Logitech Harmony One - Advanced Universal Remote Control
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £89.00Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(5 out of 5)excellent remote
I moved to this from the Harmony 1000, which I didn't like because of its shape and the touch screen. The Harmony One is a much more pleasing device, working in the same way, but with mechanical buttons rather than the touch screen of the 1000.
I configured this by adding the remote to my existing setup for the 1000 that transferred all the remotes and operations without any further action required by me - setting up the 1000 had been trivially easy, with most of the time taken by installing the software, downloading the updates and figuring out the model numbers of my equipment.
I only had two problems - my dvd player did every operation twice, and the wrong device was used to control volume when listening to music. The first problem was solved by a call to the tech support line - the call was answered after a couple of rings and the rep fixed the problem for me quickly (though in retrospect I wish I'd gotten him to explain how to do it myself). The second problem went away when moving to the Harmony One, so I don't know what was wrong.
The handset itself is light, and a good fit in my hand; the construction is solid and pleasant to look at, though the buttons are perhaps a little squishy. The cradle is well designed, with wide power connectors on the handset. It lights up when you move it, with each button being displayed perfectly. Most operations are easily done with the mechanical buttons.
The top third of the device is a touch sensitive LCD screen; the screen responds to a light touch, with a pleasant feedback sound - each side can be pressed to scroll through available pages, with the center displaying up to 6 buttons well sized buttons - I haven't yet triggered the wrong action by accident.
Similar to the side buttons, there are two lower buttons to switch between operating mode; typically you will be using the "activities" mode, where the handset tries to do the most appropriate thing for any button press - fast forward will control the dvd, volume will control the tv (or whatever); if you need to, you can switch to a specific device and the handset will control that device alone; I rarely need to do this.
The LCD also displays what you're currently doing, the time and battery level.
Pressing the power button will turn off any device that is on, and switching activities will toggle the power of all the appropriate devices; I only have 4 components though, so I don't know how well this would work with more - I also don't have to switch inputs for tv vs music, though from other reviews I understand this works well.
I haven't tried using the software to change the configuration of any of the buttons yet, I may do so at some stage, though at the moment I am happy with the default settings (other than turning off the annoying assistant, which I recommend everyone do as soon as possible).
I am very happy with this remote; well worth the money and better, IMO, than the Harmony 1000 which is a much more costly device.
(5 out of 5)What a remote, well worth the cost!!!
After receiving the remote and inspecting the fabulously styled remote and charging cradle, information is transferred to the remote by connecting a USB cable to a hidden connector on the remote - After a wait for the initial charging period to finish - then it was time to begin programming the remote!
I was replacing 6 remotes (Sky+, 42" Sharp Aquos, Sony Bluray, Sony AV Receiver, Sony SACD & HDMI switch), and attempting to make switching from one activity to another as simple as possible for my whole family.
Setup for the devices was relatively easy, but not as straightforward as the manual would suggest. The programming procedure is by means of a PC based application and an online database of devices and their codes. By selecting type of device, manufacturer, then model you can filter down to the exact model you have, failing that the Harmony 1 will perform as a learning remote, but still requiring the PC based application to manage the learning process and attribute the learnt code to a chosen button.
It all went smoothly, and then it's time to program the Activities, such as 'watch a film' which in my situation involves turning on the TV, turning the volume down (a mute signal means the TV screen displays a 'mute' message!) and selecting the correct input, switching on the amp, and selecting the correct input - a macro. The remote performs flawlessly. If you then select 'listen to music' the remote 'knows' the current state of the devices (whether they're on/off etc) so will change the Amp's input, turn off the TV, and turn on the SACD player - it's seamless!!
Other nice features are being able to have favourite channel icons when watching TV (there is a great website out there which has done all the hard work for you by creating a huge array of icons - this is great for my children who recognise the channel icons (cbbc etc) and with a single press the Sky box is set the channel string (e.g. 602) and it magically turns over!
If the remote gets out of sync with the device (users manually operating devices, or using another remote) then the 'help' button walks you through simple questions such as 'is the TV on' with a 'yes' or 'no' choice, and then manages to fix the problem.
