» Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control

Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice... Feels and looks like an old cell phone.
Comment: Look and feel:
When I say it looks like an old cell phone model I don't mean to completely dismiss this remote. The main reason why I returned it is because the buttons are a little too small for my taste and too close together making it feel like you are operating your TV with a phone. After just a few minutes of holding it and flipping through my DVR my hand would start to hurt (it is like texting for extended periods of time), and FYI: I don't have arthritis or fat fingers for those fans of the remote out there. This is the price we have to pay if we want to have a small and sleek looking remote instead of those older, clunkier, bigger remotes.

Screen functionality:
For a remote it is nice to have a screen with icons that also serves as additional buttons in order not to crowd the control pad with dozens of buttons that normally look intimidating and complicated. Again, to flip through the pages you have to hit the tiny arrow buttons that are way too small.

Software:
As opposed to a lot of people I had no major issues with the software and the devices worked properly. It does take sometime to personalize and it also takes some getting used to but for me it is absolutely worth it.

Overall:
I am impressed with this remote and I find the "activities" settings very useful. I will replace this remote with the Harmony One because it has a touch screen and seems to have a better layout for channel surfing.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Harmony 880 works great
Comment: As long as you are comfortable navigating the online remote set up, this remote works wonders for a multi-component living room. I have it hooked up to my TV, my HDMI switcher, my DVD recorder, my DVD player/sound system and my Cable DVR. It does need to be recharged about once every week or two and needs to remain pointed at all the components for a second or two when starting or stopping an activity, but having only one remote is definitely worth it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Comment: Overall, this is a good remote. Logitech 880 did some impressive things and they did some uncharacteristically poorly-engineered things. I like the remote and I'm glad I bought it, but I got it for $100. If I had spent any more than that, I'd have returned it. That being said...

PROS:

* Device-Switching Macros. They are good. Most preset style macros handled everything I wanted and the one I wanted to customize was done easily enough - even tho the customization wasn't obvious. I had to sort of "fool" the remote into doing what I wanted. More detail> On my DVD player, if I press "play" on the remote while the DVD player is off, the player continues the DVD from wherever it was when you shut down. If you press "power" to power it up, it defaults to the root directory and you have to pick chapters. So I had to create a second "play dvd" macro where the power-up command was special and selected the "play" button as the power-up. Not a difficult customization at all, but the option wasn't apparent until I messed around a while to figure out how to pull it off.

* Page up and Page down buttons are the BEST feature of this remote. Perfectly placed on the remote and well thought out. They are also the largest buttons on the remote.

* Feel in hand is very nice.

* Color screen is pleasing and very easy to read. The "tilt sensor" works well and it's nice to be able to turn off the sensor if desired.

* Nice charging station. And Lithium Ion or NiMH battery (not sure which). Nice since there is no memory effect and I can charge whenever I want without fear of shortening the charged-life of the battery.

* I like the ability to get updates online to for device commands. The data Logitech had for my HDTV was more recent than even the remote that came with the TV. More specifically, the original remote required I hit the "source" button 9 times to get to the input I wanted on the TV - annoying. The logitech database had commands for direct access to the sources (i.e. Select HDMI1 or Select S-vid 2 or whatever) rather than having to scroll through them. These did not work at first, but they inspired me to download an update for the firmware in my TV and install it. Once that was installed, the direct access keys worked. That sequence of events alone was worth the $100 I paid for the remote!

* The fact that my remote settings are stored somewhere other than just on my remote is nice. I actually bought a low-end Logitech remote the first time, didn't like it, then bought this one. I didn't have to reprogram everything. I just added the remote on my computer and transfered the settings over. Of course I spent some time tweaking after that, but it wasn't necessary. I just happen to be a tweaker.





CONS

* Number buttons are difficult to press with thumb without pressing more than one - and I have small, precise fingers. Using a second hand to press the numbers yields much better results. The number pad LOOKS good, but it would have been better laid out to put space between each one.

