A 21st Century Remote Control -- Talk About Power!

This Logitech remote is sleek looking and is designed to control a universe of peripherals such as an HDTV television, DVD recorder/player and home theater. The remote can control up to 15 devices. Since my brother wanted to control his entire audio-visual system with one remote, he bought the Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote Control 880 (model # 966187-0403). And being his extremely curious sister, I had to know everything about it. After all, it just might be something I have to own!


What Comes in the Box

Remote Control
Lithium Battery
Charging Cradle
AC Adapter
Software on CD
USB Cable
Manual


Features in a Nutshell

This remote control can do so much, that I’m going to capsulize a list of features for quick reading.

* The internet is needed to program this remote control. It is Windows and Mac compatible.

* A recharging station also acts as a storage area for the remote. The remote has a lithium-ion battery.

* Don’t worry about losing settings when the battery needs to be replaced. This remote has flash memory to hold settings.

* Can use the remote while it is connected to the recharger.

* The remote has a sensor. Move the remote, and the LCD screen activates.

* An infrared sensor on the remote allows it to communicate with the remote you are currently using. Call it a “mind meld”. This Logitech remote scans the brain of the old remote, learning how it was programmed. The Logitech remote then communicates with the USB computer connection.

* There is an online database filled with various remote control codes for setup. This database is continually updated, too.

* The Help button shows questions on the LCD screen to aid in troubleshooting. The help menu also learns as it corrects problems.


Description

This sleek looking remote control is black and silver. It measures 2 3/8" x 8" x 1 3/8" and weighs about six ounces. Essentially the remote control can be divided into three sections for description.

The top third of the remote features a backlit color LCD screen measuring 1 3/4" x 1 1/2". On both long sides of the remote, the LCD screen is bordered by four small buttons that are “ridged” for easier identification. Above the LCD screen is an oval silver button that operates the on/off, activities and help menu.

In the middle third section of the remote control is a larger silver oval button with arrows going north, east, south and west ... and in the center of the oval the “OK” button. Beneath this are two arrows for paging through selections one page at a time. (For example, page through the online TV guide one full page at a time.) There is also a mute button and previous button (same as the “last” button on many remotes). Next to the oval button are the volume control (on the left) and the channel control (on the right).

The bottom third of the remote features a number pad along with the more traditional remote control buttons: play, fast forward, rewind, pause, stop, record. There are also buttons above these labeled: menu, exit, guide, info.


More About the Buttons

Depending upon which button is pressed (such as Activity, Device, Media), these buttons can control the devices visible on the LCD display (such as TV, DVD player, home theater). The LCD screen shows up to eight icons per screen.

On my brother’s remote, the “activities” button shows the following choices: Watch TV, Watch DVD, Play VCR, Listen to CDs, Play Games (Xbox), Listen to Radio

The “devices” button shows: DVD player/recorder, TV, home theater / amplifier, cable box, VCR, game console (note Xbox needs optional RF add-on sold separately by Xbox)

If you have an activity or device that has more than eight specialty buttons programmed for it, there is a left and right arrow button beneath the LCD display that will toggle through the menus. (For example, the home theater had 14 pages of functions to toggle through. Each page had 8 functions listed. My brother edited these down to 6 pages of functions.) At the bottom of the LCD display, it says there are ֿ of 6 pages” of functions so that you know other options are available.

Also, it is easy to quick-change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3, and there is an onscreen indicator to monitor battery life.

The “help” button offers a list of text questions to help pinpoint a problem to troubleshoot. Once the remote fixes a problem, the problem will not recur. The remote is smart enough to fix the problem and remember how it was done.

The “off” button will turn off every device controlled by the remote at the same time. For instance, if the “Watch TV” activity is selected, which has the TV, cable box, home theater all turned on, the “off” button will automatically turn all three devices off.


It’s Simple ... Right?

This Logitech remote is designed to operate up to 15 devices ... even the lights in the room. It’s an intelligent remote that learns its programming from being plugged via a USB connection into the computer.

The remote boasts one-touch activity keys, meaning that no complicated macros are necessary to program the remote. A color LCD screen allows for easy visualization of what you are programming.

The manufacturer states that the Lithium battery lasts up to a week before needing a recharge. There is a convenient docking station to cradle the remote while it recharges. Best yet, it includes memory that does not erase even when the battery is being changed.

Sounds like a dream, right? Well ... there are a few quirks.


Software

Before doing any programming of the Logitech remote control, there is software to load onto your computer. This software is necessary in order to program the remote.

The software comes on a CD. However, the CD did not work at all. This resulted in a phone call to customer service. Customer service provided additional phone numbers to call to find help with the software problem. One of the numbers looped through a series of voice mail options, so a real person was never reached. The second number connected to a real person. They said that a replacement CD was not available and that all the necessary downloads were available on their website. They offered no other guidance. With some searching, my brother located the software download and was able to get the software working.


Programming the Remote

The big downside to this remote control is that you have to go onto Logitech’s website to configure the remote control to work with various devices. Also, all future remote control device changes have to be made through the computer on the website. This remote is highly programmable, meaning that there are a lot of different options to customize each button.

