Harmony Remote Recommendations?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.replaytv (More info?)

I have been to Logitech's website and don't really see much detail on the
Harmony remotes, just sales blurbs.

Which one would be best suited for use with a ReplayTV, digital cable
box, home theater sound system with integrated DVD player and a TV with
dual tuners (PIP and when I want more rapid channel changes)?

I will be transitioning to a plasma (with or without a tuner... haven't
decided yet) and a satellite system (DirecTV, most likely), so it would
have to deal with that as well.

Also, an estimate on battery life for the non-rechargeable units, please.

--
Jeff

===================================================================
NOTE: Remove underscores from my e-mail address to reply personally.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.replaytv (More info?)

My wife and I tried the Harmony 688 - the one recommended for DVR owners.
Between the two of us we have five ReplayTV units, one LCD HDTV, one
standard TV, two DVD players and two VCRs. The 688 does sort of work. It
tries very hard to control all of these devices, but doesn't quite manage it
very well. And yes, I was very demanding of it. I wanted it to be able to
control each RTV independently, which it's supposed to be able to do. It
just wasn't reliable at selectively controlling each one uniquely. It had
trouble with my LCD HDTV set, where it had to simulate multiple timed key
presses to cause certain actions. In the end, we sent them both back for a
refund and are sticking with our collection of reliable original remotes.

Bye.

"Jeff Lindstrom" <j_r_lind@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:Xns96BDC9B0ED8Cjeffsmessages@216.196.97.142...
> I have been to Logitech's website and don't really see much detail on the
> Harmony remotes, just sales blurbs.
>
> Which one would be best suited for use with a ReplayTV, digital cable
> box, home theater sound system with integrated DVD player and a TV with
> dual tuners (PIP and when I want more rapid channel changes)?
>
> I will be transitioning to a plasma (with or without a tuner... haven't
> decided yet) and a satellite system (DirecTV, most likely), so it would
> have to deal with that as well.
>
> Also, an estimate on battery life for the non-rechargeable units, please.
>
> --
> Jeff
>
> ===================================================================
> NOTE: Remove underscores from my e-mail address to reply personally.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.replaytv (More info?)

One possibility is a computer... I have looked at the Learning Remote
application for my PDA (Palm Zire) but I never got it to work at all in
"Try before you buy" mode. So I guess you know I did not buy either

The advantage of a computer based remote is you have, in a manner of
speaking, tons of memory to remember commands with.

The disadvantage is that the PDA's LED is short range, (3-6 foot max or
so they say)

Alternative... Control most of the functions on the replays using a
laptop, wireless lan card/router and DV-Archive

David Sommers wrote:
> My wife and I tried the Harmony 688 - the one recommended for DVR owners.
> Between the two of us we have five ReplayTV units, one LCD HDTV, one
> standard TV, two DVD players and two VCRs. The 688 does sort of work. It
> tries very hard to control all of these devices, but doesn't quite manage it
> very well. And yes, I was very demanding of it. I wanted it to be able to
> control each RTV independently, which it's supposed to be able to do. It
> just wasn't reliable at selectively controlling each one uniquely. It had
> trouble with my LCD HDTV set, where it had to simulate multiple timed key
> presses to cause certain actions. In the end, we sent them both back for a
> refund and are sticking with our collection of reliable original remotes.
>
> Bye.
>
> "Jeff Lindstrom" <j_r_lind@adelphia.net> wrote in message
> news:Xns96BDC9B0ED8Cjeffsmessages@216.196.97.142...
>
>> I have been to Logitech's website and don't really see much detail on the
>>Harmony remotes, just sales blurbs.
>>
>> Which one would be best suited for use with a ReplayTV, digital cable
>>box, home theater sound system with integrated DVD player and a TV with
>>dual tuners (PIP and when I want more rapid channel changes)?
>>
>> I will be transitioning to a plasma (with or without a tuner... haven't
>>decided yet) and a satellite system (DirecTV, most likely), so it would
>>have to deal with that as well.
>>
>> Also, an estimate on battery life for the non-rechargeable units, please.
>>
>>--
>>Jeff
>>
>>===================================================================
>>NOTE: Remove underscores from my e-mail address to reply personally.
>
>
>

--
John F Davis, in Delightful Detroit. WA8YXM(at)arrl(dot)net
"Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business"
Diabetic? http/community.compuserve.com/diabetes

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.replaytv (More info?)

If you are patient and work with their tech support on the phone, you should
be able to control most any HDTV set. For me, it was the failure to handle
my ReplayTV units well that annoyed me the most. That said, yes, you might
want to consider how a particular HDTV is controlled. For mine, there are
often a menu selection, some down or up arrows, followed by another menu
selection and more up and down arrows. There is no direct way to switch from
4:3 to 16:9 except this way. With the HDTV remote, I do it very fast as I'm
changing it often as I might watch a show on SciFi and then FOX.

Bye.

"Jeff Lindstrom" <j_r_lind@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:Xns96BF7FE3C3F00jeffsmessages@216.196.97.142...
> "David Sommers" <dsommers@ACM.org> wrote:
[....]
>> It had trouble with my LCD HDTV set,
>> where it had to simulate multiple timed key presses to cause certain
>> actions.
>
> Now that is a concern. I don't know what delays will be necessary in
> whichever widescreen TV I have yet to buy.
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
>
> Jeff
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.replaytv (More info?)

Peter Kelly <disco@no-spam.satx.rr.com> wrote:
> I bought a harmony 768 when I moved up to an HDTV in the living room.
> ...
> When I put a smaller HDTV in the bedroom, I bought a 659...
>
> Personally, I love them. _I_ knew which buttons to hit on all the
> remotes, but my wife didn't. Now she doesn't have to, and I only get
> one call a month to put the devices into the correct state.

What is entailed when you get that call?


Jeff

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.replaytv (More info?)

"David Sommers" <dsommers@ACM.org> wrote:

> If you are patient and work with their tech support on the phone, you
> should be able to control most any HDTV set...
> For mine, there are often a menu selection, some down or
> up arrows, followed by another menu selection and more up and down
> arrows. There is no direct way to switch from 4:3 to 16:9 except this
> way.

Hhmmm... are there any HDTVs which have a quicker switch between the two
modes? With the ready mix of both formats available on cable and satellite
systems, you'd think a mode switch would be as useful as a Mute button.


--
Jeff

===================================================================
NOTE: Remove underscores from my e-mail address to reply personally.