The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
Entered CNET Catalog: 05/12/2004
SKU: 0097855028792
Manufacturer: Logitech Inc.
Manufacturer description
The Harmony Remote is the world's only remote with Smart State Technology Activity Control. Just press an Activity button such as "Watch TV" or "Watch a Movie", and the Harmony Remote will automatically set-up your entertainment system in seconds without you ever having to program a 'macro'. The Harmony Remote provides simple, intuitive control of even the most elaborate entertainment system for anyone in the family. The community-driven database together with IR learning ensures support of all infrared-controlled devices made by any manufacturer, including TiVo, HDVCR, HDTV, Plasma Displays, Monitors, Projectors, Lighting Control, CD/DVD-R, PVR, Satellite Radios, Amplifiers, DVD Players, Receivers, Dual VCRs and even combination devices like DVD-VCR components. The Harmony Remote is the world's only remote with Smart State Technology Activity Control. With the world's only Smart State Database of electronic devices, set-up is a snap. With interactive media capabilities, you can select TV Shows, Movies or Music titles from the interactive display. You can even control devices like lights, fireplace and your personal computer!Product summary
The good: Web-programmable universal learning remote; activity-based programming and usage; DVR-friendly button layout; fully backlit keys and LCD; compatible with Windows and Macintosh machines.
The bad: Mushy rubber buttons; lack of spacing between keys makes it hard to navigate by touch; no RF support; Web interface may frustrate some users.
The bottom line: The Web-programmable Logitech Harmony 688 universal remote is a must-have home-theater accessory.
Average user rating: from 6 users
3.5 stars
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 07/13/2004
Last year, Canada's Intrigue Technologies produced one of our favorite universal remotes, the Web-programmable Harmony 659. As fine as it was, that model did have some imperfections, most notably a slightly flawed keypad layout that was missing dedicated DVD chapter advance and rewind buttons. With this year's Harmony 688, available in silver for a list price of $249, Intrigue--now owned by Logitech--seeks to correct those flaws with some small design changes.
Both remotes are the same size (8.06 inches long by 2.3 inches wide by 1.3 inches deep) and look similar to the ergonomically friendly, dumbbell-shaped TiVo remote. In rethinking the Logitech Harmony 688's key layout, Intrigue decided to go with a centralized, densely packed button configuration. The center of the remote sports an oval of 16 keys surrounding a five-way navigation pad. Directly below the oval are the video transport buttons (record, play, rewind, fast-forward, pause, and stop) and a 12-digit keypad, while an 84x48-pixel LCD flanked by six context-specific side keys dominates the upper third of the remote. The LCD and all of the buttons are brightly backlit for easy navigation in a darkened home-theater environment. You should get two to three months of usage before the four AAA batteries that power the unit peter out.
Button debates aside (we'll have more on that in a minute), programming most universal remotes involves a frustrating and time-consuming method of punching in a series of multidigit codes for each component in your A/V system. By contrast, Harmony remotes are programmed by connecting them to your Internet-connected Windows PC or Mac with the supplied USB cable, installing the driver software, and answering a fairly simple online questionnaire on the company's Web site. You simply choose your home-theater components from a list; explain how they're connected; and define their roles in activity-based functions, such as Watch TV, Watch DVD, and Listen To Music. For each function, you specify which devices and inputs the remote must enable. You can also choose which keypad functions will punch through to which specific devices--always having the channel buttons control the cable box or volume on the TV, for instance. After you've completed the questionnaire, the software uploads all the relevant control codes to the 688. You can also periodically upload channel listings and call them up on the LCD, but that service is free for only your first two months of use.
The process involves some trial and error. You must verify that the commands work with your equipment as intended, then modify them as necessary. Fortunately, the Web site provides advanced, macro-style options for delay times, multistep commands, and other functions. Even better, the remote's Help key aids in troubleshooting by asking natural-language questions on the LCD. For instance, the screen might read, "Is the digital set-top box on?" And Harmony's e-mail-based customer support is excellent; problems are assigned a help ticket number and followed through to their conclusion.
