, and DVD. But now that we have the digital converter box, we're back up to four. Then hubby also hooked up his Xbox, which didn't add a remote, but added yet another function.
So to watch the TV once we got the converter box, we had to:
-Turn on the digital converter box
-Turn on the stereo
-Switch the stereo to TV/Sat if it wasn't there already
-Turn on the TV
-Switch the TV to Video 1
For a grand total of 4 or 5 separate button presses on three different remotes.
The Logitech universal remote only cost about twice as much as the crappy one that didn't work, and it costs at least half as much as all of the big, expensive models. I'm sure that paying $120+ would have gotten me a better remote than this one, but for $60 I have zero complaints. My hubby had no problem setting it up; once he had done the online thing, everything worked perfectly, with only one button click to start doing any of our system's functions, and no annoying switching modes on the remote.
One small quirk was that if we tried to go from one function to another without turning everything off in between, the digital converter box wasn't turning off and on correctly, so it got out of phase with the TV (so it was off when the TV was on and v/v). However, the remote can also "learn" from other remotes, and after playing around with that for a bit and going back online, everything now works 100% perfectly. "Play Game" is even a function for the Xbox! There is nothing I would have gained from buying a more expensive remote than this one, except for maybe ten minutes of setup time, and that's certainly not worth twice the price.
A++ for the Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote!
Customer Review: Best Universal Remote I ever have
Summary: 5 Stars
It seemed a little complicated to set up at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is a very versatile and very powerful universal remote.
The most difficult part during programming is that most LCD remote have an input or source on the remote to cycle through various sources, and so most people would answer as such when setting up an activity. The trick is to tell the software that you have separate buttons to go to different sources on your remote, even though it does not. The remote actually has a command that to go to directly to the particular source, for example using InputHDMI instead of using InputNext to cycle to your actual source. Let me explain the other way. When you set up your TV, choose method 2 - remote has labeled buttons like video 1, video2... - when asked how do you change input for your tv using the original remote. Specifying that, 550 will just command directly to the type of source instead of cycling through the sequence of inputs.
Be a little patient. Once you know exactly how the programming works, you can actually program all the functions of every remote into 550, with mostly the predefined and some with the learning funcitons. Using this remote needs a little getting used to as some of the buttons are soft controls on the LCD. Believe that once you are used to the new way of using this, you can stow away all the remotes and only leave this one on your coffee table. I have programmed eight devices (2 LCD TV, 1 analog TV, 1 surround sound receiver, 2 1080p upconverters, 1 old sony dvd changer and 1 VCR/DVD combo) and seven activities on this remote. Everything works and I can do everything that I do with the various remotes with just the 550.
It also should be noted that the power button on the top left is to turn off the activities, i.e. turning off all devices started by an activity. I got frustrated at first to attempt to turn off a device with it, until I learned to put a power toggle softkey control on the LCD for every device. To turn off or turn on a specific device without going through using activities, you just press device, select the device and now you can turn the device on and off with the softkey control of power toggle you customized. In fact, after you select a device, the remote will work as if it is a remote for an individual device.
I just love this, especially bought this with the big discount sale.
Customer Review: Now I'm a believer.
Summary: 5 Stars
Until recently I never understood why anyone would spend more than $20 on a universal remote. I was quite happy with the bare-bones remote I used to control my DirecTV receiver and TV. That is, until my needs began to change.
My setup evolved over time. I installed an A/V receiver with 5.1 surround sound, I purchased a 32" HDTV with multiple inputs, I got an Xbox 360 game console which doubles as a media extender device. I just recently placed an order for another device which will be added to my setup, a new device which I know my old remote doesn't have codes for.
I quickly realized that my old remote wasn't going to cut it. Simply switching from watching TV to watching multimedia files on my Xbox 360 required several steps. I had to switch the TV input to VGA (which requires 4 button presses), change the receiver's audio to its optical input (2 button press), and power on the Xbox 360 (2 button press), then turn off the Directv receiver (2 button press). Reverse those steps to switch from my Xbox 360 to my DirecTV receiver. Not very intuitive when I want to quickly switch between devices.
I bit the bullet and purchased the Logitech Harmony 550 remote control. I must say I was blown away by how easy the setup process was. No thumbing through the instruction manual for device codes and inputing a series of complicated button commands to input those codes. Simply install the included Logitech Harmony software, plug the remote into my PC's USB port, and follow the easy on-screen guide.
