Logitech Harmony 880 LCD Remote Control
- Type: Universal
- Broadcasting Type: IR
- Devices Controlled: 15
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My Entertainment Equipment Is Working in Harmony
Pros
Easy to set up, very user friendly
Cons
A little (sometimes A LOT) tricky to get into its charging base
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Looking for an end to the confusion of three, four or five different remotes? Check out the Harmony 880 and let it do the thinking for you.
If you watched the first season if The Osbournes on MTV, you may remember a scene where a pharmaceutically addled Ozzy struggled to use his TV using a remote control so bulky it needed to be handled with both hands. As someone who last year graduated from a basic TV and DVD/VCR combo to an HDTV with home theater, I could relate to some of the Oz man's frustrations (although I didn't resort to yelling "Shar-on! Shar-on!!").
Thankfully, the Harmony 880 universal remote from Logitech is much more user-friendly than that, fitting into one hand and holding less buttons than most remote controls. And thanks to the computer-aided programming and multi-function buttons that have different functions depending on your activity, it's infinitely easier to manage your home entertainment experience using the Harmony remote than with any other universal remote I've tried.
To their credit, some manufacturers try to build cross-function capabilities into their remotes, and that's great. I could get my cable remote or home theater remote to turn on the TV and operate the volume. But only the cable remote would operate the digital cable box, so if I wanted to go from watching a DVD to something on my cable ON DEMAND menu, I needed to do that familiar remote-control juggling act to switch inputs on the new TV, change the audio settings, change the function on the home theater...it was enough to make me crazy.
No more.
Since the Harmony 880 was set up, I've banished my stack of remotes to a drawer in our coffee table.
The Basics
First and foremost, you need to know that the Harmony 880 requires that you have a computer with an Internet connection. The remote comes with software that downloads specific functions from the Internet to be able to use it.
Second, you need to know the manufacturers and model numbers of your equipment.
Third, you need to step back and think about how you watch TV and/or the various components in your entertainment setup. For example, if you have a surround sound system, do you use that every time you watch TV, or do you only use it if you're watching a movie on DVD? In my case, for instance, I tend not to use the surround sound for watching most "regular" television, relying on the TV's built-in speakers instead. The software that comes with the remote will guide you through the steps, but I'd recommend thinking about it in advance so you know what will work best for you when you enter the information online to set up the remote.
Don't worry though—if your habits change or you add new equipment, you can always go back and make corrections.
Setting Up
Once you charge the remote for the recommended several hours, you simply pop in the software CD and run it. The user interface is basic and intuitive, and asks you questions in relatively simple language (think TurboTax for a remote control), about which devices you use to perform different activities.
To give you an idea, in my setup, to watch TV (as opposed to watching a DVD), I told the software that my TV has to be set to input number six (where the cable box is connected), and that I control the volume on the TV itself. However, to change the channel, I use the cable box.
When I want to watch a DVD, the TV has to be set to input number seven, and I use the volume on the home theater (not the TV), which in turn has to be set to function "Video 2."
Confusing? You bet. And that doesn't even count things like using the home theater's FM tuner to listen to the radio…but let's not go there.
I gave the Harmony software all of the answers to its questions and it does the rest. By plugging in a mini-USB cable (supplied), the software tells the remote exactly what needs to happen when I want to do different tasks.
Using the Remote
The magic, as I call it, of the Harmony 880 is the LCD screen at the top of the remote, flanked by buttons on the left and right that change functions depending on what you're doing at any given time. (It's a similar principle to an ATM, where the buttons to the side of the screen may be to accept your PIN or to pick the account you're withdrawing from depending on where you are in your transaction.)
The Harmony as very simple labels for your basic activities—like "Watch TV," or "Watch DVD/Home Theater." All you need to do is push the button that lines up with the activity you want to do, and point the remote at your entertainment setup. It does the rest—toggling the power on the equipment that needs to be turned on, setting the proper input settings and assigning control of things like volume and channel selection to the device you use to run them.
To give you an idea of how detailed this can be, when I choose just the basic task of watching TV, the remote's LCD screen has some functions that tell the cable box to do certain things (like cycle through my favorite channels), while on the same screen it tells the TV to do other things (like stretch the picture if I'm watching something that's not in widescreen format). All this without picking up different remotes to do it—it intuitively puts the most likely functions at your fingertips, no matter which device needs to perform the function.
And should you encounter a problem along the way, the help button located near the top of the remote is there to ask simple questions to determine the problems you might be having. It goes through each device, and asks questions until it solves the issue.