The Harmony 688 performed just as well as the Harmony 659 in our tests. Choosing Watch DVD, for example, triggered a series of automatically programmed macros that powered on my DVD player, TV, and A/V receiver and toggled the TV and receiver to the correct inputs and presets. And while other remotes can be programmed with these sorts of intricate macros, it's the Harmony's ability to know the state of each device that sets it apart from the competition. For instance, switching from Watch DVD to Watch TV will turn off the DVD player and turn on the cable box and automatically switch the TV and A/V receiver to the appropriate preprogrammed inputs and levels for each. Lesser remotes would require everything to be powered down first, so they would all be starting from a common off position.
Where does the Harmony 688 fall short? It doesn't have the radio frequency (RF) capability of Universal Remotes' URC line, so it may frustrate advanced users looking for multiroom solutions. More significant, though, is that the bold keypad layout is, in some ways, a step back from the Harmony 659. The centralized five-way navigation pad, oval-shaped control ring, and video transport buttons correctly put the bulk of the DVD, DVR, and digital set-top box commands (menu, info, guide, page up/down, and track up/down) easily within thumb's reach. Unfortunately, the mushy rubber buttons and contiguous key layout make it very hard to distinguish keys by feel, especially compared to the well-spaced, harder chiclet-style keys of the 659 and Universal Remote URC-200 Automator.
In the final analysis, the 688's ergonomic issues are nitpicks, not deal breakers. Harmony's Web-programming interface and task-based control scheme are long overdue improvements to the universal remote category. Both the 688 and the 659 remain among the best remotes we've ever tested. We highly recommend them.
Note: This model is alternately known as SST-688 and H688.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
not indestructible enough
Pros: easy to programs, works as it should
Cons: can't turn my TV off, fell of the arm of a chair and is ruined.
Review: I was thrilled with how easy it was to set up and how it remembers what state everything is in. It knows what input the TV is on, and how many times to send the input signal to change it to the proper setting.
However, it fell of the arm of the chair, and the outer case is misaligned to the point the front cover is blocking the USB port and I can't make any changes anymore.
I don't expect remotes to be indestructible, but i do expect them to handle a fall from a coffee table or a similar height.
This has turned me off Harmony remotes.
However, it fell of the arm of the chair, and the outer case is misaligned to the point the front cover is blocking the USB port and I can't make any changes anymore.
I don't expect remotes to be indestructible, but i do expect them to handle a fall from a coffee table or a similar height.
This has turned me off Harmony remotes.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 6 user reviews
okay but not great
Pros: easy to program
Cons: delay in response
Review: The only frustrating thing with mine is that there was a very noticeable delay between pushing a button and my tv reacting. I ended up getting a 720 and its much better.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 6 user reviews
works great and does everything as advertised
Pros: extremely easy setup, works great
Cons: volume control is delayed, keys arent seperated
Review:
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
It just works the way its supposed to.
Pros: No programming, no "macros," no "learning" Easy-to-use web interface takes guess work out of setting up your system
Cons: Small buttons, backlighting hard to read, confusing layout.
Review: I use this remote to control a full-on home theater system, with Lutron dimmers, audiophile preamp/processor, HDTV cablebox/DVR and HDTV plasma. The remote was easy to set up, and modify. Its on-remote help makes troubleshooting a snap if something doesn't turn on as planned. So easy to use and understand that friends can use the system without having to figure it all out.
Simply put, it just does what you need it to do.
Simply put, it just does what you need it to do.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
Best Remote for ttivo
Pros: the dedicated buttons
Cons: none that I was able to find
Review: I love mine, i'm devistated my daughter spilled koolaid on it.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 6 user reviews
The guy who connects the A/V system together is no longer the only one who knows how to operate it!
Pros: If you consolodate all your remotes into a standard "universal" remote, you still have to switch to each component, one at a time, and select the proper settings in order to get everything set up correctly. Even remotes that offer macros can't handle tho
Cons: You program this remote by answering questions on a website and downloading the program into the remote over a USB cable, which is fine for simple audio/video installations. For more complex installations some users may find the web interface and downloa
Review:
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