Logitech Harmony 676 Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
|
List Price: Our Price: $119.98 You Save: $80.01 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $48.25 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 676 Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: Excellent universal remote, works better than I expected
Summary: 5 Stars
The remote is better than I expected and I having played with one for a weekend before this purchase my expectations were high. I was not convinced I would like the "activity" philosophy of Harmony, but after seeing how well guests are able to use the remote controlling 4 to 5 interconnected devices, all I can say is it just plain works. It is very nice to have a main set of buttons that anyone can master after a few minutes of explanation, while at the same time having the capability to have every desired option for the power user available with a few more clicks is just what I wanted.
I will say the setup is not for the faint of heart or the impatient, whoever sets this up and maintains the remote will likely spend a while in the setup on more than a few occasions. The setup application is a web-based application and an online connection is needed. The interface can be confusing until, fortunately if you have the make and model of your A/V devices (very important) the first time setup wizard will get most of the major buttons working. If you are like me setting up the buttons are more important than the LCD listing. After getting the basic buttons working you will likely then try to cram more functions on the remaining buttons and soon run out. Initially this frustrated me as I did not want to change modes to access additional functionality. There are so many buttons available, so you need to find out what works for you. Harmony provides quite a few alternatives for you to choose from. These include LCD listings, an individual device mode, Picture and Sound modes, or combinations of the three. Personally I like the Device mode and put functions that map well to the buttons on the buttons and added ambiguous functionality to the LCD, but this is a subjective choice and everyone will do something different here.
On of the big positive aspects of the setup was that the Harmony site is constantly updating for new devices on the market. I was astounded to find a Monoprice branded switch and a brand new (less than 4 months on the market) AV Receiver available with presets. No trial and error with brand odes. This led to a problem, even selecting the exact make an model of a device not all the functions work correctly. The above mentioned AV Receiver was there and about 65% of its remotes functions were listed but I would say only about 20% worked properly. Initially I was upset but I found the learning function of the Harmony works very well. Not only was I able to teach the labels the correct IR command, but I could add the missing ones I wanted and add new lables or rename old ones. Again patience pays off with the Harmony. It might not all be correct but you are able to correct that which isn't.
Last thing I want to mention is customer support. After a year with the remote happily working, my father sat on it and the battery cover no longer latched properly. This caused the cover to drop out and sometimes the batteries. Not a critical problem but clearly somewhat aggravating. I called the support line and found the first rep clearly wanting to help. After getting the particulars on the remote I was told a cover would be shipped right out. That did not happen, instead a series of email ensued to determine exactly what the problem was. After 3 or 4 replies to replies I was promised they would ship one. Within a week 2 new covers were sent, configured slightly differently. The second one fit perfectly. Both were free and ultimately I was very happy with how the incident worked out.
From my perspective:
PROS: Once setup even both of my completely non-techie parents were able to easily watch TV and DVDs without having to navigate 4 different remotes to do so. For all but the most rare use of functionality I do not ever have to reach for my other remotes. If I do I almost always note it and add it to my device listing. When I added a new AV Receiver and removing 2 other devices at the same time reconfiguring the remote was cake, all the previous activity buttons still worked without having to setup again. Having my configuration saved outside the remote means that if I have a disaster with the remote or upgrade to a different remote my setup will be transferable.
CONS: Buttons are a bit small for my hands, but still usable. Some of the labels used do not match the default commands being issued, particularly for new or rarer devices. Battery life has been 2 to 3 months for me, but 4 batteries seems to be quite a load. The application interface is pretty cumbersome, but it does work. The application stays resident in the system tray and occasionally consumes heavily on CPU cycles, but it can be easily shutdown and restarted when needed.
Bottom line, even though the price seems a bit high, it is truly a universal remote that allows you to shelf the others with confidence.
Customer Review: Impressive!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned several universal remotes in the past, including programming remotes with LCD assited labeling and pure touch-screen interfaces. All of them did their job but setup was laborous and changing home theater equipment caused pains relearning miscellanious macros. None of my previous remotes also did a good job of controlling my home theater as a whole. You know the drill - turn TV on, turn receiver on, turn cable box on and so forth. Macros were static, i.e. they operated well only for the most basic commands but could not handle various modes and intricacies of the Home Theater setup.
Finally, I decided, on the friend's advice to give a try to Logitech's Harmony line. From my experience I hated touch-screen remotes as they always required looking at them for pressing pretty much any button. On the ohther hand, pure button remotes were always restrictive and required learning what the generic button means for this or that device. So the combination of the generous hard button layout and LCD screen labeling for device-specific funstions appealed to me. My friend owns Harmony 880 and I had a chance to use it a bit. I was not big fan of the touch-sensisite buttons and the way remote lights up when you shift it. Both were a distraction to me. So I looked at the 6xx series with distinct hard buttons that your fingers learn and can press without glancing at the thing. 676 was on sale and had the best layout for DVR devices which all modern TV boxes are, so I plunged.
