Customer Reviews

Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote - universal remote control ( 966191-0403 )

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I picked up this remote today at Wal-Mart, which is currently the only retailer carrying it.

Since a number of my friends have 600-series Harmony remotes, I decided to give it a go. I don't need program listings on my remote, nor a color screen. This remote does one thing, and does it well: Simplifies your life. I was previously juggling 5 remotes- not cool.

The unit comes with a USB to Mini-USB cable and a driver/application CD for Windows and (Mac) OS X. I can't comment on the Windows software, but the OS X software worked quite well. Uses some of the opensource Mozilla web technologies, too. That gets them a Gold Star, in my book.

The USB cable is used for programming the remote, based on programming data delivered from the website. The remote itself has a mini USB port on top, and an IR receiver on the bottom, for the off chance that you've found an unsupported device. With my setup, I had no need for it at all.

I can't comment on the Windows software, but the OS X software worked quite well.

Once I'd registered, and followed the extraordinarily simple "wizards" on their site, I was controlling my DirecTV TiVo PVR, Sony AV receiver, Phillips DVD player, and my XM Satellite Radio receiver. All in all, its now set up for 7 devices, all of which it controls flawlessly. No learning IR codes or punching in long digits.

My only (minor) gripe is that the DVR layout isn't the same as the TiVo remote- it has VCR-style Pause/Play/FF/RW controls. No biggie, actually.

The real test for me was giving it to my wife. She is in no way a technophobe, but she has a "thing" for things that "just work." If she has to fiddle with something, she won't use it. She picked up this remote, and a few clicks later, she "got it." I asked her to try to switch it to the DVD player, and she had no problem at all.

Outstanding remote. Very stylish, too.

I programmed this remote using the Logitech Harmony Remote Software on my MacBook (Mac OS X 10.4.8). It is a marked improvement over the old web based system, and makes setting up the remote remarkably painless.

I chose this remote because of its manageably small number of buttons, something I could control in the dark. Sometimes, I wish for more buttons: closed caption, clear, PIP, etc. but in general I'm satisfied with the labels and choice. The buttons are of a variety of textures: rubberized playback controls, metallic volume controls, hard plastic navigation controls, contoured specialized buttons, etc; this aids blind usage. I don't care for the "Activity" button or the 4 raised buttons around the display, they are hard to press, and my wife especially has trouble pushing them.

My remote controls the following devices:
* Sony DVD player DVP-NS501P
* Dish Network 411 set top box
* Syntax LCD HDTV LT26HVX
* Phillips Series 1 TiVo HDR312
* Logitech Z-5500 Speakers
* Kensington iPod StereoDock
* LG LST-3510A HDTV Receiver/DVD Player

Harmony's database was missing a few codes for my Syntax TV, which I easily taught the remote with the learning wizard, and the direction buttons seemed to be sending out two presses instead of one, which I fixed by having the remote relearn these commands. None of the other devices required any training. It was also missing a few useful codes for the LG 3510A, again they were easily added.

I've had it for over a year and am generally satisfied with it. It makes the task of watching video from 4 different sources (satellite box, TiVo, DVD player, HDTV receiver) manageable. The new configuration application is fiddler friendly, and I've spent plenty of time getting things just right (for example I never want the cable box off because the TiVo might use it as a video source) and the site allows you to mark devices as always on.

Update: Do not let your baby chew on the end with the USB port. Baby saliva will ruin this remote. Believe me.

This review, like the item in question is a dichotomy. I just returned mine to Wal-Mart after a two month love-hate relationship. I purchased it to control a Kenwood A/V receiver, a Panasonic DVD recorder, a Motorola set-top-box, and an H/P plasma TV. Since H/P TV's are new to the market and their IR codes are unique, most other remotes won't control them, but the Harmony's will (learning remotes would work but are cumbersome). When I saw that Wal-Mart carried the model 520 I high-tailed it to my local outlet to pick one up. My impression in the store was that it looked sharp but some of the buttons seemed rather small (something later confirmed).

