harmony remote or stick with stock remote?

my setup is an outlaw 970, 7075 amp, ps3, cable box, full aperion audio 5.1, and a monster powercenter 3500. should i just stick with my outlaw 970 remote, cable tv remote, or should I buy a harmony 880 remote? i know i could do more internal menu functions with a harmony, but is it worth it? would you just stick with the cable tv remote since it handles the on demand menus, the outlaw 970 remote, or go with the harmony? what do you guys think?

I really like my Harmony 880. I've eliminated all the clutter and confusion of having multiple remotes. Most importantly my family can operate the HT with a single button: Watch TV, Watch a DVD, CD Music, etc. I also like the shape of the 880 and that I can operate with one hand. It is also backlit when you move it so you can use it in the dark. Like any programmable device getting it just the way you want it may take a few iterations. I recommmend the 880.

Purely for you, it may be a minor change to get a universal remote like a Harmony 880 or a Universal, but as AvFan points out the family aspect can be huge. When I upgraded to an MX-500 from my Model 950 remote (an SL-9000), my wife labeled the remote as the best upgrade we ever made. We're using an MX-700 now, and the extra macro capability makes it even easier for her to use the system.

Me three.

I'm with AvFan and Gonk. I have a Harmony 880 and now that I've I got it set up exactly how I want it (took a couple of hours), it's awesome. I consolidated six remotes and five activities and personally felt no burning need for custom macros so the 880 suited me well. My wife also quickly came to the conclusion that this was one of the best upgrades ever.

I have the Harmony 890 and love it!!! Just 1 remote.

I'm having a hell of a time getting my Harmony 1000 to properly control the 970. It selects the wrong inputs for everything except "watch tv."

For example, when I select "watch DVD" which should turn on the 970 and set it to DVD, it always sets it to Video 4.

In the setup screens for the 1000 there are only 3 video inputs (video 1 thru video 3) asigned to the 970. I manually added Video 4 but still am having the same problem.

Any insight into this?

Some of the Harmony users around here can probably help out with this, but you might also give Harmony a call - I've heard that their customer support is pretty sharp.

thanks, I will give them a call

I've had a couple of issues with the Harmony 880 that are similar to yours. Some devices (a Panny plasma in particular) are a little slow to respond to the 880 IR signals due to the time it takes to work through their internal menus. Harmony takes care of that by allowing user defined delays. In those cases I've called Harmony. They have been very helpful and able to resolve the issues. They will take the time to explain what they are doing with your remote and then stay on the phone with you while you test it. Let us know how it works out.

Update:

Got it working! Had the remote learn the code directly instead of using the one from the database. Fiddled with the delays too, and now everying turns on and off properly.

Everybody that came over would give me grief about the multitude of remotes littering the table, now I'm sure that won't happen again!

Touchscreen takes a little getting used to, but I'm getting the hang of it and liking it more and more. Nice product for sure.

goomz, Re: original topic is it worth it? Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, to the left what got replaced by the Harmony 1000:

That's a great picture! I originally hesitated spending money on a Universal remote but they are often the best upgrade. In my case the entire family enjoys using the remote and now the HT isn't intimidating. A simple push of a button to set up the entire system to watch a dvd, watch TV, or listen to a CD is a joy. The Harmony 1000 is a nice addition to the Logitech line of remotes. For those folk that like a LCD touchscreen and need RF it really fits the bill. For those that like one-handed operation the 880 and 890 (with RF) are appropriate.

Glad you were able to work through the programming issues. No more clutter on your coffee table!

- That picture reminds me of this one:



Back when I got my MX-700... A good universal remote has been an excellent investment because it allows my wife to use the system.

I just got a Harmony 880. Hopefully i can control all of the 1070's functions , not just volume but changing inputs, radio stations, and what surround modes?

these pictures of the remotes are priceless. Add one more thing to my wishlist. I love the look of that Harmony 1000. Very slick.

The 880 should be able to provide all of the same controls as the 1070's stock remote - volume control, input selection (which can be integrated into "activities" such as "watch DVD" or "listen to CD"), tuner controls, surround modes (separate buttons to select from Dolby Digital, DTS, or Stereo modes that might apply to the current input format), and anything else the 1070's original remote might have.

Thank You Gonk!

There used to be a way to demo the Harmony setup site and set up all your devices and activities so you could get a feel of what was possible and what might not be there yet for your equipment. A quick scan through the site left me unable to find it now though.

I have a Harmony 520, and I love it. For those occasions when I'm a/b-ing gear or playing with new devices I keep a couple of the remotes in a drawer in a table next to the couch, but that is rare that I need them. My wife would be unable to use the system at this point without the 520, and she really is happy we got it, although at the time she was pretty skeptical about paying nearly $100 for a remote.

One thing to be mentioned: all the harmony remotes run the same software and do the same things. The difference between models is mostly button layout and number, and the more expensive ones can control more devices, although even the 550 controls up to 15 devices.

Ah! here is a link to do a test drive with the 550: http://members.harmonyremote.com/EasyZap...tType=TestDrive

If you end up getting a different harmony model, you can use the same account, it will just discover the new model when you first try to download the software, then change all the images on the site to look like the other remote.