That's what I'm thinking. I've been rolling with a Harmony 700 for years now and before that I can't remember the model. Even these are normally $120-$160, but go on sale for $50-$70.
$300 though? They are now competing with free phone apps that can control devices. They should drop the price to around $100.
Remotes do not compete with free phone apps. A phone is not a substitute for a remote control. it just is not. Maybe if you are real poor, but for most people no.
Just bought a Harmony Companion on Saturday and it should show up today. Of course I was debating getting the Elite but I didn't want to shell out over twice as much for the touchscreen. Hoping that integration with IFTTT and Google Home can help with routines/activities for power and inputs and I can just use the remote for basic remote stuff (volume control, channel changes, etc.).
Can't wait to get rid of my 5 remotes and just have one that can talk to everything and de-clutter the coffee table.
The Companion is a great remote. As long as you don't mind the lower device limit, and your family can remember what the buttons do, it's great. My family cannot remember what the buttons do, so the more expensive device works better. It's easier to simply read on the LCD than remember what a short press, or long press does on each of the pre-defined Companion buttons.
I used to have a Harmony with a basic touchscreen until one of my son's friends stepped on it...So the companion just has a series of buttons for each action with no way of knowing what it is? Even the low end Harmonys used to have at least an LCD screen with physical buttons on the side of the screen. The screen showed what the action was and you didn't have to remember or guess. It doesn't sound too user friendly, have you found it to be an issue? I'm not going to spend $300 for an Elite but I need the hub since my electronics are in a cabinet. The Companion is priced right but I'm having a hard time getting around the unlabeled buttons.
Yeah one button looks like a music note. One looks like a movie symbol, and one looks like a TV. Each can be assigned 2 functions (short and long press). Otherwise it's a great remote as long as you don't have too many devices and activities.
I missed the part about whether I found it friendly. I do find it friendly. My family does not, as they can't seem to remember what button press does what so they randomly push stuff and get it confused. I have written a cheat sheet for them and they've now lost that twice.
Exactly... get the Harmony Companion losses the touch screen, but comes at about half the price and with a year or so battery life... easy choice for me. Coming from my Harmony One like the Author, I find I don't really miss the touchscreen much. Even other people who DO miss it, you might use your phone or iPad app instead, and have more control of the media centre on top of that, or stream Spotify etc... on a really big/sharp/colorful/whatever screen.
You're forgetting the saving in divorce costs when you unveil your tech masterpiece to your wife and the 10 remotes that go along with it.
We have a Logitech 650 which works really well, does just what you want it to and is pretty much seamless after a 10-20 minute setup.
Perhaps I am getting old but I am not sure I want everything automated. As the person who has to fix stuff that breaks and doesn't function I don't want to be a house sysadmin. "Dad, my light won't dim, Dad, the temperature's wrong,...
On the issue of IOT I am waiting for the first YouTube video of someone attacking their fridge with a shotgun when it refuses to give them a beer prior to updating its firmware.
What!!! You don't want to spend weeks setting the thingy up "just so" and debugging and updating the software. Come on.... it could easily save you two or even three seconds or so each time you use it. Please do the math - the time to set it up will easily pay for itself in 150 years or so! OK I actually have something like that myself and it is a bit better than the Harmony One (no need to point the remote, battery life), but i totally get you... i am getting old too!
I have a 300 for $30, and its more than enough. Never understood how you need anything bigger or with more features. This one does everything you need.
I guess some people use one remote for everything in their home, which I find rather stupid. My devices are far away from each other, so I rather have one remote for each room where such devices are, than forgetting to take my one remote with me everywhere and having to look for it in the whole house if I forget where I left it. Also touch screens are the most inefficient control you can have on a remote. Had one of them before, which was the cause I bought my 300.
Harmony One has really started to show its age, especially from a software perspective. It's mostly due to neglect, but it's now lacking in terms of programing capability.
The app based setup is great, I agree. It doesn't work with the Harmony One. At least it didn't when I purchased the new models. That was a primary reason why I replaced it.
For those with only one to three components(including TV), then yea, you don't need a touch screen version of the Harmony remotes. Go into full surround sound, cable/sat box, bluray player, plus TV and then possibly other components, it DOES get to be a headache with all the different remotes, setting inputs, and adjusting settings to get your system set up.
The top end comes with a RF to Infrared box, so you can keep your components in a closed cabinet, or closet, and you can still control the components without line of sight. If you continually need to help people use the TV because they need to turn on surround sound amps, set inputs, etc, then you WANT something like the 950, even without needing the RF to Infrared adapter.
The best harmony I have seen/used was 515 series. Monochrome screen, functionality of the bigger guys, but without stupid color screen that eats batteries.
It could last one year without recharging batteries.
The only bad part about it was shitty Logitech software with online logins and what not that you were forced to use to configure your remote.
The cost is ridiculous admittedly but having been fortunate to own one of these for over a year now this is the single best piece of technology I have ever bought. It is an outstanding device.
I've owned about a half dozen Harmony remotes (none died, but a few have been given away when I got new ones). All but the Harmony Ultimate (man that was awful) were totally worth it. The 650 or 700 are all most folks with IR devices need (both can be had for under $50).
I opted to get one of these with the hub, but it was the basic model without backlit buttons. You want backlit buttons. Anyway, Harmony rulez, check out the 700 (when it's available for $35-50 it's a steal).
Wow, I didn't think there was a market for universal remotes anymore. Are there that many people out there that still even own devices that need remote controls? The television and the clunky DVD player were the last ones at my place that needed them and I haven't owned stuff like that in a good 15 years.
nVidia Shield, projector, pre-amp, amplifier, and Amazon FireTV are just a few items that I use a Logitech Harmony keyboard to control. Just because you no longer own a television (or projector or other device that uses a remote control) doesn't mean they have become somehow obsolete. More than 40,000,000 TVs are sold in the U.S. every year.
I guess so, but it just seems so behind the times to have fixed-location entertainment devices that largely exist just to play back non-interactive video. I mean, hey it's 2017 so strikes me as odd that we're still basically locked in the 1950s - 1980s with consoles and TV sets.
In my case, since laptops started shipping with DVD drives, the party's been in my lap the whole time and I can take it with me anyplace I want to go. That's only gotten better with streaming services and devices that can do more than just play video. Nowadays, I can have a party in my hand OR in my lap no matter where I am or what time of day it is. If I get that itch, I can whip out my toys and scratch it pretty much anywhere like say at a public library or at a local Starbucks. If I'm sick of just watching the action, my toys let me do interactive things so I can get as involved as I want all without having a universal remote.
Most people prefer a TV to watching on a laptop. Not only can you get a much better picture and sound with a dedicated AV setup, it's just more comfortable to watch that way. Most people don't want to balance something on their lap or sit at their desk to watch TV. They want to lay back on the couch and relax. No that there is anything wrong with the way you do it if it works for you, but you're certainly in the minority. So yes, people still use lots of remotes.
Yeah, I realize I'm not among even a slim majority, but I couldn't resist putting it out there like this because I've been waiting for MONTHS (years?) to say something about a party in my lap in Anandtech's comments section. What better context is there than a discussion about a $300 universal remote? My only regret is that it didn't fit the situation to invite others to that party, but whipping it out at Starbucks sort of made up for it.
My goodness yes! So much yes! You can't have a party in your lap without a good vibration. Does this Harmony thing have force feedback or something? Maybe it can compete with an Xbox controller in that department.
