Need a new all-in-one remote control: thoughts?

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c3k

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Folks,

I'm looking to replace my antiquated Logitech Harmony One. It works fine, but is limited by Logitech's decision to stop updating the Harmony software with v7.7.0 about 8 years ago.

I can not add a Roku to it.

My budget is capped at ~$300. Lower is better.

I don't need RF, just IR. I like the "soft", programmable screen of the H1, and how I can create macros.

My HT has a Denon amp, a Roku ultimate, Sony Bluray, a homeworx OTA antenna box, and (stop laughing) a Sony VHS player. (C'mon, at least it's not a Betamax!)

Also, a Sharp TV and an Epson projector.

The latest Logitech products seem to be RF with a hub to transmit IR. The hub placement would be a pita. My viewing space is open with the equipment facing the seats. There is no rear to my seating area. (The back wall is another 16' behind the rear-most seats.)

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 
The hub/ir blasters are easy to install, USB powered and pretty inconspicuous. I have mine plugged into my DVR usb, with the blasters going directly to the front of my gear.

The WiFi/RF aspect of the new ones works really well actually. I don’t like the “activity” oriented setup, but those aren’t required to use and it supports devices pretty well.
 
You could go with the Logitech Harmony 665. It is an IR remote and doesn't requite a Hub. The hub and its blasters are not too conspicuous. The hub itself can be hidden behind your equipment and you can hide the blasters on speakers. Personally I have the old Ultra system and I just bought the Elite not long ago, but have not set it up yet. My setup is behind him though, so my hub is hidden and only one of the blasters is out in the open.

If you don't want to go with Logitech, you could try the Inteset INT-422 it seems to get some love online, but most places recommend the Harmony remotes.

EDIT: Also, it wouldn't hurt to check out avsforum's remote section.
 
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The hub isn’t a problem...locating the IR blasters is.

My equipment is centered under my TV...facing the seats. There is no shelf space in front of the gear. Unless you count a half inch lip. There is no furniture between the fear and my seats. I don’t have a convenient location to mount a blaster.

Thanks for the 665 rec. And, yeah, avsforum is great.
 
c3k said:
The hub isn’t a problem...locating the IR blasters is.

My equipment is centered under my TV...facing the seats. There is no shelf space in front of the gear. Unless you count a half inch lip. There is no furniture between the fear and my seats. I don’t have a convenient location to mount a blaster.

Thanks for the 665 rec. And, yeah, avsforum is great.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't understand the problem with the blasters... They are super small and only need to be in the open. You could literally place it right on top of your gear. I have one sitting on the shelf on top of my Receiver and one sitting on top of my AV cabinet. The Hub sits on top of my cable box.
 
NoOther said:
I guess I don't understand the problem with the blasters... They are super small and only need to be in the open. You could literally place it right on top of your gear. I have one sitting on the shelf on top of my Receiver and one sitting on top of my AV cabinet. The Hub sits on top of my cable box.
Click to expand...

I did not know that the blasters could sit on top. How do they get enough IR energy into the front of the device?

My room is 18 feet wide by 34 feet long. The gear is at one 18 foot wall. Two couches form an "L". The rear one faces the equipment shelves from the middle of the 34 foot long section. (Divides the room into two squares.) Smooth walls, and no furniture with line of sight to equipment.

I'm not familiar with the blasters, other than assuming they need to be facing the front of the equipment from a distance far enough away to allow direct viewing of the IR port on the equipment.
 
I just came by to say, a VCR!! Wow, whats that for an old collection of Disney movies or something? Lol those things look terrible.
 
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I double sided taped the blasters right below the IR port on the front of my equipment (in fact, they may come with d/s tape already on the transmitter). The transmitters are pretty small. No distance is required, only direct line of sight. They act just like an original remote and will work from as far as across the room, or as close as you can physically get to the eye on the gear.
 
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c3k said:
I did not know that the blasters could sit on top. How do they get enough IR energy into the front of the device?

My room is 18 feet wide by 34 feet long. The gear is at one 18 foot wall. Two couches form an "L". The rear one faces the equipment shelves from the middle of the 34 foot long section. (Divides the room into two squares.) Smooth walls, and no furniture with line of sight to equipment.

