Logitech Harmony Remotes - price compared to Aussie

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215 posts

Master Geek

#420931 23-Dec-2010 11:50

FWIW I prefer the One over the 1100i.

It felt eaiser to use with more physical buttons.

Talkiet

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#420936 23-Dec-2010 11:55

scotteffone: FWIW I prefer the One over the 1100i.

It felt eaiser to use with more physical buttons.

That's what pushed me to the One... the buttons seem much nicer than the flat buttons or a pure touchscreen... I also like the option of having the custom channel logos on the screen :-)

Of course I probably won't get it by Xmas but oh well :-) Maybe Playtech will surprise me. (No I don't expect them to perform miracles but I guess if might if they can dispatch today)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

bazzer

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#420952 23-Dec-2010 12:33

Talkiet:
RustyGonad: http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139234/CATID=304/Universal-Remotes.html

Also doing 20% off all Logitech until Christmas.

ie Harmony One for $192...

Jaxson - when you upgrade it carries your existing config over between the remotes. Works like a charm.

Thanks for the tip - I went from a 525 to a 785 and the upgrade worked smoothly as well...

Ooops, it would appear I just upgraded to a Harmony One as well based on that discount. I think my mouse slipped and I also ordered a PS3 adaptor as well.

Cheers - N

The PS3 adapter is well worth it. Especially at 20% off!

nick496

52 posts

Master Geek

#421179 23-Dec-2010 23:13

semigeek:
Speaking of the 785's, for those who have them, if you hold it close to your ear do you hear a high pitched whistle coming from it?

I have one, and yes there is a high pitched whistle coming from it. But I have to hold it pretty close to my ears to hear it.

mattwnz

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Uber Geek

#421185 23-Dec-2010 23:48

nick496:
semigeek:
Speaking of the 785's, for those who have them, if you hold it close to your ear do you hear a high pitched whistle coming from it?

I have one, and yes there is a high pitched whistle coming from it. But I have to hold it pretty close to my ears to hear it.

Thats when the lcd screen is on, and must be caused by a component that powers up the screen. I had an old LCD screen on a phone that did exactly the same thing, so it must be a thing with older LCD screen technology.

timmmay

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#421995 27-Dec-2010 23:13

I got the Harmony One for Christmas after dropping the hint to my girlfriend, and I got myself the PS3 adapter. I spent a half hour setting it up, and so far i'm not really impressed. All it does it hit power for three devices, nothing much else. I'd like to say set the initial volume, but for my receiver it has VolumeUp and VolumeDown, not set. I'd like it tell the PS3 to navigate to the video menu, then go to my media server, but it can't do that.

I accidentally hit the channel up button while it was on hdmi input and it changed the TV to TV, and I had to navigate the touch screen menus for a while to set it back to hdmi input. There's no way I can immediately see to swap the Onkyo receiver between music and movie audio modes.

I see you can select a device on the remote when things are running, but for example with my TV it had buttons A, B and C on the screen. I don't even know what that does. Can you tell it to put the sound mode on there for the receiver, and for the TV something else like maybe picture mode?

Is it really just a toy for women who only want to turn things on and hit play, or am I missing something?

Talkiet

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#421997 27-Dec-2010 23:31

timmmay: [snip]
Is it really just a toy for women who only want to turn things on and hit play, or am I missing something?

A) Don't be sexist

B) You're missing heaps. Google for "Harmony One Forum"

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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timmmay

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#422004 28-Dec-2010 00:46

Talkiet:
timmmay: [snip]
Is it really just a toy for women who only want to turn things on and hit play, or am I missing something?

A) Don't be sexist

Most women will freely admit they just don't care about the details of these sorts of things, just like most men don't shop for a laptop based solely on the color. Or maybe that's just my girlfriend... yes she wanted a pink laptop and I chose what bits went inside for her.

Thanks for the tip :)

Disrespective

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Uber Geek

#422036 28-Dec-2010 09:54

The Harmony remotes are incredibly versatile, once you understand how to navigate the despicable software.

You can set macro strings of button presses to occur after the main turn on event so that you get volumes and the likes set up but you need to test device delays and keypress delays to make sure nothing will be skipped, then you have to make sure that you are pointing the remote at the TV etc the whole time (this could take several seconds which is much longer than a typical remote stays pointed in one direction).