It took about 10 minutes to setup my remote. I took an extra 20 or so minutes to tweak the remote's buttons and settings to my liking. Now I can't imagine how I managed without it.
Want to watch TV, simply press the "watch TV" button and the remote automatically powers on all the relevant devices and switches the input settings on all devices accordingly. What took 10 button presses now takes 1!
What I really appreciate most is the access to Logitech's database of remote control devices which is kept up to date. So right now and even 10 years from now my Logitech Harmony will be able to support just about any device I throw at it.
So why would anyone pay more than $20 for a universal remote? Because when you have a complex A/V setup you need a remote that can handle it! I'm happy to say that the Logitech Harmony 550 is worth every penny.
Customer Review: It's like writing a computer program...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this remote for a while now and I like it very much. The best feature of it is the activities function that will turn on and configure all the required components of your system when you want to watch a DVD, or just watch TV, or do anything with just one button. Therein lies the real strength of this remote.
I will say, however, that programming the remote to work all your components with the correct timings and in the correct order can be a long and perhaps frustrating process. I think this is a big reason why many people give a negative review of (or return) their harmony remotes. I'm pretty technical so I enjoy these types of challenges, but I know I'm in the minority.
I have a 42" Sharp Aquos LCD TV, a Yamaha A/V receiver, a Toshiba DVD player and an old Symphonic VCR. All these devices were found in the logitech database. I think it took me three or so days to get my remote configured and set up perfectly just the way I want it. I found the message boards at the Logitech website to be of great help, though. Logitech also provides a free tech support line (which I'm sure gets a lot of use) but I haven't had the need to call.
Some other things to note: all of the Harmony remotes (from the old 525, to the 360, all the way up to their new Harmony One) use the same device database. So no matter what model you get, you still have access to the same list of devices. Another interesting factoid: the Harmony device database is user-created - that means that when another user teaches their remote to work with a new device, the device gets uploaded to the device database so others can use it too. This is both good and bad, though - good in that new devices are quickly made available. But it could be bad in that other users can modify existing device buttons with their own custom codes, or add functions that don't work with that device; then all the future Harmony users of that device will share in the pain.
In conclusion, I like the remote very much. But if you're not technical, or "just want it to work" without any effort, you'll want to look elsewhere. And the same could be said of all the other Harmony remotes as well, since they use the same configuration software and device database.
Customer Review: Great Remote, controls everything including my Roomba!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, my Sima SUR-20 remote finally died after 5 years, so I had to find a replacement. I decided that I wanted a true universal/learning remote that had more than just a touchscreen. I started my search with Harmony because I have heard a lot of good things about them. My criteria included: learning, full macros, configurable, easy to use for less technologically advanced people, good button lay out, and no rechargeable batteries. This pretty much ruled out the 880, 720, and 890. Honestly, I'm not that big a fan of the peanut shape anyhow. So, my real choices became the 520 and 550. Not too much difference, mainly button layout and device limitations. In the end, I like the 550 layout best.
I installed the software fairly easily. I made sure NOT to install the additional software that checks for updates, and I removed the software from the startup menu. Next I collected all the device model numbers. 10 minutes later I had the first iteration of my remote up and running. I spent the next hour tweaking the labels and layout of the buttons in my activities.
The result is that all my devices are setup perfectly (TV, DVD, Home Theater, Cable Box/DVR, Roomba, and my HP Laptop). The 550 does a great job of switching inputs on my TV and Receiver. Actually, I have more functionality with this remote than on the remote that came with my dvr (skip forward)!
I had equal ease of setup with my laptop and roomba. The only real negative is the speed, or lack thereof, of the software. The program is slow and it occasionally freezes for a couple minutes at a time. However, since you only need to use it when you setup a new device, it's not a deal breaker for me.
The remote is intuitive enough for most anyone. The help button easily walks you through any issues you might have when turning on or switching between activities. The activities are easy to configure and I was even able to set it up to leave my DVR on all the time.
All in all, the remote is great. I think that it is important to compare it to other universal remotes before complaining about it. It may not be as quick as entering a couple of codes, but the benefits are extremely worth it!