Logitech Harmony Hubs and Philips Hue bulbs

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Logitech Harmony Hubs and Philips Hue bulbs

pbolger

241 posts

Master Geek

#169648 21-Mar-2015 21:02

I'm thinking of getting some Philips Hue bulbs (if there's anyone out there with some to sell I'm interested), but have been looking at the Logitech Harmony Smart Control and the Harmony Ultimate to control them.

If I could skip buying a Philips hub it might be attractive to get a Logitech Hub instead.

Two questions: Are the 'Logitech Hubs' supplied with these the same unit? and, the Smart Control says it'll control 8 devices, the ultimate 15 - where is this limitation, in the hub or in the remote? And do the Hue bulbs count as a 'device' each?

Kyanar

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#1264862 22-Mar-2015 10:39

The hub enforces that limitation. It applies to the phone apps too. And if the box contains a black disc thing, that's the hub. I don't think you can buy remotes separately from it but check the back of the box for sure.

It also requires a Hue bridge. You can't just connect bulbs to it directly.

pbolger

241 posts

Master Geek

#1265180 22-Mar-2015 17:33

Thanks. I was sort of hoping I could get away without buying the Philips hub, but no dice by the sound of things. So from what you are saying there are at least two different sorts of Logitech hubs? They don't exactly make it very clear on their site - but that would seem to be pretty consistent with the overall 'Harmony experience'.

Kyanar

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#1266015 23-Mar-2015 16:31

I know of at least two hub models, yeah.

The phone apps are a bit sluggish too. Takes about 10 seconds to connect to the hub at launch, and if you task-switch to another app the connection gets broken and 75% of the time it won't reconnect unless you terminate and relaunch the app.... 5 times.

Basically, it's not very good hardware. I'd advise against getting any of the new Harmony "smart" stuff. Get legacy Harmony remotes instead.

pbolger

241 posts

Master Geek

#1267195 24-Mar-2015 23:24

Hmm, yes. Thinking back to programming the older Harmony remotes I remember it wasn't an easy process. I never could work out why a web app could need a 70mb download and then behave like it was operating over dialup.

Thanks for the pointer - I think I'll steer clear until someone gets it right.

Dunnersfella

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Uber Geek

#1277339 5-Apr-2015 09:07

I completely disagree.
The Harmony Ultimate / Philips Hue combination works perfectly.
I have pre-sets for BluRay's, MySky, Netflix, Gaming, music listening - it's easy to lock in your favourites.
Sure, the app. is only useful if the remote is being charged... but you're not buying a remote control for its app...

Kyanar

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#1277719 6-Apr-2015 09:58

Dunnersfella: I completely disagree.
The Harmony Ultimate / Philips Hue combination works perfectly.
I have pre-sets for BluRay's, MySky, Netflix, Gaming, music listening - it's easy to lock in your favourites.
Sure, the app. is only useful if the remote is being charged... but you're not buying a remote control for its app...

So, you're disagreeing that you need a Hue Bridge? Because that was the question he asked that I answered. And you then proceeded to agree with me that the app is not very good (and this is definitely down to hardware since later firmware release notes seem to indicate they've attempted to fix the issues I describe).

To the OP, a bit of additional info. If you're considering buying Harmony kit, DO NOT buy any device that doesn't have "Home" in the name. Those are all now not being updated by Logitech with firmware upgrades. This includes the "Harmony Ultimate Hub", "Harmony Smart Control" etc. "Harmony Home Hub", "Harmony Ultimate Home" and the like are newer models that Logitech still makes firmware updates for.

Though based on Logitech's 2 year lifecycle for firmware updates for $300 hardware, I'd pick some other brand.

Dunnersfella

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#1278671 7-Apr-2015 21:04

Kyanar:
Dunnersfella: I completely disagree.
The Harmony Ultimate / Philips Hue combination works perfectly.
I have pre-sets for BluRay's, MySky, Netflix, Gaming, music listening - it's easy to lock in your favourites.
Sure, the app. is only useful if the remote is being charged... but you're not buying a remote control for its app...

So, you're disagreeing that you need a Hue Bridge? Because that was the question he asked that I answered. And you then proceeded to agree with me that the app is not very good (and this is definitely down to hardware since later firmware release notes seem to indicate they've attempted to fix the issues I describe).

To the OP, a bit of additional info. If you're considering buying Harmony kit, DO NOT buy any device that doesn't have "Home" in the name. Those are all now not being updated by Logitech with firmware upgrades. This includes the "Harmony Ultimate Hub", "Harmony Smart Control" etc. "Harmony Home Hub", "Harmony Ultimate Home" and the like are newer models that Logitech still makes firmware updates for.

Though based on Logitech's 2 year lifecycle for firmware updates for $300 hardware, I'd pick some other brand.

Sorry - I completely disagree with your conclusion that the combination is a poor one.
The hub, I don't disagree, that's required.