Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote

Product Description
Access your entire Home Entertainment system with just one button. Everyone from the kids to the babysitter can now enjoy the full home theater experience. Simply select an activity, and your Harmony universal remote will send the right commands so you don't have to juggle remotes or remember a sequence of buttons. There's even a handy Help button to guide you through simple troubleshooting and get you back in control. The Harmony universal remote is the world's only remote with Smart State Technology activity control. Just press one of the Activity buttons, such as Watch TV or Listen to Music, and your Harmony universal remote automatically sets up your entertainment system.

Look no further for a remote - EVER!!!
Want to watch TV but all you have is sound with no picture? Then you have picture but no sound...after several more button presses you now have no sound and no picture!? Or the parents are in town and you're leaving the house but have to spend 30 minutes teaching them how to use your complicated home theater setup? This is the remote for YOU!! I am a huge fan of this product. I've owned it for 6 months now and highly recommend it IF you have a home theater setup with several different components. If all you have is a TV and DVD player than don't spend your money.

What this remote does is this: It turns on your TV, sets the TV to the correct AV input (i.e. Video1 for DVD, Video2 for cable box, whatever your set up is) sets the A/V to the correct input (DVD/DVR, TV/SAT, etc) turns on the DVD player or cable box (again whatever you select as wanting on) all with one touch of a button. AND makes sure that any device you aren't using for a particular activity is turned off. Why have the cable box on while watching a DVD? You can customize how each activity is labeled (i.e. watch TV, watch television, watch cable) customize what buttons are displayed in the lcd based on a particular activity (in my case the surround sound and subtitle options are available when I'm watching a DVD or surround sound and movie on-demand options available when I'm watching cable). You can customize the key press delay (useful for equipment that takes a few seconds to read a key press - keeps it from losing a key command when several buttons are pushed sequentially); customize the inter device delay (useful for when a device takes a moment after receiving an IR signal to be ready for the next signal and signals are being sent to several different devices).

I could go on forever. Suffice it to say, if you want your system to do a particular function this remote can make it happen - even the specialized functions like "record" or "Chapter set" on your DVD recorder.

All you have to do is input the correct brand/model of your unit in the computer software and Logitech finds the correct codes for you. If for some reason your unit is not in the Logitech database the remote has a learning feature that lets you upload every function of your original remote into the Logitech database. You also get to name the button- no more trying to figure out that SSS means "Standard Surround Sound". May not sound like a big deal but when toggling through the LCD buttons on the remote and you have a complex Surround sound machine, the abbreviations other users come up with can be crazy!

As for flaws - not enough to knock off a star. The load time takes longer than I expected - every time you set up your remote on the computer you have to "synch" it with the computer to upload your settings. This takes awhile as the software actually stores your remote profile on a Logitech database. You don't have to enter your personal information to register the remote, just a log-in and password. The good of the online database is that if your computer crashes you don't lose your remote settings. I have a 3mb/sec connection and it is slow; very frustrating when "tweaking" the remote but once you're done does not become an issue (so not worth knocking down a star).

Some users might argue that it is too hard to figure out the software but consider this: with every new software program there is a "learning curve". I did have to spend a few hours getting to know the software, playing with settings, getting everything "perfect" but now I am pretty familiar with the software and can do about anything with the remote. My remote can control my home theater system (TV, cable box, PS3, DVD recorder, A/V surround sound system), my bedroom TV and DVD player, Mutlimedia PC and PC speakers.

I will never be without a Logitech Universal remote again!!! I highly recommend this to anyone with several components in their home theater system. Put those 8 remotes you were thumbling around with out of sight!!! Just remember - if you only have a couple devices in your setup this may not be worth the initial setup trouble. Keep that in mind while you shop.

Works but not the most convenient
The set up was a bit tedious. Once set up it works fine except for when changing between input sources i.e. DVD, VCR, or cable. Changing input sources usually requires between 3-4 selections which isn't much trouble but not the most convenient either. I can't imagine the battery will last long because of these multi selection processes but nonetheless this replaces a four remote set up.

Sony Bravia KDL 46s4100
Philips HT 3565
Comcast DVR
Sony VCR RDRVXD655

Works ... but unimpressed with ease of use, efficiency, interface.
I paid only half the retail price for this remote, and even taking that whopping discount into consideration, I was unimpressed.

First, the device database is not comprehensive. There are only 3 "major" brands of HDMI switches on the market, and Belkin is one of them. This device doesn't have my Belkin 3x1 hdmi switch in their database so i had to teach the remote codes, and after all that trouble, it "found" a similar Belkin device with the same codes.

The "activities" function works OK, but the preset options are limited so most functions need to be manually programmed and renamed. For example, I have a media center PC for BluRay, an HD-DVD player for HD-DVD, and a 5-disc home theater for regular DVD. So I have three optical disc devices to choose from, not to mention the numerous other formats to watch a video. The Harmony comes preset with only one "watch a video" activity. I suspect the average buyer for this remote prolly has even more options than me, including streaming media players, etc. Each activity beyond the preset 5 will need to be manually added, not automatically programmed. And manual programming, while fairly straightforward, also takes quite a bit of time (a couple hours in my case). Two hours may seem well worth it to some users, but not to me.

Because of limitations with the Activities functionality, I end up using the Devices option to control many functions. The Devices function requires scrolling thru many pages of options just to find a basic function. This scrolling is very inefficient, usually taking many more clicks than the original remotes that came with each component. It drives me up the wall to scroll thru so many pages for basic AV tasks.

I understand there is limited physical space on the Harmony, but basic controls like Favorites, Recall and Setup should have dedicated buttons and not require scrolling thru different pages on the LCD. Although many of the buttons on the Harmony can be reprogrammed, the Harmony's programmable buttons already have vital functions assigned. Only an "A" and "B" button are unassigned and lend themselves to custom programming. This remote would have greatly benefited from a few more dedicated buttons for the most popular tasks.

To top it off, the number buttons (used to enter channels) at the bottom of the remote are too small and hard to press. And the dedicated Sound and Picture buttons don't control the sound and picture of my TV, and can't be reprogrammed, so those buttons are wasted.

Bottom line: If your setup is at all like mine with multiple "video watching" options, be aware that using this one remote may save space and reduce clutter, but may not save time or aggravation.

Best Remote
It took me a little time to get it set up, but once I finished, it is the best remote I have ever used.

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