Customer Rating: 
Summary: At last.
Comment: Over the years I have tried countless universal remotes. The problems vary from not knowing the codes for my equipment (Usually my Marantz SR5000) and not being able to learn them (My Samsung SIR-TS360) to being difficult to remember which button does what and which buttons I have to hit to switch from watching a dvd to using tivo. This remote nailed it all. It's near perfect. It has all of the codes for all of my equipment, the activity based setup makes it easy to remember what buttons do what, and to top it of when your watching a dvd and you hit the button for using tivo it will automatically switch all of your equipment. There only seem to be 1 limitation. Other then switching modes it will not do macros, though supposidly the learning feature can handle multiple codes. Also if you wish to fully customize your remote don't expect to be done with the setup in a half hour, (or even an hour for that matter) but it's worth it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: simplify your life
Comment: I have a very complex home theater/music system. I used to have to pick up 3 remotes to watch a dvd and set the receiver/tv to the right inputs. Try to teach a ht novice (my girlfriend) how to do that! Now I press "watch a movie" and presto. Online set up is not dificult at all. I made a seperate command to "watch hidef tv" which is also convienent. Again, it sets all the inputs and so on. I would agree with the review below that the paper manual leaves alot to be desired but if you need customer suport call the toll free number and you will get the help you need immediately. Got this at an on line retailer for a very good price, well worth the money. No more "honey, how do you do that?"
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great remote but . . .
Comment: I've had this remote for about a week and I'm still getting familiar with it. Overall, it looks like it will do everything I want but it is taking a lot of time to set up.
PROs
* Nice look and feel with protruding buttons that are easy to use in low light
* Very flexible. Can be programmed to do just about anything.
* Very nice screen that can be customized (including text labels) to add the controls that you want if the buttons aren't enough
* Interactive Help on the remote is very useful for fine tuning your setup. For example, if a button is turning a device off when it should be turning on, the Help will help straighten that out quickly.
* Looks like I will be able to do everything in one remote that the four other device-specific remotes do (Sony TV, Dish Network satellite box including PVR features, Panasonic DVD recorder, and Denon Surround system).
CONS
* Very time consuming to get everything set up just right
* Poor documentation. The manual that comes with it is very simplistic and basically just gets you to the point of connecting it to their web site (which is essential to the set up). I would have found it very helpful to read the concept of operation including how the controls are organized, that the default soft buttons are just that--defaults, but they can be modified to anything you want, and other principles of operation. The web site has most of the documentation but I don't think it's well organized. I would much prefer to see the basic ideas on paper so that it can be easily read and reread.
* The web site is not well laid out. I think its confusing.
* Much of the setup is with Wizards which are slow to use (even over T1) with poorly described steps so that often it was not clear what I was being asked about and why.
* Slow to customize. It's taking many hours spread over days to get it to where I want. There is basically a database of functions for each device you have (according to the brand and model) and you assign a function from the database to a key or soft key on the remote control. However, I found that many of the functions don't have the same name as on my physical remote so it was very slow to figure out exactly what function I wanted. For example, on my satellite remote there's a function called Skip Ahead which jumps ahead several seconds if you're watching a recorded program. In the function list the choice is Advance. It took me a while to figure out that Skip Ahead and Advance were the same thing. Maybe it's documented somewhere but I haven't found it. This different use of terms is occurring frequently so it's taking a long time to set it up with the functions I want.
* Some unique and possibily useful features but again, poorly documented. It turns out you can configure a personalized list of TV stations and then download the programing to the remote. When you press the Media button you scroll through an alphabetical list of the programs for what's on in "this hour." Select a program by name and the program is set on the TV. You can download the prgram list up to 14 days ahead so you only have to do dowloads every 2 weeks. I've listed all the premium movie stations so I see an alphabetical list of all the premium movies. We'll, I'd be embaraced to say how long it took me to figure all that out. It also seems marginally useful because it's only displaying what's on "this" hour. It would be more helful to me if I could also see what's comming up the next hour so I can watch a program from the start. Maybe all this is documented somewhere on the web site but I didn't see it. A basic feature list would be very helpful so I'd at least know what Help to look up. Again, I'd like to see that on paper.
* Slow support. I sent an email request about the above several days ago and have not heard back yet. They say there's a 24 hour response time but it's been at least three days. So I figured it out myself.
* When you configure it for a specific device it adds every possible control to the soft buttons. When I looked at those controls they made no sense to me because I never use 95% of them. It took a while but I finally realized that I could delete all the defaults and add just the ones I wanted.
OVERALL
Very nice to use once its set up. However, with flexibility comes complexity and I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the documentation and their web site (which is essential for configuring) as far as usability is concerned. If you have several devices and are looking for a fast easy solution this may not be it. But if you have some time and patience then this is a great solution.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It really works....It really, really works I promise
Comment: EDIT: Broke in less than a year, although it is more my two year olds fault than the remote I think. But overall it is pretty fragile. Liked Harmony Remotes enough I replaced it with the 520 which is the most "basic" Harmony remote, but actually works as well, if not better than the 659.