Of course, there will be times you want to set things in your entertainment system up a little differently. For example, I might want to use surround sound for Lost. Easy enough—I just hit a button marked "devices," select my home theater, turn it on and select the input I need, all using the buttons marked on the Harmony remote. Sometimes this takes a bit more button pushing, but because I programmed the remote for the way I watch TV most of the time, those circumstances are the exception, not the rule.
As you become more comfortable with the remote and the software that controls it, you can go into the software to make more advanced adjustments if something isn't quite working the way you want, though I haven't encountered a need to do that yet.
A Little Extra Fun
Want to customize your Harmony 880? You can upload photos that will display in the background of the touch screen. You can pick one default image that displays whenever the remote is in use, and a series of additional images that display in rotation when the remote is being charged. I'm sure those who know me would be shocked that I found a picture of the Simpson family to use as my background image…but it certainly makes the remote feel like it's "mine."
Powering Up
The Harmony 880 uses a rechargeable battery and comes with a recharging base. If there's one downside to the remote, it's that keeping it snugly connected to the base to charge is an issue—it seems like a dust particle landing on the remote is enough to stop it from charging, but a rubber band can solve that issue. I'm an average TV user, and find I need to charge the remote about once a week for a few hours.
~~Update~~
A few weeks back, my Harmony 880 stopped charging altogether. I tried some of the tips posted on their help site, like tilting the base andcleaining the connectors with rubbing alcohol--all to no avail. After a relatively short and very polite call to their help line (and one follow-up e-mail when I didn't hear back in three days), a new charging cradle was shipped to me in about a week. So far, the new cradle has worked without incident.
As I dug deep into the online help archives while experiencing the problem, I saw a post that claimed (I don't know how true this is) there was a rush to get a design change to the 880 made before it went to market, and the bases didn't fit as well as a result. Whether the new bases are a more appropriate shape or they used some other fix, I've been happy once again now that I have a new charger.
Design
Simple and sleek, the Harmony 880 is a nice blend of "techie" with subtlety. The buttons don't protrude much, and it has a smooth, sleek appearance. The buttons have a backlight that activates when the remote senses it is being moved (the LCD screen turns off during inactive periods, too). Those with bad eyesight may have trouble seeing some of the labels, but that's hardly unique to this remote. You also may want to experiment with the background images you choose to see what works best when the text of the labels appears on the screen—I chose an image with a dark background so the white lettering stands out more.
The Final Call
Bring an end to remote-control clutter & confusion, and bring your entertainment system into Harmony as well (that sounds very Fung Shui). The setup is better than most other universal remotes, and it does infinitely more to help you focus on enjoying your TV and movies.
Thankfully, the Harmony 880 universal remote from Logitech is much more user-friendly than that, fitting into one hand and holding less buttons than most remote controls. And thanks to the computer-aided programming and multi-function buttons that have different functions depending on your activity, it's infinitely easier to manage your home entertainment experience using the Harmony remote than with any other universal remote I've tried.
To their credit, some manufacturers try to build cross-function capabilities into their remotes, and that's great. I could get my cable remote or home theater remote to turn on the TV and operate the volume. But only the cable remote would operate the digital cable box, so if I wanted to go from watching a DVD to something on my cable ON DEMAND menu, I needed to do that familiar remote-control juggling act to switch inputs on the new TV, change the audio settings, change the function on the home theater...it was enough to make me crazy.
No more.
Since the Harmony 880 was set up, I've banished my stack of remotes to a drawer in our coffee table.
The Basics
First and foremost, you need to know that the Harmony 880 requires that you have a computer with an Internet connection. The remote comes with software that downloads specific functions from the Internet to be able to use it.
Second, you need to know the manufacturers and model numbers of your equipment.
Third, you need to step back and think about how you watch TV and/or the various components in your entertainment setup. For example, if you have a surround sound system, do you use that every time you watch TV, or do you only use it if you're watching a movie on DVD? In my case, for instance, I tend not to use the surround sound for watching most "regular" television, relying on the TV's built-in speakers instead. The software that comes with the remote will guide you through the steps, but I'd recommend thinking about it in advance so you know what will work best for you when you enter the information online to set up the remote.
Don't worry though—if your habits change or you add new equipment, you can always go back and make corrections.
Setting Up
Once you charge the remote for the recommended several hours, you simply pop in the software CD and run it. The user interface is basic and intuitive, and asks you questions in relatively simple language (think TurboTax for a remote control), about which devices you use to perform different activities.
