Computer Reviews Website

Summary

Because of their exceptional products, fair pricing and generally positive customer feedback, Logitech has long been a household name for computer keyboards, mice, speakers, headphones and more. In recent years (thanks to acquiring Harmony), Logitech has gone on to prove itself as a trustworthy name in the universal remote industry. They’ve produced a number of high-quality, programmable universal remotes amenable to all sorts of budgets. Most recently, they’ve taken the high-end consumer-level remote market by storm with their $499 USD Harmony 1000 Advanced Universal Remote. What does a $499 remote do? Continue reading to find out.

Features and Design

Does the collection of A/V remotes on your coffee table resemble a small, mismatched flotilla? Are your remotes using enough AA and AAA batteries to power a small Foreman grill? Wish you could hit one button to dim the lights, queue up the surround sound, and get your favorite movie rolling? The Harmony 1000 can definately make that happen.

The Logitech Harmony 1000 is an ingenious and high-quality remote control. One look confirms that Logitech put a lot of time, effort and money into creating a slick, full-featured, easy-to-use remote targeted for use by all sorts of TV and movie addicts, whether technically proficient or not. The brushed metal and high-gloss black frame is very classy and matches most modern TVs and home theater components.

Physical Stats

The Harmony 1000 is roughly 4.2″x5.5″x0.7″, making it almost the same dimensions as two 80GB iPods laid side-by-side; it does weighs around 6.8oz however, making it a very lightweight device. The LCD display on the 1000 itself measures about 2.1″x2.75″ or 3.45″ diagonal. It’s as large as, if not larger than, most modern digital camera LCD display; but there is a very good reason for this.

Touch Screen LCD

The most recognizable and important features of the Harmony 1000 is its large touch screen 320×240 pixel LCD display. The LCD display is bright and crisp – perfectly visible in all lighting situations – even in full sunlight. It responds well to almost all physical input; fat fingers, skinny fingers, PDA styli, even the corner of a piece of paper. Tap it hard or caress it softly, the Harmony 1000′s screen responds instantly and accurately.

Customize It

Another cool feature related to the LCD screen is the customizable nature of the background image. You can select any image from your computer, so long as it’s 320×240 pixels in dimension and less than 160KB in file size. I found that the easiest way to do this was to select several good images, make a separate folder for copies, then resize accordingly. From the Harmony 1000 software, select those dedicated, resized images as desired. Once you’ve selected a new image, click the “Update Remote” button on your computer screen. After a couple confirmation screens, the Harmony 1000 will update, reboot and its new settings will appear.

In addition to the custom background images, you can also control things like 12-hour vs. 24-hour clock, whether to show or hide the “Starting Activity” screen, change the type of onboard help system, and whether or not to enable RF (Radio Frequency) remote capabilities.

Image Courtesy of Logitech

Features Cont’d

Buttons

In addition to touch screen controls, the Harmony 1000 has a number of physical buttons on the face of the remote. They control the basics like Volume Up/Down, Channel Up/Down, Mute, Return/Back, and a gamepad-like button for navigating components’ menus. To make these buttons easy to use in low light situations, the buttons are all backlit with a cool blue light.

One downside to the Harmony 1000 and its button layout – it isn’t possible to program the physical buttons to perform common actions like pausing, fast forwarding, rewinding, etc. For these everyday actions, you’ll need to use the touch screen menus, which may prove a little too slow for some people (though these days, with people text-messaging as fast as other people type, Harmony 1000 users could eventually whip through the on-screen controls as fast as other people master old-school remote control buttons).

Instant Turn-on

One of the coolest features of the Harmony 1000 is its motion sensor. Whenever you touch the remote or pick it up, it wakes from its sleeping state and/or resets the time-out clock to zero. You’ll never have to press a button to power up the Harmony 1000; it gets turned on when you touch it. Don’t you wish everything in life was like that?

Home Automation

The Harmony 1000 works with the Z-wave wireless home automation standard, so in addition to controlling your home theater, you can control your automated home – turn lights on & off, activate heating/cooling, control your security system, etc.

PC & Mac

The Harmony 1000 works perfectly with both PC and Mac computers.

Home Theater Macro

Normally, when using a combination of dedicated remotes, or even with a “universal” remote, if you want to switch from one activity to another (e.g. change from listening to satellite radio to watching DVDs), it is necessary to manually turn components on/off, switch inputs, etc. It can be a real hassle shifting from one type of content to another.

The Harmony 1000 uses macro-like settings that will intelligently shut off or simply disengage from the current device(s) and command the target components to begin pushing content. You can even let the other devices keep playing while you jump from component to component, keeping everything alive and greatly increasing the amount of instant entertainment being pushed in your direction. It’s like a pre-conceived set of macros for your home theater components; something common remotes just don’t do.

What’s in the Box?