I guess so, but it just seems so behind the times to have hand held/lap entertainment devices that largely exist just to consume content. I mean, hey it's 2017 so strikes me as odd that we're still basically locked in the 2000's with smartphones and tablets.
In my case, since interactive VR goggles started shipping with motion and eye tracking, the party's been in my face the whole time and I can take it with me anyplace I want to go. That's only gotten better with interactive worlds where you can immerse yourself completely in. Nowadays, I can have a party on the moon or in the ocean no matter where I am or what time of day it is. If I get that itch, I can whip out my toys and scratch it pretty much anywhere like say at a public library or at a local Starbucks. If I'm sick of just watching the action, my toys let me do interactive things so I can get as involved as I want all without holding some tiny screen in my hands.
Good review, agree with what you have her. I'd definitely recommend, but understand it is pricey. Overall it is a great remote. I had the 880 for years and really loved most of it.
Pros: Too many to list, but here are a few - Once setup, even my wife and kids can use it - The help button auto-fixes most issues, teach it to the kids and wife - Ergonomics are great, probably the best I've used - It controls anything with Bluetooth, AndroidTV, PS3/4, Nintendo Wii/U (cons are sometimes it doesn't connect)
Cons: - Price, you should never pay more than $250, sometimes Best Buy runs a trade in deal and you can find for $200 - As stated, battery, it stinks, and if you have kids that never put it on the cradle, good luck - Activities and Devices button should have been physical, just no reason for capacitive - The touchscreen causes too many mishaps, if you pick up the remote wrong, you may accidentally open another action, kids especially (happens 1 to 2 times per week) - No number buttons - but you get used to it - Harmony Software not as intuitive as I'd like (how do I reorder the activities screen? How do I add buttons on the touch screen?)
For my money Activities and Devices should be ABOVE the touch screen. The goddamn touch screen should need a click on them to activate. The rate of bad accidental clicks on it is insane.
I reprogrammed the red circle and white square buttons to be skip back and skip ahead. These require single press or auto repeat. The default programming for them is useless. Long press for record.
The button layout is awful. Exit Menu DVR Guide Info need to be together. They are spread out and not possible to use by touch alone. There needs to be big gaps between various blocks of buttons like the color ones and especially the most frequently used navigation ones.
Buttons you will constantly click by accident: Anything on the fucking touch screen. The satan damned Activities and Devices buttons. Exit and Menu Mute / DVR / Red Swap / Info
The touch screen error rate is so bad i made the remote wake up on press only. This means backlight is not on when raising it which sucks donkey balls but compared to the fucking touch screen bullshit is acceptable.
There is so much good with the hub (I never get activity errors anymore), and the iPad and iPhone app is a joy to work with. Its sad that they fucked up the button layout so badly.
A simple tap and hold mode for the touch screen would be a giant improvement. No response ever to a single click.
I haven't really needed them. Anytime there's a source that I might want to change channels, the favorites list is on the LCD so I can just click a channel I like. If I'd like to select a different channel directly, I swipe the favorites off the screen and that's replaced by a numeric keypad on the LCD. It's not tactile, but I probably use it twice a year.
Exactly. This has been my issue with all touch sensitive LCD screen remotes since they first came out. Too many of these remotes are putting everything on the LCD when in fact hard buttons are still an absolute necessity. The point of a remote is to control items quickly and easily. You should not be forced to need to look at the remote in order to operate it for standard functions (i.e. number pad for changing channels, volume up/down, channel up/down, last/return, menu, info, exit, and a 4 way direction pad+select/ok button, fast forward/rewind/stop/play/pause/record/next chapter/previous chapter at a minimum, additional important buttons like power off and mute, and a scroll up/down). Without those buttons, you need to look at the remote for controlling most items, but with them, you can happily control almost all standard features of TV/entertainment systems while never missing the action.
maybe your usage pattern is different. I have everything i watch recorded and i never watch live. I can then always skip ads. Favorite buttons navigate faster than messing with the number buttons.
I have never used the numpad on this remote. it would actually be nice if i can disable it completely.
I programmed the favorite buttons to replace the number buttons. for me that means a few of the single and double digit channels, syfy amc bbc etc. and one each for the beginning of HBO, Showtime, Stars, Cinemax. Now you can pop up the guide and instantly go to any of these and scroll to adjacent channels. Works better than the number thing for me on DirecTV.
I had one and sent it back. It is good for relatively simple systems and ordinary equipment but for a whole house system with matrix switches and multiple audio and video sources and displays, it is just not even close to up to the task, it is way too dumbed down to get it to work with everything, much less good macros. Instead, I bought four Phillips Prontos (sadly no longer made) on eBay. They are infinitely programmable via the PC software.
I've had a phone or two that had integrated IR blasters. While they work, most of the apps for them were clunky at best and tactile buttons are just so much better when you want to quickly grab the remote and change the channel or volume.
I bought the Elite and love it, though if I had to do it again I'd opt for the hub and cheap remote option as I use the iphone app almost 100% of the time. Though if I was an ADroid user (like the remote tablet that came with my TV) I'd have stuck with Elite as the ADroid Harmony app constantly crashes or loses connection with the hub...ADroid being ADroid I guess.
"Perhaps I’m dating myself, but the television in my house when I was young required the viewer to get up and change channels manually."
As a kid, I remember we had a VCR with this fancy new "remote". It was attached to the VCR with a long cord that plugged into the front of it that you had to drag across the room and risk tripping anyone who wanted to walk by.
As a current Harmony One user I like the upgrades however the price is a non starter. For an upgrade from a perfectly working remote its just too much. I would consider it at $199.
This is a great product. I will say like most here, the cost the item is high when you think of it as just a remote. That said, this is an item that likely gets used every single day. IF you find it useful, it is likely because it is saving you from having to use multiple remotes EVERY day. When put in perspective, the benefit outweighs the cost. Should it be cheaper - yes, even $200 is fair. BUT, given it proves it's usefulness more than any other competing product (IMHO) at the end of the day, it's worth every penny.
ALL that said, I would like to see Logitech offer better batteries. For whatever reason, EVERY single Harmony device I've had has had its battery die extremely early in the product life. While my elite bat has not died out right, it's life has fallen way off, The thing cannot stay off the charger longer than a days use without needing to be recharged.
I have an Ultimate, and agree that placing the buttons north of the screen was a rubbish decision. In order to counteract their awkward placement, I opted to reprogram the channel up/down buttons to behave as skip forward/back buttons instead. From a usability standpoint I think this is better overall. I would do the same thing with an Elite.
As a side benefit, this remapping of the buttons counts as a page up/down when browsing the channel listing.
As for the number buttons; I imagine folks mainly use them to type in their favorite stations. As an alternate, they can simply populate their screen with direct links to all of their favorite stations (including the logo for each station). Works great.
I've got several issues with this review, but I just want to mention an error here.
The Harmony does not have a knowledge of state. What it has is a knowledge of whatever setting it has made. There really isn't any feedback to the unit as to real time state. That's why, if you make a manual change to any basic setting also available on the Harmony, it isn't aware of it.
A knowledge of state is when a device is updated as to the state of the devices it's being used with, regardless of whether the device has been used to change those settings. The Harmony has none of that knowledge, and it does lead to problems.
I've tried a number of their devices over the years, and I stopped using all of them after a short period of time. A problem is that the limitations on Harmony devices can exceed its usefulness. Any adjustments to the system often require a manufacturers remote to accomplish. As the remote has no idea of what you're doing, you need to reprogram it for these changes.
