Logitech Harmony 880 Remote Control - Refurbished Review

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(More customer reviews)If you think this remote is just a fancy color display version of other run-of-the-mill universal remotes on the market... then you really need to do more research before you buy this remote. Many of the negative reviews on this unit are because the buyers did not thoroughly understand the concept of the Harmony 880, or how it works, or that you have to program it via your home computer and the Internet! If having to install software on your PC and downloading component device codes is more complexity than you are willing to tackle then this is not a remote for you. Instead you might want to consider something like the 8-DEVICE Learning Upgradeable Universal Remote or the One for All URC 8910 Universal Remote Control.
You should also know that the Harmony 880 has been around for several years. By todays standards, and with the advent of high-resolution color displays found on most cell phones, the low-resolution display of the Harmony 880 may seem a little lackluster. Understanding this before you purchase may save you some disappointment. With that said, while there are newer Harmony models like the Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control or the Logitech Harmony 1000 Advanced Universal Remote the Harmony 880 continues to be one of the top selling universal remotes regardless of its older technology low resolution display.
You should also understand the Harmony 880 is an IR (infrared) line of sight unit. In other words it must be pointed at the device you are attempting to control. You cannot use it from another room and it may not function properly if you are pointing the 880 at the ceiling or the floor. If you need a remote that will work around corners, from another room, or when pointed in any direction... you need a RF (radio frequency) remote like the Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control.
As to the problems and complaints over defective charging base units... if you surf the web you will soon discover that years ago the original release of the 880 had a lot of problems with the charging base. The manufacturer went thru several redesigns of the base (and hundreds of upset customers) until they finally (only recently) got the design right. I received my Harmony 880 refurbished unit from Amazon in October 07 and it included the newest version of the charging base. The refurbished unit I received looked brand new in every way, works great every single time and I have not had a single issue or problem of any kind with the base charging unit.
Also, as to any concern you may have on buying a refurbished unit... if you check the review dates of the people giving the more negative reviews you will see the majority of them occurred in the May/June 2007 time frame. My guess is this is when Amazon first began to offer the refurbished units. One can only assume that Amazon worked with Logitech to resolve the earlier issues with the charging base. That said, the vast majority of the more current reviews (August 2007 on)... have been very positive. In regards to purchasing a refurbished unit... if you buy a "New" Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control it only comes with a one year warranty. If you buy the refurbished unit for $99 you can also purchase the 2-Year Replacement Plan for Electronics Products $75 to $99.99 for $19.99. So... you end up with a 880 with a 2 year warranty! (NOTE: The 2 Year Replacement Plan is not a repair warranty per se but actually a refund of the purchase price.) In other words if your unit fails during the two year period, you send in your defective remote and they will send you a check for the purchase price of $99.00.) I figure if it fails I can use the money to buy another remote or apply the refund towards a newer model.
If by the off chance you should receive a defective unit... (new or refurbished) any regular customer of Amazon knows Amazon will replace the unit in a flash or refund your money. As to the Logitech 1-800 support desk, yes you can experience delays in getting thru to an operator (as you do with most 800 support desk numbers), but once you get thru they are very helpful and will send you replacement parts when needed.
You should also know that some people complain about the little buttons on the 880 especially the ones located around the display. Others complain about the placement of the DVR/VCR controls. NET: Study the photos of the 880 to see if you could live with the buttons. If not, you might want to consider the Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote (although it has a monochrome, i.e., black & white, display). If you like the button placement of the 550 but want a color display like the 880 then you might consider the Logitech Harmony 720 Universal Remote.
Last... my wife hated having 5 remotes on the coffee table and she could never figure out which remote did what. Whenever she wanted to watch a movie or listen to music when I was away from home she would have to call me so I could step her through the remotes. When I was home I would have to stop what I was doing to set everything up. Those days are now behind us thanks to the Harmony 880. My wife absolutely loves it! She can now operate any device in our home theater or entertainment system with the push of a button.
When reading reviews keep in mind more people tend to complain when a unit is defective but are less apt to report when everything is great. Bottom line... thi five star rating is well deserved. If you do your research you will also discover this remote is hard to beat for the price.

