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(More customer reviews)I'll make this easy - the Harmony Remotes are the most brilliantly designed piece of consumer electronics I have fiddled with in a long, long time. I have a system of slghtly above average complexity - a 60" projection TV, Onkyo Home Theater receiver, Nintendo Gamecube, PC-based MP3 server (home built), and a combo DVD/VCR. The web-based configuration pretty much nailed all the settings, and the wizard is a great example of someone that did their homework when it came to figuring out all the possible "use cases" for my set up. Its probably not going to be perfect, though, unless you are using all very common components; you will probably have to tweak some of the settings. For example, after selecting the model number of my JVC combo VCR/DVD player, the standard functions worked fine, but the navigation between menus on DVDs was flakey and inconsistent - I went on the harmony web site, tweaked the settings by learning the missing commands, and voila - it works perfectly now.
OK, so why do some people give such seemingly contradictory negative reviews (definitely the minority of reviews)? I have a theory - the Harmony has no idea of what your little kids, guests, or even pets might do to the settings on your AV equipment. The Harmony can only remember the state it left things in. If your 5-year old (or your mother in law) walks up and picks up the TV remote (or goes to the front of the TV) and fiddles with the video inputs, it will throw the Harmony off (the Harmony will think it is set to "S-video" for example, but it might have been changed by your curious 4-year old to "Satellite" or something.)
But this is actually where the Harmony really shines, in my opinon - and shows how brilliant the design is. When things get out of whack, all you have to do it press the "Help" button on the remote, and it will start walking through settings and asking questions in order to determine where the problem is. In over a year of using the Harmony 659, I have yet to encounter a situation where this did not resolve the problem immediately. In fact, I used to get calls at my office from my wife, frantically trying to put in a video for the kids, but not being able to get it to display on the TV (I have it set up to display DVDs via the component connections, but VCR via the S-Video). I'm not kidding, this would happen twice a week - and I would have to walk her through all the settings on the various remotes until things were fixed. With the Harmony, this is no longer an issue - in fact, I have not had a single call in over a year about the A/V setup - that is worth the $100 alone! :-)
I'll provide an example from just this moment - I was programming a new component on the remote while my kids were watching a video. After programming the device, it assumes everything is turned off (which the system was not). My 5-year old picked up the remote, pointed it at the TV, and pushed the "off" button. Nothing happened (because the Harmony thinks things are already off. So, I just picked up the remote, hit the "help" button, and it send a command. The receiver turned off, but not the DVD player. The remote displayed a message that said "Did that fix the problem?" When I selected "No" it then asked if the DVD was off. When I selected "No" it turned it off and then asked "Did that fix the problem?" again. I selected "Yes" and now the remote and the system are back in synch. Very cool
So, the bottom line is that my 5-year old can now walk into the family room, grab the harmony by himself, and push the "watch a movie" button, stick in a video, and he is all set. It used to take assistance from an adult to turn on the TV, turn on the VCR, turn on the receiver, and then set everything to the right input, etc. In fact, my wife said to me recently "I wish you had gotten one of these a long time ago!"
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Logitech Harmony H-659 Advanced Universal Remote Control (Black)A good universal remote may control an entire home entertainment system, but more often than not, it also looks like the instrument panel of the space shuttle, with dozens of intimidating and confusing keys. Enter the Logitech Harmony 659 remote, which is not only simple to program and use, but also consolidates a user's preferences for watching TV, viewing movies, or listening to music into three clearly labeled buttons. Simply press the Watch a Movie, Watch TV, or Listen to Music button to activate all the appropriate equipment--including surround sound components--and the remote does the rest. The device will automatically switch to your favorite settings for each component, while offering you a host of customized controls on its interactive LCD screen. It's called Smart State Technology, and it puts you and your family back in control of your home theater system.
The remote is an ideal choice for families with kids, though in many cases, it's the grownups that will find the simplicity most appealing. Like many other universals, the remote lets you assign tasks to individual buttons. However, unlike most other remotes, it also lets you create new functions to specifically match your component, such as when controlling multi-angle playback or zoom on a DVD player. To do this, merely connect the Harmony remote to your computer through the USB port, install the included CD software, walk through the Web wizard's step-by-step setup process, and start programming. Once you enter the model numbers of your components and answer a few easy questions about personal preferences, you'll soon be able to control a complex home theater setup without any hassles of frustrations. The Harmony 659 also includes a learning port, which picks up commands from other infrared remote controls to simplify setup even further. And should the setup process ever get too confusing, the remote includes a handy Help button that guides you through common troubleshooting steps--the only remote on the market to do so.
The Harmony 659 is compatible with everything from surround sound systems to satellite and digital cable boxes to DVD players. As a further enticement, Logitech includes two free months of TV listings. For the computer setup to work properly, users will need to own USB-equipped computers running Windows 98 SE, 2000, Me, or XP or Macintosh OS X 10.2 or later.
What's in the Box Harmony 659 remote control, software installation CD, USB cable, four AAA batteries, quick-start guide.
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