I'm not familiar with the blasters, other than assuming they need to be facing the front of the equipment from a distance far enough away to allow direct viewing of the IR port on the equipment.
Click to expand...

Not that I am aware of, they just require that nothing is in between them and the device (IE couch, cabinet, wall, etc). I have never had to tape them to the device or put them in direct line of sight of the IR sensor. The remote itself works via RF to the hub.

My setup is to have the hub on top of my cable box, then the first blaster is on top of my AV receiver, both are in a closed cabinet. The second IR blaster goes on top of my cabinet and is used for my Projector which hangs down from the ceiling directly above my cabinet.

Here is a site that helps explain it:

https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/elite

https://support.logitech.com/en_in/article/12614?product=a0qi00000069uzZAAQ

EDIT: More useful information about IR blasters.
 
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I have the cheap harmony remote that comes with the hub. Forgot what its called but the remote has no screen, anyways the thing is great. I have a Samsung TV, Denon x1400, Nvidia Shield, and Xbox One, had a NUC, windows was a little different, kind of fussy with power commands.

But the hub abd IR blaster sits on a shelf above the Denon, the Xbox and Shield are on the other side of the entertainment center with a dividing wall between them. Everything works great, the best part is with the hub the remote is not line of site. So you can point it down or have it in your pocket or whatever, once you get used to that aiming a regular remote is annoying.
 
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I have one of these, like it so much I tracked down 2 more.

logitech_harmony_one_main_final.jpg
 
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I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure my Harmony 650 works with Roku. I can double check tonight and update.

The remote has been sitting in a drawer for a year so if it works with my Roku devices, you are welcome to it!
 
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mbakalski said:
I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure my Harmony 650 works with Roku. I can double check tonight and update.

The remote has been sitting in a drawer for a year so if it works with my Roku devices, you are welcome to it!
Click to expand...

That's a great offer (even if it's not directed towards me ;) ), but, if it is, I'll pass...with my thanks. I think it will operate the same as my Harmony One (which is a great remote), but no longer does all that I'm looking for a remote to do.

Thanks.
 
A little late here, but I'll mention I used to bounce the blaster signal off my wood ceiling (12') fills the whole room with the signal, those blasters are called such for a reason much more light . Unless it's painted black or with something that absorbs IR that's an easy option: of course YMMV. I stopped using Harmony awhile back but I imagine they haven't changed the blaster strength.
 
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If you didn't have quite so many devices I would say the Caavo Control Center.. but it only has 4 HDMI inputs. I picked one up during Black Friday but I only have a Roku, Wii, and XBox connected (thinking about adding a standalone BluRay player for those one-off Redbox nights). For the most part I like it, not sure I will pay their yearly subscription just for voice control/search/Alexa integration. It's great finally being able to use a single remote for almost everything, plus it has a remote finder option in case it does get stuck between sofa cushions. Unfortunately I still have to keep the soundbar remote (or my phone) handy if I want to switch to Bluetooth input for music streaming from an Echo Dot.
 
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I dumped all my IR/RF remotes for this Logitech Smart Hub WiFi remote system:

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Har...1544654502&sr=8-6&keywords=logitech+smart+hub

I use one in my bedroom and one in my PC/media room. The hubs are mounted on walls with some velcro tape. I can control everything (TVs, AV receivers/amplifiers, ShieldTV, Amazon Fire Stick, fans, lights, etc.) through my phone, tablet and/or the included remotes.
 
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mashie said:
I use the Harmony Elite with two IR blasters sitting under my kit facing the room. They are so bright so the light bouncing off walls/furniture is absolutely fine to control everything.
Click to expand...

Thanks, all.

I unwrapped my Harmony Elite this morning.
 
I was never really able to get any of the Harmony controllers to work properly. I finally shitcanned them all.

And I tried a couple different versions.

In fact, never had good luck with ANY "universal" remotes whatsoever.
It always seemed that there SOMETHING important that they just refused to do, forcing me to dig out the original remote and use it.
 
the only universal remote i use is my LG G4.

works great on almost everything.

except my yamaha receiver oddly enough.
 
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