When someone sits down and grabs a different remote, which you can't always remove because there is some function or other the Harmony doesn't do properly, or at all, everything is thrown out of wack. The problem is that not every family member is going to understand how these remotes work, and will prefer to grasp the tv control instead. The works with kids, and even my wife.
Another problem comes when you have several ways to do basically the same thing. You need to make multiple set-ups for that which becomes clumsy, particularly since the screen doesn't allow good descriptions of functions. have three different ways to watch a movie? Three ways to watch Tv shows, music? That's a problem.
Yes, it can be done, but most people will find it a hair pulling problem. I'm not happy about it myself.
The easiest fix for the wife and kids is to hide those old remotes so everyone is forced to use the harmony. This way no can change state because there are no remotes to do so. My girlfriend is pretty bad with technology and doing this forced her to learn to use the Harmony and now she is fine with it.
Devices certainly can get out of sync but to some extent it depends on your devices and what commands they support. If your devices support discrete codes for the major things you do like switch the input and turn off/on then if you set it up correctly then it doesn't really matter if things are "out of sync" because they still work. For example my receiver has discrete codes for turning off and on and for switching to a particular input. Switching to an input will also turn it on if it is off so it never suffers from out of sync issues. The biggest out of sync offenders seem to be TVs when you have to switch their inputs as discrete input codes seem to be much less common there.
Unfortunately the one issue I haven't been able to figure out yet is that my harmony remote seems to be really slow sending the commands to multiple devices so my wife has problems not waiting long enough for all the commands to be sent. In that regard my previous universal remote with some simple macros actually worked better as it blasted the commands to the different devices very quickly.
The main difference is the remote has no touchscreen. It's smaller, takes a coin battery, and the battery lasts for an ENTIRE YEAR.
The Harmony Smart Control also comes with the Harmony Hub so you get the same functionality. It's normally priced at $125, which is a bit over a third of the ridiculously expensive $300 Harmony Elite, but is frequently available factory refurb (essentially new) for $99, and just last week I saw a sale on slickdeals.net for $65.
Get the Smart Control. It's worth every penny. The Elite is overpriced and IMO actually offers an inferior experience as it needs to be constantly recharged.
This. I have a Harmony Smart Control and 3 Home Control remotes, all purchased at around $100-130 each, and they do almost everything this Elite does, for 1/3 the price. Plus, no need to look down - everything can be done by touch.
Logitech is insane for charging $300 for something that is completely unnecessary. It should be at $180 max. DOA otherwise.
This x1000. Not only is it fairly cheap at $125, but if/when the buttons on the remote break (or you lose the remote), you can buy JUST the remote for $30 and re-pair it with the existing hub in 10 seconds. I'm tempted to buy a few extra remote's for $30 just in case they stop selling the things cause they realize that people have caught on and aren't stupid enough to buy these fancy touch remote's for hundreds.
+1, just bought one in Europe, but I think it might be discontinued now? The size is really nice, I mean most of the time anyway you are using just volume, play/pause/next, and maybe channel change. Programmable buttons and, if needed, the app, cover the rest. Two minuses:
- Requires a 2.4GHz network to set up, and every time to boot up. I mean, really? Solved by temporarily activating connection sharing from my smart phone, but a pain.
Two things that I'd like to know as a Harmony One user:
1) Does it support macros, so that you can program the remote to navigate a menu? For example, my Harmony can turn "night mode" on and off on my soundbar, but this requires the macro to push something like "menu-down-down-right-down-down-right-menu". That's over the max length limit on the macro so I had to combine some into custom signals. I know Harmony dropped support for macros entirely at some point, do they support macros today?
2) The Harmony One is super slow at pushing individual buttons, making it very painful to use it to navigate an on-screen menu. Did they fix this in newer remotes?
1) I know you can create macros with >20 discrete steps tied to activities, but haven't really played around beyond that. The software is very powerful so I expect it is possible to tie them to any button. But research it first, if you don't get any other responses.
2) You can adjust timings in the harmony software down to tenths of a second.
I'm using the much cheaper harmony companion with the most basic remote in my home theater. It works great. No need for a fancy touch screen remote, the basic remote does what I need and if I need more advanced functionality I just load up the app on my phone.
I have been using Logitech universal remotes for about a decade.
Just picked up the Hub with Companion Remote and have been using it for a couple of weeks. The success rate with controlling equipment from the Hub is far better than with the older remote only versions.
I have also paired it with an Amazon Echo, with reasonable success.
Overall even to a longtime Harmony user I'm impressed and happy with the Hub and new remote.
Been looking for a replacement for my One that is slowly dying, thanks for the article :)
I too hope that it has macro/sequence functionality that at least matches the One, if not exceeds it. Many of the remotes after the One did not.
With the One, the long bar format is getting dated, IR only is no longer very satisfying and it's lacking hard computer buttons is a pain. Add to that the keys that don't work anymore or that require excessive pressure, and its time to replace the poor thing. It's had a hard life :)
I don't know how it is on the computer, but I can tell you you just don't want to go there with the mobile app. Programming is absolutely excrutiating for more than 2 or 3...
Well, I bought the Elite last week for 309AUD (235USD), and finally set it up today. I'm very impressed with it compared to a Harmony One.
1) setting it up via the Harmony Control app was a dream. 2) I was able to import my settings from my Harmony One, and as far as I can tell it works flawlessly. 3) it picked up my Samsung and Xbox One over Wifi, and as they were both a bit deficiient over IR that's great 4) it can now control my Wii. Great. 5) the new channel favourite buttons worked great, and they're really good 6) able to scroll the buttons with swipe gestures is cool. 7) I like the hapic feedback 8) its great having RF instead of having to steadily hold the remote points at the screen for tens of seconds 9) the buttons seem much more responsive! I already had bare minimum timinings but the hub just seems capable of sending command sequences significantly faster than the old One.
I use to have a Harmony 650 which I stopped using because of the issues with HDMI-CEC conflicting. Most devices I have found only allow HDMI ARC (Audio return channel) when HDMI-CEC is turned on. Using Optical over HDMI ARC isnt a good solution as it only supports 5.1 sound none of the newer surround modes.
We have had a Harmony Elite in our home theater for a year now, and it has been a really fantastic product. My wife was basically afraid of using the system until we got this remote, and now she has no problem using it even when I'm not home. The hard buttons are all intuitive, and the touch screen really makes it work. We don't have a particularly complex system and are probably the perfect target customer for the product, but it is complex enough to require multiple remotes if you don't use the Harmony. There's an Epson projector, an Integra AV receiver, a TiVo Mini, a current-gen Apple TV, and a Blu-ray player. The activities on the touch screen are straightforward- "Watch Apple TV," for example, does everything you'd expect. The IR blasters flood the entire room and are so powerful that even reflected IR from the walls controls components. When you're done, the hard "off" button shuts everything down cleanly so that the projector isn't left idling and using up bulb life.
We have a lot of tech gadgets in our house. This one is near the top of the list for reliability and ease of use.
So, $300 is way more than I'm willing to spend. But I'm intrigued by the hub part which can be purchased separately ($96 on Amazon). Anyone using just the hub and the app without the actual remote? As to the limitations mentioned for the app, I have an older (from 2013) Android phone that doesn't have cell service and continues (at least for now Its android 4.4.4) to run current apps. So if I use this old phone as my remote, or my tablet for that matter, I'm thinking I wouldn't really need the actual remote. Anyone actually tried this?