When you buy the Harmony 1000, you get everything you need to start controlling your home theater. You get the Harmony 1000 remote control, charging dock and power adapter, USB cable, rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, installation CD, and the user guide. As with almost all consumer electronics nowadays, the Harmony 1000 comes with a one year warranty.

Setup and Use

The experience of setting up the Harmony 1000 remote can vary from easy and fun to slightly aggravating. This depends entirely on how many audio/video components you’ll be setting up on the Harmony 1000, how much patience you have, and whether or not your a technophile or technophobe.

The first thing you’ll want to do is plug the Harmony 1000′s charging station into an outlet and charge the remote for at least a few hours. Once the remote is properly charged, connect it to your home computer using the included USB cable or any other USB cable with a standard 6-pin connection on one end and a 4-pin mini-USB connection on the other. Most people with digital cameras or Smartphones have at least one of these cables.

Software Setup

With the Harmony 1000 connected to your computer, install Logitech’s PC or Mac software on your system by using the included CD or by downloading it from logitech.com. The first time you run the software program it’ll walk you through the setup wizard. Mid setup, the program will check for software and firmware updates. In my setup experience, the Harmony 1000 went through two firmware updates and two reboots. A final firmware update completed the 8 minute initial setup.

Adding your home theater components to the Harmony 1000

Once the firmware and software are fully brought current, the setup wizard will ask you to select your a/v components from a very comprehensive list – so comprehensive, in fact, that it includes some of the most obscure and archaic components still controlled by remotes – 175,000 devices at present, updated daily. Logitech really intended the Harmony 1000 to control anything you might use in your home theater setup. While the list may not be complete (e.g. the Apple TV is not on the list – yet), Logitech gets an A++ for the devices they do support.

Macro Programming

As part of the setup process, you’re asked to define typical scenarios or “uses” for the remote – watching DVDs, watching cable TV, listening to CDs or radio, etc. This helps the Harmony 1000 create subsets of IR controls to keep things simple for you later on. After all, if you tell the Harmony 1000 you intend to watch DVDs, you’ll appreciate not having a bunch of FM radio controls crowding up your LCD screen.

Creating your activities with the Harmony 1000

The total setup time for my 5-component system took roughly 90 minutes. Your time will obviously vary depending on your familiarity with setting up remotes and how many components you have to configure the Harmony 1000 for. If you want to reduce setup time and control your blood pressure, configure the Harmony 1000 by using a laptop in the same room as your home theater components. That way, you can set up components, then test, then modify settings to perfection, all without ever leaving your seat.

According to Logitech, the Harmony 1000 can handle up to 15 programmed components. Though this is an acknowledged limitation, the chances of finding a home theater setup with more than 15 devices are rare – at best.

The Logitech Harmony 1000 Display

Home Theater Use

Once the Harmony 1000 is all set up, you can begin using it with your home theater components. Point it in the general direction of your TV, DVD player and other devices and, if those devices are off, hit the power button. Everything should light right up and be available for commands. Select a sample activity, like “Watch TV”. Your cable box, TV and receiver should begin playing content. Select another activity like “Listen to Radio”, and the DVD-related components will give way to your stereo, which will begin playing.

The Harmony 1000 remote has a handy “Help” feature, accessible through the Help button on the top of the LCD display. It’ll attempt to clarify settings and debug performance issues by way of a contextual help wizard. There are two versions of the Help system – “Smart” and “Full”. Smart help attempts to recognize and resolve the problem for you. Full help gives you full contextual control over help topics.

Because the Harmony 1000 has a ton of features, multiple screens and involved configurations, it’s not too hard to imagine someone getting a little overwhelmed. If you get stuck, reach out to Logitech’s support site or call them on the phone. They’re typically very smart and will help you iron out any kinks related to the Harmony 1000 and your home theater setup.

Of course, with repetitive use over time, one becomes more and more comfortable with the Harmony 1000 and gains a faster, more natural control of it. The more dedicated you are, the more you’ll find the Harmony 1000 to be an indispensable part of your entertainment system.

Battery Life

Battery life seems to be an issue with many users. In our tests, the Harmony 1000 endured only a few hours of constant use before the battery indicator on the screen indicated it was near empty. To combat this problem, drop the LCD brightness down to half and set the time-out interval to 10 seconds. This keeps the LCD touch screen from drawing power from the small rechargeable battery and can extend usable time by 50% to 200%. Be sure to keep the Harmony 1000 on its charging dock whenever not in use

Achilles Heel

The biggest let down for us was the lack of RF support out-of-the-box. Instead you are forced to shell out another $149 USD to get this sort of support. What does this mean? If you have your components in a rack or TV stand, you need to make sure that the line-of-site is not blocked so the Harmony can communicate with your products.

