Which Logitech universal remote do you all have?

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 2:44 pm

I know there is one certain one that a few of you have raved about. Which model number is it because there are around 5 of them it looks like.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:10 pm

The Harmony H880 is on it's way from my Logitech friend...it's the latest and greatest. Of course you know I'll be reporting back.

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:37 pm

Harmony SST-659. I've had it for probably 1.5 to 2 years now and love it. For the price you just can't beat it. Sure you could probably get something better but you would be paying $300+. Unless you are a home theater freak i don't see the reason. Harmony remotes all the way. Make sure to search around for deals on the net. Some websites will give you a good deal but can't post the price on the site for some reason. THey will tell you to send an email requesting the special price. Sorry, can't remember what site i got mine from.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:00 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:The Harmony H880 is on it's way from my Logitech friend...it's the latest and greatest. Of course you know I'll be reporting back.

I'll be curious to hear what you think, db. I've been holding off until this one is released and will look forward to your comments.

skidmark · Post by **skidmark** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:50 pm

I have the 676 and it has been great. I have hdtv, dvd, receiver, hddvr, xbox all hooked up and controlled by it, and everything works perfectly. The activity-based buttons are the way to go as you just setup what you want to do, and the touch of one button automatically turns on/off the necessary equipment and changes to the correct modes on each device. Each of the buttons on the remote is set to a meaningful default for each activity, but you can further customize each one further through their web interface.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 2:12 pm

thanks for the info, will see if I can get one cheap on ebay.

skidmark · Post by **skidmark** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 2:47 pm

I snagged mine at compuplus I believe. They've got it for just over $100 right now:
http://www.compuplus.com/insidepage.php ... id=1003679

eman · Post by **eman** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:49 pm

Its interesting that this should come up as I just purchased a Logitech Harmony 659 two weeks ago. I noticed Tiger Direct and buy.com had the unit for 69 dollars after rebate so I jumped.

After tweaking the 659 for a couple days I came to the realization that I didnt like it as much as the standard TIVO remote.

My gripes list with the 659 is as follows:

1. Its not thick enough. I didnt feel like I had adequate control of the remote with one hand - especially when accessing the buttons on the bottom of the remote.

2. Button feedback is weak. When releasing a depressed button on many remotes you'll feel the button snap back into place. On the 659 you really dont get this sensation which sometimes leads you to wonder if the button was depressed properly.

3. Button response time wasnt fast enough. Im a big TIVO fan and nothing is more important to me when watching TIVO than to have super fast button response time - especially when rewinding and fast forwarding through programming. FYI- I spent hours and hours tweaking the remote and I still came away somewhat disappointed.

For what its worth I didnt totally dislike the remote. The 659 control every device I threw at it - including a older Sony camcorder. The online setup and interface is straight forward.

Good luck

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:29 am

eman,

The button response thing was a big issue when the 659 was released. The first issue is that the tivo controls are at the bottom of the remote...that's the main problem. The second being the response time.

The 676 and the 680 bettered the design, putting the tivo controls in the middle, but it didn't really fix the response issue. The release of the 688 resolved that, as the buttons had a more precise feedback. Obviously the new 880 has improved that even more, and added the nice color screen.

As soon as my contact at Logitech gets me my 880, you know you'll have a full review, or at least impressions of it, as compared to the previous Harmony remotes...I have had or used them all.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:22 am

I have the 676. If it broke, I would be online ordering a new one withing 30 seconds...and weeping until it arrived

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:46 am

Harmony 688

And I must be a simpleton, because programming it is beyond me - it therefore acts as an expensive paperweight for my correspondence.

Didn't help that it was shipped with the wrong firmware, mind, and it took a 1 hour call to their (admittedly very helpful) support to sort it out. That probably put me off.

And the fact that it eats batteries.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:14 am

davet010 wrote:And the fact that it eats batteries.

Another issue the 880 has addressed...it's got a charging cradle for it's rechargable battery.

eman · Post by **eman** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 12:22 am

db, I agree. Button placement was a problem on the 659. Eventually I reprogrammed nearly every button to make it as similiar as the original TIVO remote as possible. Still, I couldnt resolve the response time so I gave up on it. Maybe I should try the 688??? Is the response time as good as the original TIVO remote?

I'll be curious to see what you think of the 880. Keep us posted.

Update- I just studied a few pics of the 688 and I like the button layout. I might try one.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:20 pm

has anybody used one of these remotes with a cable TV DVR or just Tivos?

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:12 pm

fsquid wrote:has anybody used one of these remotes with a cable TV DVR or just Tivos?

I've used mine with both TiVo and my Comcast DVR. Works like a charm.