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Harmony Remotes

A

Azhar

Fixing stupid since 1972
Joined
Jan 9, 2001
Messages
18,877
I hear all the time about how great the Logitech Harmony is. When my sister came over to check out my HTPC, I was using a 2.5ghz RF keyboard and mouse which I've preferred over Hauppauge's remote because you could do much more with them. She (who also has an HTPC) told me to get a Harmony and don't look back.

Are they as great as people say? It's quite expensive at the $149 starting price, so I'd like your opinion before I shell out the money.

The main reason I disliked the Hauppauge remote is because it's infrared receiver requires a line of sight and it's distance is very short (approximately 3-5 feet). Would I be suffering the same problem with the Harmony?

Another reason I prefer my keyboard and mouse is because every remote I can find lack an eject button for the DVD/Blu-ray player. I mapped one of the key to the ejectcd.exe command. My NMedia 6000B HTPC case's eject button doesn't line up with my Blu-ray drive - phooey. Could the Harmony be programmed to run a command as well?

I have to admit I'm getting frustrated with the mouse too. Microsoft mouse tend to speed-scroll no matter how you set it in the Mouse setting, so when you use the wheel to scroll in the Media Center, you tend to skip 2 or 3 lines.
 
I prefer Universal Remote remotes because they can learn commands directly from other remotes. You can customize every single button without the hassle of interfacing with a PC. I'm currently using the RC 50 Digital and it's great. I spent $80 for it over the summer and couldn't be more pleased with it. I can beam it from one end of my 1600 sq. ft. loft to the other and it works every time. I use a couple of those little X10 remote extender pyramids to get around the few corners in my place. I'd prefer an RF capability, but am not gonna drop $200+ for ANY remote.
 
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Azhar said:
Are they as great as people say? It's quite expensive at the $149 starting price, so I'd like your opinion before I shell out the money.
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Yes. One of my favorite gadgets.

If you want to start out cheaper you can pick up a refurbed Harmony 676, 680, or one of the other 6xx remotes to try out. They're available sub-$50.

I do about 12-15 feet with my 676 / 670 Franken-mote (had to do some repairs, toddlers are hard on remotes). Don't know about longer range than that.
 
i run a 680 harmony.. its an older one but it still works perfect and still has the online support. thing with the harmonys is, you can do pretty much whatever you want without going crazy on the setup difficulty. i have my wall lights, projector, htpc and stereo on mine... and its never hard to add or delete components as you update your entertainment. the activity buttons used to be really nice, but anymore i do everything through the computer so the remote is always on the same activity. still a great remote though, its been through a lot of abuse and it always works.
 
Azhar said:
I'm guessing you're referring to this? http://universalremote.com/product_detail.php?model=158

How's the line of sight on the infrared receiver? It says 30-50 feet in the specs
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That's it. I've never broken out a tape measure, so can't give a specific figure for how far the signal will stretch. I've got a huge open floor plan and can use the remote from anywhere.

The prices on the product web site are a helluva lot higher than I paid at Amazon back in June.
 
How does Harmony and Universal interact with HTPCs? Do they require a receiver already built into the HTPC or do the remote package supply you one?
 
you need a MCE remote IR reciever to make them work....

i do not see why you couldnt use your harmony remote to lauch the eject program..

girder or eventghost can both do that
 
You can get Harmonys for way less than $150. I've seen them for ~$30, and I paid $99 for my 720, and I love it! Took a little work to get it setup properly with my HTPC, but now there is nothing I can't do with it.

I am still considering a DiNovo Mini, thought, because certain ninja related sites that we visit quite often require a mouse and entering of captchas, but other than that one specific application, there is nothing I can't do with the Harmony
 
i have a 550 i bought for $50 2 christmases ago. it's taken some punishment (dog) and has some quirks from being dropped, but is still awesome. it took me a while to get the programming exactly right, but i dont use it with an htpc. my htpc will connect to an existing TV and wont be used for capturing TV
 
I'm not too worry about the cost of the remote. I just want to know if I'll be spending good money. Thanks everyone!
 
joshmxpx said:
You can get Harmonys for way less than $150. I've seen them for ~$30, and I paid $99 for my 720, and I love it! Took a little work to get it setup properly with my HTPC, but now there is nothing I can't do with it.

I am still considering a DiNovo Mini, thought, because certain ninja related sites that we visit quite often require a mouse and entering of captchas, but other than that one specific application, there is nothing I can't do with the Harmony
Click to expand...

I've never heard of the DiNovo Mini until you mentioned it. I went to Logitech.com to check it out and wow! It looks exactly like what I had in mind originally before I considered buying a remote control.

I use a program called ngRC which lets me control the media center with my iPhone or any other computer, and I was considering buying a tiny 8" netbook to use as an ngRC remote, but the DiNovo looks like it can do it even better.

About the only thing that makes me hesitate though is that it only connects to either your HTPC or PS3 with a USB receiver. The Harmony or Universal Remote lets you control your television, receiver and HTPC all in one package.
 