I also have a Harmony Companion and feel that the Less is More aspect of it works really well. But the specs listed are wrong.
The Companion is an RF remote with a coin battery. The coin is supposed to last a year but mine has lasted longer. No recharging required. You can use it anywhere and don't need to be within line of sight, and the remote is simple. The basic learning curve is really short. Honestly, I just use it for TV/STB, TV/Roku. and TV/BlueRay. It has three function buttons for that and you could assign different functions to them for short and long presses but I just skipped the long presses. I bought the thing to simplify the remotes, after all.
The cool thing here is the hub. It's actually the IR emitter and it just flashes the signal at the entire room. It's pretty much always got line of sight this way and it makes the remote more reliable. The problem with a universal remote is that it has to send a set of codes to each device it's controlling. Very often the user would set the remote down out of line of sight before it was finished. Pushing the signalling to the hub gets rid of that fail point. It's very reliable.
There are very few flaws to the Companion remote, except that the buttons are small and unlit. If it weren't for that the companion would make a great gift for elderly people.
The lack of a hard number pad is a major fail in my opinion. I much prefer to quickly type in the 3 numbers of a channel I want to go to, than use a guide, or a favorite channel list, where I have to look down at a screen on the remote.
In my opinion, they had the physical layout correct with the Harmony 900, and it included a blaster. I own three aging 900's, and the IP control would be a nice addition for several devices, but I'll deal with the occasional issue, in exchange for having the numpad.
The real competitor to Harmony is URC, but they won't allow end users access to their programming software... so my money goes elsewhere.
This whole thing makes me feel old. I used to love this hyper-complicated stuff. I had a Harmony back in the day, but now I use the stock TV remote only, 100% of the time. I have a very good 2.1 system plugged into a mid-range AVR plugged into a smart TV that has Plex and Netflix and Youtube apps. I press "on" and everything fires up. Two presses later and I'm looking at an app menu or watching TV. No need for a hub, since the line of sight to the TV is never a problem. I can adjust my LED lights with their free app. I do sometimes miss the AVR remote for changing the sub level, so I do have to twirl that little knob a couple times a year. Sometimes we put on the radio, but usually for a party or cleaning or something, when using the input knob is no more PITA than using the remote. Sound modes and stuff are gimmicks. I listen to the sound how it was recorded, or admittedly down-mixed if was encoded only in surround. Why would you want to listen to a club mix in Stadium mode? If the movie should have rumbley bass, it'll have it. I've never had any complaint beyond the occasional crappy over-compressed file quality. When we want TV, pressing the "on" button on the remote automatically preempts the radio. I just can't think of what I'd do with a disc player, or what else I'd like a universal remote to do for me. I suppose it'd be nice to control a Roku, but what I'd really like for that (and for the other SnartTV apps, actually) is QWERTY, which Logitech doesn't help with.
Ug, still using that garbage "cloud" based software. I need it to 1' work entirly offline without an harmony account, 2, a way to manipulate the codes directly as the software keeps misinterpreting what actually is learned in.
I cannot fathom why the battery life is still so abysmal. It's definitely the sore point of my Harmony one, over the years there have been many frustrating hours waiting for the damn thing to charge its special battery. It's enough to go back to multiple remotes, rather than pay $300 for this replacement...
I use my Harmony and hub along with an Echo dot to do everything by voice. Now I can pause, forward, reverse anything from my Tivo,UHD player and Roku Ultra. The only thing I have to do is put the disc in the tray as it automatically opens and closes the tray after 10 seconds.
I'm pretty sure it's not, but you can just buy the hub and get some of the experience. I wrote about this in the article though. Smartphones are not good remotes.
I recently picked up this remote to replace an old Harmony 900. All my settings basically migrated over smoothly (cool) but I ran into one weird issue with the remote. I was trying to customize some of the programmable buttons like DVR and the four colored ones and after saving and syncing with the Hub my number pad grid on the touchscreen transformed into an empty grid. Searched online and Logitech's response was to reset to the default settings...so I lose my customized buttons in order to get the number pad back. Any one else have a similar experience? Otherwise I really like the new form factor after killing a Harmony 1000 and two Harmony 900's.
Great tutorial! It's true that, when you add a device, it asks for the manufacturer, and the model number, and the software shows you in animated images examples of where to find the model number.
By the way, I'm sharing an important message to all: CatLight is a notification app for developers. It shows the current status of continuous delivery, tasks, and bugs in the project and informs when attention is needed.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
99 Comments
Back to Article
HollyDOL - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
When reading about this I so remembered the 'Master Control' episode from Chuck series...gilmoreisu - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Yes! Love Chuck!!!Ironchef3500 - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
300 dollars for a remote? Pass.Ubercake - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
That's what I'm thinking. I've been rolling with a Harmony 700 for years now and before that I can't remember the model. Even these are normally $120-$160, but go on sale for $50-$70.$300 though? They are now competing with free phone apps that can control devices.
They should drop the price to around $100.
Azethoth - Monday, February 20, 2017 - link
Remotes do not compete with free phone apps. A phone is not a substitute for a remote control. it just is not. Maybe if you are real poor, but for most people no.Ninhalem - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
The Harmony Companion looks to be the best deal. No need for the touch screen and you get 2X AA batteries instead of rechargeable.WithoutWeakness - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Just bought a Harmony Companion on Saturday and it should show up today. Of course I was debating getting the Elite but I didn't want to shell out over twice as much for the touchscreen. Hoping that integration with IFTTT and Google Home can help with routines/activities for power and inputs and I can just use the remote for basic remote stuff (volume control, channel changes, etc.).Can't wait to get rid of my 5 remotes and just have one that can talk to everything and de-clutter the coffee table.
weevilone - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
The Companion is a great remote. As long as you don't mind the lower device limit, and your family can remember what the buttons do, it's great. My family cannot remember what the buttons do, so the more expensive device works better. It's easier to simply read on the LCD than remember what a short press, or long press does on each of the pre-defined Companion buttons.KLC - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
I used to have a Harmony with a basic touchscreen until one of my son's friends stepped on it...So the companion just has a series of buttons for each action with no way of knowing what it is? Even the low end Harmonys used to have at least an LCD screen with physical buttons on the side of the screen. The screen showed what the action was and you didn't have to remember or guess. It doesn't sound too user friendly, have you found it to be an issue? I'm not going to spend $300 for an Elite but I need the hub since my electronics are in a cabinet. The Companion is priced right but I'm having a hard time getting around the unlabeled buttons.weevilone - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
Yeah one button looks like a music note. One looks like a movie symbol, and one looks like a TV. Each can be assigned 2 functions (short and long press). Otherwise it's a great remote as long as you don't have too many devices and activities.weevilone - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
I missed the part about whether I found it friendly. I do find it friendly. My family does not, as they can't seem to remember what button press does what so they randomly push stuff and get it confused. I have written a cheat sheet for them and they've now lost that twice.phoenix_rizzen - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
Tape the cheat sheet to the back of the remote. :)batteries4ever - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
Exactly... get the Harmony Companion losses the touch screen, but comes at about half the price and with a year or so battery life... easy choice for me.Coming from my Harmony One like the Author, I find I don't really miss the touchscreen much.
Even other people who DO miss it, you might use your phone or iPad app instead, and have more control of the media centre on top of that, or stream Spotify etc... on a really big/sharp/colorful/whatever screen.
