Got my Harmony 880 today..

[Kyle]

So far, I LOVE it! The web interface is a tad clunky, but this thing kicks!

I have it setup for the most part, and I've found so far that it makes a decent TiVo remote, which is more than I can say for most other universal remotes I've seen or used. Sure beats the pants off my Rotel remote.

Anyone else out there have any tips?

[MrPorterhouse]

Official Harmony 880 Review

I bought a Harmony 880 in November of 2005, and it has been an incredible remote. This is a remote that is a channel surfer's best friend. It has a great feel for everyday use. The 880 is loaded to the kilt at its price point with functions and features. The color screen, which allows for full customization of your theme, backgrounds, icons, slide show pics, and channel logos, adds so much attractiveness while maintaining usefullness. You don't just get eye candy with no function, you get it all.

I happened to get an early production model that had the recharging problem. The problem is caused by a poorly designed cradle charging station. The Logitech engineering dept. was very quick to respond to customer feedback, and identified the problem, and developed a totally new cradle base. The charging cradle is availible to anyone who has the recharging issue totally free of charge. All you have to do is mention that your remote doesn't recharge and tell them you want the new base, and they'll ship it right out to you, no questions asked. You don't have to ship in the old one or anything. Just let 'em know, and you'll get the new cradle and be problem free from there on out.



Other than the recharging issue, I've had no defects or problems. Its been totally awesome using the macro features. They have default values for timing delays, but you can customize them to whatever speed is going to maximize your particular system. In other words, if you find that when you add an activity, and you know for certain that your equipment can handle a faster response, then you can go into your commands and reset the delay speed so that your system will operate as fast as is possible and still recognize the commands. Very NICE! The drawback to IR remotes is that you need to keep a straght signal path to the equipment during the entire sequence, whereas with an RF remote, you don't. That's what the Harmony 890 is for, right? That's a pile of cash more, so for me, I'll take the IR remote at this point.

I should mention a HUGE benefit is the HELP button. What it does is resync all your equipment. Basically, with other remotes you can get totally screwed and lost if you hit a macro and somebody walks in front of the remote and the device, hence disrupting your command. With the Harmony, all you do is hit HELP, and it will ask questions to fix the problem. What it does is resync everything so that the remote knows what devices are ON and what devices are OFF. This is a life saver for people who are unfamiliar with how everything is hooked up, like Grandma or whoever.



One thing that I found could be an improvement is the button layout, but this is just personal preference. I don't use the PLAY, STOP, FF, RW, etc... buttons as much as I do the NUMBER PAD. On the 880, the numbers are located at the very bottom of the remote, so accessing them requires you to hold the remote at the very bottom, which is akward and off balance. The PLAY, STOP, etc... buttons are located above the number pad, and are much easier to use. I rarely use these, and when I do, such as watching a DVD or DVR, I pretty much just hit PLAY or STOP once, and track advance, FF only occasionally. I certainly use the number pad much more frequently, so I would have found a much better "feel" to using the remote if the PLAY, STOP, etc.. buttons were on the very bottom, and the number pad above that. That's about my only complaint. What saves me here is the MEDIA function, where you store your favorite channels. I believe you can store 2 LCD screens worth, which is 8 channels per screen for a total of 16 channels. When I want to watch one of my favorites, I hit the media button and it calls up the first page of my favorites. These have customizable images, and I downloaded the appropriate channel logo for each of my favorites(ESPN uses the ESPN logo, FOX-HD uses the FOX-HD logo, etc...). You can use any image you want, though, like a picture of Mickey Mouse for the Disney Channel or whatever, all in FULL COLOR. This just screams COOL FEATURE and sets this remote apart from the other Harmony 6xx series remotes. Anyway, this MEDIA feature makes up for putting the number pad on the bottom because all I have to do is punch my favorite channel button, and ZAP, I'm there. Awesome, I LOVE it.

The only other thing would be the buttons themselves. We all have our favorite button style and feel, so you're not going to please everyone, no matter what you do. The 880 uses sleek, small, but rather easily identifiable button types. The layout and the curves and shapes used really help to locate the buttons without having to look and strain too much. This won't be a remote that you'll just be able to pick up for the first time, use for one day and have all the locations "touch memorized" the next day. Learning ALL the buttons will take some getting used to, and will require a little more effort in memorization to be able to use in complete darkness. However, there are some very large texture clues, such as the center directional pad, the channel up and down, the volume up and down. This makes recognizing where you thumb is pretty easy. When you start adding so many buttons, it get tricky to design a layout that will make it a no-mistake, total darkness remote. With time, you'll be flying around like its nothing, but if you are button-learning challenged, then you will need to stay after class and go to study hall. You'll get it, though. The primary buttons are a piece of cake, so if you just want to channel surf, then your golden from day one.