If anything ever goes wrong with my initial activity action i press the 'help' button and it first checks the inputs are correct, then will cycle through various other things which might not have been set correctly with the user deciding whether that helped or not after each step. It's very helpful for a parter who has no concept of how it all works and just presses the button and walks away.

The Harmony forums are a wealth of setup information worthy of an hour or two of your time and questions.

sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#422041 28-Dec-2010 10:07

You don't have to keep it pointing at things (a hassle, I know), if you either get the Harmony 900, which is RF capable, or import a Harmony 1100 from USA/Europe.

In NZ, Australia and Asia, Logitech released the Harmony 1100i - the 'i' indicating it has no RF chip (something to do with the fact they never got rights for this model from radio frequency regulators in these territories). Annoyingly it's still more expensive despite the neutering.

So - import an 1100 (non-i) and use it with Logitech's (or any other) IR to RF receiver and be done with it.

...or spend the cash and get a Philips Pronto :)

MooPoo

251 posts

Ultimate Geek

#422043 28-Dec-2010 10:16

Currently we have 4 remotes (tv/surround sound system/dvd player/sky) and have thought about getting a remote to replace them all but am not sure if it is worthwhile?

Do the replacement remotes do sky as well?

Is it much easier to use a all in one rather than find them when needed?

I have 2 young children that may have trouble learning how to use the new remote (7 and 8) are they easy for them to learn?

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.

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sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#422047 28-Dec-2010 10:38

@ MooPoo - yes, very easy & they work very well for most systems (including your Sky/Freeview box - and even for an HTPC if set up right).

If your kids can manage a normal remote, they can easily manage a well set up all-in-one. Question is: can YOU manage to set one up well? :)

I'm going to replace my 525 with a near new one from Trademe, but if I was buying new, I'm tossing up between a Harmony One (no RF, but otherwise excellent reviews), and 900 (has RF, but $$$) or an 1100 (large touch screen LCD). Harmony's are cheaper easier to setup, but less customisable and flexible than other options such as the Pronto TSU9600.

Jaxson

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#422109 28-Dec-2010 13:58

timmmay:am I missing something?

Yes the Harmony can do a lot more and you should spend some time setting it up to work for you. Some of what you ask though is not easy to do with any remote control, or it can be done but may not always be reliable as it would require you to hold the remote at the tv for a minute or so non stop. That's not the harmony remotes fault.

Yeah as above, read this forum too for heaps of info lots of us have contributed over the past years.

Yes the device is excellent for wifes and really it's great as you shouldn't have to learn a system inside out just to use it. It suits anyone who doesn't have the time or desire to learn every last input and remote combination etc. Setting up a system and using it are two different things and the harmony is great at hiding all the technical crap in the background and making it more intuitive for the user.

sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#422134 28-Dec-2010 15:20

This reply from DSE justifying the quite unreal discrepency in Harmony 1100i prices:

"In relation to your email below, I would like to advise you that the
buyers for Australia and New Zealand are seperate this is why there is
a price difference.

If you have any further enquiries please do not hesitate to contact us
via email or on 0800 373 347. "

I emailed this reply:

New Zealand's DSE buyers need to get their act together, particularly with RF-enabled Harmony 1100's available just a few mouse clicks away from the USA.

timmmay

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#422135 28-Dec-2010 15:20

I've played a little more, and after an extra half hour it's configured more to my liking. I have one preset to turn on the TV, which then shows you a list of channels with icons. I'd quite like to work out how to set the volume, but that will probably mean some messing around with volume up and down commands.

I have another which starts everything up and sets it ready to PS3, then I can navigate to the video menu. I could probably get it to get there itself with the left/right/down commands, maybe i'll do that some time. Once it's up it puts the sound commands on the screen, which is about all I ever change.

Using the up/down keys to control the PS3 is a little slow, I guess because of the IR to Bluetooth conversion. I can live with that though, given it has the dedicated play/stop/rewind keys - which I haven't actually tried yet but I presume they work.

Are there any other tricks people can tell me about?

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