I had no problem loading the software onto my Wintel XP PC. Configuring the remote took a little time but was no worse than I expected and was not terribly difficult. I had one issue that was easily resolved using the on-line troubleshooting guide (I needed to add a time-delay to one command). Given the tremendous versatility of this remote I think the setup software is logical and straightforward. If you get stuck there's a fairly good on-line help to assist you. I didn't need any personal support so I don't know how good (or bad) that is. I've seen other reviewers complain that some pieces of equipment would not consistently behave as programmed. This will occur if you don't keep the remote pointed at the equipment until all commands are executed. In my opinion this is reasonable and should be expected (you do NOT have to continually hold the button down). Even if this should happen, the remote has a nice interactive help button that will allow you quickly resolve the issue. So far so good, now to the bad part...

With the remote working the way I wanted I thought we'd settle into a long and happy relationship but almost immediately the poor quality of the hardware began to show. From day-one the DVD buttons would intermittently stick. The channel buttons were very small, forcing you to push them with your fingernail, but if you pushed too far the button would hang up on the edge of the case, causing it to also stick. Since a stuck button stopped all remote functionality you would have to turn on a light, find the offender, and un-stick it. Even the buttons that didn't stick were poorly designed, I.E... The volume up/down and channel up/down buttons don't protrude far enough to easily locate by touch. Occasionally the remote would go dead and you'd have to remove and reinstall a battery to get it working again. Basically the ergonomics and construction of this remote are awful. I'm dead serious when I say that I've owned $15.00 remotes that were better built. The final straw was when the channel/up button stopped working altogether after two short months.

I don't believe that this was simply a defective unit, it seemed like many of the problems were inherent in the design. The pity is that I loved it when it worked! Because of that, I just ordered a Harmony 659 from Amazon as it has basically the same features and will hopefully provide better service. I feel that if Harmony could couple their excellent system to a remote with decent build quality and ergonomics they'd have the market all to themselves. So close and yet so far...

I'll submit a review of the 659 after I receive it.

I bought this on sale at Target yesterday and it took most of the afternoon to complete the set-up, even though I had already set up my hardware a few months ago using the Test Drive function on the Logitech site. I probably wasted an hour on the software set-up before stumbling across the current version (see below). I ended up using manual set-ups for all of my activities and made a few changes to the default choices for the soft buttons on both the activities and devices. So far, this seems to be the best universal remote I've ever used (I've had at least 8 over the years). I may revise this after I've used it for a while.

In my system I have, at the moment:
Sony 34" HDTV
Sony AV Receiver
Motorola HD cable box
Tivo Series 2 80
Tivo Series 2 Duel
Sony Tivo
Sony 5-Disc DVD
Samsung up-converting DVD
Sony VHS
Sony Beta
Sony Laserdisc
Sony Minidisc
Security Camera
I use all seven AV inputs on my TV and a stand-alone switchbox for the legacy hardware (Beta, VHS, Laserdisc) and security camera.

At this point, I really only have two issues with the Harmony 520:

(1) Neither the CD that comes in the package nor the download site at Logitech has the most current software (v. 5.3) for OS X. To find the software, you have to be signed into the Harmony site and click on a link that says "Important information."

(2) It's harder to set up for two Tivos than it should be. Harmony only seems to know about the Tivo 0 code sequence. The only way I could find to do the set-up was to have the Harmony "learn" the codes for Tivo 1 and Tivo 2. There should be a menu in the device settings to choose Tivo 0, 1, or 2.

These issues knock a star off my rating.

This Harmony 520 remote was so easy to setup and just works. This remote supports BOSE system. I have a BOSE LS28 surround system. During setup the software advised me where to enable the IR option on my BOSE system.