I'd recommend this remote HIGHLY to anyone just getting into the world of universal macro remotes. I paid $174.99 for mine, and that is just a small price to pay for all the value that this remote adds to your home entertainment system. I'm sure prices will keep coming down way below the $250 retail, so keep your eye out for bargins and specials.

[june]

Got mine 2day also......

Hello All,

It was ordered Wed. evening at "ecost.com" & it came 2day. The "676" is 4 her 4 the bedroom system. It's another christmas present 4 her.




june

[ht_addict]

Had the 880 for a while, didn't really get into it. Now the new 520 is awesome and much cheaper.

[Trevor Schell]

I happened to get an early production model that had the recharging problem. The problem is caused by a poorly designed cradle charging station. The Logitech engineering dept. was very quick to respond to customer feedback, and identified the problem, and developed a totally new cradle base. The charging cradle is availible to anyone who has the recharging issue totally free of charge. All you have to do is mention that your remote doesn't recharge and tell them you want the new base, and they'll ship it right out to you, no questions asked. You don't have to ship in the old one or anything. Just let 'em know, and you'll get the new cradle and be problem free from there on out.

Exactly how do you identify the problem.?
Does the screen brighten , then dim while charging?
Or does it not charge at all.
I just got mine and when charging it for the first time, my
screen goes bright, then dim..Seeming like it is not connecting
appropriately.
However, it does seem to have taken on a charge, although I am not
sure if it is completely charged 100%

[Kyle]

The screen goes dim after you put it in the cradle as it 'sleeps' while it is charging. Aside from having your battery bars all there, there really isn't a way to tell if it is fully charged.

I've noticed i lose a battery bar w/in an hour or so of using the remote, but i haven't had it die on me even in an all-day tv marathon.

[Trevor Schell]

The screen goes dim after you put it in the cradle as it 'sleeps' while it is charging.

Mine goes dim then gets a little brighter, then gets dimmer, then brighter..
Like a continious pulsing motion.
So this has me thinking it is not charging correctly.

[Wick]

So does the remote allow you to use all the features from every device? I have a remote that they gave me with the digital hd cable box and it can control all my units, but specific controls. I want something that does it all. Does anyone have this remote and digital cable, and does it allow you to view the TV guide while surfing?

[Kyle]

I have no qualms about mine what so ever. I can't answer your question though because I use tivo. So my tivo talks to my cable box, and my harmony talks to my tivo. So far so good!

[JonMarsh]

Thanks for the reviews and comments- I've been thinking on and off about getting one of these for a while- should order it along with an S530 cordless desktop sometime soon. Except that the latter isn't quite shipping yet!

~Jon

[Clive]

Pardon me ignorance.......is this the same 880 I'v seen at BB?

[Kyle]

It may very well be. I know they carry Harmony remotes (Harmony got bought by Logitech), but I've only seen the lesser models not the 880, at least at my BB.

[Wick]

Its on the BB website.

[Trevor Schell]

Just want to confirm that the charging concern I had earlier
is a non-issue. The remote charges just fine.
This is an incredible remote!
We absolutely love it!
Highly recommended.:T

[JKalman]

So far, I LOVE it! The web interface is a tad clunky, but this thing kicks!

I have it setup for the most part, and I've found so far that it makes a decent TiVo remote, which is more than I can say for most other universal remotes I've seen or used. Sure beats the pants off my Rotel remote.

Anyone else out there have any tips?

Can all of you show pics of your remotes. Also pics of special settings you put on it, if it has an LCD screen, etc.

Thanks!!! :T

[deke]

Can anyone provide a comparison of the 880 with the Logitech Harmony 680? I love my 680 - there's only 1 thing that bothers me:

The keys are not always backlit or glow in the dark - you have to hit a key (any key) and then it will light up. The problem is whatever key you hit may wind up changing the channel etc.

How is the 880 in comparison or w/ backlighting / visibility in general?

[AvFan]

Deke,

I can't speak to how the 680 and 880 compare but... The 880 has some kind of sensor in it that lights up the keys and LCD when you move the remote. It has been a while, but I believe you can customize that feature too. I really like my 880 even if the web-based programming can seem awkward at times.

[Hdale85]

Logitech bought harmony? I don't remember ever seeing a Harmony remote before Logitech released it.

[aud19]

Logitech always owned the Harmony name as far as I know..... :scratchhead:

[Hdale85]

Yeah thats what I thought as well.

[deke]

Thanks for the info guys.

[cobbpa]

IIRC, Logitech did purchase up the Harmony name / shape / concept...can't remember when. I read this on a review site dedicated to remotes, I believe. Hmm..I'll look for a link later