RBFL - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
You're forgetting the saving in divorce costs when you unveil your tech masterpiece to your wife and the 10 remotes that go along with it.We have a Logitech 650 which works really well, does just what you want it to and is pretty much seamless after a 10-20 minute setup.
Perhaps I am getting old but I am not sure I want everything automated. As the person who has to fix stuff that breaks and doesn't function I don't want to be a house sysadmin. "Dad, my light won't dim, Dad, the temperature's wrong,...
On the issue of IOT I am waiting for the first YouTube video of someone attacking their fridge with a shotgun when it refuses to give them a beer prior to updating its firmware.
batteries4ever - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
What!!! You don't want to spend weeks setting the thingy up "just so" and debugging and updating the software. Come on.... it could easily save you two or even three seconds or so each time you use it. Please do the math - the time to set it up will easily pay for itself in 150 years or so!OK I actually have something like that myself and it is a bit better than the Harmony One (no need to point the remote, battery life), but i totally get you... i am getting old too!
Beaver M. - Sunday, February 19, 2017 - link
I have a 300 for $30, and its more than enough. Never understood how you need anything bigger or with more features. This one does everything you need.Beaver M. - Sunday, February 19, 2017 - link
I guess some people use one remote for everything in their home, which I find rather stupid. My devices are far away from each other, so I rather have one remote for each room where such devices are, than forgetting to take my one remote with me everywhere and having to look for it in the whole house if I forget where I left it.Also touch screens are the most inefficient control you can have on a remote. Had one of them before, which was the cause I bought my 300.
Dribble - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Just buy a second hand Harmony one for a fraction of the price.weevilone - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Harmony One has really started to show its age, especially from a software perspective. It's mostly due to neglect, but it's now lacking in terms of programing capability.Azethoth - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
Mmmm no. The new app based setup is a pure joy compared to the old trip to the computer room and constant flaky syncing crap.weevilone - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
The app based setup is great, I agree. It doesn't work with the Harmony One. At least it didn't when I purchased the new models. That was a primary reason why I replaced it.looncraz - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
You should look at RTI remotes.I had to program a guy managed to buy for just $600... it was a steal, they usually go for $900.
And the software is restricted to dealers... and the remotes can't learn other remotes - that requires another $300 piece of equipment.
But... you do have complete freedom, which Logitech remotes do not offer.
fanofanand - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
I guess I'm "remote ignorant" but what do you mean by complete freedom? I wasn't aware of any remote tyranny.Targon - Thursday, February 16, 2017 - link
For those with only one to three components(including TV), then yea, you don't need a touch screen version of the Harmony remotes. Go into full surround sound, cable/sat box, bluray player, plus TV and then possibly other components, it DOES get to be a headache with all the different remotes, setting inputs, and adjusting settings to get your system set up.The top end comes with a RF to Infrared box, so you can keep your components in a closed cabinet, or closet, and you can still control the components without line of sight. If you continually need to help people use the TV because they need to turn on surround sound amps, set inputs, etc, then you WANT something like the 950, even without needing the RF to Infrared adapter.
medi03 - Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - link
The best harmony I have seen/used was 515 series.Monochrome screen, functionality of the bigger guys, but without stupid color screen that eats batteries.
It could last one year without recharging batteries.
The only bad part about it was shitty Logitech software with online logins and what not that you were forced to use to configure your remote.
medi03 - Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - link
Oh, and it cost 35 or 45 Euro.Squuiid - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
The cost is ridiculous admittedly but having been fortunate to own one of these for over a year now this is the single best piece of technology I have ever bought.It is an outstanding device.
mammothboy - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I've owned about a half dozen Harmony remotes (none died, but a few have been given away when I got new ones). All but the Harmony Ultimate (man that was awful) were totally worth it. The 650 or 700 are all most folks with IR devices need (both can be had for under $50).I opted to get one of these with the hub, but it was the basic model without backlit buttons. You want backlit buttons. Anyway, Harmony rulez, check out the 700 (when it's available for $35-50 it's a steal).
BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Wow, I didn't think there was a market for universal remotes anymore. Are there that many people out there that still even own devices that need remote controls? The television and the clunky DVD player were the last ones at my place that needed them and I haven't owned stuff like that in a good 15 years.Murloc - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
well if you have an AVR and a TV, that's 2 already. Add the playback device and it's 3.Sivar - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
nVidia Shield, projector, pre-amp, amplifier, and Amazon FireTV are just a few items that I use a Logitech Harmony keyboard to control. Just because you no longer own a television (or projector or other device that uses a remote control) doesn't mean they have become somehow obsolete. More than 40,000,000 TVs are sold in the U.S. every year.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I guess so, but it just seems so behind the times to have fixed-location entertainment devices that largely exist just to play back non-interactive video. I mean, hey it's 2017 so strikes me as odd that we're still basically locked in the 1950s - 1980s with consoles and TV sets.In my case, since laptops started shipping with DVD drives, the party's been in my lap the whole time and I can take it with me anyplace I want to go. That's only gotten better with streaming services and devices that can do more than just play video. Nowadays, I can have a party in my hand OR in my lap no matter where I am or what time of day it is. If I get that itch, I can whip out my toys and scratch it pretty much anywhere like say at a public library or at a local Starbucks. If I'm sick of just watching the action, my toys let me do interactive things so I can get as involved as I want all without having a universal remote.
mjeffer - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Most people prefer a TV to watching on a laptop. Not only can you get a much better picture and sound with a dedicated AV setup, it's just more comfortable to watch that way. Most people don't want to balance something on their lap or sit at their desk to watch TV. They want to lay back on the couch and relax. No that there is anything wrong with the way you do it if it works for you, but you're certainly in the minority. So yes, people still use lots of remotes.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Yeah, I realize I'm not among even a slim majority, but I couldn't resist putting it out there like this because I've been waiting for MONTHS (years?) to say something about a party in my lap in Anandtech's comments section. What better context is there than a discussion about a $300 universal remote? My only regret is that it didn't fit the situation to invite others to that party, but whipping it out at Starbucks sort of made up for it.wolfemane - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
it's missing the one key feature to make those parties worth while, a good vibration.BrokenCrayons - Thursday, February 16, 2017 - link
My goodness yes! So much yes! You can't have a party in your lap without a good vibration. Does this Harmony thing have force feedback or something? Maybe it can compete with an Xbox controller in that department.aapocketz - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I guess so, but it just seems so behind the times to have hand held/lap entertainment devices that largely exist just to consume content. I mean, hey it's 2017 so strikes me as odd that we're still basically locked in the 2000's with smartphones and tablets.In my case, since interactive VR goggles started shipping with motion and eye tracking, the party's been in my face the whole time and I can take it with me anyplace I want to go. That's only gotten better with interactive worlds where you can immerse yourself completely in. Nowadays, I can have a party on the moon or in the ocean no matter where I am or what time of day it is. If I get that itch, I can whip out my toys and scratch it pretty much anywhere like say at a public library or at a local Starbucks. If I'm sick of just watching the action, my toys let me do interactive things so I can get as involved as I want all without holding some tiny screen in my hands.
