Logitech Harmony Remotes?

[El_Cid]

Looking for info /experiences from anyone using a Logitech Harmony series
remote. Their website is a little confusing regarding which one to go for to control a standard LCD (HDTV) + Receiver + HD Cable Box + DVD / VCR Combo. I'm looking at one of the middle of the road models not the upper $300+ models. If anyone out there is currently using one let me know what you think and recommend.

 

[The Bandit]

Check the Future Shop, Best Buy reviews, any reviews I've read all said they were the best they had ever used.

The Office Depot has one on sale this week, that's regular $129 on for $69.

 

[drrogers]

Harmony SST-659

Looking for info /experiences from anyone using a Logitech Harmony series
remote. Their website is a little confusing regarding which one to go for to control a standard LCD (HDTV) + Receiver + HD Cable Box + DVD / VCR Combo. I'm looking at one of the middle of the road models not the upper $300+ models. If anyone out there is currently using one let me know what you think and recommend.

Bought mine years ago, when owned by Harmony in Mississaga, love it, easy to programme - tech support was better before Logitech took them over but still good. As I buy new components easy to add or remove . You can't go wrong. Check out factorydirect.ca they always have good prices on them

 

[warpdwhim]

I've a Harmony 880

Best damn remote I've ever had....super easy to program, easy to use, this model has a rechargeable battery - I highly recommend it

 

[lacivious]

i have the harmony 1000 replaced my phillips neo pronto I like it alot

 

[freakshow]

i have had the 688 for years...........never a problem only drawback was that it needed batteries........so invested is some rechargeable ones......but other than that very easy to programs.......i control. tv,stb,dvd,cd,ps2,htpc,sat

 

[kooley]

Best damn remote I've ever had....super easy to program, easy to use, this model has a rechargeable battery - I highly recommend it

ditto, dont know how i ever lived without one.

 

[El_Cid]

Well been looking for good prices.. FactoryDirect seems to have good prices on the 550 but they seem to be out of stock.. BestBuy just had a sale on the 659 but they sold out rather quickly from what I hear.. eBay was my next option but they're still going for $150-180 depending on which one the 880 or the 570.

Anyone out there know of any other places to get one at a real good price?

Thanks for all the information.

- EC

 

[Keebler Elf]

They were talking about these on the radio (Tech Talk, IIRC) and the reviews they gave weren't exactly glowing. Apparently they can be quite complicated and, even once you get past the learning curve, they are somewhat pre-programmed. For example, pressing ON could cause the DVD, TV, VCR, stereo, etc. to all turn on when you may only want one or two of those to turn on.

One of the guys owned one and gave the caller a cautionary recommendation, and the other guy worked for a competitor so he couldn't comment.

I guess the point is to ask about the downsides.

My impression was that the radio hosts would have been more likely to recommend them if the prices were more affordable. For the high prices, they couldn't justify them.

 

[Freewheelin Franklin]

I had a 659 for years. Recently upgraded to a 720 (love it!)

Setup can be a little complicated, especially if you want to tweak some of the more obscure settings (like time delays). Tech support is helpful once you've escalted to 2nd level (the 1st level support people are pretty useless).

There shouldn't be any problem with devices turning on/off mistakenly. One of the first steps in setting up an activity (like watch TV, watch a DVD, etc.) is to define which devices are used in that activity and whether or not you want unused devices to be turned off for that activity.

Anyway, I highly recommend the Harmony if you've got a multi-component A/V system.

 

[The Bandit]

It's the Harmony 520 that's on sale this week(until the 20th) at Office Depot. At $69.99 reg $129

 

[Grind]

I have Harmony 880.. couldn't live without it.

A solid investment.

 

[tboy]

I have one that was branded radio shack so Factory Direct were selling them for $29.99. Greatest multi-use remote I ever owned. I like the fact that when you switch over to various components only the buttons for that component light up. Kind of hard on batteries tho.

As for the master power turning everything on, I believe that can be disabled. Instead of programming the power button as a master, you should be able to program it to only turn on each individual component. Plus a master power on button doesn't always get everything unless everything is pretty close together. I have my home theatre system off to the side of my big screen tv and if I point it at the HT system, it misses the tv and vice versa.