Conclusion

Logitech’s Harmony 1000 remote control is a very useful, high-tech device that almost any home theater enthusiast would greatly benefit from. It keeps the clutter of remotes from overtaking your media center or coffee table. It intelligently controls media components based on manufacturer defaults or based on user preferences. It also goes far, far beyond the reaches of normal universal remotes by controlling Z-wave compatible devices in your smart home, like lighting, heating/cooling, security, etc.

The Harmony 1000 is a tad on the expensive side for a remote without built-in RF capabilities, but it is also easy to set up and manage. With the Harmony 1000, you won’t have to hire an expensive home-theater geek to program or debug an esoteric device. We just wish the battery life was better.

Check out our video presentation of the Harmony 1000 for more information.

Pros:

• Recognizes over 145,000 devices
• Compatible with Z-wave home automation
• Semi-customizable interface
• Greatly reduces clutter
• Color display

Cons:

• Setup can be slow and tedious
• Poor battery life with default settings
• RF use requires expensive add-ons
• No hard buttons for some common controls

Summary

You’ve heard the rave reviews about the Logitech Harmony line’s computer-programmable remote controls. Some consumers, however, are understandably turned off by using a computer interface to do anything—especially if it requires downloading software. On a bad day, it can be a real pain. Thankfully, Universal Remote Control offers a remote with similar functionality to Logitech’s models with their new URC Digital R50. The major difference is that all the codes you need to ensure compatibility with the various components in your system are already programmed into the device, obviating the need for computer as middleman. In a word: Woo-hoo!

The Basics

This midrange model features a bright, 2-inch color LCD screen, which doubles as your interface for setting up the remote. The R50 is backlit, so it’s easy to use in the dark. On its right side, there is a button labeled “Light” that you can feel by hand that, when pressed, causes the remote’s buttons to glow a warm red.

As far as ergonomics go, this is a very pleasing unit, with a hefty feel in the hand and nice feedback from the rubber buttons. It’s 9 inches long by 2.25 inches wide, and takes 4 AA batteries. We also like the remote’s tapered black waist, which makes finding the channel, volume, and much-used DVR buttons very easy.

Unlike some remotes on which keys all look the same, this wand has a sort of sectional feel to it. The top is devoted to the aforementioned LCD screen and below that, you have the Main button, which helps you set up and configure the remote. Farther down, a four-way toggle button gets you through all your components’ various menu systems. At the very bottom, you’ll find the video functions and a numeric keypad. The remote can control up to 18 devices, which is plenty for most users.

Hands-On Performance

The URC R50 is one of the easiest remotes we’ve ever attempted set up, which is a large part of its appeal—especially for the non-technically inclined. The packaging includes a one-sheet guide to help you get started, but you really don’t even need that. Why? An intuitive setup wizard is ready to take you through the simple steps to get your gear up and running and consolidate your remote controls. (If it should fail to launch, just hit the Main button for a few seconds, and away you go.) We successfully programmed a DirecTV receiver, Oppo Digital DVD player, Sony receiver and Panasonic TV in minutes. The only component we had trouble with was our PlayStation 3, but more on that later.

You’ll start by completing the Basic Setup, which must be finished before you move on to more advanced features. Once you select Basic Setup on the LCD, the remote will ask you if you want to Search the Database, which is the most straightforward way to find your component’s codes. Choose this option, and the LCD will display labels for the six buttons surrounding it that will eventually correspond to your gear. Afterwards, merely select “Add a New Device,” pick the type of device you are adding (i.e. “TV”), highlight a manufacturer, and toggle through the codes until the remote successfully turns on your TV. Once it does, you know you have found the right code and can move on to your next piece of equipment. Configuring your remote like this takes no time flat.

Furthermore, if you can’t find your model, you can simply choose to have the R50 learn the device’s code. Just go back to the Setup menu, toggle down to Learn, and follow the prompts. Basically, you will need to point the device’s dedicated remote control at the R50 and hold down the power button until the screen says you are good to go. The ability to learn new devices keeps the R50 from becoming obsolete as its codes become outdated.

Learning a new code, however, is where we did run into a little trouble. We couldn’t find the ubiquitous Sony PlayStation 3 in the R50’s database, which was a bit baffling. Then, when we tried to teach the R50 the PlayStation’s code via the learning feature, it didn’t work. As it turns out, the R50 is strictly infrared, and will not work with a Bluetooth remote, hence the problem. Therefore you’d need a RF remote and an RF-to-Bluetooth dongle to control the system.

When it comes to watching TV, you can also input 48 of your favorite channels into the six buttons surrounding the LCD. The R50 has a database of 60 often-used logos—like HBO and CNN—for corresponding channels, making your GUI a little more interesting.