Here's the thing. I was skeptical when it came to this remote, I have had the Sony 3000, and other "wonder remotes" and they all blow. You always have to keep the other remotes to perform one off functions. No more my friends. This remote is easy to set up, it is intelligent. It has a help function on the remote to help iron out smal details. You can receive program guides on the LCD. It lights up well, and is easy to navigate. One guy said "not for heavy tivo users", well he is just a crybaby and needs to loosen up. Yes the button are at the bottom, but they work. Everything on this remote works. The USB functionality is awesome. Setting up macros is a breeze, and IT WORKS. The Macros actually work!!! Plus, with the USB you know in the future they will have all of the new codes for updated products, so it will not become obsolete. Even my wife can use this remote with no instruction, she just picked it up and went to town, she also loves it. So in conclusion, this remote is sent here by angels, and it was the best christmas present I could have ever gotten!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: If you are a heavy Tivo user... think twice
Comment: Just bought this for Christmas and have been using it for about a week. We are sort of junkies in terms of electronics, and were getting sick of the pile of remotes on the coffee table, and after reading a lot of positive reviews, decided to give this a try.
First, the positives. The "activity" buttons are pretty cool, and actually do work, even in a complex set-up like ours. You press the "watch a movie" button, for instance, and watch all the components come on, the TV switch to the right input, etc. It does take maybe 10-15 seconds for the remote to send all the infrared commands for that to happen... so it will be interesting to see what kind of battery life we get.
After a week, we're thinking of exchanging it for a different model number. We are Tivo fanatics and the main problem with this remote is that the Fast-forward and Rewind buttons you use constantly when watching Tivo to get through the commericials are at the very bottom of the remote... you have to grab the remote and then shift your whole hand down, and sort of hold it by then very tip as you move backwards and forwards through the commercials. I know, I know... it sounds like a really small thing, but it's ANNOYING.
The initial set-up wasn't nearly as easy as the reviews said. The concept itself is great... the main problem is the process for walking through the set-up. Getting the components right wasn't easy, and some of the default settings weren't optimal for some of our devices--HOWEVER, it does give you the flexibility to re-program what some of the buttons do.
Summary: At last.
Comment: Over the years I have tried countless universal remotes. The problems vary from not knowing the codes for my equipment (Usually my Marantz SR5000) and not being able to learn them (My Samsung SIR-TS360) to being difficult to remember which button does what and which buttons I have to hit to switch from watching a dvd to using tivo. This remote nailed it all. It's near perfect. It has all of the codes for all of my equipment, the activity based setup makes it easy to remember what buttons do what, and to top it of when your watching a dvd and you hit the button for using tivo it will automatically switch all of your equipment. There only seem to be 1 limitation. Other then switching modes it will not do macros, though supposidly the learning feature can handle multiple codes. Also if you wish to fully customize your remote don't expect to be done with the setup in a half hour, (or even an hour for that matter) but it's worth it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: simplify your life
Comment: I have a very complex home theater/music system. I used to have to pick up 3 remotes to watch a dvd and set the receiver/tv to the right inputs. Try to teach a ht novice (my girlfriend) how to do that! Now I press "watch a movie" and presto. Online set up is not dificult at all. I made a seperate command to "watch hidef tv" which is also convienent. Again, it sets all the inputs and so on. I would agree with the review below that the paper manual leaves alot to be desired but if you need customer suport call the toll free number and you will get the help you need immediately. Got this at an on line retailer for a very good price, well worth the money. No more "honey, how do you do that?"
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great remote but . . .
Comment: I've had this remote for about a week and I'm still getting familiar with it. Overall, it looks like it will do everything I want but it is taking a lot of time to set up.
PROs
* Nice look and feel with protruding buttons that are easy to use in low light
* Very flexible. Can be programmed to do just about anything.
* Very nice screen that can be customized (including text labels) to add the controls that you want if the buttons aren't enough
* Interactive Help on the remote is very useful for fine tuning your setup. For example, if a button is turning a device off when it should be turning on, the Help will help straighten that out quickly.
* Looks like I will be able to do everything in one remote that the four other device-specific remotes do (Sony TV, Dish Network satellite box including PVR features, Panasonic DVD recorder, and Denon Surround system).
CONS
* Very time consuming to get everything set up just right
* Poor documentation. The manual that comes with it is very simplistic and basically just gets you to the point of connecting it to their web site (which is essential to the set up). I would have found it very helpful to read the concept of operation including how the controls are organized, that the default soft buttons are just that--defaults, but they can be modified to anything you want, and other principles of operation. The web site has most of the documentation but I don't think it's well organized. I would much prefer to see the basic ideas on paper so that it can be easily read and reread.
