Harmony One for MP TV Bluray & trig activites

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gumdigger

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#63154 22-Jun-2010 00:00

Hi

looking at the amount of remotes i currently have, tempts me to get a Harmony One but before i wanted some advice, seeing lot of people already have this.

The devices i want to control are:-

Panasonic Plasma
Panasonic Bluray
HTPC - using MCE remote
Yamaha AV amp
Panasonic Projector
Sky Digital (new little silver box)

For instance i wanted to watch sky, to do this i have to usually switch to AV 1 then select DTV on amp for sound output. Will i be able to set this as a activity on this remote? so pressing it switches on the tv & sky decoder - selects AV 1 on tv - select DTV on amp. ?

Dingbatt

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#344035 22-Jun-2010 08:40

Yes, is the simple answer.

I have similar components and my harmony 1100 controls them perfectly well and in the manner you suggest.
It is activity based so you would for instance hit a button that says 'Watch Sky' and it will run a macro to start the components and switch them to the correct input etc.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

gumdigger

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#344060 22-Jun-2010 10:12

Dingbatt: Yes, is the simple answer.

I have similar components and my harmony 1100 controls them perfectly well and in the manner you suggest.
It is activity based so you would for instance hit a button that says 'Watch Sky' and it will run a macro to start the components and switch them to the correct input etc.

Ok kool. so presume there is a way to set a delay, because my tv takes 5-6 sec to start then you can actually control it. same with sky as it starts with channel 0 when shutdown.

illicit

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#344062 22-Jun-2010 10:25

Sky should only start on 0 when switched off at the mains, not from the remote.

Most TVs already have delay preprogramed, but yes you can adjust it.

gumdigger

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#344097 22-Jun-2010 11:32

illicit: Sky should only start on 0 when switched off at the mains, not from the remote.

Most TVs already have delay preprogramed, but yes you can adjust it.

Nice.

gumdigger

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#344099 22-Jun-2010 11:34

What about HTPC, i am running MediaPortal the latest stable release. Does harmony one work well with this?. i assume we have to use MCE remote IR reciever.

buzzy

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#344166 22-Jun-2010 14:33

Yes, it should work fine with MP. I've got a Harmony and it works fine with my Hauppauge IR receiver.

Logitech knew about the IR receiver, so minimal set up was required (I did play round with the Hauppauge IR software, but that was nothing to do with the Logitech remote). If yours is a weirdo remote that it doesn't know about, it can learn the remote codes from your existing remote, so there's very little it can't handle.

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Dingbatt

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#344431 23-Jun-2010 09:09

gumdigger: What about HTPC, i am running MediaPortal the latest stable release. Does harmony one work well with this?. i assume we have to use MCE remote IR reciever.

Yes. I initially had my HTPC setup with both the hauppauge and MCE IR codes activated in MP. Since MP has had the option to prevent MCE from starting and start itself I have removed the hauppauge codes and just use the MCE codes via the Harmony remote. The harmony software will even find your if your original remote codes are in its database by learning a couple of commands then doing a database search. If that fails then you can learn each button of the original to the harmony. Be aware this method uses more of the harmony remote's onboard memory (it certainly did on my previous h1000i).

I have buttons on initial screen for blu-ray, freeviewtv, mysky, htpc and dvr and all will start up and change to the correct channnel etc. Be aware the harmony remembers what state devices are in, so if you use the original remote as well as the harmony it may get 'lost'.

You have to be prepared to put a fair amount of time on a computer to get the harmony running optimally, but it is worth it when you do.

Disclaimer: I have only ever used a harmony 1000i and 1100i but I'm assuming the One has similar functionality since it is one of their high end remotes.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

buzzy

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#344496 23-Jun-2010 11:15

At the risk of thread-jacking, I saw DSE have the 785 for $99 right now. A bargain if you're in the market for a new remote.

gumdigger

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#344690 23-Jun-2010 21:24

buzzy: At the risk of thread-jacking, I saw DSE have the 785 for $99 right now. A bargain if you're in the market for a new remote.

Yeh i saw that, im not sure though.

trig42

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#345230 25-Jun-2010 14:11

The 785 will do what you want. It's not as pretty as the One, but @ $99 it's good value (I have one - works great).

buzzy

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#345436 26-Jun-2010 07:42

The thing that sold me on the 785 was the non-touch screen. Reading the comments on the net, I got turned off the touch-screen of the One - flakey, and problematic was the impression I got. The 785's got a decent colour screen and six programmable buttons, three down each side. They work a treat with the Hauppauge IR receiver; I've got them programmed to do things like answer incoming Skype calls etc, but you can program them to do just about anything you'll need.

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gumdigger

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#345622 26-Jun-2010 22:36

yeh. i am not a fan of touch screen either. i mite actually go for 785

stocksp

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#345663 27-Jun-2010 06:45

I can second the 785 - great remote! Controls mysky, lcd, amp, xbox, ps3 (with adapter), dvd all with no problems. My son has been able to drive the setup since he was about 3!