Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote Control by Logitech
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Our Price: $175.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $70.00 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote Control
Digital camera Review: Above-average mass-market learning remote
Summary: 4 Stars
I just deleted my year-old review to write this update. I have worked in I.T. for nearly 8 years, and I configure new systems and new technology (both hardware and software) every single workday.
This remote is worth considering if you have standard consumer A/V components. Do NOT buy this remote if you have anything else, such as a media PC; the configuration process is not worth your time.
After one year, my remote barely functions. It's only been lightly used, and I'm very disappointed.
Digital camera Review: Absolutely the best for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I are DIY'ers, so our entertainment system has a lot of different pieces that all play through each other, and for every function except listening to the radio, more than one piece has to be turned on; even for listening to the radio there was more than one button-click, as we had to turn on the stereo and switch it to the tuner if radio wasn't the last thing we had used.
A couple of years ago when we had four separate remotes we decided to try one of the cheap universals (I think we paid $30), and it didn't work at all so we took it back pretty quickly. After moving into a new apartment we decided to drop our cable and just get an over-the-air signal, so we were down to three remotes: TV, stereo, and DVD. But now that we have the digital converter box, we're back up to four. Then hubby also hooked up his Xbox, which didn't add a remote, but added yet another function.
So to watch the TV once we got the converter box, we had to:
-Turn on the digital converter box
-Turn on the stereo
-Switch the stereo to TV/Sat if it wasn't there already
-Turn on the TV
-Switch the TV to Video 1
For a grand total of 4 or 5 separate button presses on three different remotes.
The Logitech universal remote only cost about twice as much as the crappy one that didn't work, and it costs at least half as much as all of the big, expensive models. I'm sure that paying $120+ would have gotten me a better remote than this one, but for $60 I have zero complaints. My hubby had no problem setting it up; once he had done the online thing, everything worked perfectly, with only one button click to start doing any of our system's functions, and no annoying switching modes on the remote.
One small quirk was that if we tried to go from one function to another without turning everything off in between, the digital converter box wasn't turning off and on correctly, so it got out of phase with the TV (so it was off when the TV was on and v/v). However, the remote can also "learn" from other remotes, and after playing around with that for a bit and going back online, everything now works 100% perfectly. "Play Game" is even a function for the Xbox! There is nothing I would have gained from buying a more expensive remote than this one, except for maybe ten minutes of setup time, and that's certainly not worth twice the price.
A++ for the Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote!
Digital camera Review: Almost Perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
This remote is about 97% customizable, meaning you can program any button to send any IR signal out there. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is due to the sluggishness of the remote. If you press the volume up or down repeatedly, then the remote can't keep up.
If you have a multicomponent A/V system with more remotes than you can count, then this remote is probably for you. I guarantee this remote will replace every one of your remotes, however the sluggishness of this remote proves to be somewhat of a nuisance.
Digital camera Review: Almost Perfect!
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently purchased this remote and I must say, it does ALMOST everything i need it to do. It controls my TV, DVR, DVD player, Xbox, and the fan in my room, yes, a fan. I chose this product over other logitech harmony remotes b/c i've read of cradle issues with the rechargable versions, it looks the best to me (besides the 1000 and One), and it's one of the cheapest!
Pros: Setting it up was easy once you have the software installed and you know the model number for each of your items. Setting up the "Activities" is easy. Once all your "Devices" are added, you can create an "Activity" like Watch PVR, or Watch DVD, Game Console, etc... It recognizes the inputs/outputs on my TV and it will automatically change the video input and power off each device once it's not in use, all from 1 click of the button.
Cons: One complaint that i have is the default mapping for buttons on the remote. For instance,it mapped all the buttons for my DVD player (Philips 5960) but it mapped the Fwd and Rev buttons to my Channel Up and Down buttons on the remote. Why didn't they just map it to the FWD and RWD buttons on the Remote. Before you think that the remote doesn't work well, i suggest the user familiarize him/herself with the way the software mapped the buttons. You can change it to your liking though, which i had to do. Another complaint is the making the remote learn codes. Maybe it's the fault of my fan, but it just wouldn't learn some of the buttons. And the Fan remote is actually in the database, under "Climate Control." I was surprised to have it even in there, but when i "train" the remote to learn a code, i think it should work. but like i said, this could just be my fan, and i guess the remote isn't designed to work with fans anyway. But I can turn it on and off and adjust the speed. so it's not so bad after all.
Overall: I think Logitech did a good job with this remote. It does everything I initially intended this remote to do. I can watch tv, switch to watching a dvd, switch again to my Xbox, and all over again with just a single button click. my only recommendations would be to concentrate on their default mappings, add more documentation that's actually on paper with the remote, and if you list that you support something, please make sure it really works. but overall, i love this remote, i've gone from 4 remotes to 1!
Digital camera Review: Almost everything I've been looking for
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been looking for a device that can really control all of my devices. I also wanted it so that it connected to my computer so that I would have a backup of what is configured. This device absolutely meets those requirements. I found the setup very easy. I periodically go back and modify it to change/add some functionality. I am not completely happy with the keys. The worst is the small power off button near the top. This is the first control that is really allowing me to put away all the other controls. The few time I had to drag out the old controls to do something I merely played around with the configuration tools and added the functionality to the handset. I do find you have to hide your old handsets because this new handset remembers the state it has all the devices in when you do macro commands (this was an unexpected feature that I really have grown to love) and when someone turns on or off some device with the old control things get out of sync and you have to screw around a bit to get things to the state you want. I like that it is the size (if not smaller) than some of the original controls, I didn't want a console device like some of the high-end controls. For the price I couldn't be happier. You obviously have to have a computer and network connection to really use this product. I would like to see some changes in the software interface as well but if you compare it to the process of key entering configuration and changes on an old handset there's no comparison. It took a while to get my wife and kids to start using it. Change is difficult for some people. After tweaking some keys to do things they wanted that I don't do. Everybody is on board now. This review reminds me that I wanted another one for the family room to replace the multifunction one there just because the macro feature lets the kids configure the equipment with one button and currently the current control requires a rather long sequence (input settings for TV and turning on multiple devices) that the 6-year old never knows how to do and usually requires me either to set it up for her or to keep turning off some of the devices myself.