The original setup only took me about 20 minutes. I was sceptical at first of 'Activity' based modes because this was not a conventional design, but once I synched my setup back to remote and turned on my Home Theater with it for the first time, I was converted right away. The thing that nobody seems to mention about 'Activity' modes is that this is the first remote (at least from the ones I've known) that remembers state of all of your devices. No more stupid macros that could only work in one mode but were completely screwed up in another. This remote works wonders switching my video and audio outputs, controlling picture and sound preferences for each device in the group. And I have a lot of them. TV, Receiver, HDMI switch, DVD Player, PC1, PC2, Xbox 360, Wii. One remote now made all old remotes obsolete, did not lose any of the original remotes functionality and gained state awareness of each device at any time. Impressive!
Pros:
- easy setup through the software interface
- very impressive online library of devices (including rare ones)
- state-awareness of each and any device at any time
- very flexible setup of video and audio switching - accomodates both direct and sequential switching between inputs
- great button layout - better then the original Manufacturer's remote for DVR
- controls your game consoles
- very convenient in hand
- only three direct activities tied to the buttons but unlimited number of additional activities that can be set up with LCD screen
- MEDIA button - allows to set up favorite channels for your TV, so you no longer have to study TV channel line up and find what obscure channel number is assigned to your most viewed channels
- very useful HELP button - in rare cases when one of the devices in activity failed to either turn on or switch to the proper video/audio input it will correct the situation and remember it, so it does not happen again
- price. I bought it on sale (sixty dlrs) which is unbeatable for the class of the remote you get. Please do not try to compare this remote to the $20 universal remotes found at Wal-Mart. They can not hold a candle to this one in the everyday use
- functionality-wise this remote is the same as any other in the Harmony line, including much more expensive ones. It has the same limitations as well (for example, not being able to control BT devices, like PS3). The software to setup any of the Harmony remotes is the same and they all use the same online database of different Home Theater devices. So if you can control your rare device with one of the Harmony remotes, you can control it with any other remote as well.
Cons:
- really none. The best I can come up with is that it uses AAA batteries instead of more readily available AA. Also, the LCD screen is pretty small (880 model has much better bigger color LCD screen).
Customer Review: Excellent universal remote! Great features and nice feel.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this remote a few months ago to replace an aging Sony RM-VL900. This remote is absolutely perfect for our family. Here are the three things I was looking for (and found in the Harmony 676)...
1) Activity-based remote - the remote is very easy for the kids to understand because they choose the activity that they want (TV/DVR, Video games, or DVD) and the remote then sets everything up for them to control the devices for that activity. FF and RWD control either the DVD or the DVR depending on what you are doing. All the inputs for the TV and A/V Receiver are automatically set correctly. It makes using a system with multiple components very simple.
2) Hard buttons - I have a Pronto but it sits in the closet. Despite the flexibility that the LCD touchscreen offers, there are two big disadvantages: complicated setup and using the remote by "feel" or "touch." I really like the soft rubber buttons on the Harmony 676. It's very easy to use without looking at the remote because you quickly learn where all the transport buttons are. The rubber has a nice feel and they travel enough that you can tell when you have pressed the button down. As a bonus, you get an LCD screen with extra buttons for those commands that don't fit on a real button.
3) Computer-based setup - I liked the Sony VL-900 because of the nice rubber buttons but I lost my learned commands and settings a couple times because the batteries were removed. After programming it for the third time, I vowed that my next remote would have a computer-based setup so that I could save all the settings and restore them if needed. The Harmony remote uses a web-based utility that allows you to save everything should you need to restore your remote settings. The web-based approach also allows you to benefit from all the other users that have already learned all the commands for your devices.
The Harmony 676 met our needs perfectly and I can't say I've ever enjoyed a remote more than this one (and I've tried plenty). The color faceplates are a nice feature. Ours is currently red because we have red accents in our TV room and my wife loves it. The faceplates are a nice deep color too, not cheap and plasticy like you might expect.
Here are a couple more things to consider as you shop around and compare the other Harmony remotes...
The Harmony 680 is similar but has two major differences. First the buttons are arranged so that the transport buttons are around the cursor. I like having the transport buttons at the top where they are laid out in a logical line. I think it makes using the remote by touch simpler as well. Also, the 680 has hard plastic buttons rather than soft rubber buttons. I prefer the feel of the soft buttons.
Some of the other Harmony remotes have more buttons, but they have strange (to my taste) button shapes and layouts. I don't like how the buttons on the 688 are next to each other. It makes it much harder to use by feel. I have to look at the 688 to make sure I'm pressing the right button.
The 659 has the transport buttons at the very bottom of the remote, which is an awful position if you use a DVR to watch TV. We use the transport buttons all the time to fast-forward through commercials, etc. and the 676 has them in a nice place to use often.
When you program the remote, keep in mind that the activity screens and the device screens are different. I spent some time tweaking the DVD layout and LCD buttons only to find that they didn't show up when I pressed "watch DVD." I needed to go back and make the same changes to the "watch DVD" activity that I had made to the DVD device.