Once you are set up with basic functionality for your various components, you are ready to explore the R50’s advanced features. Cheerfully, as we discovered, you can program macros—which perform sequences of events in rapid succession—with ease. You simply start the Macro recorder then physically perform the actions you want the remote to do for you in the desired sequence. For example, if you want to watch a movie, you’d power on the TV, select the appropriate input, power on the receiver and switch it to the appropriate input, power on the DVD player, and then hit play. When the macro has recorded these events, the R50 will do all this for you at the press of just one button. It’s shockingly simple, and a system that works with surprising reliability.

Another cool feature is the R50’s Sofa Mode, which means that if you accidentally sit on the remote, the R50 will prevent battery drain if a button is pressed for too long. It’s a handy feature considering how often remotes get lost in couch cushions.

Conclusion

Overall, the URC Digital R50 is a refreshing change of pace. It’s nice to be able to find everything you need already preprogrammed into the remote control, rather than having to drag out your laptop, or worse, dragging the R50 to your desktop (which may or may not be located near your home entertainment system) to find each component’s operating code. Beyond ease of setup, the gizmo’s also a pleasure to use on a daily basis. Most importantly though, it will help consolidate the clutter adorning your coffee table, ensuring that any home theater buff will find the unit a welcome viewing companion.

Pros:

• No computer needed for set up
• Easy to navigate button layout
• Great build quality
• Quick, painless set up through remote’s LCD screen

Cons:

• Doesn’t work with Bluetooth devices, such as Sony PS3

Summary

With a price tag one penny shy of 500 clams (you can buy it online for less), there’s no denying that Logitech’s Harmony 1100 Universal Remote is pricey, until you compare it with touch-screen remote controls from companies such as Crestron and AMX, which cost several times more.

Those systems justify their cringe-worthy price tags by offering even many more bells and whistles than the Harmony 1100, but they also require professional installers to set them up and to teach you how to use them. Logitech’s device is ostensibly user programmable: All you need is a USB cable and a PC connected to the Internet. Still, we were happy that there was no waiting on the telephone tech support line on the weekday afternoon we set up our evaluation unit, because all is not always as harmonious with this remote as it should be.

Design

All Harmony remotes are designed to control any device that uses an infrared interface, but the Harmony 1100 boats a 3.5-inch color touch-screen in addition to several hard-wired buttons for functions such as volume control and changing channels. Logitech’s Harmony team has come up with one of the easiest methods of programming a remote control that we’ve ever encountered: Instead of pressing arcane code sequences or painstakingly copying functions from several other remotes one button, you simply plug the Harmony 1100 into your PC’s USB port, log onto Logitech’s website, and input the manufacturer and model number of each piece of equipment in your entertainment center. Logitech’s software will then download the appropriate codes from the company’s comprehensive database.

The final step is to create activities, such as “Watch TV,” “Listen to CD,” Watch a DVD,” or “Listen to Radio.” The software walks you through the process by asking a series of multiple-choice questions. If you want to set up a television-watching activity, for instance, the software will ask which device you use to change channels, which one you use to display video, which one controls the volume, and which settings each of the devices should use to enable them to perform the task at hand.

Once you’ve programmed the activity, pushing one button turns everything on and sets it to the correct input (one button turns everything off, too). Unfortunately, there’s no way to get around some limitations. In our scenario, for instance, in our test setup, we used a DVD player, 42-inch ViewSonic TV, and an Onkyo A/V receiver to watch DVDs. But when we watched Blu-ray movies, we switched over to a home-theater PC and an Epson Cinema 500 video projector. We still used the same A/V receiver for sound, but Onkyo inexplicably didn’t provide a means of switching from a coaxial digital-audio input (which our DVD player uses) to a multi-channel analog-audio input (which the home-theater PC relies on) by remote control; you have to mash a button on the face of the receiver itself.

Programmability

The software allows you to program any of the remote’s buttons—both the ones in hardware and the ones on the screen—to perform any function your hardware is capable of. You can even create buttons with custom logos for your favorite TV networks and premium channels. The Harmony 1100 is limited to controlling infrared devices out of the box; but if you add Logitech’s RF extender (for another hundred bucks), you eliminate the line-of-sight requirement and add the capacity to manage devices that operate on radio commands, including devices that utilize the Z-Wave protocol to control lighting, operate motorized window shades, and so on.

Tech Support and Conclusion

As for that $500 price tag, we have to believe that a good chunk of it goes toward paying the salaries of the tech-support folks who help consumers program the odd piece of gear that refuses to cooperate with Harmony’s software. Programming the Harmony 1100 to control our A/V receiver was a snap, but we couldn’t manage to bring our Dish Network satellite tuner to heel without calling Logitech’s help. We called their toll-free number—just as any consumer would—and waited no more than 30 seconds to speak with a knowledgeable human being. After 90 minutes of twiddling, they realized that the problem was with the satellite tuner, not the remote: The tuner was “watching” a different IR channel than the one the remote was using.