Jad77 - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I dated myself, but I was in my teens and didn't have a clue.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
How'd that work out for you? I could see lovers' quarrels getting a bit awkward in that situation.Jad77 - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
The first rule of Fight Club...gilmoreisu - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Good review, agree with what you have her. I'd definitely recommend, but understand it is pricey. Overall it is a great remote. I had the 880 for years and really loved most of it.Pros: Too many to list, but here are a few
- Once setup, even my wife and kids can use it
- The help button auto-fixes most issues, teach it to the kids and wife
- Ergonomics are great, probably the best I've used
- It controls anything with Bluetooth, AndroidTV, PS3/4, Nintendo Wii/U (cons are sometimes it doesn't connect)
Cons:
- Price, you should never pay more than $250, sometimes Best Buy runs a trade in deal and you can find for $200
- As stated, battery, it stinks, and if you have kids that never put it on the cradle, good luck
- Activities and Devices button should have been physical, just no reason for capacitive
- The touchscreen causes too many mishaps, if you pick up the remote wrong, you may accidentally open another action, kids especially (happens 1 to 2 times per week)
- No number buttons - but you get used to it
- Harmony Software not as intuitive as I'd like (how do I reorder the activities screen? How do I add buttons on the touch screen?)
Azethoth - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
For my money Activities and Devices should be ABOVE the touch screen. The goddamn touch screen should need a click on them to activate. The rate of bad accidental clicks on it is insane.I reprogrammed the red circle and white square buttons to be skip back and skip ahead. These require single press or auto repeat. The default programming for them is useless. Long press for record.
The button layout is awful. Exit Menu DVR Guide Info need to be together. They are spread out and not possible to use by touch alone. There needs to be big gaps between various blocks of buttons like the color ones and especially the most frequently used navigation ones.
Buttons you will constantly click by accident:
Anything on the fucking touch screen.
The satan damned Activities and Devices buttons.
Exit and Menu
Mute / DVR / Red
Swap / Info
The touch screen error rate is so bad i made the remote wake up on press only. This means backlight is not on when raising it which sucks donkey balls but compared to the fucking touch screen bullshit is acceptable.
There is so much good with the hub (I never get activity errors anymore), and the iPad and iPhone app is a joy to work with. Its sad that they fucked up the button layout so badly.
A simple tap and hold mode for the touch screen would be a giant improvement. No response ever to a single click.
smartthanyou - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
No number keys makes this garbage, pure and simple.weevilone - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I haven't really needed them. Anytime there's a source that I might want to change channels, the favorites list is on the LCD so I can just click a channel I like. If I'd like to select a different channel directly, I swipe the favorites off the screen and that's replaced by a numeric keypad on the LCD. It's not tactile, but I probably use it twice a year.weevilone - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
It would suck if you had to constantly enter a passcode for parental control, or something like that.Fallen Kell - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
Exactly. This has been my issue with all touch sensitive LCD screen remotes since they first came out. Too many of these remotes are putting everything on the LCD when in fact hard buttons are still an absolute necessity. The point of a remote is to control items quickly and easily. You should not be forced to need to look at the remote in order to operate it for standard functions (i.e. number pad for changing channels, volume up/down, channel up/down, last/return, menu, info, exit, and a 4 way direction pad+select/ok button, fast forward/rewind/stop/play/pause/record/next chapter/previous chapter at a minimum, additional important buttons like power off and mute, and a scroll up/down). Without those buttons, you need to look at the remote for controlling most items, but with them, you can happily control almost all standard features of TV/entertainment systems while never missing the action.Azethoth - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
maybe your usage pattern is different. I have everything i watch recorded and i never watch live. I can then always skip ads. Favorite buttons navigate faster than messing with the number buttons.I have never used the numpad on this remote. it would actually be nice if i can disable it completely.
Azethoth - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
I programmed the favorite buttons to replace the number buttons. for me that means a few of the single and double digit channels, syfy amc bbc etc. and one each for the beginning of HBO, Showtime, Stars, Cinemax. Now you can pop up the guide and instantly go to any of these and scroll to adjacent channels. Works better than the number thing for me on DirecTV.Edgeman - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I had one and sent it back. It is good for relatively simple systems and ordinary equipment but for a whole house system with matrix switches and multiple audio and video sources and displays, it is just not even close to up to the task, it is way too dumbed down to get it to work with everything, much less good macros. Instead, I bought four Phillips Prontos (sadly no longer made) on eBay. They are infinitely programmable via the PC software.andychow - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
You could just buy a cellphone that includes a IR blaster.mjeffer - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I've had a phone or two that had integrated IR blasters. While they work, most of the apps for them were clunky at best and tactile buttons are just so much better when you want to quickly grab the remote and change the channel or volume.SpartanJet - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I bought the Elite and love it, though if I had to do it again I'd opt for the hub and cheap remote option as I use the iphone app almost 100% of the time. Though if I was an ADroid user (like the remote tablet that came with my TV) I'd have stuck with Elite as the ADroid Harmony app constantly crashes or loses connection with the hub...ADroid being ADroid I guess.mjeffer - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
"Perhaps I’m dating myself, but the television in my house when I was young required the viewer to get up and change channels manually."As a kid, I remember we had a VCR with this fancy new "remote". It was attached to the VCR with a long cord that plugged into the front of it that you had to drag across the room and risk tripping anyone who wanted to walk by.
Makaveli - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
As a current Harmony One user I like the upgrades however the price is a non starter. For an upgrade from a perfectly working remote its just too much. I would consider it at $199.CalifLove00 - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
This is a great product. I will say like most here, the cost the item is high when you think of it as just a remote. That said, this is an item that likely gets used every single day. IF you find it useful, it is likely because it is saving you from having to use multiple remotes EVERY day. When put in perspective, the benefit outweighs the cost. Should it be cheaper - yes, even $200 is fair. BUT, given it proves it's usefulness more than any other competing product (IMHO) at the end of the day, it's worth every penny.ALL that said, I would like to see Logitech offer better batteries. For whatever reason, EVERY single Harmony device I've had has had its battery die extremely early in the product life. While my elite bat has not died out right, it's life has fallen way off, The thing cannot stay off the charger longer than a days use without needing to be recharged.
Houdani - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I have an Ultimate, and agree that placing the buttons north of the screen was a rubbish decision. In order to counteract their awkward placement, I opted to reprogram the channel up/down buttons to behave as skip forward/back buttons instead. From a usability standpoint I think this is better overall. I would do the same thing with an Elite.As a side benefit, this remapping of the buttons counts as a page up/down when browsing the channel listing.
As for the number buttons; I imagine folks mainly use them to type in their favorite stations. As an alternate, they can simply populate their screen with direct links to all of their favorite stations (including the logo for each station). Works great.
melgross - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I've got several issues with this review, but I just want to mention an error here.The Harmony does not have a knowledge of state. What it has is a knowledge of whatever setting it has made. There really isn't any feedback to the unit as to real time state. That's why, if you make a manual change to any basic setting also available on the Harmony, it isn't aware of it.
A knowledge of state is when a device is updated as to the state of the devices it's being used with, regardless of whether the device has been used to change those settings. The Harmony has none of that knowledge, and it does lead to problems.
I've tried a number of their devices over the years, and I stopped using all of them after a short period of time. A problem is that the limitations on Harmony devices can exceed its usefulness. Any adjustments to the system often require a manufacturers remote to accomplish. As the remote has no idea of what you're doing, you need to reprogram it for these changes.
When someone sits down and grabs a different remote, which you can't always remove because there is some function or other the Harmony doesn't do properly, or at all, everything is thrown out of wack. The problem is that not every family member is going to understand how these remotes work, and will prefer to grasp the tv control instead. The works with kids, and even my wife.
