Harmony 880 - My newest addtion

[sub780lime]

Well, the new addition to my home theater family should be here today...the Harmony 880. Anyone have one of these or another Harmony Universal. What do you think. I really can't wait to get it. Should be there when I get home.

[umainebearman]

Originally Posted by sub780lime

Well, the new addition to my home theater family should be here today...the Harmony 880. Anyone have one of these or another Harmony Universal. What do you think. I really can't wait to get it. Should be there when I get home.

I have the 880 and love it. Once you get all your activities programed into it you'll never even look at your other remotes again. Just don't forget to hit the update button in the software when you make changes to anything. I did when I put my new HDTV in place of my older 32 in sony. I was like what the heck is wrong with this damn thing.

[dugpa]

It looks nice but doesn't seem nearly as customizable as I need. I want one that will control my laserdisc player and both my hd-dvd and blu-ray players.

[umainebearman]

Originally Posted by dugpa

It looks nice but doesn't seem nearly as customizable as I need. I want one that will control my laserdisc player and both my hd-dvd and blu-ray players.

It will. Hell if your sink is controled by remote it'll do that too.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by umainebearman

It will. Hell if your sink is controled by remote it'll do that too.

Seriously? Will it flush for me too?

[umainebearman]

Its fickle about bathroom duty (HA! Duty) but you might be able to coax it into it.

[sub780lime]

Well I got everything programmed and the software really makes it easy on you and if you are halfway computer literate customized setups are just as easy. My one complain is they haven't updated the remote with HD settings. What I mean, is the macros are awesome, one button to turn on my dvd player, turn on my tv, go to the correct input, etc, etc...but i have three macros on screen that say Watch DVD. Watch DVD 1, Watch DVD 2, Watch DVD 3. Why wouldn't this have, watch HD DVD, Watch DVD, so on and so forth. It should have that by now and I figure they could update the firmware to offer that. The other thing is, since the PS3 is blutooth, i cant turn that on with it. I knew this going in and didnt want to spend the extra money on the 890 that would be able to do it. Its not that big a deal, but it would be convenient since now all I have on my coffee table is the 880......and the PS3 controller...not really conducive. Overall though, the controlling functionality has been great so far. No issues with my A2 or cable box in normal controls. FF, RW, pause, my DVR guide, everything works great. I think I am going to love this remote. Customized backgrounds and a image slideshow just adds to the fun.

[Frankie]

One feature that my wife loves is the Help button.

I had (stored in a drawer now) a Pronto for a few years and she hated it. Now that thing you could program to flush a toilet.
Customizable? fagetaboutit.

F

[dugpa]

You guys almost had me sold on one until the lack of proper titles was brought up. For that much money I expect it to say blu-ray and hd-dvd, not dvd37 or whatever. I have a hard enough time in my old age remembering to put pants on in the morning before I go to work, I don't need to be trying to remember which dvd number is what. Surely they give you a way to edit the macro titles?

[PunkMunkey]

Originally Posted by sub780lime

My one complain is they haven't updated the remote with HD settings. What I mean, is the macros are awesome, one button to turn on my dvd player, turn on my tv, go to the correct input, etc, etc...but i have three macros on screen that say Watch DVD. Watch DVD 1, Watch DVD 2, Watch DVD 3. Why wouldn't this have, watch HD DVD, Watch DVD, so on and so forth.

Originally Posted by dugpa

You guys almost had me sold on one until the lack of proper titles was brought up. For that much money I expect it to say blu-ray and hd-dvd, not dvd37 or whatever. I have a hard enough time in my old age remembering to put pants on in the morning before I go to work, I don't need to be trying to remember which dvd number is what. Surely they give you a way to edit the macro titles?

You are able to customize the names of your activities...I have mine reading "OPPO DVD", "HDDVD" and "Blu Ray"...along with "DVD-A", "SACD/CD", and "Music Server".

When you go into the activities tab, there is a "Settings" button for each activity...under the settings menu there is an option for you rename each one. You can even re-order activities so that the ones that you use the most will show up before the ones you use less...

I just recently upgraded from a Harmony 659 to a Harmony 880...I love both of them! The lack of Bluetooth support with the 880 hasn't really hindered me, although it would be nice to have that functionality. Overall, the Harmony line of remotes are awesomely customizable and still very affordable. Unless one could afford a high-end Pronto or Crestron, the Harmony is the way to go.

[chlngr1970]

My Harmony 880 met with an untimely demize not too long ago. I liked that you could do almost anything with it, including my remote controll light dimmer. I also liked that it has a charging base station, since batteries around here dissapear faster you can put them in. The only problem I had was it was real slow...

j

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by chlngr1970

My Harmony 880 met with an untimely demize not too long ago.

