Harmony 880 Remote [Archive]

JM Anthony

12-22-05, 12:41 AM

Just got one of these puppies today and so far I'm pretty impressed. It replaces an MX-700 that no one really liked to use (not even me). Setup on the 880 was a piece of cake - plug in device, manufacturer, and model number. Configuring different functions was also a snap as the 880 walked you through the setup decisions you had to make. All very intuitive. This one looks like it will score some points (or erase some black marks depending on your perspective) with my wife and daughters. More notes to follow after I've had a chance to use it for a while.

John

DonLandis

12-22-05, 01:47 AM

I have the MX-800 which is the same as your 700 except it came with the UHF repeater system for control of devices inside a cabinet. I spent quite a bit of time learning and programming the 800 to the point I would not want to repeat the process. However there is one feature your Harmony has that I wish the 800 had. LiION rechargeable station. about 4 times a year I need to put in fresh batteries and it is always an inconvenient time. I'm also curious as to how their smart macro program works compared to the macro programming on the 700/800..

The color LCD screen is impressive but it it a touch screen? That would be cool. I've been thinking about trying out an IR program for my IPAQ which would be a touch screen remote control.

Compared to others, I've tried to use the 800 is the first one my wife can use to do some major watching while I'm away. She has it down now because I have the 800 programmed for one button operation. It turns on the system, dims the lights lowers the screen and switches to one of six sources for volume channel or DVD /VCR controls. Now that she has learned it, I woul;d have a black mark if I changed it. LOL!

Anyway, let me know how those new macros work in that autosetup mode. 2

Ron Barry

12-22-05, 02:20 AM

The 880 screen is not a touch screen. Me and Jason will soon be proud owners of an 880 and I am sure we will post our thoughts on it as soon as we use them a bit.

Nick

12-22-05, 04:58 AM

The 880 screen is not a touch screen. Me and Jason will soon be proud owners of an 880 and I am sure we will post our thoughts on it as soon as we use them a bit."Me and Jason"??? Surely, you meant to say "Jason and I."

Are you two together or something, and do the two of you have collective thoughts?

:rolleyes:

ibglowin

12-22-05, 08:58 AM

Hey I've been looking at one of those as well, keep us posted how you like it.

I held off due to some complaints about the unit not resting in the charge cradle very well and all the small buttons on the remote.

Where did you get yours? If you look around you can find a pretty good price on these online.

Bogy

12-22-05, 11:26 AM

Capmeister

12-22-05, 11:39 AM

I have to get some kind of unified remote, because I am tired of my wife always complaining that she can't watch TV in the family room without someone to turn it on for her. I'll be watching the comments here with great interest.

For a cheap but excellent remote, Bogy, that's very easy for the family to use, I have this:

http://www.remotecentral.com/ureview/69.htm

Got it for $20 on ebay.

Ron Barry

12-22-05, 11:45 AM

"Me and Jason"??? Surely, you meant to say "Jason and I."

Are you two together or something, and do the two of you have collective thoughts?

:rolleyes:

Ofcourse Nick. Given the day I had yesterday and it is continuing today I am lucky to even spell "I" right.

As to the cradle problem. I have read about it and there they have fixed it. Hopefully I get a version with the fix or I might have to do an exchange with Logitech..

From what I have read.. This remote has a very high WAF.

steelhorse

12-22-05, 11:47 AM

Santa might bring me a 880. I am anxious to play with it.
Oh, what is waf?

Ron Barry

12-22-05, 11:50 AM

WAF = Wife Acceptence Factor

Bogy

12-22-05, 12:17 PM

My wife has gone along with all my home theater purchases, but if I can get the simplest remote possible for her it would be a great present for me. :)

DonLandis

12-22-05, 03:24 PM

Bogy- The MX800, expensive by this thread's standards, has a "sidekick" remote that is greatly simplified. It is updated with the master remote.

I feel this way. If you have a rather complex Home theater with lots of stuff that needs operated, the only way is a robust programmable remote control with macros. If you can manage to have your main receiver do all the switching then you can get by with a simple remote control as long as you can get it to at minimum turn the stuff on. Once you begin to switch video in a scaler/switcher and the audio in your receiver, I think you become a candidate for the macro programmable remote. In this case the only alternative is to use all the remotes dedicated to each device to turn that device on. Some devices can be left in the on state when they are powered down with the receiver switched outlets. Some can't. The issue with the WAF seems to be how to teach her to turn on the device and then the screen and then the sound. A well laid out macro remote is the only solution.