Another problem comes when you have several ways to do basically the same thing. You need to make multiple set-ups for that which becomes clumsy, particularly since the screen doesn't allow good descriptions of functions. have three different ways to watch a movie? Three ways to watch Tv shows, music? That's a problem.
Yes, it can be done, but most people will find it a hair pulling problem. I'm not happy about it myself.
Makaveli - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Some good points there.The easiest fix for the wife and kids is to hide those old remotes so everyone is forced to use the harmony. This way no can change state because there are no remotes to do so. My girlfriend is pretty bad with technology and doing this forced her to learn to use the Harmony and now she is fine with it.
melgross - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Sure, until they go and push a button on an a/v device, and leave it that way.Makaveli - Thursday, February 16, 2017 - link
Time to invest in locked cabinets :)Azethoth - Monday, February 20, 2017 - link
Teach them how to use the help button then.I had to teach my Mom that one and now she can fix her own issues.
kpb321 - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Devices certainly can get out of sync but to some extent it depends on your devices and what commands they support. If your devices support discrete codes for the major things you do like switch the input and turn off/on then if you set it up correctly then it doesn't really matter if things are "out of sync" because they still work. For example my receiver has discrete codes for turning off and on and for switching to a particular input. Switching to an input will also turn it on if it is off so it never suffers from out of sync issues. The biggest out of sync offenders seem to be TVs when you have to switch their inputs as discrete input codes seem to be much less common there.Unfortunately the one issue I haven't been able to figure out yet is that my harmony remote seems to be really slow sending the commands to multiple devices so my wife has problems not waiting long enough for all the commands to be sent. In that regard my previous universal remote with some simple macros actually worked better as it blasted the commands to the different devices very quickly.
schizoide - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I strongly suggest the Harmony Smart Control over the Harmony Elite.https://smile.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Control-... (not a referral link)
The main difference is the remote has no touchscreen. It's smaller, takes a coin battery, and the battery lasts for an ENTIRE YEAR.
The Harmony Smart Control also comes with the Harmony Hub so you get the same functionality. It's normally priced at $125, which is a bit over a third of the ridiculously expensive $300 Harmony Elite, but is frequently available factory refurb (essentially new) for $99, and just last week I saw a sale on slickdeals.net for $65.
Get the Smart Control. It's worth every penny. The Elite is overpriced and IMO actually offers an inferior experience as it needs to be constantly recharged.
archon810 - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
This. I have a Harmony Smart Control and 3 Home Control remotes, all purchased at around $100-130 each, and they do almost everything this Elite does, for 1/3 the price. Plus, no need to look down - everything can be done by touch.Logitech is insane for charging $300 for something that is completely unnecessary. It should be at $180 max. DOA otherwise.
alfredoh - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
This x1000. Not only is it fairly cheap at $125, but if/when the buttons on the remote break (or you lose the remote), you can buy JUST the remote for $30 and re-pair it with the existing hub in 10 seconds. I'm tempted to buy a few extra remote's for $30 just in case they stop selling the things cause they realize that people have caught on and aren't stupid enough to buy these fancy touch remote's for hundreds.ABR - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
+1, just bought one in Europe, but I think it might be discontinued now? The size is really nice, I mean most of the time anyway you are using just volume, play/pause/next, and maybe channel change. Programmable buttons and, if needed, the app, cover the rest. Two minuses:- Requires a 2.4GHz network to set up, and every time to boot up. I mean, really? Solved by temporarily activating connection sharing from my smart phone, but a pain.
- Flaky sometimes, especially with sequences.
Guspaz - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Two things that I'd like to know as a Harmony One user:1) Does it support macros, so that you can program the remote to navigate a menu? For example, my Harmony can turn "night mode" on and off on my soundbar, but this requires the macro to push something like "menu-down-down-right-down-down-right-menu". That's over the max length limit on the macro so I had to combine some into custom signals. I know Harmony dropped support for macros entirely at some point, do they support macros today?
2) The Harmony One is super slow at pushing individual buttons, making it very painful to use it to navigate an on-screen menu. Did they fix this in newer remotes?
schizoide - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
1) I know you can create macros with >20 discrete steps tied to activities, but haven't really played around beyond that. The software is very powerful so I expect it is possible to tie them to any button. But research it first, if you don't get any other responses.2) You can adjust timings in the harmony software down to tenths of a second.
OzzieGT - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I'm using the much cheaper harmony companion with the most basic remote in my home theater. It works great. No need for a fancy touch screen remote, the basic remote does what I need and if I need more advanced functionality I just load up the app on my phone.pookguy88 - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
the thing I hate about the hub is it adds a delay whenever you press a button on the remote, can you opt to only use the remote to output IR?Brett Howse - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Yes you can set the remote to do the IR rather than the hub.Oyeve - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Sorry, I have gone through too many Harmony remotes. They work great but are made like garbage.sl149q - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I have been using Logitech universal remotes for about a decade.Just picked up the Hub with Companion Remote and have been using it for a couple of weeks. The success rate with controlling equipment from the Hub is far better than with the older remote only versions.
I have also paired it with an Amazon Echo, with reasonable success.
Overall even to a longtime Harmony user I'm impressed and happy with the Hub and new remote.
stux - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Been looking for a replacement for my One that is slowly dying, thanks for the article :)I too hope that it has macro/sequence functionality that at least matches the One, if not exceeds it. Many of the remotes after the One did not.
With the One, the long bar format is getting dated, IR only is no longer very satisfying and it's lacking hard computer buttons is a pain. Add to that the keys that don't work anymore or that require excessive pressure, and its time to replace the poor thing. It's had a hard life :)
Elite looks like it may be up to the job
stux - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
Computer = colouredstux - Thursday, February 16, 2017 - link
This certiainly seems to imply that the Harmony Elite (at least the hub) has fairly good sequence/macro capability.https://support.myharmony.com/en-ca/creating-butto...
Unlimited number of sequences each with up to 25 steps and delays.
ABR - Friday, February 17, 2017 - link
I don't know how it is on the computer, but I can tell you you just don't want to go there with the mobile app. Programming is absolutely excrutiating for more than 2 or 3...stux - Saturday, February 25, 2017 - link
Well, I bought the Elite last week for 309AUD (235USD), and finally set it up today. I'm very impressed with it compared to a Harmony One.1) setting it up via the Harmony Control app was a dream.
2) I was able to import my settings from my Harmony One, and as far as I can tell it works flawlessly.
3) it picked up my Samsung and Xbox One over Wifi, and as they were both a bit deficiient over IR that's great
4) it can now control my Wii. Great.
5) the new channel favourite buttons worked great, and they're really good
6) able to scroll the buttons with swipe gestures is cool.
7) I like the hapic feedback
8) its great having RF instead of having to steadily hold the remote points at the screen for tens of seconds
9) the buttons seem much more responsive! I already had bare minimum timinings but the hub just seems capable of sending command sequences significantly faster than the old One.
