Anyone have a Logitech Harmony remote control?

Headbust

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 10, 2003
Messages
1,585
Will it really controll pretty much everything and all features that the original remotes can do(access all menus and such)

Technically it is computer hardware so i posted it here
 
It's not really though is it? Everything has a computer chip in it. I don't see people asking about microwaves here. :p

Yes, it will support any IR function the original remotes do.
 
yeah i got the 880 modem with the color screen, nice remote. alot easier to hold then my old Sony Remote Commander.
 
I have the 520 and love it. Excellent on batteries and simple to setup. But sometimes I revert back to an original remote if I have to do something that's complicated. Like setting up the speakers on my reciever. You can do everything from the Harmony but it takes longer to navigate the LCD finding the proper IR command.

But your basic IR commands are all covered on the remote. If you search the forum there is a thread on here covering your question.
 
DefineByte said:
It's not really though is it? Everything has a computer chip in it. I don't see people asking about microwaves here. :p

WTF was the point of that?
 
DefineByte said:
It's not really though is it? Everything has a computer chip in it. I don't see people asking about microwaves here. :p

Yes, it will support any IR function the original remotes do.
It has USB and hooks up to a PC, therefore it is computer hardware, Relax buddy :rolleyes: :eek:
 
Got the 880, the remote function is great, the design is bad (the phone is having trouble charging only 8mos. after I bought it because the contacts have worn down on the charger) and the customer service is absolutely HORRIBLE.

I wouldn't buy another that's for sure.
 
Would you care to share why you think the customer service is so bad? I'm only curious because I have heard a lot of anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Many people say that the service is excellent and that the reps will stay on the phone with you literally for hours and that they will do custom programming for you on the phone.
 
Not sure about the customer service, but we own a Harmony 880 and love it. Getting some of the programming setup just the way you like it can be quirky, but, yes, it works with everything that I've thrown at it (new and very old components alike) and is very customizable. There are a lot of fancier programmable, universal remotes out there, but the Harmony remotes are very serviceable for the price range.

They're pretty durable in my experience too. My fiance spilled most of a Sprite on ours over the weekend and it seems to be just fine. Dried it off with some paper towels, rinsed it with a barely damp paper towel and let it dry overnight. No damage to the display or loss of functionality. There is a section in the upper-right of the display that has a little (barely) noticeable banding, but that was there before the Sprite vs. Harmony experiment of 2006.

-Ben
 
Headbust said:
It has USB and hooks up to a PC, therefore it is computer hardware, Relax buddy :rolleyes: :eek:
Relax? Did you not see the smiley? Me thinks you're imbuing my post with your own emotions. :p As an aside, my phone and Hi-Fi also feature USB connections. Does that make them computer hardware? That was a rhetorical question btw. ;)

threeclaws said:
Got the 880, the remote function is great, the design is bad (the phone is having trouble charging only 8mos. after I bought it because the contacts have worn down on the charger) and the customer service is absolutely HORRIBLE.

I wouldn't buy another that's for sure.
Sorry to hear about your problems. Yours is the first complaint I've heard about the Harmony range of remotes (at least, from a build quality point of view). Hopefully yours was a rare event.
 
Xaeon said:
Would you care to share why you think the customer service is so bad? I'm only curious because I have heard a lot of anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Many people say that the service is excellent and that the reps will stay on the phone with you literally for hours and that they will do custom programming for you on the phone.

The warranty/RMA dept. works from M-F 9a-5p EST, so that means I either have to wake up at 6am just to call or get home by 2pm, the other option is to leave a message which took them 3 days to call me back on.

And even then they wouldn't send me a replacement 880 they wanted me to ship mine to them and they would fix it, I could expect to get the remote back in 2 weeks.

This all happened as of a week ago, still trying to decide if I want to be without my remote for 2 weeks, or if I want to keep cleaning the contacts and fanagling the placement so it makes contact and charges.
 
I wonder if this problem is particular to the 880 model. Are the contacts just too flimsy?
 
DefineByte said:
Sorry to hear about your problems. Yours is the first complaint I've heard about the Harmony range of remotes (at least, from a build quality point of view). Hopefully yours was a rare event.

The 880 charging problem is fairly common, whether or not the other remotes suffer from it I'm not sure.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=621995
http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-harmony/thread.cgi?2281

It is a problem Logitech is aware of and they are supposed to send out a new base, however the rep said my remote didn't seem to be having that problem, although it sounds the same to me.
 
Ouch, thanks. I guess the ones being sold today have the updated charger? Kinda puts me off them now. :eek:
 
DefineByte said:
Ouch, thanks. I guess the ones being sold today have the updated charger? Kinda puts me off them now. :eek:

Hopefully, even with the problems it is still the best remote I've had to date as far as ease of use goes, even my GF can use it without issue :eek:
 
Ah, I understand the problem now, threeclaws. Is it fair to say that the problems you have had have more to do with management and policy rather than the people themselves? That makes more sense, as I have had nothing but good experiences with the people who work Logitech and Harmony support, but I did have an issue with Logitech where their computer system took 3 phone calls and 6 weeks to actually send my replacement mouse to the shipping department.

Are they going to ship you a new remote or fix the old one> Did you ask about cross-shipping or putting down a deposit or something? I'm curious about this because if I buy an 880 or 890 (on top of the 600 something I already have) I want to know that I will be able to get good support if I end up having issues.

Thanks, and good luck threeclaws.
 
Xaeon said:
Ah, I understand the problem now, threeclaws. Is it fair to say that the problems you have had have more to do with management and policy rather than the people themselves? That makes more sense, as I have had nothing but good experiences with the people who work Logitech and Harmony support, but I did have an issue with Logitech where their computer system took 3 phone calls and 6 weeks to actually send my replacement mouse to the shipping department.

Are they going to ship you a new remote or fix the old one> Did you ask about cross-shipping or putting down a deposit or something? I'm curious about this because if I buy an 880 or 890 (on top of the 600 something I already have) I want to know that I will be able to get good support if I end up having issues.

Thanks, and good luck threeclaws.

No the people themselves are very nice and actually I called again today and spoke to 'level 2' tech support who finally understood the problem and will be shipping me a new base station, it was a long wait to get to 'level 2' but things seem to be progressing.

I tried the typical RMA 'payment' like you mentioned and they insisted on having the remote.

If I were you I would go with the 890, and honestly maybe I was just unlucky because it seems like only the 880's are affected and because of that under normal circumstances you wouldn't have to deal with the RMA dept..

I guess more accurately my problem would be with the RMA/Warranty dept. and their policies/work hours than it would be with the people who actually work in the positions
;)
 
They 880 and the 890 are the same remote, but hte 890 includes the ir wireless receiver which allows you to control w/o line of sight. you can be inthe next room and change volume or tracks. its pretty nifty. takes a while to setup cuz u have to attach a receiver to each device (up to 8 devices) and set it in the software... dont forget that step otherwise ull end up spending hours wondering why it doesnt work...
 
I also have the 880 bought it months ago and darn thing is chucking along just fine. No problem and yes its an awesome remote. I eirher use this or use like five remotes and thats not going to happen so yup the 880 is awesome. I never dealt with logitech regarding this remote so cant comment there. What i like about this remote is how pathetically easy it is to program. Just install the software go to the website type in your model numbers to all your equipment and your good to go.
 
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