What I found was that the simpler macro programmables were too difficult to program and often had limitations that set up exceptions. The MX800 was the first button hand held remote I used that completely eliminated the exceptions. Using a computer to build the macros was a real nice way to handle that part. You just needed to learn the software. The Harmony named seems to have this capability.

Device codes are not the Holy Grail either. I found them a good starting point but most needed additions and button changes, therefore make sure the remote is a "learning Remote. Not just a remote that you enter the device codes. Finally, be sure the remote you buy will be non-obsoleted by new hardware. It should have an excellent support base. This is why the Pronto is so popular because it probably has the best support base out there. I just don't like the style and prefer a more traditional button remote.

Now, after all this I did find one feature limitation on the MX800. I don't know if it is on the Harmony or not. Some time back I needed to set some DVHS timers for recording HD programs. The MX800 fails as it has no timer based executable macros. I ended up having to buy a Sony and after learning how to program it, used that to set up a timer to switch my DVHS VCR to record unattended.

DonLandis

12-22-05, 05:11 PM

If you are fed up with having to deal with the WAF. Heres a remote to fight back!

JM Anthony

12-22-05, 09:17 PM

I got mine in a couple of days from Comp U Plus. First time I dealt with these guys and have no complaints. Righteous price - $173. This is the first fairly comprehensive remote (no true macros, but the ability to program activities overcomes a lot of that) that I was able to set up and get up and running in short order (all components entered, configured, and programmed in 20-30 min. tops). Plus it was fun to do!! It's also very intuitive which I like so if I need to make changes six months from now, I don't have to reinvest a big chunk of time to do so.

Set up for "activities" truly is a snap. Watch DVD, for example, has me select from the input options for my TV set, select whether audio is to played back through TV or my receiver, since it's the latter I need to select the audio input for my receiver and then I'm pretty much good to go.

While I haven't had a chance to test this one yet, I was able to set up an activity for my home theater PC and it appears the remote will control Windows Media Center. That's a bonus I hadn't expected.

I like the display although the visuals could be a little bigger for these old eyes. Form factor for the remote itself is nice.

Definitely worth a look.

John

Bogy

12-22-05, 09:23 PM

My system isn't that complex,
Home Theater Receiver
DVD player
Toshiba Tivo DVR-DVD burner
VCR
Digital Cable box
Playstation 2
standard TV (for now)

I know what is needed to do whatever, and the kids seem to figure it out, but my wife just gets frustrated. She isn't that technically illiterate, its just so seldom that she gets to sit down and watch anything that it isn't worth it to her to learn. She wants to sit down, push a button, and watch tv.

I definately need macros. Right now I have things set up so everything will play through the component input on the monitor, and then I can change it to the better inputs for myself. It would be nice to have the macros so that everyone could enjoy the best signal possible.

I don't want to spend any more than I have to, to do what I need, and while it would be nice to have it as easy to set up as possible, the most important thing is to have it operate as simply as possible. Thanks for the input.

Jason Nipp

12-22-05, 10:11 PM

"Me and Jason"??? Surely, you meant to say "Jason and I."

Are you two together or something, and do the two of you have collective thoughts?

:rolleyes:We both ordered a couple 880's. I already have a Harmony 659 and I really like that. So if the 880 is any reflection of the 659 I am sure it's a great remote. I have had several learning remotes, including a Pronto Pro NG and a Pronto Neo.... For ease of setup and granny friendly operation..... I feel good recommending the Harmony remotes.

Richard King

12-22-05, 10:51 PM

While I don't have an 880, I do have a very early generation Harmony and it is great. I just got 5 880's in for customers yesterday, the last 5 that my distributor had in stock. I was going to order 6 so that I could keep one, but no such luck. Maybe in the next order. :D

JM Anthony

12-22-05, 11:26 PM

Bogy

12-23-05, 01:08 PM

Attached is a copy of the user manual. This will give you a better idea of the remote's capabilities and setup requirements. Bogy, I think you should check this out as I think you'd be surprised by its capabilities. Runs my home theater like one of the Pros from Dover.

