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: A truly UNIVERSAL remote! Outstanding!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had several DirecTV/TIVO units and other components for years now but have never been able to find a truly universal remote that would control EVERYTHING. While a so-called universal remote would control all my TIVOs and the like, the A/V receiver would then be a problem, or vice versa. There always seemed to be some device that I could not control with a "universal" remote.
Not anymore. The Harmony 880 is a wonder! It truly IS a universal remote. Mine controls a DirecTV HD DVR, an HD TIVO, and an SD TIVO. It also controls a DVD player, CD player, and my Onkyo 805 A/V receiver, along with my Samsung 61" DLP HDTV. EVERYTHING is controlled by this wonderful, little remote!
There was a bit of a learning curve when I first got it, but that was probably my fault because I wasn't setting it up with activities the way I should have been. Since then, I've been able to set up this remote for my father in less than 30 minutes when he got one for himself. In addition, Harmony support is superb! They're helpful and will literally spoonfeed you if you get all panicky or confused.
One of the best aspects of working with this remote is that you create a log-in to Harmony's web site and go through the Harmony software on your PC. This way either you or a Harmony support person can work with it live, so to speak. You simply make changes while your remote's connected to your PC, then you update the thing and it reboots to the new specs.
This remote works so well it's almost scary. You create "activities" that basically do everything you want to do in one keystroke. Let's say you want to watch your HD TIVO. You program into your remote an activity entitled, "Watch HD TIVO," for example, and your remote will turn on your TV, turn on your A/V receiver, change its input to HD TIVO (or whatever it's called on your A/V), and turn on or make sure your HD TIVO is on and set. Now let's say you want to watch a DVD player that comes into your TV on different inputs, for example. You'd press the activity that says, "Watch DVD" and your remote changes the A/V's input to DVD, switches the TV to the DVD video feed (or similar), turns on the DVD player, etc. All this in one keystroke! How easier can it get than that?!?
Trust me, as someone who is easily a skeptic when it comes to such techie things, the Harmony 880 is truly unbelievable! I absolutely LOVE this thing. ALL my other remote have been stored away. I only need and use this one. That's it.
BTW, there are many who wonder if they should go with this or the Harmony 890. The 890 is the same thing but in RF mode. The 880 is IR mode. I'm a big fan of RF mode, but I opted for the 880 and IR for two reasons: (1) I didn't think the 890 was worth a hundred bucks more, (2) I really didn't plan on using the 880 from other rooms, so RF wasn't a dealbreaker. Besides, I've noticed that the 880's IR capability is excellent. It has a large IR sensor on it that allows it to be used without having to point directly at something. I can be pointing it 45* away from a component and it still works well. All in all, a great item at a great price here from Amazon!
Customer Review: Great Universal Remote and Mac Compatible
Summary: 5 Stars
This remote does everything except dry your dishes and mop your floors. Both my wife and I love the 880 because it makes using our home entertainment system easy and more transparent than having 5 different remotes or one remote that we have to constantly mess with to do simple things like switch from watching a movie to watching cable.
To set up the remote the first time you connect the charged remote to your computer, using the included USB cable, and the software will prompt you to create a username and password. After doing so you select the model of your remote and then you're ready to start adding your components. From then on you can log in and, with your remote hooked up to the computer, make any changes you want.
With the 880 you look up your component by manufacturer and model name/number. This same feature makes adding or changing components a breeze in the future. This is a million times more easy than trying all those 3 and 4 digit codes over and over, on most cheaper universal remotes.
Since the component list is updated and online, new products are constantly being added, so the remote is always up to date with the latest set up for new audio and video components. If the software doesn't recognize the component you input, it'll offer specific suggestions of products you might be trying to add, which can be helpful when you transpose characters in the model number of your TV.