Since all your remote’s settings are stored in a database on Logitech’s website, their tech-support people can change any of its settings and then have you download the new instructions to the remote using the USB connection and test it to make sure it works—before you hang up. If the remote ever loses its settings, you can download and restore them in seconds.

Be aware, however, that your access to this excellent telephone tech support is cut off 60 days after you’ve created your account on Logitech’s site. After that, you’ll have to rely on the skimpy user manual, Logitech’s website (for a user forum and a FAQ), and email.

Pros:

• Controls everything
• Easy to program
• Beautiful touch-screen
• Great tech support

Cons:

• Short battery life
• Telephone tech support limited to 60 days
• No Bluetooth support
• RF extender adds $100 to an already high price tag

Summary

Question: How do you point with a circle? Answer: It’s a trick question – you can’t point with a circle. Fortunately for Hillcrest Labs, designers of the Loop Pointer, you don’t actually need to point the device to control the cursor on your home theater PC, PlayStation 3, or Apple TV.

The goofy-looking, doughnut-shaped remote control is easy to use from your couch or recliner because it has no line-of-sight requirement and doesn’t depend on any surface to operate. It uses micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensors to track motion with six degrees of freedom. And aside from the Apple TV (which must have Fire Core’s aTV Flash software), you don’t need to install any software on the machine you wish to control – just plug in the USB receiver and you’re good to go. Hold the Loop Pointer in front of you, tilt your wrist up or down, and the cursor on the screen moves up or down; twist your wrist left or right and the cursor follows suit. Right and left mouse buttons and a scroll wheel enable you to interact with the graphical user interface of whatever device the Loop Pointer is plugged into (it’s compatible with the Windows, Linux, and Macintosh operating systems). Note to PS3 users, though: The Loop Pointer controls the user interface only… you can’t use it for actual gameplay.

The Loop Pointer is most useful in environments where a conventional mouse isn’t practical, such as a home theater, or when you’re running a slide show or a PowerPoint presentation. We tested it with a home theater PC connected to a 42-inch ViewSonic N4285 LCD television and found it to be far superior to a mouse, but not nearly as versatile as a competing device, Gyration’s Media Center Universal Remote Control, which uses similar technology and sells for about the same price.

Got a drawer full of remote controls for your home entertainment system? You’ll never confuse the Loop Pointer with anything else in there, but it will never replace any of those devices, either. Being limited to two buttons and a scroll wheel means all you can do is point at objects on the screen and click. Since the pointer doesn’t have transport-control buttons, for instance, you can’t press one button to pause movie or music playback. You have to wiggle the remote to wake up the Loop Pointer and render the on-screen transport controls visible, and then flick your wrist to move the cursor to the appropriate on-screen button and click. Other simple tasks, such as controlling the volume or changing a channel on a PC’s TV tuner, are similarly difficult because you must manipulate the GUI to do everything.

Gyration’s remote, by comparison, not only has media transport buttons (play, pause, reverse, etc.) and volume control, it also has dedicated buttons for launching a web browser, email client, or other application (including Windows Media Center); a telephone-style numeric keypad; and more. And being a true universal remote, you can program it to control your TV, A/V receiver, and other home-theater components, too.

Both the Gyration and the Loop Pointer enabled us to control the mouse cursor with about the same degree of precision, but the presence of a scroll wheel on the latter rendered a few tasks, such as web surfing, much easier. Scrolling a web page on the Gyration, for instance, involves the awkward exercise of holding down the left mouse button while tilting the remote to drag the browser window’s vertical scroll bar. With the Loop Pointer, you just spin the scroll wheel with your index finger, just as you would with a better-quality conventional mouse.

Conclusion

Truth be told, however, we’ve had the Gyration remote in our home test lab for more than six months, and cursor control is the only task we’ve ever used it for anyway. (When it comes to universal remote controls, it’s hard to beat Logitech’s Harmony 1100. The presence of a scroll wheel renders the Loop Pointer far more effective in this regard. Even so, it took us a long while to grow accustomed to its circular form factor. Oh well, maybe we’re just industrial design bigots: Remote controls are supposed to be rectangular, and there’s just no good reason for this one to look like a donut.

Pros:

• Doesn’t rely on a surface to operate
• No line-of-sight requirement
• Vertical scroll wheel

Cons:

• Odd form factor
• Uses disposable batteries
• No transport-control buttons
• Can’t control other A/V components

Summary

We heaped a fair amount of praise on Logitech’s Harmony 1100 universal remote last April. But the reality is that while that touchscreen device is supremely easy to program and drop-dead sexy to boot, it costs as much as the small HDTV or entry-level A/V receiver you might use it to control.

On the flip side, Logitech’s Harmony 900 has a smaller touchscreen, and its bulkier form factor renders it something of a wallflower compared to its upscale sibling. However, the latter device offers the same easy programmability, includes robust RF capabilities that are optional on the 1100 model, and is priced $100 lower, making it a much better value overall.