John
Thanks John. I am interested in this. The LCD screen with the choices of "watch TV" ect. should be simple enough that even my mother could use it. I'll have to see how much cash I get for Christmas. :)

Ron Barry

12-23-05, 01:43 PM

Bogy,

Here is a review thread on avsforums that provides some other points of view.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=581474

JM Anthony

12-23-05, 02:27 PM

Should have mentioned this before, but on/off commands are discrete and the database for devices/setup seems to be pretty intelligent. I've got a Samsung DLP and before you can switch inputs from a cold start, it needs 10-15 seconds to warm up. The 880 "knows" that so on all of the activities that involve the Sammy, it pauses the required time before sending the command to change input. Pretty cool!!

John

PS - Ron - thnx. for the AVS link. Turns out the remote does work with MCE!! How sweet it is. Now I'm truly down to one remote for everything (electronic at least) that inhabits the Family Room.

Bogy

12-26-05, 11:38 PM

I'll probably be ordering an 880 tomorrow. Wasn't hard to convince my wife that this would be a good idea. What really clinched it for me was that with one of our daughters home for Christmas I was called into the family room at least 3 times on Saturday to "fix" the TV. Then I have to figure out what they pushed to get things screwed up in the first place. I think all three times it was a matter of the TV either having been turned off (not much difference in how it looks turned off and without a signal) or changed to the wrong input. Considering right now you don't HAVE to change the input to get a signal (only if you want the best signal possible), it was a little frustrating. Hopefully I will get mine delivered AFTER everyone who got one in their stocking gets their's programmed so I can get on the website. :D

Jason Nipp

12-28-05, 06:18 PM

You'll Love it Bogy, Now that I have had a few days to play with the 880 I can vouch for it.

However.... If my budget wouldn't permit the cost of an 880, I will be the first to admit any of the other models works about the same. The color display is nice, but truly is just cosmetic. The only feature the 880 has that I think would make my 659 better, besides transport button location, is the charging dock. If you use these remotes regularly they do eat batteries, especially if you adjust the back light timeout to a reasonable duration. The 880 is rechargeable thru the dock.

What I don't like about the 880 is the turbidity sensor. This remote detects motion and wakes the LCD. It turns on if the dog farts 20 feet away. Minor dislike but it is a dislike just the same.

DonLandis

12-28-05, 06:45 PM

It has a dog fart detector? Cool!

JM Anthony

12-28-05, 08:24 PM

. . . What I don't like about the 880 is the turbidity sensor. This remote detects motion and wakes the LCD. It turns on if the dog farts 20 feet away. Minor dislike but it is a dislike just the same.

Not true. Kramer was by my side, not more than 3' from the 880, when he broke wind. He'd had some chili with onions and cheddar cheese earlier in the day, so he was pretty rich. While he got my attention, the remote remained transfixed.

John

Jason Nipp

12-28-05, 08:49 PM

Bogy

12-28-05, 09:59 PM

I ordered mine last nite, and I received the tracking # tonite. I am hoping the docking station will encourage my kids to leave it where I can find it. :)

Jason Nipp

12-28-05, 11:22 PM

Ya right, and I am sure they do what they are told and don't back talk either? :rolleyes: As much as these remotes cost, a locate beeper would be a nice feature.

Laverne

12-28-05, 11:32 PM

I ordered mine last nite, and I received the tracking # tonite. I am hoping the docking station will encourage my kids to leave it where I can find it. :)That was my thought as well. Guess great minds think alike! :D

As for talking back, well that's another matter... :nono2: :rolleyes:

Bogy

12-29-05, 12:38 AM

My kids always do what they are told. It might take them a couple of months, but... :lol:
How could they talk back? They would have to hear what I said in the first place. :D

Jason Nipp

12-29-05, 12:59 AM

Something to look forward to Bogy. ;)

Bogy

12-29-05, 11:11 AM

Cool. I AM looking forward to it. :) My wife is looking forward to throwing the other six remotes in a drawer. :D

Ron Barry

12-29-05, 11:36 AM

Bogy,

I just got mine last night. I have not had a lot of time to really take it through its paces but so far I am pleased. There are some things I am not too keen on, but I believe this to be the case of not being familar.

