Logitech Harmony Xbox 360 Remote by Logitech
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Our Price: $239.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $125.00 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Logitech Harmony Xbox 360 Remote
Digital camera Review: Bargain in a great universal remote
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this remote to replace an exact duplicate that had worn out due to LOTS of use. It works great! I've tried a lot of universal remotes before finding this one that does a great job at a very reasonable price. The replacement went flawlessly as well. I just plugged the new remote into my PC and fired up the software. It detected it and allowed me to load my old programming in about 2 minutes. I was up and running that quick. I highly recommend if you are looking for a universal remote for a low price. The macro functions are great for setting up multiple devices with a single button click.Digital camera Review: Beautiful remote with great functionality, yet failed basic design
Summary: 3 Stars
i've been wanting a harmony remote for the last few months and once i saw that logitech made one for the 360, i snatched it up without hesitation. it really is as easy to set up as it's supposed to be and it worked all of my components flawlessly. ultimately, i was dissatisfied and returned it after a week of use, simply because i could not get used to the feel of the remote.
for something made by logitech, the ergonomics of the device are terrible. don't get me wrong - it works great and looks beautiful. it's just that the remote does not feel right in my hand and it's difficult to navigate by feel alone, as i constantly needed to look down at the remote to visually locate the correct buttons. it just wasn't as intuitive to use as previous remotes i've owned have been. you may notice from angled/profile views of the remote that it's razor thin near the top of the remote, and thicker towards the bottom. i feel that this design causes the remote to feel unbalanced in a user's hand, depending on which navigation buttons are being used. not only does it feel unbalanced to hold, but the weight and design of the device does not even allow it to lay down horizontally when placed on a table; rather, it rests at a slight diagonal from top to bottom. its thinness is nice (even at it's thickest point, near the base, it's still quite thin), but i think that consistency from top to bottom would have been a better design choice.
my biggest complaint with the remote lies with the channel up/down and volume up/down buttons, which unfortunately are the buttons everyday users will tend to use most frequently. while most of the buttons on the remote have a soft, easy to press feel to them, the main controls (the dvd navigational arrows, ok button, glow button, and volume and channel controls) are made of a stiff material that must be pressed in quite hard to the point of a noticeable "click". while i actually preferred this "click" with the glow button, the dvd navigation buttons felt awkward to use and the volume and channel controls (which are barely raised above the surface of the remote) were frustratingly unnatural to manipulate. it was not instinctive for me to simply hold the remote with one hand and raise or lower the volume with a few gentle presses, but rather it felt necessary for me to hold the remote balanced with one hand while using a fingernail or fingertip from the other hand to precisely press the button all the way down for that "click".
i really, really wanted to keep this remote for its stylish looks and wonderful harmony functioning. however, after much debate, i decided i just couldn't hold onto it due to the frustration it caused me every time i tried to change a channel or raise or lower the volume.
overall, with the advanced universal remote for the xbox 360, logitech has developed a product that succeeds with flying colors on its functionality, but ultimately fails in its design. this is a surprising failure coming from a company like logitech. i'm debating trying out the harmony 880. hopefully, i'll find the 880 more ergonomically satisfying.
Digital camera Review: Best $70 I spent in a long time.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Xbox 360 remote by logitech was worth every penny I paid for it. The remote was very easy to setup and the software was a snap to operate. I wish I would have bought this remote a long time ago.Digital camera Review: Best Harmony for DirecTV HD+ DVR
Summary: 4 Stars
Since I don't have a Xbox 360 I should explain why I have two of these Harmony Xbox 360 remotes to control two DirecTV model HR20 DVRs and other components. The DirecTV HD DVR Models HR20 and HR21 come with a remote that uses number codes to program volume, mute, power, etc. to your HDTV and A/V receiver sound. I found none of the supplied codes worked control my Yamaha A/V receiver. I first tried Harmony models 659 and 720, Both worked but did not have the color buttons that DirecTV uses extensively for the onscreen Guide and other displays ( Example red and green advance the Guide +/-by 12 hr jumps). Also the DVR controls on these other Harmony remotes are in the bottom third and out of balance in the hand.
Then I discovered the Xbox 360 had 4 color buttons that the DirecTV HR20 remote also uses, and the eight DirecTV DVR controls mapped perfectly to the eight Xbox 360 DVR/DVD controls which are well placed, bigger and easier to use . The other button arrangements on the Xbox 360 also matched the DirecTV remote better too. I was able to program the DirecTV Red, Green, Blue functions to the Xbox 360 color buttons. The yellow button is used for "Guide" since that is the label provided below yellow on the Xbox 360. This required programing a LCD button for Yellow and putting the DirecTV "list" function on the LCD. Actually this worked out well because now "Guide" is easy to spot as the yellow button. One minor issue was the Harmony database for "Blue" did not work for the DirecTV HR20, but it easily "learned" this IR command from the DirecTV remote for blue.
All the other functions of my home theater also programmed well and the Xbox 360 Harmony completely forgot it ever had any association with the Xbox on the first software download to the remote. I liked this Xbox 360 remote arrangement so well I got a second one when we added a second DirecTV HR20 HD + receiver.
The only reason I did not give this remote 5 stars is the same issue others have noted- the number keys are too small. They work OK using a finger-nail tip, but would be easier if they were bigger.
Digital camera Review: Best Harmony remote so far
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my 4th Harmony remote, and my favorite so far (others have been 688, 680, and 520). In particular, this model has the best ergonomics of any I've tried. There are several different styles and textures of buttons, making it easy to find the right button in the dark without looking. It's also very light and comfortably weighted, and it has a very large number of programmable buttons, giving you more programmable buttons instead of dedicated buttons such as "Sound" "Pic" and "Media" on some other Harmony models, which I've found to be of limited use.
Although designed to work well with the XBox 360, it is a good choice even if you don't have an XBox. It's concession to the XBox 360 is 4 colored Y,X,A,B buttons, but they can be used for other functions as well. For the XBox 360 it works fine, although it only provides the same functions as the XBox 360 infrared remote. Some functions of the XBox 360 are not controllable through infrared and require the XBox 360 controller.
As with all Harmony remotes, setup requires a computer with a USB port and internet connectivity, and is a bit slow since it goes through a web site. However, set up is easy, and once it is configured it works flawlessly, automatically determining which input and power settings need to be changed for whatever activity you choose. A minor limitation is that it will only handle up to 12 components, while most other Harmony models go to 16.