To give you an idea, in my setup, to watch TV (as opposed to watching a DVD), I told the software that my TV has to be set to input number six (where the cable box is connected), and that I control the volume on the TV itself. However, to change the channel, I use the cable box.
When I want to watch a DVD, the TV has to be set to input number seven, and I use the volume on the home theater (not the TV), which in turn has to be set to function "Video 2."
Confusing? You bet. And that doesn't even count things like using the home theater's FM tuner to listen to the radio…but let's not go there.
I gave the Harmony software all of the answers to its questions and it does the rest. By plugging in a mini-USB cable (supplied), the software tells the remote exactly what needs to happen when I want to do different tasks.
Using the Remote
The magic, as I call it, of the Harmony 880 is the LCD screen at the top of the remote, flanked by buttons on the left and right that change functions depending on what you're doing at any given time. (It's a similar principle to an ATM, where the buttons to the side of the screen may be to accept your PIN or to pick the account you're withdrawing from depending on where you are in your transaction.)
The Harmony as very simple labels for your basic activities—like "Watch TV," or "Watch DVD/Home Theater." All you need to do is push the button that lines up with the activity you want to do, and point the remote at your entertainment setup. It does the rest—toggling the power on the equipment that needs to be turned on, setting the proper input settings and assigning control of things like volume and channel selection to the device you use to run them.
To give you an idea of how detailed this can be, when I choose just the basic task of watching TV, the remote's LCD screen has some functions that tell the cable box to do certain things (like cycle through my favorite channels), while on the same screen it tells the TV to do other things (like stretch the picture if I'm watching something that's not in widescreen format). All this without picking up different remotes to do it—it intuitively puts the most likely functions at your fingertips, no matter which device needs to perform the function.
And should you encounter a problem along the way, the help button located near the top of the remote is there to ask simple questions to determine the problems you might be having. It goes through each device, and asks questions until it solves the issue.
Of course, there will be times you want to set things in your entertainment system up a little differently. For example, I might want to use surround sound for Lost. Easy enough—I just hit a button marked "devices," select my home theater, turn it on and select the input I need, all using the buttons marked on the Harmony remote. Sometimes this takes a bit more button pushing, but because I programmed the remote for the way I watch TV most of the time, those circumstances are the exception, not the rule.
As you become more comfortable with the remote and the software that controls it, you can go into the software to make more advanced adjustments if something isn't quite working the way you want, though I haven't encountered a need to do that yet.
A Little Extra Fun
Want to customize your Harmony 880? You can upload photos that will display in the background of the touch screen. You can pick one default image that displays whenever the remote is in use, and a series of additional images that display in rotation when the remote is being charged. I'm sure those who know me would be shocked that I found a picture of the Simpson family to use as my background image…but it certainly makes the remote feel like it's "mine."
Powering Up
The Harmony 880 uses a rechargeable battery and comes with a recharging base. If there's one downside to the remote, it's that keeping it snugly connected to the base to charge is an issue—it seems like a dust particle landing on the remote is enough to stop it from charging, but a rubber band can solve that issue. I'm an average TV user, and find I need to charge the remote about once a week for a few hours.
~~Update~~
A few weeks back, my Harmony 880 stopped charging altogether. I tried some of the tips posted on their help site, like tilting the base andcleaining the connectors with rubbing alcohol--all to no avail. After a relatively short and very polite call to their help line (and one follow-up e-mail when I didn't hear back in three days), a new charging cradle was shipped to me in about a week. So far, the new cradle has worked without incident.
As I dug deep into the online help archives while experiencing the problem, I saw a post that claimed (I don't know how true this is) there was a rush to get a design change to the 880 made before it went to market, and the bases didn't fit as well as a result. Whether the new bases are a more appropriate shape or they used some other fix, I've been happy once again now that I have a new charger.
Design
Simple and sleek, the Harmony 880 is a nice blend of "techie" with subtlety. The buttons don't protrude much, and it has a smooth, sleek appearance. The buttons have a backlight that activates when the remote senses it is being moved (the LCD screen turns off during inactive periods, too). Those with bad eyesight may have trouble seeing some of the labels, but that's hardly unique to this remote. You also may want to experiment with the background images you choose to see what works best when the text of the labels appears on the screen—I chose an image with a dark background so the white lettering stands out more.
The Final Call
Bring an end to remote-control clutter & confusion, and bring your entertainment system into Harmony as well (that sounds very Fung Shui). The setup is better than most other universal remotes, and it does infinitely more to help you focus on enjoying your TV and movies.
