Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: Best Universal Remote I Ever Owned! Hands Down!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, where do I begin... I guess I will speak about the people who say negative things.. then I will speak about the positives.
Will this controller fail after 1 year?:
I know there are a lot of people who expressed the cradle doesn't charge after a year of owning. But, the cradle was changed and newer owners do not have that problem anymore. Some other users expressed the toggle buttons fail after one year. However, i spoke to several people who have owned this well over a year and not one single problem has arisen. In the event it does, Logitech will honor the issue and send you a replacement. Logitech has good costumer service despite what some others have said.
Onto the positives!
Size & Comfort:
This remote is very very small... compared to most universal remotes. Its about the same size as popular motorola cable box remotes. It fits in your hand perfect, its light weight and the buttons you use most are easy to get to. This is the 1st I owned a higher end universal remote where the buttons are where they should be!
Battery Life:
I will not keep this on the cradle charger at all times just to prolong the life span of the battery. I have found the battery once fully charged lasts for quite a while.. several days.
Setting Up:
This remote does take a lot of time to configure out you want it perfectly. However, just setting up you initial products is VERY fast! Just type in your model numbers and viola.. your done. In fact, I added so many devices to this thing around the house I amazed it knew them without forcing it to learn the remote manually. From wireless lighting... to air purifiers.. to bookshelf stereos... to PC sound card remotes.. etc... this Logitech remote database knew every single one without having to program them. Only one remote I needed to program by hand was a IR remote I bought for my PS3 and that took only minutes.
Macros:
Macro's in this remote are called Activities. You can set up a series of commands called an activity and it performs multiple commands at the touch of 1 button. Ex: Tv on, receiver on, blu ray player on, receiver switches to blu ray player, tv switches to video input of blu ray player, blu ray player starts to play. All with 1 button press.
Recently, more complex macros have been added to the software that allow more complex series of commands that can be assigned to any menu.
The cool thing about acitivies is you get a sub on screen menu that acts like a hybrid menu of all the devices involved in the activity. For example a "watch tv" activity would allow you to access your tv, receiver, and cable box.. and the menu can be customized to include which functions from all of those you want to use. Like changing the DSP's on your receiver, DVR or menu button for your cable box, and other controls you use for your tv.. all via one menu.
Tweaking on screen menu:
You can tweak the layout of text on every onscreen menu to every device there is very easy... you can reassigned where you want things to go. So you can decide what belong on page 1 of the menu.. so its easier to get to the things you use most instead of letting it decide for you.
THIS IS THE ONE REMOTE TO RULE THEM ALL!
I have finally found my last remote I will ever purchase.. infact for 1st time ever.. I have moved away all my other remotes... I seriously for the 1st time no longer need them.. this remote can get to every single function of every single device.. and if you take the time to tweak each device in the software.. it gets even easier to get to those functions quickly.
Customer Review: Superb...Simplicity at it's finest
Summary: 5 Stars
I am becoming more and more familiar with this beautiful remote. I will cover a few of the aspects so people can understand the great value in this remote.
This remote comes with a rechargable batterey, USB cable, charger plate, startup disk, and of course the remote. Make sure to charge the remote when you get it so you can enjoy it that evening.
I was familiar with the basic setup of this remote since I have the Harmony 360 remote with green backlight. I was looking for something with a little classier presentation for my living room. The 880 has the sleek looks and colorful interface. The black design makes it almost unnoticeable among other remotes. Installing the program was easy and it quickly went online to check for any new updates which there were. Once that was out of the way I was able to do basic setup. Like I said I was familiar with the basic setup. First off make sure that you have the model numbers of every product you are registering with the remote. Logitech has an excellent database that has thousands of different products registered so finding your product is very simple. I have some newer products so I was happy that they were all registered. Now if you have a Playstation 3 or any other device that uses bluetooth you are out of luck. The remote only works on the standard signal. During the setup process the program asks a couple of simple questions regarding your knowledge and familiarity with setting up devices. These questions are to help the program better assist you. Once you have all your devices logged in the program will come up with what activties are best suited for those devices. Whether it's watching movies or t.v., playing games, or listening to music. After you are finished assigning the responsibilities to each group you will be asked to connect the remote via USB cable. The computer will then link up with the remote and update the remote to your programs. Once that is done it's all about testing to make sure the devices turn on like they are supposed to. Some times it's all about trial and error since many new HD t.v. have many inputs that can make it confusing.
