Just wondering anyone's opinion who has and uses the Harmony One remote.

I just got one today with the Harmony PS3 adapter. Took me about 15 minutes to program and I got rid of my cable remote, AVR remote, TV remote, PS3 Controller & Xbox 360 controller.

Still learning it, but so far seems awesome. I had no idea the capabilities of these remotes.

Has anyone got rid of 4 or 5 remotes with the Harmony? Any tricks I should know?

Thx, Dana

I've got the Harmony One and do like it...especially for turning everything on initially, and for powering everything off. In my case, I haven't gotten rid of all of other remotes. I have a Tivo Series 3, and I must admit it has an exceptionally well designed remote. If it's close by, I still find myself (even after a year or so) grabbing the Tivo remote to do common functions because, well, it's a tad quicker in response. Setting the One to minimum possible delay still isn't as quick as the original remote. It may not bother some, but I notice it.

It's excellent for switching sources when going from TV watching to gaming to music listening, etc., but I still find myself sometimes grabbing the original remotes for certain functions as it just seems easier than going thru several screens on the One. I have no WAF to deal with, so several remotes on the couch is no issue!

Spend some time looking into remotecentral.com, there are some good tips and tricks there. You can download some icons to use for special channels etc. I haven't done it yet but will when winter comes around later this year and I spend more time inside.

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-harmony/thread.cgi?6436

I've got one and love it. It got rid of all my remotes.

Cool, Thanks for the link Jay!

Dana

I've had mine for over a year and I love it. So far, I haven't found anything it can't do to replace other remotes. I even use it to dim the lights. Very easy to program, high WAF. For the money, it's just about the best remote you can get.

We absolutely love the Harmony One. For me, it does everything that I need it to in one remote, and for my wife and kids, they love the "touch one button and everything works" part of it. Sure other remotes do the same, but this is the one I have and it works perfect. Before, I used to get phone calls if I wasn't home and someone wanted to watch TV or a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD... "What do I put the projector on?" "What does the receiver need to be on?" etc. Now, I don't get those calls and I don't miss them either.

Hey Dana,
I second all of the positive opinions on the Harmony's. I have the One and I also setup the RF model for my in-laws HT. Without it they would not be able to watch a movie by themselves

Tips and tricks? First off make sure you make use of discrete power on & off commands wherever possible. Some device remotes only have a power toggle on the original remote even though the device may accept discrete codes. This will greatly help keep everything in sync. Just check the commands available for your components in the Harmony database.

The other trick I use is to program certain functions onto the hard buttons rather than use the screen. For example, when in 'watch movie' activity, the channel up/down and return buttons are not really used or needed. So I use the 'return' button to go cycle into my channel level control menu and then channel up/down can bump or down each level. That way I easily adjust my center channel as needed without having to flip pages on the touchscreen.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Yes, that does help a lot!
The PS3 adapter is really nice as well. I have all my music cd's ripped to lossless flac on my pc. Using my PS3 to stream them. I hated using the PS3 controller.

It's funny...it's gonna be so much easier to just come home from work and hit one button to crank out the tunes. I can't believe before this, I had to grab a remote, turn on the TV, grab another, turn on the AVR, grab another, turn on the PS3, then push a button to set the AVR input, grab the other remote & push a button to change HDMI inputs on the TV, and on, and on, and on...

Thanks for the tips all! It'll be fun today fine tuning all the programming...


Dana

I do not have a One but I do have the older 880 and it is a power house, I have replaced 9 remots with mine LOL and I have all my lighting controled threw it as well. I like the looks I get when some one comes over for the first time and I hit one button and everything turns on, the movie screen drops and then the lights dim to scene one. I push play and the room darkens, they need to pee and I pause the movie and the pot lights come ou just enought to light the way as to not trip. I have bee thinking about replacing mine with a one but I really have no need.

Once you get it dialed in it is great.

Later
Phil

I like it too..

tip:
I set up two of the hard buttons (the bottom most pair) to do fastforward and Stop/play. That lets me skip through commercials by feel.

Phil,

THAT is awesome!

Dana

New from Harmony, I may have to get one as a 2nd bedroom remote.

Harmony 300

Looks like Harmony is moving away from the hour glass shape that had for so many years. The hard buttons on these new ones are much better than the soft, gel like ones from before.

That's unfortunate. I really like the peanuts in terms of ergonomics.

That new 300 doesn't have a screen?

I have an older 520 and an 880, happy with both. I prefer the older shape and button layout on the 520 however, but the 880 isn't bad.

I have the 1100 and I really like it. The screen provides multiple pages of 9 icons plus 4 static ones on the left and 4 on the right. I have access to every option for my TV, and Receiver. If my receiver provided an on-screen display for everything, then I would be in universal remote heaven.

Agreed. That's why I still buy 659's and 688's on ebay, whenever my kids (or I) drop them to the point of breakage.

I have an 880...I almost love it. The #1 thing I hate about it, is the recharge cradle. I have to futz with it forever to get the remote rested in there just right for it to charge. Huge pain in the butt. That and it doesn't control my PS3.

Since I'm getting all new gear, perhaps a new remote with that nifty PS3 adapter would be a good idea as well.

Your right! 880 sucked charging... 890 was better (no longer available) 900 is perfect charging and ergos (but sucks for RF!) 1100, works perfect charging, has lots of new goodies, RF okay... but 2 handed, not bad but different

I have an 880 and the charger does suck but the remote more than makes up for all that.

The One has a great cradle, just set the remote in it and it works.

I have one and I love it. Pricey, but it was worth it. It took me about a half-hour to initially set it up, but I've spent several more hours since then tweaking settings to get it all "just right". So, be prepared to spend a little more time with it to tweak it. It's replaced about 6 remotes in my system, including my PS/3 with the Logitech BT dongle.

One caveat though; watch the battery for signs of swelling.

I have had my Harmony One for about two (2) years now. About six months ago, I noticed that the battery life was shrinking. When I went to remove the battery so I could get the model number for a replacement, I could barely remove it. That old, original OEM battery was so physically swolen that I had a really hard time removing it from the remote. The long sides of the battery were seriously bulged out and it was wedged into the compartment. Not a good thing. I had to use pliers to remove it. It wasn't pretty. I didn't harm the remote but it was close. Another couple of mm's and it would have fused itself into the remote permanently.

Bought a replacement battery from Logitech (beware knock-off's; they don't charge properly), and all is well now. I just wonder what would have happened if I had waited another 6 months to replace the original; whether it would have just been stuck in the remote forever, or started leaking, or worse...

Thanks for the heads up on this Peter!

Dana