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The Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote puts you in control of your entire audio-video system with just one button. It's home entertainment the way it should be - simple. Optimized for complicated HDTV and PVR systems, the Harmony 880 helps you tame tough configurations like switching your television between video aspect ratios depending on the program source. The interactive color display lets you quickly choose a 16: 9 ratio for movies and HDTV, or a standard 4: 3 ratio for basic television programming.

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Universal Remote Control - MRF300 Review

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(More customer reviews)If you have a complicated Home Theater setup, you probably already have a universal remote. If you have one from Universal Remote Controls, then this RF distribution box is nearly essential.
It's important to note that this device is not for the technologically faint of heart. You have to do some additional programming of your remote. You have to figure out where the IR receiving element is on your components (if you choose to use the leads) and you have to experiment with signal strength.
All that said, the end result is very impressive.

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Logitech Harmony 880 890 720 Battery Charger / Cradle Review

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(More customer reviews)If you own a Logitech Harmony remote it's likely that you've experienced the frustration of their poorly designed cradle charger. The remote is incredible, but I've owned 3 of them and every one of them eventually has problems with the contacts of the remote making contact with the contacts on the base to charge the unit. This charger couldn't be much more simple in it's design, but to my delight does a great job recharging the batteries. It's not as convenient as just laying the remote on the cradle as it was designed, but if you buy a spare battery also, the swap out takes seconds and it seems to be effective so far. It's not much bigger than the battery itself so it also has a small and non-cumbersome footprint.

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Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control Review

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(More customer reviews)UPDATE: I've just upgraded to the Harmony 1000, and talk about fantastic. Nice, easy to read screen and hard buttons, especially if you need glasses to read. Well worth the added price (since the RF receiver isn't bundled with the 1000).
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3 years ago, I purchased my first Harmony remote, the 768. At the time, I wrote that it was the best universal remote, bar none. I've since purchased a Harmony 668 for another setup, and have recommended various Harmony remotes to my friends. It was now time for me to update my home system.
Based on the numerous reviews, many over a year old, I was hesitant to give the Harmony 890 a try. I'm glad that I did! With the latest Harmony Software and firmware updates (which are automatically installed the first time you connect your devices), my experience has been excellent. And Amazon's price is outstanding - the same that local "discount" chains are selling the non-RF capable model.
I have had no problems configuring both the 890 remote and RF wireless extender under Mac OS X (Intel and PPC) and Windows XP clients. Clearly this is a different experience from the early adopters who bought this a year ago.
Some background - I'm an electronics geek and audiophile. My system is complex, and with more components (12) than the average home setup. In my opinion, if the Harmony can be configured to control all aspects of my environment, then it should handle any configuration as long as you have the patience to work through Harmony's setup wizards and lack of adequate documentation.
Initial setup is easy - install the Harmony software, connect and register, connect your devices (firmware will be automatically updated) and then specify what components you have, and what activities you want them to be in. If that's all you need to configure, there's not much work.
In my instance, I wanted all aspects to be controlled - changing sound modes on the amplifier depending on input source, switching to the optimal input on the TV monitor, controlling all component functions on the remote. This takes some time, and some learning through the sometimes quirky Harmony wizards. But in time, I was successful.
