My first foray into the universal remote control world was the Kameleon 8 in 1 universal remote. Pretty cool concept, but if you had a cable box DVR (in other words, an integrated tuner/PVR type solution), the Kameleon fell short. Don't get me wrong, the Kameleon is a decent remote for the price, but the Kameleon expected to be able to define different functions based on device type- it can handle a PVR as a separate device.

The Harmony 880 is the Cadillac of the Harmony remote control line. Harmony has a reasonably long history of producing excellent remotes. The 880 is one of the first original models produced by Logitech since Logitech acquired Harmony.

Harmony's claim to fame is the ease of programming. You connect your remote via USB to your computer, download and install the Harmony remote control software, answer a few questions about your devices, and within about 15 minutes, your remote is programmed and ready to go. No custom programming, no frustrating sitting with two remotes pointed at each other to learn commands.

This remote is amazing. The Harmony 880 has (like all other Harmony remotes) an activities feature- for example, "Watch TV" or "Watch DVD" or "Listen to Radio" or "Listen to CD". The activities are displayed on the color screen on the remote, and you press the button next to the activity and off you go. The remote is smart enough to turn on what needs to be turned on, and if you switch activities, any unneeded devices are powered off. There is also a master off switch which will power down everything.

Once you select an activity, the color screen switches to a menu with any 'non-standard' keys that are not buttons on the remote. For example, my cable remote has an "a", "b" and "c" button that are replicated when I watch TV, as well as DVR functions to list recorded programs.

Dedicated keys include volume up/down, channel up/down, a number pad, VCR/DVD/DVR type keys for rewind, fast forward, play, record, guide, and info. There is also a 4 way circular selection pad with an enter button in the middle- which can be used to navigate your on screen cable tv channel guide.

The remote is so full featured that one thing that it suffers from is (at least for me) an inability to hold it one way where I can reach every key. A minor gripe to be sure, but something to be aware of. Also, the buttons feel somewhat cheap, which is out of place given the price of the remote.

The 880 has a hokey screen saver feature for the color screen, and the screen can be manually powered down with a dedicated key labelled glow. The screen will also power down by itself, and when picked up, turn the screen back on.

The 880 comes with a charging base and a lithium ion battery. The rechargable battery is replaceable, so once the battery in no longer able to hold a charge, the remote is still usable.

Is there such a thing as an 'investment grade" remote? I'd say the jury is still out on that one, but if you want a remote that will grow with your needs and always be easy to program, you need look no further than any of the Harmony remotes. They are expensive, but I was able to retire no less than 6 remotes and make it easy to control my entire home theatre system without making any sacrifices in functionality.