Here are a couple of my likes and dislikes so far.

Likes:
---------
Easy programming concept. Not a lot to do to get activity based functionality. I had to do a lot to acheive the same thing with the pronto. This is the case of given up some flexiability in the remote in exchange for ease of programming. I think the trade off is a good one.

Color Screen. Nice.. But I would change the default to large text.

Nice look....

Well thought out feature set. Going to enjoy the screen saver. have not looked at how to add the channel button icons yet but it is there.

Dislikes
-----------
The Web based UI is clumbsy and takes some time to get use to. I do UI work in real life and have a background in usability. This site lacks in this area. Once I got use to it, I was fine but it took some time. Too many wizards in the UI.

My 921 was set to address 7 and had UHF plugged in. I could not get the 880 to work under this address. I had to remove my UHF antenna and set the addy to 1 to get things going. It says in the info that the 921 and 811 require that your UHF antenna be disconnected for IR to work. I am almost certain my 811 has the UHF antenna connected and I am using IR today, but I could be wrong.

I did not see any easy way to set the remote addy and it listed a number of IR command sets (or something like that) that was not related to remote addresses and really did not make a lot of sense. I went with the default and it seems to work.

Some buttons are on the small side.

Tip
-----
You need to gather up each device's information. Mainly make and model. Get what inputs on your TV or AV go to what device. This will make things go quicker.

Turn down your interkey timeout. I currently have my at 200ms but going to most likely try an lower it more.

I am sure I will have more over the weekend, but that is it.

Jason Nipp

12-29-05, 01:28 PM

...looking forward to throwing the other six remotes in a drawer. Be sure to pull the batteries on the ones you throw in a drawer to prevent the batteries from leaking.

Jason Nipp

12-29-05, 01:38 PM

Color Screen. Nice.. But I would change the default to large text. That was the first thing I did. Too squished when in 6 activity button mode.

Going to enjoy the screen saver. have not looked at how to add the channel button icons yet but it is there. You can also do wallpapers and slide shows on the remote. But I have to say it distracts from the button labels and text.

It says in the info that the 921 and 811 require that your UHF antenna be disconnected for IR to work. I am almost certain my 811 has the UHF antenna connected and I am using IR today, but I could be wrong. I never has to remove the antenna. I think they recommend that cause addy 1 is default, and they understand the risk of a neighbor taking control if you leave the antenna on.

I did not see any easy way to set the remote addy and it listed a number of IR command sets (or something like that) that was not related to remote addresses and really did not make a lot of sense. I went with the default and it seems to work. The only way around this is to relearn each code with the other address. But I found doing this you loose discrete power codes on the 811 by doing this.

Tip
-----
Make sure the remote is charged before you try to set it up. ;)

Bogy

12-29-05, 02:58 PM

Obviously the biggest complaint about the Harmony is the web based software. I did notice on the remote control forum that was linked earlier that (I think) a mod said a new and improved version of the software is supposed to be coming. One of the things I appreciate, and that helped convince me to buy one, is that Logitech continues to add upgrades to the 880. One of those improvements is the logos have been improved, and I saw last night that the person who designed the original logos was very unhappy with their quality, and was very happy they had made the switch to his improved icons. That kind of continuing development, and the ability in the product to utilize the updates, makes for a continually improving experience. It does give hope that the web site will finally improve as well. :D

Ron Barry

12-30-05, 10:37 PM

Well I have had more time to play with it. I am liking this remote more and more. The help feature is really cool. I am running into some device control issues that crop up when units don't have discrete codes. I did run into an issue with my multi DVD Yamaha player. I tried to set up Media choices, but looks like that is the wrong thing to do. So I just added the DVD disc selection buttons as activity buttons.

Also.. There is no PVR specific button. Need to add that one since it is heavily used. Setting it up for the HT downstairs was painless. For some reason I can't get it to communicate with my Tape Deck, but hardly use it and that is not a big deal.

You are going to enjoy this remote bogy. Family is finding it really easy to use.

Jason Nipp

12-30-05, 10:53 PM

Ya, you'll need to remap one of the other buttons for the "DVR" key. Notice view and exit are pretty much the same thing. ;) Otherwise move it to the display area. Upstairs I used the # key.