As I've mentioned in my past review of the 768, one of the real differentiators of the Harmony remotes is their ability to intelligently understand the STATE of various devices, and what commands are needed to establish a setting. For example, they will remember if your TV was last ON or OFF, what input it was set to, etc. For some devices, without separate settings for On/Off, or for selecting inputs, this is a lifesaver. And if the remote ever gets out of sync, you can just hit the Help button and it will prompt you through.
The included RF wireless receiver is great capability, allowing you to control devices in separate rooms without a line-of-sight from the remote to the components. However, I would recommend against using the RF receiver at first. Instead, configure the remote for all of your devices using the IR commands. Then, add the RF receiver and change your inputs. (See my separate review of the Logitech Harmony RF receiver for complete details).
Although the screen isn't very large, it is easy to read, providing 8 selections per screen. I prefer the Harmony 890's use of physical buttons to the touchscreen-only approach of other remotes, which force you to look at the screen each time.
Also a nice touch, the Harmony 890 has a motion sensor that will turn on the backlight when you pick up the remote. There areas that could be improved:
> The included documentation is almost useless. Logitech attempts to be user friendly but in the process it ends up being so oversimplified it is of little use.
> Some remote commands (for example, the sound mode settings on my Sony receiver) cannot be learned except in "RAW" mode. This is not the standard Learning mode, and I only found it by searching various online forums.
> The Mac OS X client software can sometimes lose "focus", where it will stop responding to the keyboard (for example, for naming a learned command, renaming an activity, etc). It is easily worked around - just quit and restart the Harmony client software.
> The Harmony client software has a resizeable window, but the actual content doesn't adjust to fit the window size. this is annoying when setting up custom button settings.
> Once you add the RF receiver to your configuration, you must always plug it in and update it, even when you make a minor change that shouldn't affect the RF receiver. I'd recommend placing it (and plugging it to a power source) where it is easy to disconnect/reconnect from your system.
> You can only define 16 favorite channels for a TV activity. This would seem to be an easy change for Logitech (the remote itself is not limited to 2-screenfuls of information).
> The buttons are laid out for appearance not ergonomics. If you have trouble reading without glasses, it may be tough to read the labels on this remote.
Even with these limitations, I still give this a 5-star recommendation, and would recommend it without reservations.Some tips:
1) Make sure you let the Harmony software update the remote AND the wireless RF receiver to the latest firmware
2) Remove the RF receiver from your initial setup, and configure for IR only. Once you're satisfied with all your settings and configurations, then it is simple to add the wireless RF receiver.
3) Configure the RF receiver to send commands to a specific channel (there are 4 different channels with 2 IR emitters on each wire) to minimize interference and improve performance. But, make sure if you do this that you label the IR emitter wires!
4) Harmony now has a Media Center device profile for the AppleTV. The trick is that you need to assign Volume Up to the Direction Up key, Volume Down to the Direction Down key, and Play to the Select key. When you do, the Harmony can control the AppleTV, even with the RF receiver, properly repeating commands to accelerate through the AppleTV menus. The profile is even smart enough to send the PowerOff sequence (hold down Play for 5 seconds).
5) If a learned command doesn't work, click on the "Custom" button at the bottom of the Learn IR screen, and then try to learn the command in "RAW" mode.
6) If you search the internet for "Harmony Remote icons" you can find several sites where people have gone through the work of creating custom icons for the Favorite Channels. This is something that Logitech should provide themselves, but they don't.


