Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control
by Logitech
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Our Price: $399.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $159.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control
Customer Review: What you MUST know about this remote before making a Decision.
Summary: 5 Stars
UPDATE: I have changed out the following components Receiver, TV, DVD player, and added an XBox. I had an issue with the craptaculor operation of the cable box ( powering it on and off was difficult due to DVR settings: late night recording ) so I sent an email off to customer support. Two days later (Logitech could have been faster) and the fix was there under devices. Just leave it on all the time. It has codes for things factory remotes don't do!!!! For instance on my Roku Soundbridge 1000 all the Internet Radio stations can be accessed directly and there is a last server command which basically lets me switch between internet radio and PC music with a single button press vs menus and navigating. Essentiall it's made the system more pleasurable to with. I may even buy a spare JIC someone breaks this one!!! Incredible experience!!!
I read all the negative review and became VERY wary of purchasing. I decided due to go with the Harmon due to the price (relatively cheap) and no clear runaway reason to go with another Universal remote to give this one a try. Boy am I glad I did that because it's GREAT once you get it programmed. There are 4 caveats!
#1 The CD included is a travesty out of date. Don't bother with it just go the the Logitech site and download their software/drivers. It's slow and you need a fast connection because the firmware update is 50mb and you need to update both controller and base station before programming.
#2 IMO you don't need to be that computer savy but Mac users seem to have more issues than PC users I believe that is because Logitech's Mac support is poor.
#3 This is simply a two day process. The remote needs to charge over night before getting started. This is NOT well explained (if at all) in the instructions. The remote can not be powered by the USB connection so it has to be charged. I tried using a different mini-USB cable BAD IDEA!!! Use the included cable.
#4 Updating/reprogramming the remote requires that you update BOTH the base station and the Remote Control. If you're doing a big install be patient don't hide the base station at first and if you can get the programming down with the base as an IR blaster first before using the 4 prs of IR emmitters. getting to the Base that often would be tedious.
After all that why 5 stars? It's perfect after that. Simply perfect and WAYYYY cheaper than a cusom Pronto or Universal Remote (that'll set you back 1k with programming) from some expensive high end shop. My fiance had lost the remote to her television and now we have the remote back (it downloads ALL the remote codes. I don't know what to say to the folks who've struggled with the update process. It may have something to do with having an older PC. My machine is only 2 years old and I recently rebuilt it.
Well that's my experience in a nutshell. My fiance can now use the system, we have 1 remote and everything is hidden. I'm ecstatic.
Customer Review: Great remote for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Harmony 890 from Amazon 1 month ago and I recommend it highly!
The 890 is easy to program with the PC based software. The software uses a wizard to lead you through the setup. All you have to do is to tell the wizard the make and model of a component to be controlled and it automatically knows all of the functions provided by the original component remote and will load all of those functions into the 890. Then the wizard asks you what function you want to use your components for (eg: Watch TV), which components you want to use and then which component to use to perform basic functions (ie: Volume control, change channels, etc.)and that is it.
You could get really fancy and go to specific channels, etc.
I use My Harmony 890 to control 3 TVs, 3 DVD players, 2 Satellite Receivers, 1 VCR and a digital AV receiver that does video switching. I have set it up by function (ie: Watch HD TV, Watch HD DVD, Listen to CDs,Watch Bedroom TV, etc.). It does this almost flawlessly.
The RF transmitter feature of the remote enables you to operate AV equipment from anywhere in the house. It will not operate other RF equipment directly so you have to option them to accept IR signals and then they work as before.
The IR transmitter function of the 890 and the remote transceiver are very
powerful so you don't have to be very precise in pointing.
When you activate the help function on the remote it starts a wizard that asks you simple questions to correct a problem. For instance, if you activate a function and one of the components does not do what it was supposed to do it will ask you questions, correct the problem and remember what it did.
What amazes me the most is that the 890 remembers the status of all of the AV components. Pushing a single OFF button will turn off the components that you were using. In addition, you can be in one function and then switch to another and the 890 will turn off those components not being used anymore and turn on components needed for the new function. If a component is common to both functions (eg: AV Receiver) it will leave it on and make any changes needed to perform the new function. I love this!!
One annoying thing is that when you download new functions or changes to the 890 you must always also update the remote transceiver. This can be a logistical problem if the transceiver is not located close to your PC. This is a minor annoyance for me.
As was mentioned in other reviews, you have to be careful when placing the 890 on it recharging cradle.
I have used a $400+ Pronto remote and this blows it away.
The size is right, the display is in color and easy to read. I have big hands and I have no problem with the buttons on the remote.
Buy it, you'll love it!
Customer Review: Does what is needed at a decent price
Summary: 5 Stars
All in all a good buy at Amazons price - Takes a while to get setup just the way you would want. I spent about 4 hours total fiddling with getting all on the configuration the way I wanted - My recommendation is to work in small steps and add activities and customizations as you find you need them. On the minus side the initial software setup was a little buggy - locking up the first time on the update of the unit - No major problems since then.