All up. I'm very very happy with it :)
Finally, a worthy upgrade to the Harmony One :)
Mannypace - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
I use to have a Harmony 650 which I stopped using because of the issues with HDMI-CEC conflicting. Most devices I have found only allow HDMI ARC (Audio return channel) when HDMI-CEC is turned on. Using Optical over HDMI ARC isnt a good solution as it only supports 5.1 sound none of the newer surround modes.Mannypace - Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - link
How do the newer remotes fix these issues?JeffS - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
We have had a Harmony Elite in our home theater for a year now, and it has been a really fantastic product. My wife was basically afraid of using the system until we got this remote, and now she has no problem using it even when I'm not home. The hard buttons are all intuitive, and the touch screen really makes it work. We don't have a particularly complex system and are probably the perfect target customer for the product, but it is complex enough to require multiple remotes if you don't use the Harmony. There's an Epson projector, an Integra AV receiver, a TiVo Mini, a current-gen Apple TV, and a Blu-ray player. The activities on the touch screen are straightforward- "Watch Apple TV," for example, does everything you'd expect. The IR blasters flood the entire room and are so powerful that even reflected IR from the walls controls components. When you're done, the hard "off" button shuts everything down cleanly so that the projector isn't left idling and using up bulb life.We have a lot of tech gadgets in our house. This one is near the top of the list for reliability and ease of use.
fanofanand - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
I'm trying to imagine how ticked off I would be when my kids misplaced a $300 remote.Ratman6161 - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
So, $300 is way more than I'm willing to spend. But I'm intrigued by the hub part which can be purchased separately ($96 on Amazon). Anyone using just the hub and the app without the actual remote?As to the limitations mentioned for the app, I have an older (from 2013) Android phone that doesn't have cell service and continues (at least for now Its android 4.4.4) to run current apps. So if I use this old phone as my remote, or my tablet for that matter, I'm thinking I wouldn't really need the actual remote.
Anyone actually tried this?
rmack350 - Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - link
I also have a Harmony Companion and feel that the Less is More aspect of it works really well. But the specs listed are wrong.The Companion is an RF remote with a coin battery. The coin is supposed to last a year but mine has lasted longer. No recharging required. You can use it anywhere and don't need to be within line of sight, and the remote is simple. The basic learning curve is really short. Honestly, I just use it for TV/STB, TV/Roku. and TV/BlueRay. It has three function buttons for that and you could assign different functions to them for short and long presses but I just skipped the long presses. I bought the thing to simplify the remotes, after all.
The cool thing here is the hub. It's actually the IR emitter and it just flashes the signal at the entire room. It's pretty much always got line of sight this way and it makes the remote more reliable. The problem with a universal remote is that it has to send a set of codes to each device it's controlling. Very often the user would set the remote down out of line of sight before it was finished. Pushing the signalling to the hub gets rid of that fail point. It's very reliable.
There are very few flaws to the Companion remote, except that the buttons are small and unlit. If it weren't for that the companion would make a great gift for elderly people.
CircuitWizardry - Thursday, February 16, 2017 - link
The lack of a hard number pad is a major fail in my opinion. I much prefer to quickly type in the 3 numbers of a channel I want to go to, than use a guide, or a favorite channel list, where I have to look down at a screen on the remote.In my opinion, they had the physical layout correct with the Harmony 900, and it included a blaster. I own three aging 900's, and the IP control would be a nice addition for several devices, but I'll deal with the occasional issue, in exchange for having the numpad.
The real competitor to Harmony is URC, but they won't allow end users access to their programming software... so my money goes elsewhere.
ceomrman - Thursday, February 16, 2017 - link
This whole thing makes me feel old. I used to love this hyper-complicated stuff. I had a Harmony back in the day, but now I use the stock TV remote only, 100% of the time. I have a very good 2.1 system plugged into a mid-range AVR plugged into a smart TV that has Plex and Netflix and Youtube apps. I press "on" and everything fires up. Two presses later and I'm looking at an app menu or watching TV. No need for a hub, since the line of sight to the TV is never a problem. I can adjust my LED lights with their free app. I do sometimes miss the AVR remote for changing the sub level, so I do have to twirl that little knob a couple times a year. Sometimes we put on the radio, but usually for a party or cleaning or something, when using the input knob is no more PITA than using the remote. Sound modes and stuff are gimmicks. I listen to the sound how it was recorded, or admittedly down-mixed if was encoded only in surround. Why would you want to listen to a club mix in Stadium mode? If the movie should have rumbley bass, it'll have it. I've never had any complaint beyond the occasional crappy over-compressed file quality. When we want TV, pressing the "on" button on the remote automatically preempts the radio. I just can't think of what I'd do with a disc player, or what else I'd like a universal remote to do for me. I suppose it'd be nice to control a Roku, but what I'd really like for that (and for the other SnartTV apps, actually) is QWERTY, which Logitech doesn't help with.Kakureru - Friday, February 17, 2017 - link
Ug, still using that garbage "cloud" based software. I need it to 1' work entirly offline without an harmony account, 2, a way to manipulate the codes directly as the software keeps misinterpreting what actually is learned in.Kakureru - Friday, February 17, 2017 - link
Also, I require ACTUAL macros that control my devices AND the remote itself. The "activities" thing does not do what I want.beyondtool - Saturday, February 18, 2017 - link
I cannot fathom why the battery life is still so abysmal. It's definitely the sore point of my Harmony one, over the years there have been many frustrating hours waiting for the damn thing to charge its special battery. It's enough to go back to multiple remotes, rather than pay $300 for this replacement...stangflyer - Saturday, February 18, 2017 - link
I use my Harmony and hub along with an Echo dot to do everything by voice. Now I can pause, forward, reverse anything from my Tivo,UHD player and Roku Ultra. The only thing I have to do is put the disc in the tray as it automatically opens and closes the tray after 10 seconds.Solandri - Sunday, February 19, 2017 - link
The Harmony Companion uses a single CR2302 battery, not AAs.https://support.myharmony.com/en-no/harmony-remote...
Brett Howse - Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - link
Thanks, I had gotten the 2xAA on the Amazon specs. I'll update it.philehidiot - Monday, February 20, 2017 - link
I'm pretty sure my smartphone with an IR blaster and appropriate app would be almost as good without the cost.Brett Howse - Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - link
I'm pretty sure it's not, but you can just buy the hub and get some of the experience. I wrote about this in the article though. Smartphones are not good remotes.pjcamp - Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - link
"Perhaps I’m dating myself, but the television in my house when I was young required the viewer to get up and change channels manually. "Was it black and white? Mine was a giant monochrome console with lots of fascinating glassy objects inside.
pruprup - Monday, March 6, 2017 - link
I have the Harmony Companion, Would it work if I buy just the remote?Do you have different versions of the Hub?
SRALPH - Friday, March 2, 2018 - link
I recently picked up this remote to replace an old Harmony 900. All my settings basically migrated over smoothly (cool) but I ran into one weird issue with the remote. I was trying to customize some of the programmable buttons like DVR and the four colored ones and after saving and syncing with the Hub my number pad grid on the touchscreen transformed into an empty grid. Searched online and Logitech's response was to reset to the default settings...so I lose my customized buttons in order to get the number pad back. Any one else have a similar experience? Otherwise I really like the new form factor after killing a Harmony 1000 and two Harmony 900's.Wvan - Thursday, April 12, 2018 - link
That amazing, I am looking something like to stream fast and <a href="https://uktvnowapkdownload.com/">https://u... app on windows.Selim Reza - Monday, October 22, 2018 - link
Great tutorial! It's true that, when you add a device, it asks for the manufacturer, and the model number, and the software shows you in animated images examples of where to find the model number.By the way, I'm sharing an important message to all:
CatLight is a notification app for developers. It shows the current status of continuous delivery, tasks, and bugs in the project and informs when attention is needed.