Logitech Harmony Remotes

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Logitech Harmony Remotes

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

8042 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#437651 10-Feb-2011 10:00

jpollock: Problem - When hand-programming a repeating key, it....inserts....a....1....second....pause...between....each....keypress, for no real reason. This pause is not configurable like the regular pauses are.

Have you tried the Inter-Key Delay Settings?

jpollock: So, now I've got a $200 paperweight

I'll give ya $20 for it.

Agree about the web thing, that's good and bad. I don't have the internet at home, so it really sucks for me!

NzBeagle

961 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#437653 10-Feb-2011 10:01

This is a two edged sword. Yes you need the web but the + is that you do not have any concerns with losing your config if your PC dies. Plus you can program it from any PC with web connection.

I think it's also worth noting that it connects to a live database, therefore ensuring up to date configurations. When adding a new component to my system it notified me that settings were updated for my TV, and to check everything still worked correctly. Although I can't recall what was changed, still handy feature.

Jaxson

8042 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#437657 10-Feb-2011 10:08

It's worth noting that it's a powerful tool delivered to the masses. I seriously don't know how many people get this going and I believe a lot are returned to dick smith etc because it 'didn't work with my TV' etc. That said the software has to be a bit paint by numbers/my first crayon universal remote sort of thing to get the majority of people up and going, even if they do just use the devices tab maybe etc.

The majority of what you need to do is in there, but it can be a real learning curve (possibly unnecessarily so due to some design aspects) to get get to where you need to get to.

There are two formats of learning codes from existing remotes too. One is a guestimate and the other is a 'raw' format. I'd persevere to see if you can't get the response times you want as I really do suspect it is capable. (though there are exceptions to every rule.)

SepticSceptic

2188 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#437659 10-Feb-2011 10:15

Lizard1977: Thanks everyone. So far, I count about 3 people favouring the 785 over the One, but mostly because of the coloured buttons. It looks like the 785 is harder to find, though. Does anyone want to speak in favour of the One over the 785?

Quite a few pop up on TradeMe - got a 785 last week from there. Around $70-odd. Less than 1/2 of what I paid for the 525. And yes, as someone mentioned, the 525 screen is a bit icky - a tad faint, and hard to read at times.

wreck90

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#437660 10-Feb-2011 10:16

Nety:
Personally the only real issue I have is that for a lot of devices they do not have the discrete on/off commands even though in a lot of cases they do exist.

My issue too--- The mysky boxes do not seem to have discrete on/off. It's a sin considering sky is such an integral part of many home theatre setups.

The manufacturers suck, discrete on/off codes must cost them nothing, but they leave them out of cheaper equipment. I buy cheaper dvd players etc, as I've never been able to notice a difference in picture quality between the cheap (main brand) players and more expensive ones I bought in the past.

jpollock

600 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#438011 10-Feb-2011 21:51

Jaxson:
jpollock: Problem - When hand-programming a repeating key, it....inserts....a....1....second....pause...between....each....keypress, for no real reason. This pause is not configurable like the regular pauses are.

Have you tried the Inter-Key Delay Settings?

jpollock: So, now I've got a $200 paperweight
I'll give ya $20 for it.

Agree about the web thing, that's good and bad. I don't have the internet at home, so it really sucks for me!

The inter-key delay settings only apply to devices which are in the database. If you use the "record key" to learn from a remote which is not in the database, the interkey delay is fixed at 1 second.

While this is a known issue with the software (and frequently discussed in forums), it takes several attempts to get through to someone at Logitech who knows about it.

It had my media PC in the database, but it had the remote codes wrong - the hardware was an older revision. So, no, the device database isn't necessarily complete.

Yep, I spent several weeks, several phone calls and several email conversations with Logitech support. They were always very polite, but unhelpful. The use of a web service only made it worse.

---
http://blog.jason.pollock.ca

jpollock

600 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#438017 10-Feb-2011 22:03

It is very locked down and at times that can be a PITA however not that I have ever done it but I have heard that if you have the code for a IR command that is missing for a piece of hardware that you have you can open a web support case and have them add it to your config.
Personally the only real issue I have is that for a lot of devices they do not have the discrete on/off commands even though in a lot of cases they do exist.

Actually, they won't do that anymore. At least, when I asked, they said "No", regardless of what the forums say.

Oh, and the interkey timeout value is ignored for codes which are learned from a remote instead of loaded from a device config. Surprised the support tech too.

I might give it another try, they might have fixed the software in the intervening months. It's been sitting in the charger for the past 6 months.

---
http://blog.jason.pollock.ca

Tradepub

Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#438099 11-Feb-2011 06:49

jpollock:
Actually, they won't do that anymore. At least, when I asked, they said "No", regardless of what the forums say.

Oh, and the interkey timeout value is ignored for codes which are learned from a remote instead of loaded from a device config. Surprised the support tech too.

