Logitech Harmony 628 Advanced Universal Remote (Blue/Silver)

by Logitech

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00066FHHO
• Item model number: 966183-0403
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Logitech Harmony 628 Advanced Universal Remote with Interactive Display and Software CD Control enables you to control your entire system with the press of just one button. Simply select an activity and your remote will evaluate the state of all your audio/video components, then send the correct commands to make your system do exactly what you want. The intuitive layout and one-touch Activity Buttons of the Logitech Harmony 628 makes it the ideal choice for controlling your entire entertainment system.

The Harmony 628 integrates all your device remotes with no macro programming. Setting up the remote is easy using the Web Wizard. Just tell the wizard the make and model of your devices, and Logitech's patented Smart State Technology does the rest. After completing the Web Wizard set-up, program the remote by simply connecting the Harmony Remote to your computer with the supplied USB cable. One-touch activity buttons allow you to watch TV, listen to music and more with ease. Lastly, the easy-to-read interactive display keeps you in control and informed of what's going on, and backlighting makes the buttons and interactive display glow brightly for easy use in the dark.

What's in the Box
Harmony 628 remote control, Harmony software installation CD, USB cable, 4 AAA batteries, and quick start guide.

Product Description

Logitech Inc (966183-0403) Harmony 628 remote control. Easy to use, easy to set up. Dedicated navi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Difficult setup but good end result, December 28, 2005

By 

G. Dowers (Lake Mary, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Logitech Harmony 628 Advanced Universal Remote (Blue/Silver) (Electronics)

The harmony remote connects to a computer using a USB cable. You then install some software on the computer and then navigate to a web site (harmonyremote.com) to configure the remote control. All of the configuration is dependent on this web site. On one hand, this is good in that this web site should always have the latest device commands in its database. However, the drawback is that you have to contend with a web/HTML interface and the wait times associated with a web-based application. Personally I think it would have been better to have a normal installed Windows application that can receive updates on new supported devices over the internet.

Configuring the remote was not that easy but was possible. Basically if you have fairly "well-behaved" and well supported devices with no special characteristics or requirements, their wizards should get the remote configured quickly. But...if you have certain tweaks you want to make then navigating through their configuration pages can be frustrating. For example, if you want to add certain device commands to the list of commands sent when an activity button is pressed (activity = "Watch a Movie"), then you have to navigate through their setup wizard for the activity and then, at the end, choose from one of the 3 responses which dumps you to a configuration page that finally allows you to add commands. This page should be accessible directly - but isn't.

Ultimately, though, despite the poor configuration UI and web site, I was able to get this remote configured the way that I want. The end result was great. It is a very easy to use remote once its configured. One of the things I hate about many remotes is that you have to give guests a tutorial on how to use them so they can operate your entertainment system. With this remote, its pretty obvious what to do to watch a DVD or watch TV, etc.

I did get my remote as a Christmas present and, yes, as the other reviewers stated, Logitech's site was overwhelmed which resulted in some frustration. I got frequent "High Traffic" error messages when first trying to configure the remote. However, ultimately, I waited for times where the web site was not so overloaded and did manage to get the remote configured.

Overall, I'm pleased with the remote. The end result was good despite some hassle in getting it configured. Once you have found your way around their configuration web site, you can get the remote tweaked they way you want it. I've never had a universal remote that didn't require a lot of time to get it completely setup and tweaked to work they way I want. So all in all, I wasn't too disappointed in that.