Some reviews mention that the remote does not have the coloured buttons Sky users need, they are correct that there are no coloured physical buttons. When you bring up you Sky 'device' or are performing an activity which uses it, by pressing the 'command' button on the screen brings up 4 large coloured buttons - it works great.
The display is bright and easy to read, has a robust resistive touchscreen with adjustable sensitivity. Battery life is suprisingly good, and the device only needs charging every 3 days.
In total i've spent around 3 hours getting the remote to work 100% correctly, and every now and again it's just a little 'tweak' to improve functionality. I have now put away my other remotes, after the initial period of not having the Harmony working 100% and keeping them as a 'backup' measure.
The next step is to use one half of a Powermid remote extender so I can use the IR harmony one to control RF based products (Domialite home automation)
With the remote at <£80 now on Amazon it's an even better buy!
(4 out of 5)Makes complex systems easy for everyone
This remote has replaced 4 originals (Amp, SkyHD, DVD, TV).
My one real gripe is how they felt it necessary to leave out bluetooth for controlling PS3, Wii and PC. (that's the one star off)
It's not mentioned anywhere, but it does sense movement, so turns on when you pick it up, ready for input.
The remote has good build quality and is comfortable in you hand. The cradle is not only a charger, but good place to store it.
The setup is a complex as your equipment. I though the software to configure the remove felt like a windows 98 app with vista look. Some thing just did not work as I expected, but I did eventally get it right. Not a big issue, just can't have custom icons, renaming took a while to find. Mine took a few hours to setup.
Overal I am quite pleased, and my wife is even happier now that it does not take 3 remotes to swap activities.
I still have to work on shortening the timing for the various commands. For my Toshiba, it is quite slow to swich between HDMI / Compenent inputs (no direct command). Will depend on your quipment.
(5 out of 5)Great piece of kit !
This device is light-weight, built to a very high quality and beautifully sculptured, all of which makes it a real pleasure to use. The layout of the buttons is a considerable improvement on previous Logitech models. The programmable built-in screen display is clear and touch-sensitive: even this is adjustable.
You need to have a PC to program the Logitech, but once you are familar with the concept of defining "devices" and then assembling these into combinations of "activities", it is a piece of cake.
If you find that one of the infra-red functions doesn't work for a particular device, you can easily "teach" the Logitech using your old remote for that device.
The buttons and the touch-screen are programmable, so if you need to change say, the volume control to activate your amplifier rather than your TV, this is easily achieved.
Even small details have been well thought through. For instance the power cable to the charging "holster" can either be connected to the top of the holster or the bottom of it, thereby reducing the length of cable left dangling.
All in all, a very nice piece of kit to own and use. I can't really fault it. Well recommended.
(5 out of 5)Simply a brilliant, stylish 'must have' remote
Without a doubt the best universal remote i have come across, easy to use, easy to set up*, and looks the part. The colour screen is clear and the backlit buttons perfect.
I read all of the reviews before i bought this and thought that i would have to spend over an hour setting everything up, but as long as you do your planning right* you will be up and running in no time. (30 mins max)
I found the software easy to use (i'm no pc expert) and the troubleshoot system very good. (remote didnt turn Sky+ on/off at first but easily rectified via following clear & concise instructions)
The remote will not control your Wii or PS3 as it does not use bluetooth but i found this a bonus, sometimes you need to switch back to watch tv without turning off the game console (especially if the kids are half way thru a level and will lose their progress if the system shuts down (the usual excuse for "five more mins pls dad")). You can still set everything up to switch to the right input etc then just push the wii/PS remote on/off button.
* To set up properly and quickly i would recommend:
Download your fav channel icons from: www.iconharmony.com
Make a note of all your fav channel numbers
Get the exact model numbers of your kit (Most on front or back of systems) but not needed for Wii / PlayStations etc
If using an AV amp make a note of your input settings
Tell the wife/kids etc they cant use tv for 30 mins and leave you alone!
One last note, go to the Logitech home page ( www.logitech.com ) to check your systems compatability first, this is a great way to make sure that this remote will actually replace all your others. No point in spending any money on something that only does half the job, but i doubt you will be disappointed.