Using the remote works like a charm. Not only does it become adequately familiar with all it's assignments it also seems to know each device better than you could have imagined. For instance I have a dvr cable box. The cable remote has many different menus and assignments that can take a while to get used to. Transitioning to this remote was simple as can be. The volume and channel changing controls are in a very good location. But also the menu and display buttons make this remote seemingly simpler than my cable remote. I have went from having four remotes to just two now. The other one is for my playstation 3. Life is very easy now and I don't have to look for what one works for volume and what one changes channels. Also the remote senses movement as it's interface lights up when you lift it. Talk about smart.
Overall I would say this is an excellent value for anyone looking to invest in a universal remote. If you are tired of having several remotes for many different tasks or if you have a confusing univeral remote this one is your best buy. Now the price may seem steep for a remote but I believe it's a great value. If you are like me and have a new hdtv this remote is an excellent value especially on Amazon. Considering most stores will charge you at least 20-30% more. Make life a little simpler and make your living room a little classier.
Customer Review: Great remote-great gift-NO Brainer
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the Harmony 880 and the Harmony 890. I prefer the layout of these compared to the Harmony One, although it may be a personal preference and others may disagree. this remote is EASILY programmable with about 10 minutes of time. You can personalize it however you want and with just the push of a button, everything turns on as it should, settings go to the right place (like audio 1, 2, 3, dvd, whatever a receiver needs to be set to, etc.) I have this hooked up to tv, receiver, dvd, dvr, ipod, xm and it works perfectly. And everyone in my house, including occasional visitors can use it with ease as the icons are totally self explanatory. Push one button to watch DVR--it's done. Change your mind to watch DVD--DVR turns off, tv changes to appropriate video input, dvd turns on. Genius. If something ever goes wrong, you can just press the help button and it goes through a series of questions, diagnosis problem, and fixes it in usually less than a minute. I find that typically this would happen if you happen to press a command and then aim the remote away from the devices.
After about 1 1/2 years of battery use, I had to replace the battery. not bad. Prior to replacing the battery, when the old battery wasn't holding a charge, the remote reset itself (my clue to get a new battery). I charged the battery. Plugged the remote, nervously into the computer (I had not remembered by username, password, settings, etc.) But alas, Harmony took care of that as well--it recognized my remote and reset it completely without me having to do anything but press a button.
some people complained that the battery doesn't fit in the compartment securely enough and thus doesn't always charge. Simple solution, tear up a piece of paper, put it in between the battery and the back of the remote and no more problems. I hadn't really had problems to begin with but when my battery wasn't charging because of length of use, I did this to maximize any charge. I heard harmony will send a rubber piece to put in place but I never asked for one (it is suppose to be free).
The difference between the 880 and 890 is that the 890 comes with the RF signal so that you can use the remote with hidden electronics. And the 880 is black and the 890 is silver. I prefer the black but it isn't a big deal either way.
The 880 is currently at a fantastic price--even cheaper than the 880 refurbished. And it is worth every penny to get rid of all of those crazy remotes that you have to switch back and forth between to get anything done.
And, my pet sitter is grateful for my remote because prior to getting this, she could never use my tv and electronics. I'm happy because my daughter isn't losing remotes since there is only one to keep up with. And I am thrilled with Harmony's easy interface as well as the ease of reprogramming if necessary.
Really, do not hesitate to buy this, you won't regret it. And if you do, there is always the 30 day return policy-but after day 1 you will never give it another thought.
Lastly, I prefer this to the 1000 because of the smaller size. Again, a personal preference.
And one more thing--this is the perfect remote for gifts for parents who are finding that they enjoy DVR/DVD/TV but are overwhelmed with remembering what to do. Once my dad died, my mom had to have cheat sheets written down in order to operate everything--but even with that, there was reticence. With this there is no problem.
Customer Review: Harmony 880 - A true UNIVERSAL remote control
Summary: 5 Stars
PROS:
* Looks cool.
* Very customizable.
* Place commands where you want them to appear on the screen.
* Can simulate every command on every remote.
* Can learn commands not stored in Logitech's database by setting the 880 remote head to head with your remote(s).
* The screen feature with 4 buttons on the left and 4 more on the right side is a great idea.
* Programmable Activities feature allows me to have the up-down channel buttons control my DVR and the up-down volume buttons control my big screen TV. ie you can have each button control any device you want it to.
CONS:
* Requires internet connection and USB cord in order to program.
*You'll need to be comfortable with a PC.
*You'll need to become familiar with Logitech's software in order to program and customize the remote. It's a bit confusing at first. Its not totally intuitive.
