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With the number of Home Audio and Video equipment we have, the number of remotes seems to grow and grow. As does the complexity and inablity for anyone to finesse the various components into harmony enabling you to watch that DVD or TV show.

What this is: This is a universal remote that enables you to define all the functions of your various remotes for Receiver, TV, Tivo, VCR, DVD, MediaPC etc into one easy to use and understandable unit.
How it works: Its pretty engenious and frankly, the best implimentation of a universal remote ive ever seen. An overview of the install process is:

1. Install the Software onto your computer
2. Connect the remote to the computer via supplied cable.
3. Connect to the harmony website and answer a few questions.
4. Unplug and test the remote, then use it.

I was a bit concerened about the web related connectivity at first, I thought it odd to get the remote codes from a website until i saw the vast library of devices they have.

When you go to pick it up, it automatically turns on a light for the integrated screen. Very cool, it knows how dark it is in the room and will turn on a light to see the buttons and LCD that you make selections on.

The unit easily changes channels, controls a tivo and adjusts volume on my receiver. In the past we had a universal remote but still used our TiVo remote because we liked the look and feel. No more with this thing, we have found one remote to rule them all.

Some Background on how remotes work: Every remote control has unique Infra Red codes that it sends out and the device (TV,VCR etc) looks for. when it receives this code it takes the appropriate action. The challenge with universal remotes is that they need to “learn” all the codes for your specific device. There are new devices released every day and often overlaps between codes that makes it difficult to correctly send a macro or sequence of codes (ie; turn on the tv and set my vcr to channel 3). Usually people try to spend much time getting the universal remote to understand the right code for the right button. also the older universal remotes did not take TiVo into consideration so mapping things like the TiVo button or the list of progams was not easy to do.

When i went to configure my remote ALL and I mean ALL of my components were listed. if you think about it, a web based repository of IR commands is the right way to solve this problem. It’s centralized, easily update-able and accessable to hardware makers and users alike. Logitech really got this part right. It’s a critical part too because they use the vast database to understand what functions your component uses and Automatically setup Activities for that type of device. All you need to know is the model numbers of your TV, VCR, Receiver etc and the online configuration wizard will do the rest.

Once its setup, you just select one of the options like “Watch TV” or “Listen to Radio” or “Watch DVD” and the remote sets up your system to do just what you asked it to. In the event it did not get something right, there is a built in Help System.

The Help System: One of the best things this remote has for novice users is a “Help System” it will go through and ask you quesitons about the state of your devices in plain english “Is the TV ON?”, “Can you hear any sound?”, “Is the DVD turned on?” thus allowing you and the remote to trouble shoot the state of your system. This alleviates a lot of aggrivation and cries for help in the house.

Whats included?: The unit comes with a cool looking charging station,

AC adapter, USB Cable, and install CD.

I really like the shape of this thing, its very similar to the “peanut” remote that TiVo uses and we have become accustomed to in this house.

Improvements:

Better button feel - id like to see more “feel” to the buttons. Id like to be able to know which button i have my finger on without looking down at it. sometimes while watching tv, i want to be able to fast forward or rewind without looking away (yes im that lazy).

Other Graphics - Since im more of an advance user, id like the option to customize the graphics it displays for the various activities and put background graphics on some of the screens. Personalization is king for me.
Rating: A 5 out of 5 for me on this one. we use it every day and it always works.
Cool Factor: 4 out of 5: id like to see the buttons more thought out.
What it costs: It retails for $249.99 but are available on eBay for around $130.