My parents got a whole new cable/sat setup and are now having tons of issues with the remotes. the Equipment

Dish Networks Box - Indian Programming
Bright-house/COX/Time Warner Scientifica Atlanta DVR Box - American Programming
Samsung DLP TV
Sony DVD player

They hate having to use 2 remotes for watching tv now, and my mom has never been able to get the tv on/use it fluently. My dad can turn it on and channel surf, but he has no idea on how to use the interactive guide system nor any of the cool stuff digital cable gave them.

I was thinking about getting them a harmony 880/890/one remote so I can program the activities (Watch TV Watch DVD Watch Dish) so it would be a bit easier. The only thing is I don't want them to be overwhelmed with all this functions and stuff that comes with the harmony.

Any suggestions?

PS. the 99 cent store jumbo remote is garbage according to my dad, he bought one and couldn't get it to work...

 

Checkout "Logitech Harmony One" remote. It can be connected to the computer and programmed to control various devices. It's kinda pricey but worth it.

Here's a link:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/re.../3898&cl=us,en

 

I looked into it, but I'm afraid they might be overwhelmed with all the extra buttons and how complicated it looks. I just looking for some idea's besides the harmony remotes so I can see all my options.

 

^^^ yeah the harmony one is kinda complicated if you dont really how to use it. My g/f is always pushing wrong buttons all the time. But it sure does make turning everything on and off all with a push of one button.

 

I got my son the Harmony. He says over all it is pretty good but has a couple of quirks.
Here is info on a new one I just ordered.
http://www.remotecentral.com/reviews/urc_r50/index.html
The web site has lots of remote info.
I have had two universal remotes programed by professionals (Marantz 9200 and URC MX880)
Both worked great but neither was cheap.
Good Luck.

 

I have the Harmony One. I love it; I think it's great. However, seeing as how you want a simple-to-use yet functional universal remote, I'd recommend a Universal Remote Control (yes, that is the brand).

I think they're more intuitive while Logitech's Harmony line has more bells and whistle, while cool, will probably just confuse someone who's merely looking for an all-in-one solution.

http://www.universalremote.com/consumer/products.php

 

My opinions on Harmony are already known here, so I won't comment on them. I will say that URC is definitely a very intuitive, well put together remote. It is however only as good as its programmer. You have to have an idea on what you are doing to get it to work properly. If you do end up going that route, be careful where you buy. A lot of online retailers are not authorized to sell them, and you can end up with an expensive remote with no warranty and no support. I will do what I can to help you on the programming end if you do get one. I have programmed almost a thousand URC remotes to date.

 

The Harmony One is not "complex" for the user.

If programmed well....it's as easy as turning on a light switch.

 

Yeah, for someone even moderately tech savvy, the One is not hard to use, but I'm just going off what the OP is describing.

I think the last thing people like that need is a remote that requires a PC to program.

 

I have the Harmony One as well,that is until my brother stepped on it!
I can't believe that there is no repair option if this remote breaks.You spend $250 on it and your stuck buying a new one if it is not under warranty! The remote does work great.

 

I have a Harmony 890 and I love it. It was very simple to set up and I got it for $100 on Amazon as a refurb. LOVE IT. Has a charging dock, very simple to set up on your computer.

 

UPDATE:

I bought two Harmony One Remotes (one for myself, and the other for the parents) from amazon.com for 188 each plus 3.99 overnight shipping (thanks to prime membership)

It took about 30 minutes to program the parents DLP Samsung, Dish Networks Box, Brighthouse/Timewarner/Cox Box and their dvd player. The best thing about it is that they can use it without any issues!!!!!!

Me on the other hand, I spent 3 hours on the phone with logitech. The remote doesn't like my Samsung HLT-6189s. First I had an issue with changing the source, and had to have one tech help me set up discrete codes. After that it wouldn't switch to HDMI one, and 2 hrs later I'm stuck with a remote that switches to Cable 92 then to HDMI one when I press watch TV on the remote. Oh well, you can't win them all.

However one thing I must give harmony props to is the custom activties, I can set up Watch TV, Watch DVD, Watch TV W/ Surround, Watch DVD W/ Surround, etc and set it up the way I want it!

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

 

Harmony and your avatar go hand in hand

 

for my TV yes, however for the parents, its was easy and very straightforward... I guess the better equipment you have, the harder it is.

 

if your tuner does HDMI switching, just let it handle all the work, and you tv can sit on HDMI 1 permanently.

 

I have my system hooked up so the HDMI runs from the box to the TV directly, and if I want surround, then an HDMI runs from the box to the Reciever, then to the TV; this way I can pick either or, not waste electric and as well not shake my house apart on a daily basis!

 

Does your box have multiple HDMI outputs?

 

no, I just get up and switch the HDMI cords...

 

If I can offer a suggestion. Run the hdmi from the box to your tv. Also run an optical cable from your box to the receiver. This way you can have either surround or just tv speakers. In your harmony software, program into the watch surround (not watch tv or whatever you want to call it) so it sends a tv volume down plus a tv mute. This way you won't get an echo from the two different processors.

 

I tried that (even before the harmony) and then my DVR box wants to be stupid and doesn't send out any video via HDMI nor Component for some reason. I have to get a new box since the HDD is mine is squeaking. I'll be trying it again, thanks for the suggestion!

 

What brand box do you have? I know it will work on a Scientific Atlanta.

 

it is the SCientific Atlanta 8300HD, however this is probably the 5th broken box I have gotten. The first two had non-functional Component ports, then the 3rd one didn't have a working HDMI port (only Component) and the 4th one had an issue getting the signal from the cable provider. This 5th one has lasted about a year now and it's been good except for the squeaking and the optical port issue. Hopefully the 6th one is the right one.