Pros:
* The remote is phsyically designed well. It can be operated easily with one hand. When back-lit, is bright and clear. The buttons are all easily pressed.
* It uses "Activity" buttons that represent what you want to do..."Watch TV", "Watch a movie", "Listen to music". additionally, you can create your own custom activities and name them what you want. So a guest can pick up your remote and fairly easily figure out what button to press to do what they want.
* The LCD screen has 6 positions with buttons for each position so that you can create custom commands associated with each activity or device. There is a "Next" button below this so that you can have multiple pages of these custom commands.
* It supports "discrete" commands such as Power On and Power Off and "Go to Video 6", etc. This is really important for the remote to be able to function without making assumptions about what the current state of the devices are (e.g. If a device is already on and it needs to have a device on for a given activity, it won't send a "Power toggle" and inadvertantly turn the device off.)
* You can control whether switching from one activity to another turns off the other unused devices.
* You can specify if some devices should always be left on (i.e. a cable box)
* You can add additional commands for any devices
* It can learn any commands that it doesn't already know fairly easily.

Cons
* It relies on a web site and applications that are launched via the site to configure the remote. This means that you have a combination of web pages and downloaded applets that run when you need to update the remote. The result is a clunky interface that is inferior to a normal Windows app. For example, in a normal windows app, a wizard would let you simply press "ENTER" to next through the wizard but the HTML based web site requires you reposition your mouse every time over the next button to get through them. Generally I think web based apps are inferior to Windows apps. Even still, they could still make their web site easier to use. Its too indirect and too wizard - based. Wizards are ok for initial setup just to get things mostly configured, but when I need to go in and make tweaks and refine the configuration, I don't want wizards. I want something more straightforward.
* One of my devices is a Sony Receiver. Its a model that is only about 3 years old but it didn't seem to be in their database. I had to learn the commands I needed with the original remote and head to head learning. Its a Sony - not some cheap off brand no one has heard of!
* Yes their web site was overwhelmed during the holidays - very frustrating
* When you first take out their CD, you're prompted to install their software. But as soon as you go to the web site to start configuring, it tells you there is updated software and you have to manually uninstall what you just installed! It doesn't even do it for you or simply update what you have.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect - and now, available for even less, June 24, 2006

By 

Robert S. Tobias (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Logitech Harmony 628 Advanced Universal Remote (Blue/Silver) (Electronics)

I bought one of these a few weeks ago because I was tired of juggling three remotes. I had tried several other "universal" devices, only to find it impossible to get all the functions included in any reasonable fashion.

The harmony remotes, rather than being programmed using code numbers, are set up through a USB cable and a web site. That means there is a little extra time at the front end, involving loading the PC-based software (more later), the firmware update to the remote, and then the config information. The benefit is that you get almost limitless flexability in defining how the remote works.

Another wonderful feature is that it understands operating modes. If you push the "Watch TV" button it will turn on, for example, your TV, your set top box, and your TIVO. The button labled "FF" will control your TIVO. If you push "Watch a Movie", again the appropriate devices will be turned on (and the inappropriate ones off if you choose to set it that way) and the same "FF" button will now control your DVD player. The result is far fewer buttons and a better interface.

About the software, when you get your remote (and you should), don't install the CD that comes with it. Go directly to the web site where you can install the latest version. If you install from CD you'll probably have to uninstall before the update will load.

After seeing how well the first remote worked, I bought a second remote for my upstairs TV. Now I see they are about $10 less than I paid; an even better value.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How great is this?, March 29, 2006

By 

V. Cummings "victorc1978" (Saginaw, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Logitech Harmony 628 Advanced Universal Remote (Blue/Silver) (Electronics)

This remote is great, it controls everything I need it to with ZERO probelms, and if you did have a problem it can help you fix it! This remote is a little on the pricy side but well worth it when you can control your

TV
VCR
DVD Player
TIVO
Cable -or- Dish System
Stero System
Surround Sound
X-BOX
BOSE
AND MORE....

I love this remote I took all the other ones, and placed the in the drawer. The software for this is really simple to use, and follow it really walks you through the setup process really well. The best part is you can program it to do certain things for example: If you want to watch a DVD, it will turn on the TV, DVD Player, and Audio System all at the same time - how cool is that! This is worth the money - the dog even got ahold of the remote and did a number on it, and it still works! The screen could be a little bit larger though, not by much!