Customer Review: An Amazing Product
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazing doesn't even cut it. This remote control is in a class by itself. You can customize it as much or as little as you wish, and it just works.
I have an HDTV cable/DVR box that connects to the TV using the component inputs. My DVD player runs through my AV receiver via the s-video inputs/outputs, and my VCR runs through the receiver using the regular analog inputs. With the remote set up, I can:
1. Press "Watch TV" and the remote will turn on the cable box and TV, and turn the TV to the comonent inputs.
2. Press "Watch DVD," and the remote will switch the TV to "Video 1," turn the receiver on and switch its input to DVD. The DVD player will turn on.
3. Select "Watch Video Tape," and the remote will switch the TV to "video 2," switch the receiver to "VCR 1," turn off the DVD player and turn on the VCR. I can control the volume of the TV or the receiver as wanted.
4. Press "TV surround Sound" and the TV gets set as in (1) above, but the receiver turns on and changes its input to TV. Volume is then controlled by the receiver.
5. Press "off," and everything that was on turns off; anything that was off stays off.
There are so many ways to set up this remote to do things as I want it to do, no matter what I want it to do. It really is amazing, and I have only listed some of the "activities" that I have set up.
It sounds complicated, and in some ways it is, to set up. But once set up, anyone and everyone can easily use your TV/home theater in ways you cannot even imagine. As if everything were designed to work together in the first place. In other words, once set up, using it is E-A-S-Y! And isn't that the ultimate goal of a remote control?
Believe me: with this remote, you really can get rid of all your other remotes. In my case I can get rid of the cable/DVR remote, the receiver remote, the DVD player remote, the VCR remote, the TV remote, the cassette deck remote and the Sirius satellite radio remote. Really get rid of them too (well, put in storage) ... EVERY COMMAND from the originals, not just some or most, can be put on the Harmony remote. Amazing.
I have no real complaints, but a suggestion: The web site needed for setting up the remote could be set up a little easier. Not that it is hard to use once you figure it out, but the website itself is a reason for a harder learning curve than is necessary. That being said, I found the site, while occasionally frustrating, very flexible and thorough. Yes, the database isn't as model-specific as I'd like (some listed commands for my TV weren't actually supported by my TV, for example), but once your account is set up and you get the remote basically the way you want, future changes take little time ... just a few minutes. Learning commands from your old remote is amazingly easy, and the website/program lets you know right away if it didn't pick it up correctly. And if you buy a second remote as I plan to do, it will be programmed almost instantly ... unlike other programmable remotes that would take a long time each.
I recommend this remote control highly. I plan to buy the new top model when it is released, and will probably wind up buying one for every TV in the house.
Customer Review: Hang in there...
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many people, I got this remote on Christmas day and spent the next couple days cussing about how terrible the Logitech/Harmony website was. They got overrun and the system just wasn't working. Apparently lucky, I managed to get a basic initial setup late on xmas night (~2am), but when I went back to do some tweaking, I couldn't maintain a reliable connection. Now, things seem to be very snappy and the site is working fine. I've made about 4 minor tweaks to my setup and they've all compiled/installed very quickly and easily. I agree with everyone else here that the application should be local, not server based, and that the website layout is a little confusing even when it's running correctly, but let me also recommend to everyone to hang in there. Once set up, this remote is positively wonderful. It's worth the initial effort.
I've used many universals over the years, and they've all ended up stuck in a drawer. This one is a keeper though. The button layout is very well done. My criteria for a good remote is being able to operate it w/out looking down, and I had this one memorized after only a couple days. It would be slightly better if the Forward/Reverse buttons had a slight taper to them (to better identify them by feeling), but I might just fix that with some light sandpaper. :) Once getting used to this one, the TIVO remote (my previous favorite) seems very limited and basic.
After my configuration was all set up, I found one item that really bugged me: the volume control of my Yamaha receiver was too course. If you just tapped the button quickly, you got a big change in volume. Searching the site, I found a LOT of very good technical info in the Troubleshooting FAQ (make sure you read it! You'll be surprised how much stuff you can adjust!). It explained exactly how to adjust the time delay of that function and now my volume controls as accurately as the original remote. The FAQ is also a good road map to find an adjustment feature hidden in the confusing website.
Another point is that the signal strength and field of view of this remote is very, very good. I was concerned about some devices missing their signals and causing things to get out of sync with each other, but the signal is so strong I can actually turn it around and point it behind me and still control most of my devices.
The alternate faceplates are painted in attractive colors - they look fancy, not gaudy. I'm sticking with silver for now, but I like the idea of swapping to blue or red to keep things fresh. This feature had no impact on my purchase decision, but it's still a very nice extra.
You really can adjust almost every aspect of this remote to get it all dialed in just how you like it. I hestitated to give it a full 5 stars due to the annoying (and perhaps sometimes overloaded) website, but decided that the remote itself really does deserve it. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Also, a special thanks to Weldon Dodd for his detailed review here. Your comments were very helpful to me for narrowing down which Harmony model I wanted, and a strong influence on my final decision to get this item. Thanks!