Design

The Harmony 900’s rectangular design and physical transport-control buttons and numeric keypad make it look much more like a typical remote control than the square Harmony 1100. In some ways, however, the dedicated buttons (which are backlit to render them usable in a darkened room) make the 900 just a little more intuitive to use. If you’re watching TV and wish to change channels, for instance, you don’t need to call up a numeric keypad on the touchscreen, you just press the buttons.

But we think the 900’s RF features are what really make it a better value than the pricier model 1100. In our home theater, all components other than the video projector are mounted in a built-in entertainment center, hidden behind plywood doors that an infrared signal can’t penetrate. We use a Niles Audio Remote Control Anywhere kit, which consists of an IR receiver that we mounted on the outside of the entertainment center and five IR emitters for the gear inside the cabinet. This works great, but you must be in the room for the remote to function.

The Harmony 900 eliminates this line-of-sight requirement with three IR blasters that receive commands over a radio frequency. The blasters translate the RF commands to infrared streams inside the cabinet, so we can control all our gear (even if it’s on different shelves) without having to be in the same room. Emitters like the ones that Niles Audio uses are much smaller and less obtrusive than blasters, but Logitech’s solution enables you to control more equipment. And if the gear is behind a cabinet door anyway, do appearances matter all that much?

Programmability

The primary attraction of Harmony remote controls is the ease with which they can be programmed—as long as you have a PC and Internet access, that is. If you have a home theater PC, a laptop, or some other machine that you can use at least temporarily in the same room as the components you need to control, that’s all the better. Having a computer in the same room makes tweaking and troubleshooting much easier.

All you need to do is install the Harmony software on your PC, plug the remote into the PC’s USB port, and tell the software the brand names and model numbers of the devices you need to control. Logitech’s software will then download the appropriate instructions from the company’s massive database and store them in the remote’s memory. You can choose brand names from a drop-down menu, but you’ll need to know the specific model numbers for each piece of gear in your entertainment center.

The next step in the installation queries you as to which entertainment activities you want to set up, based on the devices that you’ve entered in the previous step. We downloaded the control codes for a ViewSonic N4285 HDTV, an Epson PowerLite Cinema 500 video projector, a Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-ray player, a Dish Network VIP-622 set-top box, and a Yamaha RX-V665 A/V receiver, so the software suggested creating “Watch TV,” “Watch DVD,” and “Listen to Radio” activities. It didn’t recommend creating a “Listen to Music” activity, though, perhaps because we didn’t indicate that we had a CD player, but we needed only to place a checkmark next to “Listen to CD” to add it to our list of choices. The installation routine even took into account Yamaha’s optional iPod dock and advised us that if we had one that we’d need to set it up as a separate device.

The next step in the setup process asks which devices you use for each activity. Since we indicated that we had both a TV and a video projector, for instance, the software asked which one we typically use to watch television. We took the default choice of the TV here, because we typically use the projector only when watching movies on the Blu-ray player. The next step inquired which device we used to control the volume (our choices being the TV, the A/V receiver, or—oddly enough—the video projector).

The final steps were to configure the inputs and outputs on the A/V receiver and the television. The software knows which ports are available on each device (HDMI 1, HDMI 2, Component Video, S/PDIF, etc.), so it’s just a matter of picking the right one. We were a little confused nonetheless when it came to setting up the Yamaha RX-V665, because the A/V receiver uses front-panel “scene” buttons for the Blu-ray player, TV, CD, and Radio. We resolved that issue easily enough by reviewing the receiver’s setup screen to refresh our memory as to the inputs and outputs we had mapped to each button.

Once you’ve programmed the remote with all the devices you wish to control and all the activities you’ll be using them for, all you need to do is press the Activities button on the remote and choose the one you’re interested in. The remote powers everything on and the hardwired buttons default to the appropriate action. If you select the Blu-ray activity, for instance, the transport-control buttons will control the player’s pause, play, fast-forward, rewind, and chapter-forward/back functions. If you select the DVR activity to watch a recorded TV program, then those buttons will automatically switch over to send commands to that device.

Conclusion

As easy as the Harmony remotes are to program, we have encountered situations where we could not configure one ourselves to control a device exactly the way we wanted. That’s where Logitech’s excellent telephone tech support comes into play. These knowledgeable folks can not only help walk you through a problem, they can prepare a fix that you can download and verify while you’re on the phone. Free telephone tech support, however, is available for only 90 days after purchase: Beyond that, you’ll have to pay a fee, consult the user manual, or peruse Logitech’s online troubleshooting guide and community forums. Like the overall package, such luxury comes at a cost, but – assuming you’re in the market for a high-end home theater remote – one that’s well worth paying for those who put power and convenience first.