In my case it handles:
Nakamichi AV-8 AV Amp/tunner
Tivo series 2 & Cable Box
Panasonic Dvd Recorder
Hitachi HD Plasma display
Sirius Radio
JVC Dvd Player
Since I got it configured I have not had to touch any of the old remotes. They all went to live in a drawer in another room.
On the configuration side make sure that none of the devices that are being controlled by the remote are dependent on each other for switched power. In my case the Dvd player was connection to the Switched power on the Nakamichi - As a result when selecting the activity to watch a Dvd, the Dvd player would not turn on (Either the remote attempted to turn on the Dvd first, or there was not enough time after the receivers startup for the Dvd to wake up enough to get a signal).
My only current concerns are:
1) Documentation is a bit light (what does the media button do? )
Update: The media button is used for favorite channels etc....
2) I can't figure out how to get the activity soft buttons to return after switching to control a specific device, without actually selecting that activity again (which can cause a visual flash).
Update: Just hit device button one or two times (Depending on context) and the current activity will return.
3) The is no quick toggle for the arrow buttons - In other words when doing a activity the arrow buttons are dedicated to a single device.
4) The enter button (On the lower right side) is hard to reach with small hands, and you will often also hit the 9 button.
5) Had to adjust the timings for the Nakamichi to get the volume to be at a fine enough resolution - Online help was great for troubleshooting this problem.
After a 1 month operation still great, had to invest maybe another hour customizing things to just the way I want them - Have not had to touch any of the old remotes at all.
Customer Review: Very satisfied
Summary: 5 Stars
Overall I'm very happy with this remote. I like the hard buttons and the motion-sensing lighting. However the layout of the remote is less than ideal for someone who channel surfs a lot. The remote is laid out so the comfortable place to hold it puts your thumb over the select and up/down/left/right buttons.
Most of the time I want my thumb over the play, pause, rewind, etc. These are on the bottom part of the remote which is thicker and less comfortable to hold, especially as the case can be slick. The DVR buttons are marked with raised dots so they can be found by touch. I've grown used to the layout by now, but it would be better if these buttons were in the center of the controller, or laid out in a way they stood out from one another better.
My biggest concern in buying this remote was the large number of reviews stating how difficult it was to program. I didn't find this to be the case setting up for a half-dozen components, nor when I switched out my audio receiver requiring a lot of changes to the setup. All of the components I had were instantly recognized by the software except for the PS3, which can't be controlled by this remote since the PS3 uses bluetooth and not IR. Some tips for setting up the remote:
* The Firefox web browser has a Harmony Mod plugin that gives extra functionality in reordering the buttons which I suggest using.
* User-created sequences assigned to the LCD screen buttons always appear at the end of all the other LCD buttons. Not knowing this was my biggest time waster as I tried to get the buttons into the order I wanted. A quick call to support cleared up what the problem was.
* Using the default activity to Play Game (Xbox 360) results in the remote set to act like a 360 controller. If like me you want it to set up the inputs but otherwise remain a TV/receiver controller, then you can save time by setting it up initially as a Watch TV activity and editting and renaming it as necessary.
* When you log in, you start out on the User Options page. I suggest you click on the Home page top left and work out of that page. There is some overlap, but it is clearer on the home page where to go for different tasks.
Overall I'm happy with this remote and would recommend it to others. I almost never have to resort back to any of the 6+ remotes I've replaced with this one.
Customer Review: I Love It!
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased a new 7.1 reciever and speakers for my home theater room, so i relocated my old 5.1 yamaha reciever to the bedroom. the new bedroom setup was going to be the yamaha reciever, samsung lcd, samsung upconverting hd960 dvd and directv hr 20 dvr. I wanted all of the components hidden from view and mounted inside a cabinet, so i needed a good ir repeater. Having recently purchased the logitech 1000 for the theater room setup and been pleasantly surprised with its overall performance, and despite some poor reviews i decided to give the harmony 890 a try. thankfully, my model did not have any of the hardware problems noted in some reviews. within an hour, the tv, my lutron lighting system and all of the components were working flawlessly! i wondered if i had to mount the included rf / ir repeater on the cabinet door facing the components for them to adequately recieve the signals. however, by simply sitting it on the topmost component, all of the hidden components got the remote commands EVERY SINGLE TIME. the tv, which previously responded very inconsistently to a sony rm av2500, turned on and off every time, despite the fact that the remote was pointed nowhere near it (granted, the bedroom does have a lot of mirrors). the more expensive harmony 1000 cannot consistently do this in my main setup. i even decided to ir learn the commands for my alarm clock, an iluv ipod player / alarm and it works great. the alarm has a bright clock light so i keep it across the room. before i go to sleep, i simply select it in the devices screen so when i wake up the remote is ready to control this device. the biggest gripe i have is that the cradle has a bright blue light that stays on all the time, and can even be seen when the remote is in place. also, the remote does not consistently make an adequate connection to the charging base. otherwise, i am beyond happy.
for those not very familair with how an a/v system works, this remote may be difficult to program. logitech's marketing makes it seem like the software does all of the work for you, and in truth it is a lot easier than programming macros on other types of remotes, but one still needs to have a basic knowledge of home theater. for those who are willing to take some time to learn to program this remote, i strongly recommend it.