Logitech has some common usage presets based on the components you select, like "Watch a DVD" or "Listen to CDs," so most of the set up work is done for you as soon as you pick a few components. That's the beauty of this remote, it has common sense functions. I've owned other universal remotes that I could use to turn on individual components and change their settings, one at a time. That was cumbersome and could get old when I had to hit the "DVD" button to stop a movie and then I'd have to press the "TV" button to change the TV to the cable setting and then I had select another button to change to the cable box, so I could change the channels. It's amazing to me how far we've come from the days where we had to sit right next to the TV (or worse yet, we had to get up to walk over to the TV) to change the channel with the clicking channel changing knob.
The Logitech 880 is the first remote I've owned that allows me to press a single button and turn on all the components I need for a particular function, like watching a movie. For example: "Watch a DVD" turns on the DVD player, turns on the amplifier and sets the output to DVD, and finally it turns on and sets the TV to Video 2 -- every setting is fully customizable as well, so if you want to keep your amp on all the time, you can tell the remote to not turn it off or on. The remote is very versatile when it comes to programming ability.
Beyond all the simplicity, the software and remote are Mac compatible, which is something I appreciate and one of the selling points for me.
Overall, if you want a full featured remote, that has functions that make sense, and is easy to set up and keep updated, buy this remote.
Customer Review: Fine with Mac OS X Tiger
Summary: 5 Stars
The software that came with the remote had some interface problems, but functioned properly as far as what it was supposed to do. The current version from the Logitech site is virtually flawless. The only thing I expected for it to do, which it did not, is to automatically launch and connect my browser to their web site. No big deal--I have the page bookmarked.
As far as the remote itself is concerned, it performed better that I ever expected, and I have had a good number of universal remotes. Because of the soft keys, all of the functions on the factory remote of my HD-DVD player are available on this one, including Setup and the A/B/C/D contextual buttons. The same holds true for the HDTV/monitor and 5.1 audio system, both of which are not very common brands which you do not expect to readily adapt to any universal remote. Both of these were in the Logitech/Harmony database, so no programming was required.
In spite of these boilerplate settings, you are not limited to the preprogrammed sets and you are allowed to redefine button assignments as much as you like. One setting on my TV which was not included with the presets was HDMI input. I simply added that entry, was prompted to pair the Harmony with the HDTV remote while pressing the HDMI button, and voila, it works!
I was able to do all this and complete the setup regardless of the pathetically scant information provided on the installation sheet that came with the remote. Later on I found out that they do have a fairly comprehensive user manual available for download. They should provide this information as part of the installation (i.e., the download link to the manual). It could possible save some users a lot of grief. But with enough technical savvy, I am certain you will be able to figure everything out, albeit with a little more effort. But I consider that the fun (and rewarding) part anyway.
As far as the connection to their web page is concerned, I encountered not one problem. And not because I had to do it, but just to become more acquainted with the system, I have made the connection at least a half dozen times already without a single hitch. The connection problems reported by some other users may have been due to extraneous factors. I happen to connect directly to the internet, static IP, no (hardware) firewall, on a T1 line.
Update: Since my previous review, Logitech has come out with an "update" to their software and it has only screwed things up, big time. It took me hours to figure out for myself how to make it do what I want it to do. Customer support was no help. Things started to go wrong with the unit which they refuse to acknowledge, like poor contact with the base, and the tilt mechanism not working.
It functions satisfactorily right now, even with the mechanical defects, but I really believe that the average users would not be able to get this thing to work right by themselves. Good luck with tech support.
Unfortunately, Amazon does not give you the ability to change the star-rating on the review page. My estimation for this product has gone down from five to two stars.
Customer Review: Great remote, must have for anyone with a complex home entertainment system (but overkill for anyone else).
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want to get a full and fair picture, do read the last paragraph of this review for some final thoughts...
Do you have 4+ remotes (TV, Cable, DVD, audio receiver), and do you get one of them to *almost* do everything you want, but not quite? That's what I had before this Logitech. My cable remote managed to operate the TV and the sound, but couldn't turn my audio component on and off; and when it came time to put on a DVD, I had to get all remotes out to switch to different inputs, etc. Very annoying...