JM Anthony

12-31-05, 12:03 AM

I agree with Ron. The more I use this remote the better I like it. I also think it's pretty reasonably priced. The only bad news is that I had to plow my way through 3 or 4 other high end remotes before I came across this one!!!

John

Cholly

12-31-05, 11:47 AM

If you are fed up with having to deal with the WAF. Heres a remote to fight back!
:icon_lol:

Cholly

12-31-05, 12:22 PM

I have both a Harmony 676 and a HTM MX500. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I prefer the Harmony, although the HTM has easier learning capability.
I changed my home theater configuration with my recent move to North Carolina. In my den, I now have my Sony 32" HD monitor receiver, Onkyo HTIB, Panasonic EMR-75V DVD Recorder/VCR and a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR (cable STB). Last night, I sat down to reprogram the Harmony, and deleted several devices and activities. I changed surround receivers from my Yamaha RX-V657 to my Onkyo HTR-510, requiring that all activities be updated, which was somewhat of a pain.
The Harmony website has been updated since I'd last used it, and the wizards seem better than I remembered, although I had to resort to help several times because the button list for the HTR-510 that Harmony had didn't include the DVD device button, which I had to add. That resulted in the Harmony software requesting learning of ALL the device buttons. That caused problems initially, because my MediaCenter computer is runniing Norton Internet Security, which inhibited communication with the web site. Harmony's help module indicated I had to disable both Internet Security and Norton Antivirus in order to complete the programming of the remote.
In programming a Harmony remote, I echo strongly Ron Barry's tip about recording all your device information. You'll need it!
I still have some tweaking to do in order to get things running the way I want. Biggest problem: I' using the HDMI output on my HD cable box (8300HD) to feed the DVI input on my Sony TV. In order to get the HDCP handshaking to work properly, the TV needs to be on and booted before the cable box, or the handshake will fail. That means I have to turn the cable box off and then back on. I have to figure how to change the sequence of turning devices on and adding a delay.
Regarding using the 811 with the Harmony: I had no problems with IR control of either the 811 or 721 once I did some device code tweaking. (As I recall, I had to use the setup menu on my 311 to assist in reconfiguring the 811).

drsimnal

01-02-06, 10:03 AM

Bogy

01-02-06, 02:08 PM

My 880 has been sitting at UPS 45 miles away since Saturday. Tomorrow will be the day. :)

Ron Barry

01-02-06, 02:45 PM

I got an 880 a few days ago from Fry's. It even turned on my FP hung on the ceiling without trouble! And, it worked on my 921 without me taking off the RF antenna. However, I can't figure out how to access the recorded programs on the DVR with the 880. Have any of you had success with this?

You need to go into the activities for watch TV and add a button choice that will show up on the LCD screen. The other way to do it is to map it to a particular button. Key here is do it through the activities. Well guess you could do it at the device level and but I did it at the activity level.

Also, I would add a aspect button or map a button for Aspect and search while you are at it.

Richard King

01-02-06, 04:23 PM

Key here is do it through the activities.Excellent idea. I will have to try that with my VERY old first generation Harmony and see if that will work.

drsimnal

01-03-06, 07:58 AM

You need to go into the activities for watch TV and add a button choice that will show up on the LCD screen. The other way to do it is to map it to a particular button. Key here is do it through the activities. Well guess you could do it at the device level and but I did it at the activity level.

Thanks for the input! I tried this last night and it worked perfectly! I'm really pleased with my 880. I'm not all that savvy when it comes to technology, but I haven't really experienced much difficulty getting this remote to control everything. One problem I had and fixed was when I hit "Watch DVD" it would turn on my AVR and DVD player which are near each other, but my FP is on the ceiling far away. Miraculously, it would come on too, but would be in the wrong mode. I could get it to work by hitting help, but was able to lengthen the warm up time via the H880 programming and now it's perfect. Now, even my mom could turn on the system if she wanted.

Ron Barry

01-03-06, 11:27 AM

Your welcome drsimnal and :wecome_s hope you stick around a while.