*Not as comfortable to hold and press buttons as most of my original remotes. I think the remote should be just a little bigger (due to my big hands).
*No macros allowed at this time but posts on internet sites say Logitech will add this to their software in the near future.
* Buttons in the middle of the remote should be a little bigger (left-right arrows, Device, Media)
* After two weeks I still don't know what the MEDIA button does.
* I don't know how long the little thin rectangular rechargeable battery will last. I wonder how much time and money will it take to get a replacement in the future.
* Too much glass around the screen. Every time I press a button next to the screen, press a left-right arrow to change the functions assigned to the screen buttons, etc finger prints and smudges are left on the glass. Very noticeable. I'm cleaning this remote every day just to get the smudges off.
A really good universal remote that can simulate every button on every one of your original remotes - even the remote for your oscillating room fan or ceiling fan. Just get the make and model numbers off your devices and enter them into the software.
You definitely need to be patient. I'm a total computer geek and even I got confused at times. You'll need to reprogram the remote quite a few times in order to get every button simulated and also get the buttons next to the screens to have the commands in the order you want them the appear. I re-programmed mine about 15 times just to get it to be exactly the way I want it.
You aren't limited to just 8 button functions at the buttons next to the screen. Just use the left-right arrows to page to the next screen and you'll have 8 more functions next to the buttons. If these 8 aren't enough, you can press the left-right arrows again and have 8 more functions programmed. One of my remotes has 7 pages of button functions. And even more could have been set up while I was doing the programming.
I just found out I can toggle from "activities" mode to "device" mode and back to "activities" mode by just continuing to press the "device" button. I like this feature.
[...]
OVERALL, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF YOU HAVE PATIENCE, AREN'T EASILY CONFUSED BY GADGETS, ARE COMFORTABLE USING A COMPUTER AND WANT A REMOTE THAT CAN SIMULATE EVERY BUTTON ON EVERY ONE OF YOUR ORIGINAL REMOTES.
I report - You decide.
Customer Review: Excellent remote
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit that I was very skeptical about getting a Logitech Harmony remote. I have a Universal Remote that has worked well for me. It supports macros as well but after my brother sat me down and discussed the real merits of the "Activities"-based Harmony, I began to appreciate the differences.
1. Sleek design both looks great and feels great. Some folks may find a few of the buttons a little difficult to see but if you're like me, you end up using the same set of buttons over and over again so finding and using them becomes habit.
2. My old remote doesn't keep track of power on/power off of devices. So when I ran a macro on the old remote, I either needed to eliminate all power on/off commands or deal with the possibility of toggling the power off when I really wanted it on, etc. The Harmony "remembers" what the current power states of my devices are so when I click the Watch TiVo activity after I've been watching TV, my TV doesn't suddenly go off.
3. Forget about mentally mapping device inputs to buttons, etc. The Harmony embeds all the input selections in the Activities. I had to "un-learn" my former way of using a remote. For example, if I wanted to watch a movie, I'd have to do a bunch of individual steps like set the remote for the amplifier, turn the amp on, set the amp input to DVD, set the remote to TV mode, turn the TV on, put the TV input on A/V 3, etc. With the Harmony, I press "Watch Movie" and the remote sends out a series of commands that I've already set up with the Harmony software and downloaded to the remote. The single button press replaces all the button pressing I used to do on the old remote. Sure, setting up macros on my old remote would have done the same thing too, but like I mentioned above, keeping track of which devices were powered on, etc. was a thorn in my side with macro use.
4. I was a hold out on wanting to use the internet to program my remote but after using Logitech's large online database, it was easy to lookup the names of devices I wanted to control without having to punch in and try awkward 3 or 4 digit device codes with little to no user feedback. Whats more, I can tweak the performance of the remote by changing delay times, etc to make it more responsive.
5. Self-charging caddy solves two problems at once, namely, where should I (more importantly, where should MY KIDS) put the remote when it isn't being used? Also, how can we minimize feeding batteries to this thing? The caddy takes care of the where and how.
6. Cool gadget-lover features. Hey, I'm a nerd. I like creating little customized bitmaps that I can download as backdrops or slideshows for my remote. Does it add anything to meet the remote's primary functional requirements? No. Is it fun for a nerd like me to use and surprise others with? YES!
All-in-all, I'm a convert and I recommend the Logitech Harmony 880. I also have the 520 which isn't as slick looking as the 880 but pretty much does all of the same things. You do have to have some level of computer know-how to set the remote up successfully but there's plenty of help available for the novice. Enjoy!