Hi all - I just got a new 890 Harmony remote from Logitech to replace my older Sony RM-AV3000 universal remote and love it so far.

Does anyone else have one of these? I'm looking to see if you have any tricks/tips or things you learned about it after the purchase.

I'm also looking to see if there is anywhere I can go to download new themes for it. I don't necessarily dislike the stock themes, but would like to know if there's anywhere I can go to get more. I checked the Logitech site, but couldn't find anything. They still seem to have more literature out on the 880 than the 890.

 

I didn' t need the RF, so I have the 880. I am sure one of the cutom home theatre shops in your area can give you some hints or heads up. I went to one around here, and they were awesome with the info. I am sure they want more business, even though the info was free. They were good enough that my 46"Sammy DLP is coming from them soon.

 

Looks pretty cool. Do they make software updates to download programming information for new to market devices? Dell has the 880 for $149 and I might pick one up but I'm not sure if the receiver I will eventually buy will be compatible.

 

^ With the 890, they store all of your settings on the logitech server (the control panel for the remote is a web page, not a local install). Everything is downloadable. I'm pretty sure the 880 is the same. I both like and hate this approach to programming the remote.

Because of this kind of setup, they say these remotes will be fully "future" compatible with whatever AV stuff comes out in the future. Even if you had an issue with controlling a product, you can always get the remote to "learn" the commands from that product.

 

so this will hook up everything in ur home theater?

 

Yeah I have an 880. It's not perfect but it isn't bad for the price. If you are a little patient the 880/890 usually shows up for deals2buy.com for a considerable discount.

The website used to configure the device could use improvement.

 

I've read that the 880/890 are not good replacements for the TiVo remote; in that it's cumbersome to do basic TiVo functions quickly and easily.

Thoughts?

 

what about the time warner dvr functions? and my sony reciever functions lol

 

Well I've had a Tivo but never used the 880 to run it.

I do use the 880 to run a Comcast DVR and it is pretty good at running that. I personally like the Tivo remote better but I don't think you would have any problem running the Tivo with the 880/890. You can customize the LCD screen so that a couple buttons on the LCD could run the "thumbs up/thumbs down".

 

i used my 880 for my tivo for about a year, it was perfect, tivo just sucks. obviously most of the OE remotes are better for that specific device, but the 880/890 can get you pretty close with the lcd buttons.

check out www.remotecentral.com forums for some tips/help with the 880/890

 

I have the 880... sorry, no tricks I know of... All and all, I'm pretty happy with it...I love the fact that I have one and only ONE remote control. Iit does control everything, even my Xbox 360! The only thing is... getting into the recorded programs on the DVR is kinda a pain, it's like 3 steps! I tried showing my roommate, but I don't think she ever got it down...

(which is why I have a wooden, decorative chest on the coffee table to hide all the other controls...)

 

What DVR do you have? I have the Moto one from Comcast. I just hit one button called "DVR" that I setup on the LCD. It brings the list right up. BTW I set it up under the "Watch TV" activity. That way I don't have to hit "activities" "watch PVR", etc.

 

hmmmm, I'll have to figure out, I'm assuming that you did this through the pc? ...cause I had a hard time programing mine, NOT because it's hard to program, but because I'm NOT very computer savvy... I had to get a friend to help me...

...but if it's possible to make it easier to get into the recorded shows... I'll figure out...


btw, I have the Motorola HD DVR too (Cox Cable)

 

^ It's easy to setup. Log into the website. On the right side you see activities. Next to "watch tv" click "customize". Then click "change the behavior of buttons"
Scroll down to the bottom where the "Custom Label Button" section is and pick the first empty one. Type in something like DVR, then in the PVR row select "mydvr" from the list of a zillion functions. By the way, you can also setup other one button stuff here like On Demand.
After you are done just finish the wizard and program the remote.

 

I install probably about 4 or 5 Harmony remotes a week. Typically it is the 659, but it uses the exact same setup. I actually like the 659 more. The 880 and 890 do not really have raised buttons and it is more difficult to get a feel for it then the 659. As far as programming, if you have difficulty getting a device to work, you can call Logitech's tech support and they will not just walk you through it, they typically will program the device for you and just tell you when to update the remote. This MIGHT only be for pro-installers, I am not sure. I have only called them once myself, and my boss called them once, but both times they were great in helping.

 

with regards to the 890, how to you get the RF functionality to work on all your devices? I have a problem where my devices are not in my range-of-view when I'm sitting down, so its a pain in teh ass to use the various remotes to play, pause, etc

 

I have yet to install a 890, but I believe it comes with a RF receiver that you put in your closet or where your equipment is. It either has emitters you put directly on your equipment in front of their infrared eyes or it has a blaster that just sends a signal to all the equipment. Not sure which it comes with though. I am sure someone that has one will clear that part up.

