Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 603
 Greatly Disappointing November 24, 2006
C. Douglas (Austin, TX United States)
10 out of 18 found this review helpful
I can't say enough positive about Logitech mice. This device, however, was a dismal disappointment. The PC interface works well, and its knowledge of existing components seems impressive. Unfortunately, that in no way translates into a good remote interface. The ability of the unit to reliably turn on multiple components was poor, and, for those with video recorder boxes, very important functionality like the ability to access or schedule recording lists is not readily available (if its there at all, its hidden many keystrokes deeper than I care to know about). Even when reverting to manual operation of individual components, changing which device is being accessed involves two keystrokes (as opposed to just one on less complex universal remotes--a much more irritating trait than one might think). Overall, for day-to-day functionality I actually consider the barely-programmable remote that came with my Scientific Atlanta DVR vastly superior to the Harmony, which I've given up on after only a few days of forced use.
Considering the ridiculous pricetag, I strongly advise you save yourself a lot of money and your relatives a lot of frustration this year by steering clear of this sad study in user interface failure.
 Great product - went 5 to 1 controls -- easy to setup ! August 26, 2007
Dan Sherman (Alexandria, VA USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Like other people with several pieces of electronics, I had become frustrated by having to set up and use different control units. Of course, one can sometime get an individual control unit to control more than one piece of equiment (e.g., control your TV off of a DVD control). I had tried to do this when I bought a new Toshiba HD-DVD unit and wanted to set up the DVD controller so that it could control my Sony TV. The problem was, however, that there were about 30 codes you had to choose from listed in the DVD manual to control a Sony TV with no sense which one might work. I mentioned to someone I knew after getting through about half of the list of codes and he suggested I look at getting a Harmony unit.
The Harmony unit is great!! It took about 15 minutes to set up and essentially get all of my common tasks such as playing a DVD, watching a TV show, listening to the radio, watching a video, etc all onto one easy-to-use control. In setting up the control, you link to your computer (and I have a Mac, which offered no problems) and simply enter the model numbers of each piece of equipment you have. You then do through simple menus to set up various tasks such as watching DVDs. The software will ask you some basic questions (i..e, which input on your TV does your DVD unit feed into) and then sets things up so that the one control takes the place of all of the others.
Instead of turning a TV on with one control, then turning your AV unit with another and the DVD player with the third, you simply click one of the activities listed on the screen such as watch a DVD. The appropriate units turn on just as if you had used the three separate controls and the Harmony unit becomes your DVD controller with all of the functions built into it. If you then want to watch a TV show instead, you click the button next to "watch TV" and the DVD player shuts off and the Harmony becomes a TV contoller.
I have found this to be a great product with a lot of nice features, both in terms of hardware and software. Other reviewers have described many of these, but one thing that has impressed me is the "glow" button that lets you light up the various buttons and screen so you can easily use the controller in a dark room. On the software front, it is very easy to make changes in the settings on your controller (e.g., if you switch jacks into which audio sources will feed) -- the inetrfaces are very nicely designed and efficient.
I have never said that a product deserves 6 stars, but this one does. It really helps to clear "control clutter" and makes it a simple task to manuever your way around you home theatre/audio system.
Best Universal for the Price July 13, 2006
Brandon J. Eckhart (Toledo, OH USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I've been using this remote for at least 6 months now and I must say this thing is awesome. Despite what other reviewers would have you believe, the ability to have every button from all your remotes is what I think makes this remote so great. Any "soft button" logitech doesn't include in the initial programing of your device can be learned through the IR port.
Also, my remote never misses a beat when switching between viewing modes. If I go from "watch TV" to "watch DVD", it gets all of the inputs right every time. This may be another issue of knowing how to program it properly.
I just had to give my 2 cents after seeing people giving this bad reviews based on improper use or not reading directions. I would buy this remote again in a heartbeat!
 I almost sent it back! December 2, 2006
01Rogue (Laramie, WY United States)
7 out of 21 found this review helpful
Being something of a privacy nut, I was greatly offended when I learned that in order to program this remote I had to use Harmony's website and provide not only name, address, phone etc, but also the make and model of each device I wanted to control.
I did finally give in and supply them with the information, cringing all the while, and was taken to the setup page.
I started at the basic device page, where I listed all of my components and then went to the "activities" page to make everything easily work together. That was a real pain. And to a point still is. This remote insists on turning on or off the components when an activity is selected and that annoys me.
After using their "wizard", it was apparent that wasn't going to work for me, so I made a new activity using the utility option. There I was able to get it programmed for normal use and name the activity, "Normal Use."
All was going pretty well at that point, everything working as I wanted, one remote doing it all, bright lights and for the most part all of the buttons in the right place. But, then I bought a new tv; When I told the Harmony website of the change, it dumped all of my activities and I had to start over.
Being a tinkerer of all sorts I do enjoy tweaking it, changing this or that but I cannot get over my irritation at having to use an online service that is so nosey.
Once setup is complete and all is working well it is fantastic, I love it. Easily the best remote I have ever used.
Having said that, I must also say I will never again buy another logitech remote because my privacy is important to me, even in this day and age. I did not, and cannot get a list of everyone who will see the information I provided or in anyway be guaranteed those unknown people will not use it in ways harmful to me.
If the setup method was not so invasive I would give this remote 5+ stars, as it is, I am being generous with 3.
Easy to set up remote... December 22, 2006
R. Bolin (North Royalton, OH USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
The Logitech Harmony 550 is a breeze to set up and a pleasure to use. The list of supported components is frequently being updated so if it doesn't have your gear (or all of your gears specific functions), it will shorty. I have a Samsung HDTV, BOSE 3-2-1- GSII and a Motorola DCT3416 PVR from my cable company. The Harmony database had configurations for all three devices and using the configurable Activities I had it running exactly as I wanted in less than 20 minutes.
A couple words of advice; don't even bother with the software on the CD as it is very outdated, get the latest build from the Logitech web site (which will still get updated when you start it, but this will save you time). And don't forget to use the HELP button when you are testing the remote on your system, it really does a great job of getting your assorted components in sync and working as expected.
In reference to the reivew claiming that the Harmony software is malicious code, sorry, your system would have to be a disaster to have trouble with this very compact application.
And as others have said, the volume and channel buttons could be a touch larger.
Overall 5 out of 5 for an easy to set up and joy to use product.
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