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Logitech's Harmony 890 remote control uses both radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) wireless signals to deliver powerful complete control of your home-entertainment system that may be hidden behind cabinets. With a wireless range of up to 100 feet, the Harmony 890 remote sends RF commands to a wireless receiver, which then blasts infrared signals to the components. The Harmony 890 remote makes universal control for home entertainment and advanced lighting systems simple. How does it work? Just connect your Harmony remote to your computer and the Web wizard walks you step-by-step through a simple set up. Enter in your model numbers for your components, then answer a few easy questions about how you Watch TV or Watch a DVD. You ll be controlling even the most complex system without any of the hassles of elaborate programming. Easily view and select. Color display icons and 8 on-screen activity buttons make it easy Effortlessly switch between watching HDTV and listening to music, by selecting a single activity button - Just press one of the Activity buttons, such as Watch TV or Listen to Music, and it automatically sets. Package Contents Harmony 890 remote control Charging station Harmony RF wireless extender USB cable 2 AC adapters 4 dual-IR emitters Lithium-ion battery Installation CD Installation guide 1-year limited hardware warranty

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Logitech Harmony 700 Rechargeable Remote with Color Screen Review

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(More customer reviews)Hi, I had tried this remote but was disappointed by a couple of things. Don't get me wrong, like all Harmony's, this remote is overall great and is well worth the money if you want a great universal remote. Compared to some of the others, however, it's a little disappointing. For reference, I own a Harmony One, and 880, and have used Harmony for 6 or 7 years, back when the first remote ever came out.
If you're looking at Harmony remotes, you already know how great they are and you will know if this will do the job. I'll basically mention what I don't like about this remote, and why I would go for the 880 instead:
1) This remote has a flimsy feel to it. The buttons are squishy and have some "play" in it..they don't just press down -- they move a little in some other direction while being pressed. It's a little subtle, but noticeable compared to the other remotes. It somewhat has the feel of one of the rubberized button cheap remotes that come with the AV equipment you might buy. Overall the remote just feels light and plasticky and I just don't get the feeling that it would handle normal drops and wear and tear that well. Obviously, I didn't test the durability. Again, I would just note that in contrast to every other Harmony I've owned, the build quality on this is not that great. It's not bad, just not what I've come to expect. It does not have the same premium feel to it.
2) No cradle. Definitely disappointing that there is no cradle for this remote. The charging is through the supplied USB cable and a wall dongle. Basically, it takes two hands to plug this remote in. But think about it from the perspective of where you would keep this remote. Do you want to have a lone USB cable dangling around, free to slip off the endtable when you're not charging it. It seems like a pain to fish for the USB cable and plug it in. This is in contrast to dropping it into a nice custom cradle that the other remotes just "slip" into. A word on the wall charger part of it...Cheapo. It comes in two pieces (the plug and the transformer), but the fit and finish is just bad. It really feels like it was made with minimal effort in design...it reminds one of buying a really cheap piece of electronic gear by some off brand that no one has ever heard of and is only sold in Korea or China, with one of those cheap boxes with bad faded photography and Asian letters describing all the features and you know it's just not going to work. I know, I digress, but when you buy a [...] remote, you really don't want to be reminded that they cut a corner here. (for reference, I own other Logitech devices that don't have cradles, but at least the power supply is decent, such as the DiNovo Mini Keyboard).
3) Only 4 screen buttons. When it comes to extending this remote, the screen only supports 4 buttons. At first, I was excited that it actually had easy to access buttons next to the screen. The Harmony one has Touch Screen buttons, which I personally find hard to use. In the dark, you can't just go on feel with the One. The One supports 6 potential buttons. The 880 supports 8 buttons on the screen, via hard buttons next to each item. While the buttons are hard, they can be a little hard to find in the dark without practice. But it's doable. I was hoping the 700 would be the best of both worlds. In reality, it probably is, especially if it supported 6 functions instead of only 4. But even at 4 buttons, it's a reasonable sacrifice if the rest of the remote was outstanding. One advantage of this remote is the 4 colored buttons that correspond to a lot of the DVR and Satellite boxes out there, as well as game systems, etc. So in a way, you don't need as many Screen buttons. Still, this remote would have been better with 6 buttons and would have made it feel like you were buying a premium Harmony remote. Here, it just feels intentionally crippled.
4) This is a bit of a minor gripe....but, after getting the less than premium/cheapo feel on this remote, the batteries continue the cheap feel. It comes with AA sized rechargeable batteries. They are NiMH. Now, if I got a remote in 1997 that sported AA batteries that charged inside the remote, I would be telling everyone how awesome this was. But these days, we're all used to those slim little Li-Ion batteries that come in every other rechargeable gadget like cameras, gameboys, etc.
So overall, again, this remote is still a great Harmony remote and will blow away most of the other remotes out there. These are all relatively minor points of distinction for the discerning user. I would think about your purpose and how often you'll be using, and how many devices you will control.
In fact, I would agree with the first poster on this point: it's a great second remote for limited applications. It's perfect for a bedroom, or a very small, simple setup. I don't think this competes at all with the One or the 880. With the 880 at only $10 more on Amazon right now, I think it is the better buy. Personally, I find some of the buttons more user friendly on the 880 than on the One/700. And of course, there are some buttons on the One that are better than the 880. The layout of the 700 could have been awesome, but the remote is limited by the fact that it is designed to be a crippled, entry-level remote in comparison to the higher end models.
So I would think hard about the 880 (I wish the screen on the 880 was prettier....) if you're looking at this.
Finally, I really hope Logitech isn't ruining the Harmony brand here. I hope they are not planning on continuing to make a cheaper feeling product across all the models. The new 900 apparently is weaker than previous remotes in that it does not support "sequences". I know most people were hoping that it would be a One with RF. But it sounds like you have to give something back to the get the RF. I hope Logitech remembers that there are plenty of "power users" out there who want a fantastic remote and are willing to pay for it.

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Logitech Harmony 700 is the rechargeable remote that's simple to set up and use. It can go a week between charges, so you won't be looking for batteries when you want to be watching TV. Its color screen can show icons for your favorite channels as well as the commands you need for the devices you're using. And its one-click activity buttons automatically turn on the right components and select the right settings depending on what you want to do. It replaces six other remotes and supports 5000+ brands and 225,000+ devices, so you can be confident it will work with what you own today, and the things you'll add in the future.

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