If you have a home theatre system it's a good bet that you either own a universal remote or plan to buy one. No more scrabbling around behind the couch to find the remote you need, just use the same one for everything. We looked at a selection of remotes recently, and found the Logitech Harmony 785 to be the pick of the bunch. Now, its replacement is here.
Design
In the olden times, before Logitech bought them, Harmony made chunky, easy-to-use remotes which were also updateable from the Web. The Harmony One could be seen as a return to those roots.
We'll ignore the fact that the remote is piano-black and subject to smudging because the remote is just so damn good.
The One is pleasingly solid with large buttons and an easy-to-read touchscreen. The remote fits well in the hand, and features a rubber backing which is curved to form three separate zones. These include the touchscreen, the direction-pad, and the number keys and transport buttons.
Though it may not appear so at first, all the hard buttons are backlit, which is great for use in the dark. To further enhance useability all of the "zones" feature their own unique ergonomics -- most notable of all is the textured D-Pad.
We like the placement of the transport buttons (play, pause etc) as they're located directly below the cursor keys. Some other universal remotes plonk the buttons right at the bottom which can be very inconvenient.
Features
For a AU$400 remote (and we've seen it for as low as $315 on the tubes it certainly packs the features in. The two biggest ones are the dedicated charger -- into which the remote fits snugly -- and the large touchscreen.
One thing to consider is that the Harmony series does require the user to change the way they use their remote -- while most receiver remotes are "device-based" the Harmony's is "activity-based". This may mean you need to spend a little more time perfecting macros if your system is sufficiently complex.
Also, the "Activities" screen has changed a little from the Harmony 785 with only three activities listed at once instead of six. This isn't usually a problem, but sometimes it's easy to accidentally hit an Activity or Device button instead of the relatively small arrow button. We did like, however, the "Current Activity" button that displays when you're in Device mode and switches you immediately back to the activity you were on. Previous remotes meant you would have to press Activities and then press, say, Watch TV again and wait for all the devices to catch up. This simplifies the process.
Performance
We really enjoyed using the Harmony One -- it's friendly, easy to use and to explain to the less-technically minded. It's also quite hardy -- some of the company's previous remotes have been a little flaky, with the Logitech Harmony 520 in particular proving quite flimsy and unreliable in our experience. No such problems here.
Where any difficulties could be levelled at the remote is how comfortable you are with the Web interface. It's not always obvious which option you need to choose to alter the operation of the buttons, for example, when in Device mode. But given some experimentation it eventually becomes second-nature to program new devices in as you add them to your system.
If you're looking for a sturdy, workhorse remote and don't want to pay for the Logitech Harmony 1000i then the Harmony One is an excellent choice.
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freemanager
08/05/2008, 11:04 AM
rating
9/10
What an absolute pleasure, at last a remote control that can be programmed by an idiot...I have tried a total of 12 universal remote controls and this is without a doubt the best. At last, thank you & well done Logitech.
Pros: Wizard asks almost all the right questions and in a way a simpleton can understand.
Cons: I can't figure out how to program my favourites on either normal TV or Foxtel
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Phillbo
28/04/2008, 02:26 PM
rating
10/10
Fantastic bit of gear. This just replaced our well used 880.
Pros: Design
Performance
Ease of use
Cons: None
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stux
10/04/2008, 12:42 PM
rating
9/10
Absolutely perfect. Took me many many hours to program, but that's because I'm a perfectionist. The good thing is the software allowed me to do whatever it was I wanted. Which is rare. Sometimes I felt like I could've done it faster if the software would just let me see the underlying data, rather than going through the wizard... but you can do whatever you want, going through the wizard.
Pros: Build Quality
Looks
Design
Functionality
Feel
Perfect
Cons: Wizard can be frustrating
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calypso501
03/04/2008, 05:52 PM
rating
9/10
I have replaced my Harmony 880 with this remote and the things I disliked about the 880 have been improved on the Harmony One. The 880 had a rather slippery surface which was difficult to hold at times. The One has a rubber surface and is contoured to your hand, much better. The buttons are in logical positions. Overall, best universal remote on the market. My 4 year daughter operates Wii, TV, AMP, Foxtel and DVD all at a touch of a button. It's great.
Pros: Great back-up support, good looks, logical button configuration. Once it is set-up correctly it makes even the most elaborate home theatre systems child's play to operate.
Cons: Will take a while to perfect every function in the macro settings. Over 2 hours and I know what I'm doing. When I updated the remote in the Harmony software, it didn't preserve all the macro settings I had previously.
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Bak2Pen&Paper
16/03/2008, 02:03 PM
rating
2/10
Rubbish - Absolute rubbish. I've had two replaced in the period of two months. There is a problem with the battery and charging it..... It takes sooooooooo long to configure that by the end of the procedure you've lost the will to live!
Pros: None. It's a over-hyped product - stay away from it and Logitech.
Cons: Support. Logitech support doesn't exist. The base station can only be described as style over substance. It's truly useless......
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Waycool
19/02/2008, 12:56 PM
rating
9/10
Just read the review again, I disagree regarding the Activity based Macro programming. If you've used the software before you'll find it's very simple to setup and for the tech heads who want to really customise it, this can be done also! It asks what devices you have, then what you want to do with them. It then prompts you with questions about what device does what for each activity. It automatically programs the remote to suit. Awesome!
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Waycool
19/02/2008, 12:48 PM
rating
9/10
I want this sooooo bad! I have the 880 and it's awesome! Only thing is the charging station can be a bit hit n miss and sometimes doesn't connect to charge the remote properly AND the buttons next to the screen can be awekward to press without holding the remote firmly. Looks like both of these issues are fixed with this one. I WANT IT!
Pros: • Touch screen, makes for easier press of the activities buttons
• Charge bay looks refined over earlier models
• Controls media centre perfectly
Cons: • price
• extra $40 on what I paid for the 880 (meh, so worth it!)
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