Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Harmony One

After getting my new TV and setting up my old set in the kids room my wife absconded my Harmony 880. So today I ran down to Best buy to grab another remote and I found this Harmony One
I guess it just came out last week so naturally I bought one.
After setting it up I have to say I love this remote, my 880 was great but this was like going from an VW to a Porsche, it's pretty, its sleek, it has a touch screen and it can be programmed for up to 3 zones so you can use it in different rooms. Highly recommended.

I wish the Harmony site had large/close up images so you could see the button layout!

Looks like a nice remote though!

I envy you for that new Pioneer....when are you inviting us all over?

Try this Mark

http://www.remotecentral.com/news/photo/94.html

Congrats Homedad! I've been considering a universal remote myself. Can the volume control on the remote be defaulted to always control receiver volume regardless of what source (listen to music, watch dvd, etc ) is chosen?

I think this is called punch-thru with other brands of remotes.

Spoiler, with my Harmony 880 I'm able to control the reciever volume regardless of which source is selected.

I just got a new MX-980 / MRF-350 combo. Looking foward to setting this beast up, well sorta.

Do you have a TiVo or DVR of some kind??

I just wonder how the button layout is for heavy DVR users?

If you're concerned you could go to the gym more often...

I have a Direc TV PVR.
The button layout is great, compared to the 880 the buttons are large and easy to find, what I really enjoy is all the commands for my devices are shown on the larger touch screen, makes things much easier to find during night viewing.


Yes, I believe most the Logitech Harmonys can do this.
Another thing I didn't mention is the remote comes with a new setup disc and the whole setup is easier and better looking.

I've had a Harmony 880 for the past couple years. The programming interface has become excellent. It is leaps and bounds ahead of what it was a year or two ago. You can setup the multiple receivers and have the volume only adjust the volume on one receiver across all of your "Activities" or break it down if you'd like.

I don't think I would buy a different brand of remote because I've had such good luck with my Harmony.

??????????

"heavy DVR users"
Lame pun. Sorta my forte.

Yeah, you are pretty loud about it.

Do the buttons light-up?

I'm looking for the right Harmony remote, but I really need one that has a good back-light for the buttons. I'm leaning toward the mondo 1000 model, but that's twice the price of this unit.

I just got a 900. If you need some help. give me a holler (but read the programming manual first )

Lots of folks like the Harmony units, but one of the downsides for me with the Harmony is that they don't have the LCD space to provide as much flexibility as I want. For example, on the MX remotes, I generally have a Sub +, Sub -, Aspect ratio, and several other commands available on the first screen of the LCD soft buttons to adjust things on the fly.

Thanks for offer Ray. I'll take you up on it most likely. I'm hoping it isn't a whole lot different than my 850.

Yes, and the touch screen on the One is larger than on the previous Harmony remotes. there is also a light on the recharging cradle that can be set at 3 different light settings.

Thanks!

this remote looks nice.

i just purchased an mx810 and expect it this week. i have the good old mx500 in play and have loved it for some 8 years. great remote. the 810 will be my first venture into a PC programmable remote.

i looked at the Harmony 890, but it just felt so cheap in my hands. that and the buttons were too close together. a lot folks love that remote though.

later.

I've got the Harmony 659, and really don't care for it. The buttons are all too similar in size and shape, and the LCD display is very small. The programming interface is way too "dumbed down" - I would love to be able to make it stop asking me questions about my setup. Just let me do it, damn it!!

OTOH, my wife and kids love the "Activity" buttons. Generally though, I usually end up using the original remotes.

I'd be happy to help! The 900 doesn't have the ability to use variables, so I'm not sure what they are all about, but the ability to use Universal Browser for pretty much ANY file you can find and extract a single command is incredible. The ability to have 2 macros on the same button was kind of slick as well.

Shawn's quote about often reverting to the original remotes is why I recommend a good URC to a more technically inclined person. It took a while with some trial and error to get it designed correctly, but I now have my URC 300 set up in such a way that there is not a feature on any of my gear that I can't access from the URC.

At first I went with just daily functionality and kept the others nearby, but over time, I added more and more features and found ways to organize the many touch screens (one screen but hundreds of pages available to add buttons)so that now I have everything I need on the one remote in a logical manner. (The trick is designing the logical manner). Daily functions are on the hard buttons and the less used functions are organized into touch screens.

Also you can have a combination of any remote's buttons on any group of screens so I don't have to flip devices to access something common. Made my own "Activity" buttons with macros so even my Dad can watch TV, movies, music, whatever when he comes to babysit the dog.

Most recently I added macros to change user modes on my receiver so when I choose my [Movie] or [Music] activity buttons, it applies a couple of tweaks like +2db center & surrounds with +3db sub for movies and then back to perfectly even for music.

Perhaps all this is now possible on the newer Harmonies? I'm stuck comparing to the older ones I set up for relatives.

Note for the purists, I'm trying really hard to learn to like my surrounds calibrated even with the others but with my room and/or placement, even my wife comments that the surround effects are weak in movies unless they are up a notch. +2 seems to be a nice blend where the sound is heard and is enveloping but not distractingly directional.

Nothing wrong with liking to hear the surrounds a little louder, I sometimes bump mine up just to try to bring myself more into the movie.

I remember how much you love those remotes Ray. Perhaps if you are starting to get bored in your retirement (at least in the winter months when you can't golf much) you can have their support number dial to your home and they can pay you to provide tech support for people with these babies!

Hello all,
I am in the process of using a Dell axim X50 as my remote
I am using the trial software and so far it seems to be working fine. I am just using the learn functions for now.
Here is a link to the site.
http://www.wincesoft.de/html/body_remotecontrol_ii.html

David

That's a great idea!!

Well HomeDad...ya talked me into it. Yesterday I walked into Best Buy and picked up a Harmony One. It took at least an hour of programming to get it almost right... just a few tweaks left. It can also power up the SMS-1 at the correct times and I can adjust the sub volume with it, which was a concern of mine.

The keypad layout is very intuitive and it does fit nicely into your hand. You can also program it with your favorite channels in the touch screen area, something I haven't tried yet.

I haven't had it long enough to comment on battery life.. maybe Homedad, you can fill us in on how yours is doing.

The only real issue I have probably can't be resolved (someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). I have a Tivo Series 3, and the reaction time from key press to action on screen is around 1/4 sec slower. It may not sound like a big deal, but if I pick up the original remote and compare, it's VERY obvious. It becomes apparent if you're quickly moving around menu selections. It certainly something that is easy to get used to however. I just have to slow myself down just a bit..

I played around with a $15 universal a couple of months ago that didn't have the issue. It was as quick as the original. There are options on the computer software to adjust inter-key delay, etc. but nothing similar to decreasing execution time.

Other than that..a very nice remote!! At least I have 29 days left to play with it and decide on whether it gets to stay.

I know what you mean about the reaction time on the TiVo. If you figure out a way around that, I'll be very, very happy. I know you can adjust timings in the Harmony software, but I don't remember if I've tried that or not.

If you think the reaction time is slow with a standard TiVo, just be glad yours isn't using 15,000rpm drives. It takes a lot longer to even just pause the video due to the time it takes to stop the platters.

From what I understand these rechargeable batteries last a long time. I never had a problem with my 880 recharging and after a few years it's still charging fine, it was more a problem getting that remote to sit in the cradle right. The Harmony One fits snug and immediately charges once it's back in the cradle.
I'm not having any delay problems with my PVR, but as mentioned the response times can be adjusted.