When I click on the "Watch TV" button the remote does the following:

1) Turns on my Philips 42" Plasma
2) Turns on my BOSE LS28 system.
3) Turns on my Directv DVR
4) Switch to the correct input on my Plasma
5) Switch to the correct input on my LS28 to route TV picture and sound.

When I click on the "Watch DVD" button the remote does the following:

1) Turns on my Philips 42" Plasma
2) Turns on my BOSE LS28 system.
3) Turns off my Directv DVR (if already on)
4) Switch to the correct input on my Plasma
5) Switch to the correct input on my LS28 to route the DVD picture and sound.

The remote is smart enough to know which piece of equipment is already on and not "turn it off" by accident.

When you are done watching tv/dvd pressing on the "power" button on the remote will turn everything off.

You can buy other universal remote with "macro" functionality but good luck programming your existing remotes.

Last but not least this remote makes the wife happy.

Ok, I purchased my Harmony 520 from Amazon. My general summary is this remote is that it is fantastic. Specifics are as follows:

1) The online database is about as comprehensive as could be imagined. They had the code for my Panasonic DVD A120 (circa 1999), Marantz SR7000 reveicer (circa 2001), my Nakamichi MB-8 (circa 2000?), my Panny 8UK (circa Aug 2005) and my Moto DCT6412 Series III cablebox/HD DVR (circa last month). All worked very well. However, you will need to tweak to meet your specific needs.

2) The installation software is a little clumsy. When it was downloading updates into the remote from the desktop software , I would often get the "blue screen of death". It doesn't make much sense considering the computer otherwise operates perfectly. However, a work around was easy - I simply downloaded the update from the website. They do a nice intergration between the web and the computer software (BTW, you need to have installed the software to be able to update the remote from the website).

3) Macros - great. Easy to program. They execute without a problem. For example, when I hit "Watch HDTV", the remote turns on my receiver, then sets the receiver to the proper imput, then it turns on the TV and sets it to the proper input. All with the push of a single button.

4) Adjustments - awful, completely awful. The software make it so very difficult to find the tools to make certian adjustments (I am not talking about assigning different buttons, I am talking about adjusting macros and manually entering IR codes). You will muddle through this, it's just frustrating at times. NOTE: IF YOU THINK YOU CAN AVOID THIS BY GETTING A DIFFERENT LOGITECH MODEL, THINK AGAIN. They all use the same software, so you will encounter this problem with all models.

OVERALL: Great, would buy it again in an instant despite the adjustment issue. True test came in the form of a thumbs up from the wife who hated the old universal remote. Overall rating 8.75/10

I just got the 520 a week ago. I'm a perfect example of someone that was skeptical about this kind of "activity based" universal remote. This is the type where you instruct the remote in 3-5 of the main activities that you use your system for ("Watch TV," "Watch DVD," "Listen to Airtunes," you can also make your own) -- and then the remote (1) remembers the full sequence of signals to your various remotes to get into that state with one button push and (2) allows you to customize the functions associated on the remote's buttons while you are in that state.

In short, this remote is about perfect and has made dealing with our entertainment system totally painless.

Here are the worries that I had had about buying one of these things and why I was wrong.

-- I read about "Getting out of sync." The problem is supposedly that at some point, when you have the remote take you to a new Activity, one of the multiple commands doesn't get recieved by the system, and therefore your remote winds up totally confused as to what state your devices are in, causing a scramble.
However: (1) this has not happened ONCE the entire 10 days I've had this thing. and if it did happen, you press this Help button that just asks you some questions about what state things are in, and gets it back in order. But the bottom line is, this is obviously RARE. Note that I'm careful of making sure the remote is pointed at the devices when I press stuff.

-- I was worried that this new style of remotes was "over engineered" and way more complicated than what I wanted, which was a simple, universal remote that I could flexibly control my stuff with.
It just isn't so. Once you get set up, the tool gives no sense of being more complex than you need. Once set up, it looks and works simpler than the average out-of-the-box remote that came with your dvd player. (Note: on this topic, I would say that I recommend the 520 model. Because I still think that the other Logitech model that has the color lcd screen would be a little bit much, with the cheesy icons of popcorn next to your DVD entry, etc. That's lame.)