I might give it another try, they might have fixed the software in the intervening months. It's been sitting in the charger for the past 6 months.

Concerning sending the codes to them that seems a bit crazy.. how do they expect to improve the data in the database if they do not accept any new codes? Hopefully you just hit the wrong tech

If the remote has been sitting on the charger for 6months it might now have a dead battery. Not sure how well the logitech,s handle prolonged charging.

Good luck! If it is just one device that is causing the grief and it is a media centre then maybe consider using a external standard IR receiver? I know that the imon receiver in my case would never work correctly with a MCE remote or the Logitech on the other hand the MCE receiver has always worked perfectly.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#438100 11-Feb-2011 07:02

jpollock:
It had my media PC in the database, but it had the remote codes wrong - the hardware was an older revision. So, no, the device database isn't necessarily complete.

I never said the database was complete I just said it is very extensive. I have also found errors or limitations in the database. Both Sony TV's we have had, using the model in the database would mean that you could not use a discrete command to go the the HDMI ports however in both cases switching to a different model (first time directed by Logitech support) allowed the discrete command to work.

I think they have fixed the interkey delay as I have a warehouse TV in our bedroom which did require manual learning of the remote. I have changed the interkey timing on that and it worked.

Lizard1977

2061 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#438849 13-Feb-2011 14:13

Well, despite a few diversions, I setup the new home theatre system on Friday, and it all seems to be working well. I've got a few questions about that, but I'll start a new thread for that discussion. Having had a few days with the new equipment and remotes, I have a question or two:

There are three native remotes - the Panasonic TV, the Panasonic Blu Ray, and the Pioneer receiver. From the little time I've had with them, I've been able to work out that if I turn on the TV with the Blu Ray remote (being Panasonic, it automatically works the same-brand TV), it switches on the receiver together with the TV. I'm guessing this is down to the HDMI voodoo. Strangely, though, it doesn't turn on the Blu Ray, and I have to switch that on separately. But if I switch off the TV with the Blu Ray Remote, then all three devices switch off. This seemed encouraging, and I began to wonder whether I would need a Harmony at all. But I think on reflection the current setup is more of a fluke than intelligent design on my part. Plus, many of the functions on the receiver remote don't appear on the Panasonic remotes. So I'm still favouring a Harmony. Also, having played around with MyFreeview, it's clear that four coloured buttons will be needed. I note that the Harmony 700 has these buttons, just like the 785. My question is to anyone who has used both the 700 and 785 - which is better? I could try and track down a 785 through Trademe, but if the benefit is marginal, then I might just go with a 700, though it does look a little more "plasticky" than the 785...

Cheers

Lizard

numfarr

329 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438853 13-Feb-2011 14:28

I've only used the 700, not the 785 but I think the main differences are (700 vs 785) only 6 devices vs 15, four custom buttons on-screen vs. 6, dedicated activity buttons (Watch TV etc) vs none, and Nimh AAs recharged via cable vs. Li-Ion battery recharged by cradle. I think the 700's key layout is better with a big easy-to-find Play/Pause button.

SepticSceptic

2188 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#439100 14-Feb-2011 09:33

Having just set up the 785, I have one minor quibble:
The player control buttons (play / pause / FF/ Rewind) are a tad on the small side and are not back-lit. And laid out weird .... I did like the 525's layout over the 785's. And there is no Glow button on the 785 ... It's all these little things that you don't know about until you have actually used and compared them.

I did like the way I could use the existing 525 settings and have them transferred to the new remote - saved much hassle because I did spend a bit of time setting up the original 525 remote to use different TV and A/V inputs etc, depending on what I was doing.

Jaxson

8042 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#439109 14-Feb-2011 09:40

Thanks very much for posting your experiences on this.

SepticSceptic: there is no Glow button on the 785

Damn, I actually do use that one a bit.

SepticSceptic: I did like the way I could use the existing 525 settings and have them transferred to the new remote - saved much hassle because I did spend a bit of time setting up the original 525 remote to use different TV and A/V inputs etc, depending on what I was doing.

Likewise, I've spent a fair bit of time sorting mine out and would hate to have to start from complete scratch again. Nice to know you can do this fairly easily.

Lizard1977

2061 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#439191 14-Feb-2011 11:48

SepticSceptic: Having just set up the 785, I have one minor quibble:
The player control buttons (play / pause / FF/ Rewind) are a tad on the small side and are not back-lit. And laid out weird .... I did like the 525's layout over the 785's.

Well spotted. I would never have picked that up. Looking at the 700, I think it's button layout is better, plus it still has the coloured buttons necessary for Sky and Freeview.

SepticSceptic:And there is no Glow button on the 785 ... It's all these little things that you don't know about until you have actually used and compared them.

What's a glow button?

Jaxson

8042 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#439196 14-Feb-2011 11:55

Lizard1977: What's a glow button?

A dedicated button to turn the back lighting on and off.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6