Hey y'all, haven't seen any remote control discussion for awhile. My Harmony 670 is trying to bite the dust (no syncing any more) and I should have a new TV assuming it survives the movers (who said "No one told us about a crate!" despite the fact it was on their paperwork that I found later...).
So what's the favored solution now below say $150? I really like the Harmony series, but they seem to have moved rather upmarket and I don't like the new physical design as much as the 670.
I also can't remember what the old remote deal sites were. Are those still around? Ray? Tom? Help me!
Yes, this is a double post, since the forum crashed when I was trying to put in the original...
I have nothing to suggest but am interested in this as well.
One word...Harmony One. I love mine. Once you put in the initial time to set it up, it's a breeze to use. Very good WAF. Very configurable and very powerful. I even use it to dim the lights as part of the Watch a Movie routine.
Ken, if you decide to go with a Harmony Remote, I can pass along a unique, one time use coupon code that allows 50% off a single item. It expires 09/06/11.
I got the code after signing up with their email subscription list.
I have no need for it so I thought I'd give it away.
You probably can't go wrong with Harmony One or URC's line. Logitech is easier to program but not as functional or programmable as URC's line. If all you need to do is turn on your receiver, change the inputs, then Harmony is fine.
One drawback to URC is that they now went 100% dealer purchase only. So if you get stuck, you're on your own.
I've had Harmony 890, Harmony 900, and URC's MX900.
For me, MX900 wins hands down. But if you're very good with PCs, then you're better of with Harmony. It's not that MX900 is that hard to program, but it's harder than Harmony.
good luck.
I love our Harmony One. It is the first remote that my wife and kids could use for all of our home theater stuff without issue. It is only IR and not RF...
You can get a Harmony One refurb/sale for under $150 if you pick your spots.
I recently bought ANOTHER URC MX-700 off Ebay. Could not be happier.
I think Best Buy had the Harmony One for $150 in today's Sunday ad.
Also try Logitech's refurb outlet. They had it last week for $99 w/ free shipping. I 'almost' bit but my 688 and 659 still work fine.
I have a osiris mx-350 I have had mine for about 4-5 years now. It's pretty easy to program, batteries last for several months. The LCD buttons are fully programable, you can label each button what ever you want for each device, and then sync them to what ever you want them to do.
Granted it is not as fancy as the new harmony's, but then again it doesn't eat batteries either. Simple and rugged if you will.. right now it sells for around 130$,
Also, all of the programing is stored on a nonvolatile memory chip, so even if you forget and your batteries completely die, you will not lose any of your programing. I would imagine the Harmony's save the programing the same, but i don't know for sure.
Oh, the 350 will do IR and RF.
Any problems with the Harmony ONE charging cradle? I know the old 880 cradles had a lot of problems.
Any problems with the Harmony ONE charging cradle? I know the old 880 cradles had a lot of problems.
None at all. I have an 880 and need to put a rubber band around it to keep it in contact with the cradle. The Harmony One does not have the same cradle design, and works just fine.
Yep, the older models had charging cradles that sometimes died within a year and they had to be re-designed and eventually replaced. One thing that also took me a long time to realize with the original battery in my Harmony One is that with these rechargeable Lithium batteries you have to practically run them down to almost nothing before you recharge it again otherwise if you place the remote back in the charger every time you are not using it, it prematurely starts to lose its ability to hold the charge for any length of time. I was making the mistake of doing the above and it got to the point that within a year it wouldn't hold its charge for more than a few hours and I had to replace the battery before its time.
BTW, just got an email direct from Logitech. Pick one item and get 50% off. Yup, gonna finally bite and get the Harmony One.
One thing that also took me a long time to realize with the original battery in my Harmony One is that with these rechargeable Lithium batteries you have to practically run them down to almost nothing before you recharge it again otherwise if you place the remote back in the charger every time you are not using it, it prematurely starts to lose its ability to hold the charge for any length of time. I was making the mistake of doing the above and it got to the point that within a year it wouldn't hold its charge for more than a few hours and I had to replace the battery before its time.