* The macros that are not intended for device switching are lacking. For instance, there are 2 kids and an infant in my family. I like to put close captioning on sometimes when the activity in the room is loud and I don't necessarily need to have the sound blasting to enjoy a program. In order to do this, I need to go into the menu on the cable box, go to setup, etc etc and end up on turn close caption on/off. I went to set this up as a macro but I was only permitted 4 strokes in the macro and that was not enough to get to my destination. Odd.

* While the shape of the remote is nice in the hand, it's useless on the table or when setting on the couch. You can't press any button left or right of center on the remote while it's on a surface because the remote rocks to one side or the other before you can put enough pressure on the button to engage it. Not a huge deal, the remote spends most of it's time in my hand, but sometimes it's nice to just press a button without having to pick up the remote.

* The navigation controls are a little uncomfortable. There is a somewhat sharp edge on the outer edge of the ring. Fine for a few pushes, but when you are, say, scanning through the guide along a single channel looking for movies to record, the raised edge starts to get uncomfortable. And there really is no other position you can place your finger over the button because of the high ridge.

* On this con I'm not sure has a solution. We have two active remotes. This one and a Theater Master 500 (volume control is going bad in the Theater Master which is why I got another remote). If the system is turned on by another remote and I want to use the Logitech remote, I have to cover the IR transmitter with my hand and run the Device-Select macro I want so I can use the remote. It would be nice if there was a way to get to that setting without having to do that. It's not a big deal and I don't really know how they'd get around that, but it does prove to be annoying since my wife still uses the TM500 and I use the Logitech. I guess the solution would be to be able to enter the "watch TV" pages without having to play the macro that heads it up.

* While I really do like the ability to program this remote with my computer, at the same time, it makes it annoying to make small tweaks to the setup. I have a couple little things I want to change on my setup, but I haven't done it because when I come across them while using the remote, I'm never really in the mood to go fire up my PC and dive into the programming. It would be nice if edits could be made both on the remote itself and on the PC, then synced up when convenient.

* This next one is a con that may sound ridiculous to many, but it has ended up being of relevance to me. The logitech has smooth plastic buttons. They feel good to the touch. However, I've grown accustomed to putting my remotes face-down on the arm of the couch utilizing the rubberized buttons as traction, keeping the remote firmly on the arm of the couch. The smooth plastic buttons of the Logitech don't have that attribute so the remote just slides off. Oh well.

ODDITIES

* The "mute" button either has a delay or it just requires more pressure to trigger than the other buttons. Not sure where this issue originates so i can't really call it a con.


Final Word

If you can get this remote in the hundred dollar range, get it. Any more than that (what, $240 list? yikes), you should probably do some more research. The logitech 880 is a good remote, but I think I probably actually prefer the functionality of my 7-year-old Theater Master 500. It does more macros and does them just as well as the Logitech. You can put a macro of any length on any key, you can set up the device selection buttons to both do a macro when you hold it down for 3 seconds or just switch to that device without performing a macro if you don't hold it down. It's equally customizable and has a better build quality (once I accidentally stomped on the HTM500 when it was on the coffee table (long story) and the remote gouged a big gash in the table and the remote itself was unscathed). However, the Logitech is much slicker and far more contemporary in styling, works well and looks great on the coffee table.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable!!!
Comment: This thing does it all. One button press turns everything on and sets it to correct channel and formats for sound and picture.
It does take some time to get it right where you want it but its totally worth it. Once its set up, the wife or kids can press one button and they are done. Throw the other remotes out you won't need 'em!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Does everything
Comment: Love the download capability, worked with everything I had, with no problems. Its good to know if I buy a new component that didn't exist when I bought the harmony, it will work. Don't buy a non-upgradable universal, its not worth it...



Limitations are with buttons that toggle i.e. on/off. And its not really the harmonies fault, if the manufacturers of remotes had separate codes for on and off, etc, the harmony would be perfect. For example if you manually power off the TV the harmony thinks the TV is on, and can get confused, but even then, the help button is awesome, just answer the questions as to what is wrong and in idiot proof fashion (assuming you answer the questions correctly) it gets you back on track, love it!

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