-- I thought that, with all of the emphasis that the advertisements made about the LCD "soft buttons," that the tool wouldn't do a good job of also allowing you to change the function of the regular old plastic buttons on the remote.
Not true. When you have set up an activity (like Watch DVD), you can totally customize the function of almost EVERY plastic button AND pages and pages of customized "soft buttons" on the lcd screen -- and those functions can be related to ANY of the devices you have -- and a single button press can also be made to create a *sequence* of commands on one or multiple devices. You can REALLY get custom with it.

Note: the computer software where you configure the remote's functions is EXCELLENT. excellent interface, easily understood. (you would not want to be a true novice though. You want to be a little comfortable with using computer programs.) Setting up your remote's activities and functions, getting it just right, will probably take place over about 1-3 days, as you make changes, try the remote, realize some adjustments, etc.

My only complaints (and they are few -- I still give this 5 stars):

-- the "soft buttons" on the lcd screen are awesome, but I wish that it would allow more than 4 buttons at a time (if you program more, you have to page through the selection of "buttons" you've made. six would be better. maybe that color lcd on the other Logitech has six -- I'd prefer a non-color lcd screen that accommodates 6 buttons.

-- You should realize that it's not lightning fast when you press a button on the remote that's doing 3-5 commands. It can take 5-10 seconds.

-- the construction of the plastic buttons is extremely good looking BUT a couple of them (like the down direction button, and a few others) you need to press solidly. if you just press it enough to hear the button click, sometimes it's not hard enough to do the command. So you have to press firmly.

ALL IN ALL THE 520 IS EXCELLENT -- a classy and simple tool that really does allow you to store your pile of remotes somehwere, once you get your setup finalized (like I say, a few days of tweaking this and that.)

So this is my second Harmony remote in less than a year. My 2 yr old chewed the buttons off, and repeatedly threw my Harmony 659 into submission. After about a month of sulking I began to look for remotes again. I had my eye on the 880 but did not want to go up to the price tag of it because of the fact that my 659 died in under a year. So for $99 this was what I chose. The set up is pretty much the same as the 659. The macros work well, the set up pretty painless. The control itself is a little cheap feeling, but works none the less. Honestly though I think that the blaster from this remote is better than the 659, which from the start always seemed to be dying. We will see how the remote holds up to the 2 yr old. I would recommend this for someone who just wants a remote that works. If you want to impress your friends go with the 880, you can find them online for around 200 or so. I do like the look of this remote versus other Harmony models which look space age circa 1983. This one is streamlined, and looks like a Nokia cell phone, except also be aware that this remote is pretty long, it may suprise you when you see it in the store.

I'll keep this short and sweet. I have 2 points to make.
1. This remote feels cheap. When I press a button, the remote creaks as if it's about to break. Some of the buttons click when they are pressed, making it feel like a kids toy. Do not expect this remote to wow you AT ALL in it's craftsmanship.

2. I never have gotten it to work reliably. I have a Vizio TV and since buying the remote I've heard from users that Vizio TV programming takes some very touchy tweaking. Several users even said I would have to call Vizio and have them help me program it. The remote works on the concept of activities. These are essentially scripts: Do this, then do this then do this. Problem is, half the time, one of the steps doesn't execute perfectly and you're now left to either clean up the mess yourself or wade through the tedious help system on the remote.

My suggestions:
A. Buy a better, higher end model
B. Set it up and try it out immediately because you may end up sending it back.
C. You might consider skipping it altogether.

This my second Harmony Remote. I needed to replace my 676 because some of the buttons had stopped working. Did not want to spend a lot of money but I wanted all the functionality and ease of use of the Harmony. This remote provided all that at a great price. This is an awesome value.