Someone once gave me a relatively inexpensive universal remote from Radio Shack. It was a learning remote, and it was OK, but it didn't know my audio component, and "learning" all the buttons was just a ridiculous pain. What's most important is that the Radio Shack remote did not have a notion of current state. If you were watching TV, and wanted to watch DVD, it would send your TV an on/off signal, and there is way you can make it smart enough to know what's already turned on, on which input, etc.
Enter Logitech 880. Don't get me wrong, the setup was not as easy as 1-2-3. It took me probably about an hour to get everything to work the way I want (and I program computers for a living). I didn't find the software to be super user-friendly, but it certainly does the job. When I entered all the components I have, and the software suggested all the settings I may need, I was impressed! It was actually very smart at figuring out how my components interact with each other, asked all the right questions about how to switch everything to the right input / output configuration, and -- viola! -- all my remotes were relegated to a drawer, and have not come out since.
Once setup, the remote is a blast. Very intuitive, nice button layout. Great help feature: if you turned on the "Watch TV" activity, and for some reason your TV failed to turn on, press HELP, and the remote will ask you a series of questions that would eventually solve your problem. Very nifty!
Having sad all this, I would consider a few things before buying this remote:
1) If your setup is simple (such as a cable and a TV, or even cable / TV / DVD but with cable and DVD using the same TV input), you don't need to spend $140+ on this remote. Chances are, investing one hour into learning your cable or TV remote would get you the same result. I have a very complex setup, and I still got my cable remote to do 80% of everything I need.
2) Be sure to spend the time on initial setup. While Logitech does a good job with the default options, there are some things you might want to customize. For instance, my cable box doubles as a DVR, and there are some specific buttons that needed to be setup that aren't on any regular remote. Logitech got some of the buttons right, but I wanted them all to be on one screen for ease of use. Small thing, but investing an extra 10 minutes upfront makes it an even nicer product to use daily.
Customer Review: Leo
Summary: 5 Stars
An incredibly convenient piece of equipment, and the ONLY ONE that really works with the most sophisticated home theatre setups.
1. You don't need to go through the tedious learning process - just choose your components, and the device gets all necessary data from the Web-based database. ALL necessary commands immediately get into its memory.
2. Incredibly easy to use: the first and only one with which none of my family members have any problems from day one, and they do not need any instructions! Each major activity (such as watching TV or DVD etc.), involving switching devices on/off, choosing the right inputs etc., is initiated with a single and intuitive graphic button. Unbelievable...
3. A very logical button pattern - you immediately know how to perform most actions and what to press, and the buttons are always addressing the right device.
4. Some activities, such as changing aspect ratio (which can be done both on a TV and/or a DVD player and/or satellite receiver) always requre programming simply because there are too many combinations. And in the case of Harmony remotes is simple and convenient: You can easily add graphic buttons for certain important actions directly to the activity screen. So when I am wathcing TV I can instantaneously and intuitively switch the TV to the full-screen mode and the receiver to the zoom mode, and so on...
5. Even if some device-related data proves to be incorrect in the Logitech database, you can easily fix it using online interface. (I own three Harmony remotes, and had only a single occasion when the remote erronously thought that my Philips plasma TV has 5 inputs instead of 7. As far as the TV switches from one input to another by sequentially scanning through all inputs, the remote could not switch from HDMI1 (SAT) to HDMI2 (DVD) correctly. BUT I went into the bug-fixing mode of the online application, chose the problem, added two missing inputs, and everything started working perfectly.)
6. Even if there are some problems with the setup, you can always press the Help button, and it really helps. Actually it starts a wizard, and it asks you no-nonsense questions about your devices, and finally fixes everything!
6. It conveniently lights up when you pick the device from the cradle or table (motion sensor used).
Hints:
1. ALL Harmony remotes have exactly the same functionality, starting from the least expensive 550 (works on batteries) and up to 880/1000 (save for some very minor things or UHF ultra-long range on some models). The only difference is in the screen size, color/B&W, and source of energy (regular batteries or lighted charging lighted cradle). So you get all this magnificent functionality even with the cheapest device, and you can always try it out first.
2. I would suggest to always add Aspect ratio, Subtitles and Eject buttons to each activity screen - this speeds up operation significantly, and is very simple to do.