Logitech Harmony 890

Pros: Performs RF-to-IR universal remote functions elegantly.

Cons: Setup software clunky. Many hours to achieve results

Summary: This remote control is the icing on the cake of my new home theater where I have a wall mounted plasma monitor and NO supporting components in view. My cable box, DVD player, and audio receiver are stowed in an adjacent closet and therefore out of the line-of-site of a standard remoted control. In order to achieve this arrangement, IR-to-RF remote control converters were necessary, and ideally with universal remote capabilities. Logitech's Harmony 890 appealed to me based on the USB setup and the dynamic LCD screen. The remote itself is well layed out and is simple to use by anyone in the family. One click will turn on all of the necessary devices, whether it is to watch TV, a DVD, or just music.
In order to realize this goal, it took several hours on my PC with their setup software. I read other reviews that noted this as a negative, but I was confident that I could overcome any of these problems swiftly with my mastery of most application software. The good news is that I became a master of the setup software. However, I wasnt planning on that much time to complete (a full Sunday afternoon). Firmware updgrades sometimes fail, multiple choices are offered in dialogs that do not match the issue at hand, and there is little automated detection between the remote and the software to confirm success. The user must identify this on their own, and sometimes failures occurred.
Bravo to Logitech for an excellent appliance, but please invest in improving your software interface even if it means starting over.