Pros:

• Controls everything
• RF capability and IR blasters included
• Easy to program
• Beautiful touchscreen
• Great tech support

Cons:

• Telephone tech support limited to 90 days
• Harmony Adapter ($59.99) required to control a PlayStation 3

Introduction

Logitech has cranked out quite a crew of Harmony remotes over the years. All seem to handle well, control a decent amount of devices, and are unbelievably easy to program. So how can you pick which one is right for you? Well, if you’re on a budget, the $99 Harmony 650 would be the obvious choice.

Design

That’s not to say that the 650 feels cheap by any means. It has the standard rectangular remote shape, but is sturdy enough to go a few rounds under your couch cushions. Buttons are laid out nicely and respond well to a soft touch. Being a bit of a discount model, the 650 skips RF and there’s no touchscreen. It does have a small color LCD, which is nothing to brag about, but adds a little flash to favorite channels and commands.

One other noticeable feature: This baby takes batteries. Many other Harmony units offer docking stations. However, the lower cost means you’ll have to keep a stash of AAs around the house.

Programmability

Logitech says to set aside 45 minutes to set up the remote. It may seem long, but it’s pretty on-target—and actually flies by. Upon entering the two included AA batteries, the LCD instructs you to choose language and then head on over to Harmony’s website. As with all Harmony remotes, you will need a computer and web access for programming.

Our PC immediately recognized the remote. However, it would have been nice if the website had popped up, so we didn’t have to look it up (it’s www.logitech.com/myharmony, if you want to cheat).

Choose your OS and download the software. Installation took just under 5 minutes on our Vista-enabled laptop. Once launched, the software asks if you want to look for updates. You’ll also need to create an account, which is just a user name, password and security question in case you forget both. From there, add your name, an email address, and country of residence.

Now that the introductions are out of the way, we can get down to the business of adding components. We connected the remote via the included USB, clicked Next, and got—a timed-out session. If memory serves, this has happened to us before with other Harmony units. However, we easily logged back in and were adding devices in under a minute.

Although this might seem like the most daunting task, Logitech could not make it easier. Devices are added through a series of pull-down menus for Device, Manufacturer and Model. This is where you might take up the most time, running around to check what those model numbers actually are. It shouldn’t take too long, though, as the 650 only controls five devices total. We went with the obvious: our Olevia HDTV, Dish Network HD DVR, Pioneer Receiver, Samsung Blu-ray Player, and Philips DVD Recorder. Logitech hasn’t caught up with an entry for Blu-ray, but it can be added as a DVD player and get the same result. Other goodies that can be put under the Harmony’s control include lighting and climate systems, media center PCs, DAT decks, and more. It also has a spot for gaming consoles—just not our Nintendo Wii or PS3, which need Bluetooth, not infrared.

Next, you’ll be asked to set up Activities, which group select functions under one button-press. For instance, to Watch a DVD, we chose the Samsung Blu-ray player for the DVD, our Pioneer receiver for volume control, and the TV’s HDMI input as our source selection. Once completed all of the setup, the remote should sync. However, we got—yes, another timed-out session message. We were fooled once, twice, and then we opted to just be remembered on the computer.

Once everything was inputed, we were flipping channels and firing up the TV without a glitch. As with any new remote, there may be a small learning curve. However, Logitech could not make this thing any easier, thanks to a simple, easy-to-understand button layout.

Conclusion

It’s hard to hate the Harmony. It’s even harder to hate the Harmony for under $100. Surprisingly at that price, the 650 still has the functionality of pricier controllers, but it’s limited to only five devices. For many, that’s just about right—or at least a nice way to ditch five random remotes. If you’re looking to shave a few extra bucks off the price, the 600 is Logitech’s monochrome model.

Highs:

• Cheapie McCheap
• Easy setup
• LCD “wakes up” upon pickup
• Comfortable layout

Lows:

• Not rechargeable
• No RF features
• 5-device limit
• Not compatible with Bluetooth-based products

Let’s be real: the Bluetooth speaker industry is getting out of hand. We’ve seen so many portable speakers with similar designs and features lately, we’re reminded of the Malvina Reynolds song featured at the intro of the Showtime series Weeds: “…little boxes on the hillside…and they’re all made out of ticky-tacky, and they all look just the same.” With all those “little boxes” out there, the choices begin to blend together into an anonymous blur.

Native Union hopes its take on the “little box,” the Switch, will be different enough to turn some heads on the Bluetooth battlefield. Named for its ease of use in both vertical and horizontal orientations, the Switch is available in a variety of eye-catching colors, and has a distinguishing volume dial on the side/top, giving it a unique flair.