In about every NewEgg customer reviews on every Harmony remote, there's several people complaining about response delay between hitting a button and waiting for the device to perform the command.

Is it as noticeable as they make it out to be or are they just finding something to complain about?
 
That delay is another reason I don't like Harmony remotes. From my experience with the 890, 880 and 520, the delay was several seconds even for simple volume adjustments. I'm sure others will report differently. The only way to know for certain is to try one. I suggest buying from Amazon because of their stellar return policy.
 
The delay time(s) can be easily adjusted in the device settings. I have my delay timings customized for each device my Harmony controls. This is hardly an issue at all.
 
Azhar said:
The main reason I disliked the Hauppauge remote is because it's infrared receiver requires a line of sight and it's distance is very short (approximately 3-5 feet). Would I be suffering the same problem with the Harmony?
Click to expand...

What Hauppage remote are you using? I currently use the one that came with my 2250 and the range is absolutely stellar... I can bounce the beam around walls from 20-30+ feet away without issue.

I have/had a Harmony 880. It was convenient if you have to do a lot of input changes.... but now that everything is run through my receiver and 99% of my time is spent just on the HTPC, the benefits are less. I also had issues with a few of the buttons that stopped working after just over a year of use... which is irritating for a relatively expensive remote. I also wasn't a huge fan of the buttons (harder to use by feel).

I've been debating getting a new Harmony but it's not the be-all, end-all for every setup imo.
 
rhouck said:
What Hauppage remote are you using? I currently use the one that came with my 2250 and the range is absolutely stellar... I can bounce the beam around walls from 20-30+ feet away without issue.

I have/had a Harmony 880. It was convenient if you have to do a lot of input changes.... but now that everything is run through my receiver and 99% of my time is spent just on the HTPC, the benefits are less. I also had issues with a few of the buttons that stopped working after just over a year of use... which is irritating for a relatively expensive remote. I also wasn't a huge fan of the buttons (harder to use by feel).

I've been debating getting a new Harmony but it's not the be-all, end-all for every setup imo.
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It's the one that came with the PCI-E version of the WinTV HVR-1250.

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1250.html

Distance was the least of my problem with this remote though. It would cut out everytime I switch apps - for example if I go from MCE into Windows (such as when I started BD movies and it switched to desktop to launch Cyberlink PowerDVD), the system tray IR program would have to be restarted for my remote to work again.

That was what drove me to find everything possible to work within MCE - like Arcsoft's Total Media Theater.

It wasn't just that particular remote though. I thought I had a defective remote and took the HVR-1250 back and got another one, but the new one did exactly the same thing.
 
I found my harmony 550 for $50 online. Best remote i've ever used and easy to setup too. I just set a activity as a media center pc and customized some buttons I use and it's good.
 
I picked up a 550 like 2 years ago, and use it to control the tv, receiver, htpc, cable box. I like the 'activity' feature that it has, where it turns off unnecessary devices off when you switch back and forth between the activities. Only gripes I have with the harmony remotes are the placement of the number pad all the way bottom of the remote. makes it somewhat difficult for big handed people like me.. Lol.
 
Can anyone recommend a good PC IR receiver for Harmony remotes? I'm leaning towards the Harmony 720.

Edit: Nevermind. After a lot of searching, it seems that you need to buy an HTPC remote with an IR receiver and just dump the remote and use the receiver, such as the Microsoft Media Center Remote, or buy a USB-UIRT.
 
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I just picked up a Harmony 520 for $30 shipped on ebay. It seems to work fine except it doesn't control my TV at all (RCA L40FHD41 w/ no remote). I've got to wait a few days for Logitech to figure out wtf is wrong.
 
FYI -- Amazon now has the Digital R50 for as low as $75.

Dat ain't bad!! :)
 
I love my Harmony One. It controls my entire projector home theater, my lighting, air conditioning, and will control my HTPC when it's done.
 
i got a harmony, and love the dam thing... wooooot buy one you will not look back.. try your sister remote first.. i am not worried about an eject button cause i got to get up to change the discs anyway.....
 
Azhar said:
Can anyone recommend a good PC IR receiver for Harmony remotes? I'm leaning towards the Harmony 720.

Edit: Nevermind. After a lot of searching, it seems that you need to buy an HTPC remote with an IR receiver and just dump the remote and use the receiver, such as the Microsoft Media Center Remote, or buy a USB-UIRT.
Click to expand...

I bought a cheap IR remote with an IR reciever off new egg when I ordered my Harmony One remote. Its a great decision. It controls my TV, FiOS, HTPC, and AV Reciever.

Plus the activities buttons is just crazy awesome
 
I have a harmony 550 and an older 628 -- only problem I have is the delay/pause, overall it works very well...

Anyone know if you can now setup multiple remotes using the same account? I havent had to update my macros for a while, I'm hoping that they've updated the utility now.
 
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