Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote with Color Touch Screen

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Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote with Color Touch Screen

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recommended waiting for some "rev 2" of the Harmony One, I added the following comment:

"You may have received one that was produced very early in the manufacturing process. I got mine in February and have zero problems with accurate programming for my Yamaha RX-V3800, Sony KDS-60A2020, Toshiba HD-A20, Audiovox Sirius, XM Mini-tuner, Sony PS3/Blu-ray, and Nintendo Wii. I also have experienced no problems with the IR--in fact I can aim it anywhere in my 13 x 24 room, even at the rear corners, the ceiling, floor--anywhere, and everything powers on/off as programmed.

Folks, you don't need to wait for any "rev 2", just let it download and install the most current firmware and software. It's amazing how great, and intuitive this Harmony One is. And no, I am not affiliated with Logitech or any of its suppliers. I'm just a consumer who appreciates a well-engineered product that meets or exceeds expectations based on what it claims to do."

3/4/2008 update: In addition to the gear listed above, last night I installed my new Yamaha YDS-10 iPod dock that's paired with my Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver. This dock has no remote (nor does my XM mini-tuner) and it took me a just few minutes to figure out how to control it with my One, emulating my receiver's remote.

I also saw someone who complained that this remote is "huge".

In my opinion the size is perfect for me. It's about the size of the remote that came with the Scientific-American 8380HD cable DVR except the One is noticeably thinner, about the same size and thickness as the remote that came with my Toshiba HD-A20, and a great deal smaller than the remotes that came with my Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver and my Sony KDS-60A2020 RPTV.

I also like the size and layout options for the touch screen. You can change the physical buttons to do almost anything your equipment is capable of being controlled to do. For example, my HDTV has a button that cycles through the screen sizes, such as zoom, expanded zoom, etc. I changed the One's "E" button on the lower right to do this when I'm using the "Watch TV" activity. The physical buttons can be set to different functions for each activity if you want, or they can be set to the default for the specific make and model of your device for every activity. You can also create as many screens of functions (visually represented as icons) as needed to do simple, expanded or highly complex tasks. You can revise the layouts, reorder the icon displays, rename activities, on and on. Notice I said "you can" a lot, since you don't need to customize or create anything complex to do basic remote activities and functions unless you want to.

I started out easy by adding each of my devices (all of mine were found in the Logitech database just fine), then activities such as "Watch TV", "Play HD-DVD", "Listen to Sirius", etc. These activities power on all needed devices for the activity, and make sure all others are powered off. This was great for my wife, who only needs to pick up the remote (the backlight automatically illuminates) and touch "Watch TV". She shuttered every time she previously had to do that with all the devices' individual remotes, and sometimes needed to call on me to get things "unstuck". Admittedly, this was sometimes difficult for me too, especially when I bought my new A/V receiver.

Now I've been adding more customizations and more complex combinations and functions iteratively. As I use this remote I'll think of some other button or function I'd like to have and add that to a list, then every few days I'll add a bunch of them at one time. For me, this is fun.

I haven't had to read any manuals, although I did use the built-in Help button to resolve an operator error (I had specified the wrong function), which it did very effectively and intuitively. The PC software for programming the remote is top notch. I do have recommendations for making this a bit more user friendly, which I will be sharing with Logitech's customer support. I'll list one of them so you don't get nailed like I did: when customizing buttons and doing a lot of setup activities, beware that the application (into which you must logon) times out. When it does, you will lose every change you made since your last save. So, make several changes, save and keep going. None of my recommended software enhancements are critical, nor would any of them have prevented me from buying this. And none of them were cause to not give this my five-star rating.

Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote with Color Touch Screen

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of the buttons. This is the first remote I have had that I have not been able to manuever around it by touch. The keypad is too low, so it is difficult to dial in a channel.

Second, it seems this remote needs to be pointed at the devices. Holding the remote up in order to see it often causes the devices to ignore the signal.

Lastly, this remote has an annoying habit of forgetting some of its functions. Often when I select 'Watch TV' or 'Play DVD' the Harmony will forget to turn on one or more of the devices. Usually it will correct itself if you run through the Remote Assisstant, but then I would expect it to learn from it's mistakes; it doesn't.

All in all it is a nice remote. I was able to get it to control all of my devices. I just wish it was more consisten in what it memorized.