Care to elaborate? Something we should be watching out for that may go wrong, or did you just drop it in the toilet?

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by dugpa

Care to elaborate? Something we should be watching out for that may go wrong, or did you just drop it in the toilet?

I think a wall flew into it....or vice versa.

/ducks, runs for cover

[bembol]

I tried this remote and was very pleased with it and the Customization!

I love that if an issue rises, the Help button actually works and guides you until it's solved.

I'm trying to get one for <$100.

Originally Posted by dugpa

Care to elaborate? Something we should be watching out for that may go wrong, or did you just drop it in the toilet?

I read some issues with Charging Station/Battery.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

I think a wall flew into it....or vice versa.

/ducks, runs for cover

That would have to be the only real downside to the 880. Its nice, has all the features you would need but the build quality ain't too great.

[chlngr1970]

Originally Posted by dugpa

Care to elaborate? Something we should be watching out for that may go wrong, or did you just drop it in the toilet?

It was a wall. The story goes, my GF kids were fighting over the TV, so her oldest boy took the remote and threw it against the wall.

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

I think a wall flew into it....or vice versa.

/ducks, runs for cover

Yeah, something like that

j

[chlngr1970]

Originally Posted by bembol

I tried this remote and was very pleased with it and the Customization!

I love that if an issue rises, the Help button actually works and guides you until it's solved.

I'm trying to get one for <$100.



I read some issues with Charging Station/Battery.

I had it for over a year before I started having issues with the charging station. One of the charging polls, or connections on the remote, not sure where it started, started coroding. It kept the remote from charging. I had to clean it regularly after that. Once I figured it out, it worked out.

j

[umainebearman]

Originally Posted by chlngr1970

It was a wall. The story goes, my GF kids were fighting over the TV, so her oldest boy took the remote and threw it against the wall.

Yeah that would have been right about the time I'd give that little ... an ultimatum. Come up with the money for a new remote or he gets to be thrown into the wall too.

[chlngr1970]

Evidence points to that being what happened, but I have no idea who is lying, so...

I did however take their Christmas money and bought myself the MX-810. So, the kids could have had a MUCH better Christmas had the 880 not been destroyed.



j

[Moonraker]

I have had the harmony 880 for some time now and it has functiond quite well. Here are the things I do not like about it:

Charging the unit is awkward and sometimes takes a while to get on the base correctly.

The number buttons are awkward, and some of the buttons on the right side of the screen you now really have to push to get working.


I think they addressed all these problems with their recent release of the Harmony One. I may pick it up and check out the new design. It looks like a good successor to 880.

[chlngr1970]

Does Logitech address the issue of remote speed?

The 880 had such a slow response time, which is why I had an issue with it.

j

[sub780lime]

Originally Posted by PunkMunkey

You are able to customize the names of your activities...I have mine reading "OPPO DVD", "HDDVD" and "Blu Ray"...along with "DVD-A", "SACD/CD", and "Music Server".

When you go into the activities tab, there is a "Settings" button for each activity...under the settings menu there is an option for you rename each one. You can even re-order activities so that the ones that you use the most will show up before the ones you use less...

Thanks for the info. it wasnt really making sense to me that i couldnt customize them. I will do that when I get home.

The number pad is in an awkward place at the bottom. Thats one thing I dont like too much. It only really matters when watching TV, but thats a decent amount of my viewing so it can get a little cramped for your hand and trying to navigate your thumb while still balancing the remote.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by chlngr1970

Does Logitech address the issue of remote speed?
The 880 had such a slow response time, which is why I had an issue with it.
j

I've looked at a few reviews of the Harmony One and none of them seem to mention any speed improvements. But none of them complain about the speed either.

Does anyone else here have any speed complains about the 880? So far you're the only one who's brought it up.

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by chlngr1970

Does Logitech address the issue of remote speed?

The 880 had such a slow response time, which is why I had an issue with it.

j

For some reason some of the defaults are really slow. For me on my projector it gives the projector 30 seconds to start up before it selects the input, but for me the input is always the same so I just eliminated that delay. In the software you change that in the devices screen. Same with my recieiver, I think it was 5 seconds or something for the startup delay. It was taking 45 seconds to start my system and I have that down to about 5 seconds.

[sub780lime]

For any one that is interested, Dell has this on sale for $130. Buy a $25 coupon on ebay for 5 bucks (I have done this before) and its $110 (counting the 5 you spent). There also seems to be a 10% rebate on all harmony products bringing you just under $100. And I thought I got a good deal, wish I could have gotten this deal.

[sub780lime]

I got my labels all set up

HD-DVD
Bluray
SD-DVD
DVR/TV
Xbox 360

Looks a lot better IMO. I also programmed some more custom buttons. This remote really does it all.