[jdechamp]

I am frustrated with juggling five remotes and hearing my wife complain that she can't figure any of it out! I am looking for a universal that is powerful, will handle all my equipment, and easy to use, wife will leave me alone. Here is what I am trying to control:

Pioneer Elite Pro 1150
Fios Cable box (switching Friday - not sure what box, but will be HD w/ DVR)
Insignia Blu Ray
Outlaw 750 & 950

and it would be nice if I could add the Parasound JC-2 and Olive Music Server.

I appreciate any suggestions and advice!

Thanks!

Joe

[TF1216]

I have owned the Logitech Harmony 880 for a couple of years now.  I do not love the layout of the numbers but I love the functionality of the remote.

i am contemplating purchasing the Harmony One very soon.  I prefer the layout of the buttons on this guy.  Best Buy carries these guys so you can check them out if you like the Logitech line.

[jdechamp]

Thanks, I appreciate the info. I am going over to Best Buy tonight and take a look.

Joe

[TF1216]

If you decide to buy you can find good deals online if you are concerned about the steep price.

[RAW]

I can say once you get one of the Harmony remotes you will never look back. With out any issue our 9 yr old uses our 3 Harmony remotes with no issues.

We use our oldest 670 Harmony for our bedroom system, then a Harmony 880 in my second room and last the Harmony one in the HT room.

Set up is easy with the of, I like a few things on the One remote.
Touch screen
Pvr control
Favorites with logo's on the touch screen
All hard buttons not like our old 670
Last rechargeable battery in it's own dock.

My wife got my One on sale for $189.00 just after Christmas..

Well worth it and my far the best one I have seenfor the money..

[rahimlee54]

Recently dell had the 880 for less than one benjamin check and see if it is still on sale there.  I picked one up myself, it is pretty cool.

[randytsuch]

Logitech Harmony has a very large database, so I would think you most devices in it.

You can actually create an account, and play with the setup software, even if you don't own one.

http://members.harmonyremote.com/

It does take some work to program the thing, and make it work like you want.

I have the 890, and like it very much.  The 890 is the same as the 880, but also has an RF extender, if any of your gear is out of line of sight.  I have stuff in a closet, so I had to get the 890, otherwise I would have saved the money, and got the 880.  The one is supposed to be nice though.

Harmony arranges things by activities, you make an activity for different things, like watching TV, listening to CD's, etc.  With the push of one button, it turns on everything that needs to be on, sets up things to the right inputs and settings, and sets up the remote buttons for controlling the right devices.

I thought my kids may not like it, because if you have a harmony, you should hide your other remotes, and just use the harmony.  But, once they got used to it, there were no problems, it really makes things easy, especially if you have a tv and receiver with multiple inputs, and need to set them up differently depending if you're watching cable, dvd, etc.

Randy

[Bob in St. Louis]

When I get one, it will have the following featues:
- USB programming via a PC/internet. (for idiots like me)
- The biggest color touch screen ever made.  aa
- "Auto-On" for the backlighting when it senses it's been picked up (so you can find the correct button in the dark). 
- Internal batterys are recharged on a docking base.

That's my personal list of demands.
It's been a while since I've been there, but you can enter your personal list of demands into "RemoteCentral.com" and it will give you a list of remotes that fit your needs and price point.

Also don't forget about ebay. Last time I checked, there was great deals on these fancy remotes. Mainly due to upgrade-itus.

Bob

[ebag4]

ecost.com often has the Harmony units at good prices.

Best,
Ed

[spudco]

New generation Phillips Prontos are good if you can spend a little time programming them.

They handle both IR and WiFi commands.  You can purchase some software for special applications (like controlling a squeezebox using WiFi).  They are built to very high standards so the are at home in a high end atmosphere.  They have a great display/input screen and come in either one hand or two hand models.

They also allow programming of complex functions.  For example, I can switch from 5.1 theater to 2 channel music by pressing a single button.

Mine is currnently controlling a Pass Labs X-1 preamp, a Denon AVR, an audiomeca CD transport, a Squeezebox 3, a DirecTV receiver, a DVDO processor, a Sony DVD player, an NAD CD recorder, a Panasonic Plasma and a Mac Mini.