The website can be viewed in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Netherlands, Italian, Danish.
When you go to the Logitech website, it requires establishing a user name and password. (The site will keep a log of your remote control settings so that you can edit them in the future.) The site then asks for the manufacturers of the different devices (such as whether the TV is Toshiba, RCA or Philips). Then it asks the model number for each device. It uses this information to pull from the online database for the remote functions so that it can automatically import the functions of the remote that came with the device. For instance, the home theater came up with five different VCR listings, and three of those didn’t apply to the home theater. The software allows one to delete functions and customize how those functions are named.

Once the remote is first programmed, returning to the Logitech website offers these choices:

Adjust setup – Change the settings of devices
Buttons & Menus – Change the buttons & menus under each activity for a device
Custom Images – Change the background of the LCD display or create a slideshow
Favorite Channels – Set up to 16 favorite channels and icons for those channels
More Options – This offers a screen showing all devices and activities
Update Remote

Make sure the time on your computer is accurate before connecting the remote to the computer for updating. The remote imports the time from the computer and will display your computer time on the remote.

Here is an example of how to add a button that wasn’t one of the imported buttons. Choose More Options. Then go under the device you want to add the function to. Type in the name of the function as you want it displayed on the remote, and then select “learn function” for the remote to learn the new function. It will prompt you to accept a small file to download. (My brother saves the file to the desktop since you have to know where you downloaded the file to.) Execute the file by double-clicking on it. At this point the computer will give directions on having the two remotes (the Logitech remote and the original remote for the device being programmed) facing each other so that they can share information. There is also a graphic displaying how the remotes should be positioned. Do not close out the webpage while this is happening since the remote is also communicating with the website via the USB port (located at the top of the remote). After finishing these steps, you can return to the webpage to program another button. Each button must be done one at a time.


LCD Display

The LCD display is bright and easy to view with 64 colors. The LCD screen has a motion sensor. When the remote is picked up or moved, the LCD screen automatically turns on. This motion sensor is optional. The remote can be programmed to turn on the LCD screen manually using the “glow” button located beneath the LCD display.


Recharging the Remote

The remote is set in the cradle every night to recharge. The connectors are on the back of the remote. When the remote was first set in the cradle to recharge, the LCD screen remained on the menu, indicating that the remote was not recharging. My brother discovered that there was a film on the contacts that had to be wiped off in order to make a solid recharging connection. The remote then automatically recharged when set in the cradle. This is the first horizontal recharger that I’ve seen. The remote lays flat in the recharger versus standing upright.


Likes

While there is a lot to like about this remote, my brother has a specific feature that he specifically likes. Separate keys can be programmed so that there are no multi-function keys. One frustrating thing about the separate DVD remote to his DVD player/recorder was that there were a few multi-function keys. It was easy to hit a multi-function key and have the wrong thing happen. The Logitech remote makes it simple to have separate keys for each function. The downside to this, is that the more individual functions that are programmed, the more screen pages there are to toggle through to use those individual functions.


Dislikes

One thing about this remote bugs my brother. When “activities” are set up that share the same device, and you program a specialty button that device needs specific to that activity, it also shows up under other activities that use the same device but not necessarily needs that specific function listed for other activities.

Here is an example: Two activities have been set up 1) listening to the radio through the home theater and 2) watching TV. Both activities use the home theater. Under the “listen to radio” activities you would like to have programmed buttons that will use the functions of switching the radio station channels. Under TV you do not need these functions, but since both use the home theater, the TV activity will automatically show the programmed functions for radio even though it is not needed under the TV activity.


Purchasing

This remote was purchased from Amazon.com for $229.99. I have seen this remote sell for between $228 and $250.


Summary

There is a learning curve to using this remote control … more the setup of it than the using of it. However, once all the buttons are programmed, just using the remote control on a daily basis will make it easier to know where all the menus are and how to access them. My 12-year old niece was able to sit down and figure out how to use the remote without reading any instructions. She just needed to be showed the “activities” button so she knew how to select the various activities that control the devices.

A techno-savvy person will love this device. A person who just wants a basic remote will find this remote has more functions than they will use. For someone who has a lot of devices, this is an excellent way to control every device with one remote.

I hope you have found this review useful.

Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Additional Information

Requires USB Interface and Computer with 10mb hard drive space
Computer: Works with PC or Mac
Battery Type: Lithium Ion, Rechargeable (battery comes with remote)
Battery Life: 1 - 2 weeks depending upon use
Built-in Memory: 2mb
Screen: LCD
Warranty: 1 Year Limited Warranty

IR Signal: sending & sensing frequency 60 kHz
IR Learning: yes
RF Signals & Channels: no
Operating Distance: more than 40 feet
Maximum Control Devices: 15
Backlighting: Buttons & LCD display
Audio: No


Please read my other reviews:

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Belkin UPS Emergency Battery Backup – F6C-550AVR

Topper & Topper Returns (DVD movie review)

The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (Bob Hope DVD movie review)

TV Guide (new format)



Copyright 2005 Dawn L. Stewart