 

alright awesome, thanks!

 

So here's the deal... I ended up returning the 890 last night and got my $$ back.

It had operated inconsistently since I got it (most likely due to my shi**y programming).. Here's what I noticed:

1) When using "Activities" and "Watch TV", it would sometimes turn on the TV and the cable box. Sometimes, it would turn off the TV (if already on) and turn on the Cable box. Sometimes it would turn on the TV only and I still had to turn on the cable box as a separate action. When this happened, it was a 50/50 shot as to whether it would also turn off the TV again after.

2) If I manually turned on the DVD to put a new disc in, then used the "Watch DVD" activity, it would turn everything else on correctly (and turn off those items I don't need for DVD viewing), but would turn off the DVD player.

3) I got tired of explaining to my wife why I spent between $3-400 for a remote which was obviously frustrating and didn't do what the free one that came with the TV in the first place (5 years ago) does.

I know it probably has something to do with the way the discrete codes were programmed, but I re-programmed it about 15 times (per the manuf. specs) with similar results. In the end, I figured I'd just return it before the 30 days were up for a full refund. I may try again someday, but for now, I'm going to go back to the Sony. It's not as pretty, but works as advertised without making me angry.

- OH, and can I take back my "I love it so far" comment from my first post?

 

...well, it's like this... I'm pretty sure this is how it works... if your device is already on, and the 890 thinks it's off... and you press the activity action for "watch DVD"... the 890 is going to shoot out the power signal to all the devices... turning the DVD off (because it was already on), I have (kinda) the same issue with my roommate... She'll go turn the DVD player on manully, drop the DVD in... then she'd hit the "Watch DVD" action the remote would turn everything on BUT turn the DVD player off... I've tried explaining to her several times... but she doesn't get it...

Another thing, the remote clearly tells you to hold it towards the devices for a few seconds after you've command the action, and my roommate would hit the button and forget to hold the remote up for the... extra 2 seconds... the remote would only, partially turn on all the units... then she'd say... "...hey this thing's NOT working right..."


I still love it, I hated it when I had 4 remotes sitting around (A/V receiver, DVD player, TV, XBox 360)

 

Yeah, I know it's most likely a combination of a poor setup and use. I always held it towards the equipment long enough for the actions to complete.

I guess it's the aggravation I had with having to do things in a specific order. I think any remote over 3 hundred beans should be smart enough to NOT turn off a device which is listed in the "Activity" parameters as a piece of equipment that should be on for that activity.

Anyway, I may try another high-end remote in the future and spend more time getting use to it. For now, I'm going back to the Sony, which operates all of my equipment flawlessly in a single remote without the aggravation I experienced with the 890.

Now if the Sony had a color touch-screen, I'd never switch!

EDIT - the reason why I tried to replace the Sony in the first place was because some of the buttons stoped working. I took it apart and found a bunch of dried milk all over the buttons and board. Wiped it off and they still wouldn't work. ... Of course, my son says "I didn't do it"... Little bugger!

My wife is going to pick up a newer RM-AV4000 Sony today after picking him up from school to replace the older one. I'm hoping they didn't change it too much.

 

Yup, I just quoted myself.. I actually just discovered the RM-NX7000 from Sony. The next time I go for a big $$ remote, that would be one for me to look at. I just can't see spending $7-800 on a remote right now.

 

You are asking for an inanimate object to be smart enough to know stuff. You have to realize how these things work. You program the remote to send a signal with certain codes. The codes tell the box to do certain things. Such as ON - INPUT - OFF. You remote does not know the previous state of the equipment when you you press an activity. If you have a device that is on already when you press an activity button, it just sends the code as it always does. Most devices have a power toggle button, NOT a power on and then a seperate power off. So it sends ONE code that will both turn it on and off. For this reason, when you press the activity button, it will turn off that device if it was already on. When the remote gives you a problem such as this, the best thing to do is to press off and let it send its codes. Then manually turn off every device, and then start again. I say this even though you returned it, but for any one else having the issue, I thought I would put it in my post too.

Also, the 890 is a RF remote. So you must have your equipment in a closet or in a cabinet, correct? Did the remote come with little IR emitters that you have to put over the IR eye on each device?

 

what do you think about this one?




$249 @ www.costco.com

 

Wow! Great find. If that does everything the others do for $250, it looks like a winner! For now I'm dealing with the Sony RM-AX4000 my wife picked up for me this week (got it on clearance for aroung $93). It works great. It actually does what I want it to even with the "Xpress" features. And I saved over $250 by returning the 890.

I have to admit that I like some of the "glitter" on some remotes like the color screens, etc... That Philips you posted looks pretty sweet for the price (I checked it out on their site as well).