But in a market littered with competition, it takes more to survive than just a clever design. In our recent Bluetooth speaker round-up, we discovered an impressive combination of sound quality and features from our five competitors, all of which were within shouting distance of the $100 price range. At $150, the Switch is another entry-level contender vying to become your go-to portable jukebox. We recently sat down with the speaker to see how it stacks-up in the ever growing Bluetooth sprawl. Here’s what we found.

Out of the box

The Switch comes tightly framed in a succinct cardboard package, showcased behind a large cellophane window. Popping the hinged cover open we removed the rubberized block to reveal a packet of instructions, and a small USB to mini-USB nylon charging cable. The box and cable were both color coordinated to our test model which boasted a “maybe-it’s-Maybelline” red exterior, which Native Union calls Bordeaux.

Features and design

The Switch is fairly hefty compared to most of its rivals, and feels substantial in construction and weight as a result. The speaker’s rubberized exterior encases all sides of the box except the metal speaker screen, providing an easy grip when jostling the unit around. On the top face, a Native Union logo is etched in white lettering.

The easy-turn volume dial on the Switch’s right side serves as the unit’s control center. The dial is digital, and the speaker gives a chime when it has reached full volume. In the center of the dial is a multi-function button which handles commands such as power, pairing, play/pause, and basic calling functions. Beneath the dial is a white LED, which turns red while charging. On the left side, a small dimpled button reveals battery life when pressed, indicated by a 5 point LED strip.

Tucked beneath the Switch’s front screen are the unit’s 2 small drivers, accompanied by an active subwoofer — a rare find in the entry level portable market. On the back of the device is a small rubberized flap which opens to reveal an assortment of ports, including a mini-USB power input, a USB power output, a 3.5mm aux input, and 3.5mm speaker/mic line out.

The Switch boasts a broad selection of features on par with its top competitors, including a 14-hour battery run-time (with 180-hour standby), smartphone charging, and a full-duplex speakerphone with conference call capability which allows both parties to speak and be heard at once. Using the speakerphone function for calling is fairly convenient, though we found voices came through a bit cloudy on our end.

The speaker pairs easily by holding down the power button while it’s turned off. A rather pleasant sequence of futuristic chimes lets you know it’s on, and another short chirp indicates the speaker is in pair mode, after which it becomes available as “Switch” on your Bluetooth-enabled device.

We were disappointed to find that the Switch runs the 6 year-old Bluetooth version 2.1. Though many entry level speakers still use the old protocol, at $150 we hoped the Switch would follow the lead of speakers like the Braven 600 and step up to version 3.0. As we have discovered, the difference in sound quality can be pretty dramatic, depending on how well Bluetooth is employed.

Audio performance

We tested the Switch with a wide variety of musical genres from our catalog with our iPhone 5, both via the Bluetooth connection, and wired directly into the 3.5mm aux input. What we discovered serves as a cautionary tale for all audio companies (especially start-ups just cutting their teeth) about the perils of a poor wireless connection for a device that will live and die by its wireless capabilities — or lack thereof.

Sonically, the Switch has some great things going for it. When hard-wired to devices, the Switch puts out an impressive sound signature through its small trio of drivers, displaying full tones, and a surprisingly wide sonic image. Though it wasn’t quite as loud as some entry-level speakers we’ve auditioned (namely the Flip by JBL), the Switch exhibits a powerful expanse of the frequency spectrum for its size.

The Switch’s tweeters are a bit bright for our taste, adding a lot of sizzle to high percussion like crash cymbals and hi-hats. However, along with that extra bite comes an ample display of clarity and precision in the treble and midrange. The Switch’s active “sub” counters the sharp top end with impressive body in the low midrange and bass, combining for a very full sound. Toms, kick drums, and snare had a solid foundation of depth that outshined many competing entry level speakers we’ve tested.

However, the Switch’s sonic qualities were totally usurped when we switched over to Bluetooth – not a good thing, considering the devices intended use. If you love plate reverb, the Switch might be right up your alley. An aluminum-sheen of reflection was layered over every song we played while connected via Bluetooth. Vocals were sunken and muddy, pushed behind the instrumentation. And a phase-y distortion of muddled tones replaced the articulate clarity we’d heard while hardwired, making more dryly recorded songs like “English Girls” by Ryan Adams congested with artificial echo.

Conclusion

Though we like the Switch’s unique design and wide feature set, the speaker seems to be an example of what happens when good engineering goes wrong. A Bluetooth speaker that does Bluetooth poorly is, by its own definition, obsolete. We think there is a lot to enjoy about the Switch’s sound quality, but its dependence on a wired connection defeats its purpose. Unless you like your wireless speakers wired, we suggest you look to the myriad of alternate options for your Bluetooth speaker solution. Check out our aforementioned Bluetooth speaker round-up as a starting point.

Highs

• Clean upper register
• Full low end
• Intuitive design
• Feature-packed

Lows

• Poor Bluetooth connection
• Slightly bright treble
• Muddled speakerphone quality