That is what this remote should do is make it so less Tech savy people can use the equipment. What Jason suggested to me was to set it up and get things working then put a note pad in an accessible place. Jot done things that are missing and give it about a week. Then go and add the missing pieces.

For example. I added the TV sleep button on my Watch TV activity so I can put the sleep timer. Well ofcourse that triggers the TV into a off state that the remote is not aware off. What I am going to do is add a TV Power on toggle on the activity so I can access I can turn it on in the morning to sync up my Room set up without going through the help process.

I find the help process a very cool feature and for the tech challanged can be very useful. However, some of the questions it does ask can be rather confusing to the tech challange. Example: Is your PVR set to Tuner?

Bogy

01-04-06, 12:15 AM

Got mine today and I've been playing with it for most of the evening. It took me a little longer, because I first changed some connections. I had the system setup so that (I thought), it would work most anyway somebody tried to set it up. With the 880 to do the work I switched connections to the best choice possible. Once I got done with the basic setup I started playing with the advanced settings. Lots of tweaking and adjustments yet to come, but right now my wife and even my mother should be able to run it.

A lot of the complaints that I have seen, such as the remote waking up or staying on all the time, and not being able to reorder activities, seem to be easy to do. A little time using the remote should help me make decisions on menu buttons to use after entering the activities. I am very happy so far.

Jason Nipp

01-04-06, 12:24 PM

Bogy

01-04-06, 02:30 PM

There's a new software package I have been trying out that greatly improves ease of reordering activities. But it has some glitches as it messed up some device settings. You are able to turn the turbidity sensor off in the profile under remote preferences. This was one of my complaints, but heck it's rechargeable.

Software update here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6323253&&#post6323253).
I'll have to look when I get home, but I must have the new software. I am able to turn off the sensor under remote preferences. Downloads are done in less than two minutes. I did have one download that hung up when I tried to download the update at the end of setting it up. I went back to the home page, clicked update there, and everything was fine, including the new activity I had just added. You can also set the amount of time that you want the screen to remain lit. I have had it go dark while I was holding it, and I had to move it to get it to come back on. I'm still loving it, and as soon as I can remember how you are supposed to get PIP on my TV with the original remote, I'm going to be able to use feature for the first time in a long time. :)

Ron Barry

01-04-06, 04:54 PM

Most likely you have 4.4 Bogy. that is what I have and am currently using. Some of the things Jason mentions is in 4.4. You can arrange your activities in 4.4.

Jason Nipp

01-04-06, 06:16 PM

I'll have to look when I get home, but I must have the new software. I am able to turn off the sensor under remote preferences. Downloads are done in less than two minutes. I did have one download that hung up when I tried to download the update at the end of setting it up. I went back to the home page, clicked update there, and everything was fine, including the new activity I had just added. You can also set the amount of time that you want the screen to remain lit. I have had it go dark while I was holding it, and I had to move it to get it to come back on. I'm still loving it, and as soon as I can remember how you are supposed to get PIP on my TV with the original remote, I'm going to be able to use feature for the first time in a long time. :)Bogy, AFAIK the 880 currently is shipping with 4.4 I have loaded up 5.1.2 and it certainly has it's share of bugs, in my opinion. 4.4 is pretty stable as far as I have seen.

JM Anthony

01-04-06, 09:15 PM

Jason Nipp

01-04-06, 09:49 PM

Jason - excellent heads up. I've downloaded the new s/w and started to check it out. Looks like it is even easier to use than the prior version. I like these guys!!

JohnJohn, after you install that linked update, open it, go to support, then click download software update and you'll download 5.1.2 which is newer than what is in the link. Not sure this linked version is really public yet, in 4.4 if you select update it tells you 4.4 is the latest version. like I said, careful with the new version, I actually reverted to 4.4

JM Anthony

01-04-06, 11:05 PM

John, after you install that linked update, open it, go to support, then click download software update and you'll download 5.1.2 which is newer than what is in the link. Not sure this linked version is really public yet, in 4.4 if you select update it tells you 4.4 is the latest version. like I said, careful with the new version, I actually reverted to 4.4
Jason - that was part of the automated update process. Worked without a hitch for me! Thanks again for providing the link to the AVS Forum. I should have thought to look there for a knowlege base. Must have a case of holiday related lazy thinking!!

John