* The web site is not well laid out. I think its confusing.
* Much of the setup is with Wizards which are slow to use (even over T1) with poorly described steps so that often it was not clear what I was being asked about and why.
* Slow to customize. It's taking many hours spread over days to get it to where I want. There is basically a database of functions for each device you have (according to the brand and model) and you assign a function from the database to a key or soft key on the remote control. However, I found that many of the functions don't have the same name as on my physical remote so it was very slow to figure out exactly what function I wanted. For example, on my satellite remote there's a function called Skip Ahead which jumps ahead several seconds if you're watching a recorded program. In the function list the choice is Advance. It took me a while to figure out that Skip Ahead and Advance were the same thing. Maybe it's documented somewhere but I haven't found it. This different use of terms is occurring frequently so it's taking a long time to set it up with the functions I want.
* Some unique and possibily useful features but again, poorly documented. It turns out you can configure a personalized list of TV stations and then download the programing to the remote. When you press the Media button you scroll through an alphabetical list of the programs for what's on in "this hour." Select a program by name and the program is set on the TV. You can download the prgram list up to 14 days ahead so you only have to do dowloads every 2 weeks. I've listed all the premium movie stations so I see an alphabetical list of all the premium movies. We'll, I'd be embaraced to say how long it took me to figure all that out. It also seems marginally useful because it's only displaying what's on "this" hour. It would be more helful to me if I could also see what's comming up the next hour so I can watch a program from the start. Maybe all this is documented somewhere on the web site but I didn't see it. A basic feature list would be very helpful so I'd at least know what Help to look up. Again, I'd like to see that on paper.
* Slow support. I sent an email request about the above several days ago and have not heard back yet. They say there's a 24 hour response time but it's been at least three days. So I figured it out myself.
* When you configure it for a specific device it adds every possible control to the soft buttons. When I looked at those controls they made no sense to me because I never use 95% of them. It took a while but I finally realized that I could delete all the defaults and add just the ones I wanted.
OVERALL
Very nice to use once its set up. However, with flexibility comes complexity and I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the documentation and their web site (which is essential for configuring) as far as usability is concerned. If you have several devices and are looking for a fast easy solution this may not be it. But if you have some time and patience then this is a great solution.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It really works....It really, really works I promise
Comment: EDIT: Broke in less than a year, although it is more my two year olds fault than the remote I think. But overall it is pretty fragile. Liked Harmony Remotes enough I replaced it with the 520 which is the most "basic" Harmony remote, but actually works as well, if not better than the 659.
Here's the thing. I was skeptical when it came to this remote, I have had the Sony 3000, and other "wonder remotes" and they all blow. You always have to keep the other remotes to perform one off functions. No more my friends. This remote is easy to set up, it is intelligent. It has a help function on the remote to help iron out smal details. You can receive program guides on the LCD. It lights up well, and is easy to navigate. One guy said "not for heavy tivo users", well he is just a crybaby and needs to loosen up. Yes the button are at the bottom, but they work. Everything on this remote works. The USB functionality is awesome. Setting up macros is a breeze, and IT WORKS. The Macros actually work!!! Plus, with the USB you know in the future they will have all of the new codes for updated products, so it will not become obsolete. Even my wife can use this remote with no instruction, she just picked it up and went to town, she also loves it. So in conclusion, this remote is sent here by angels, and it was the best christmas present I could have ever gotten!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: If you are a heavy Tivo user... think twice
Comment: Just bought this for Christmas and have been using it for about a week. We are sort of junkies in terms of electronics, and were getting sick of the pile of remotes on the coffee table, and after reading a lot of positive reviews, decided to give this a try.
First, the positives. The "activity" buttons are pretty cool, and actually do work, even in a complex set-up like ours. You press the "watch a movie" button, for instance, and watch all the components come on, the TV switch to the right input, etc. It does take maybe 10-15 seconds for the remote to send all the infrared commands for that to happen... so it will be interesting to see what kind of battery life we get.
After a week, we're thinking of exchanging it for a different model number. We are Tivo fanatics and the main problem with this remote is that the Fast-forward and Rewind buttons you use constantly when watching Tivo to get through the commericials are at the very bottom of the remote... you have to grab the remote and then shift your whole hand down, and sort of hold it by then very tip as you move backwards and forwards through the commercials. I know, I know... it sounds like a really small thing, but it's ANNOYING.
The initial set-up wasn't nearly as easy as the reviews said. The concept itself is great... the main problem is the process for walking through the set-up. Getting the components right wasn't easy, and some of the default settings weren't optimal for some of our devices--HOWEVER, it does give you the flexibility to re-program what some of the buttons do.
Logitech Harmony SST-659 Universal Remote Control (Grey) Reviews: Page 10 of 14
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