I hate to say it, but that is a myth carried over from Ni-Cd days. Lithium batteries are designed to NOT behave that way. No "memory" issues, no need to "drain and recharge" multiple times just to get things back to normal. In fact, if you you drain a lithium batter too far, you will actually destroy the battery.
There are other issues probably with your remote such as it not registering that the battery is not 100%, or something, or the battery has been damaged, or just worn out. I only say this so that people don't try to start draining and then charging their lithium powered devices and in turn end up actually reducing the life of their battery or destroying it by over-draining it.
Bruno is correct that Nick is correct.
There is a good battery guide over at ABI and practices to maximize lithium based rechargeables.
http://anythingbutipod.com/2010/01/mp3-player-battery-guide/
I've been using Lithium batteries for my R/C plane, helicopter, and cars for a few years now. Each one of them (the batteries, and the charger for that matter) talks about how different the lithium batteries are from previous ni-cad type batteries. Heck, I have even had to retro fit my "toys" (as my wife put them) with lithium meters that show not only a charge level light, but also make an audible alarm when the juice is getting down to a dangerously low level.... Not empty, but just low. In older nickel based batteries, you just run them until they are dead. With lithium, you run them down to a certain point, and beyond that point you WILL permanently damage their ability to charge, and actually can "puff" the battery, which makes it risky for catching fire.
Anyway, draining too far is VERY bad.
Also, it explicitly states NOT to do the "drain and charge" business as it is no needed.
Bruno is correct that Nick is correct.
That's right, amen.
You probably can't go wrong with Harmony One or URC's line. Logitech is easier to program but not as functional or programmable as URC's line. If all you need to do is turn on your receiver, change the inputs, then Harmony is fine.
One drawback to URC is that they now went 100% dealer purchase only. So if you get stuck, you're on your own.
I've had Harmony 890, Harmony 900, and URC's MX900.
For me, MX900 wins hands down. But if you're very good with PCs, then you're better of with Harmony. It's not that MX900 is that hard to program, but it's harder than Harmony.
good luck.
+1 on the MX-900. SurfRemoteControl (talk to Mike) has the best prices. They are authorized dealers so software is not a problem.
To add to the comment above, the programming is a little harder than the Harmony line, but the URC MX remotes are much more flexible and powerful. I have had the MX-500 and MX-700. Currently have the MX-850 and MX-900.
Ray, yesterday at home, cupping his hand to his ear: "Remote? MX-something Remote? Why, it's off to the Axiom boards!"
Swooosh goes the cape.
Sowwwy... I bought a Harmony One.
Good choice, I think you will be very happy with it.
I like my Harmony One and the touch screen makes customizing easy; I have a button on the screen for searching while streaming music through the 3808.
Cool. I have the One now, but it's still in the box. Kind of pointless until I actually get the system hooked up. Still trying to find the right sized power strip (and the time). Right now all that's working is the Roku hooked up to the TV, and they're back to using two remotes: the old Harmony for the Roku (can't find that one's remote) and the "new" TV's remote.
Right now all that's working is the Roku hooked up to the TV
You can probably barely hear that over the sound of your neighbor mowing your lawn, huh?
It ain't for me, I don't have time watch TV right now! This is to hypnotize the kids so my wife can get some work done unpacking.
Yes yes, horrible parenting, yadda yadda. As soon as we get settled, they're back to single Sesame Street a day.
Picked up a lightly used 37" LCD. Older, from 2006. Trying to figure out what KIND of HDMI the single input is. Probably 1.1. 1.2 if I'm screamingly lucky.
Then again, the TV's 720P, ultimately I'll be running all audio through a new (hypothetical) receiver, not the TV, and there's no way the thing supports anything like deep color, so as long as it displays video, it doesn't really matter which version of HDMI!
720p is such a step up from 480i you won't even care.
Well, I won't care once I find the money for a new TiVo.
Well, I think the best thing you can do now is get an MX-900 to operate your Harmony One.
I just bought another MX-700 off Ebay for the bedroom.