Customer Reviews

Logitech Harmony SST-659 Universal Remote Control (Grey)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Most "universal" remotes are very simple minded. They cannot control your viewing and listening experience, they simply control one or the other of those widgets in that stack across the room. Now this is acceptable if you know which way the cables run, and understand the difference between composite video and component video, and why the bass management needs to be different for box A than box Q and... Oh. You just wanted to watch a movie? Tough.

Until now. This remote is designed for the person holding it, not the engineer who did the rack and stack on the equipment. It is intuitive to use, and backed by the most well trained support staff it has been my pleasure to encounter.

Some months ago, my wife had a stroke. Her ability to use my carefully-programmed macros on a "universal" remote evaporated, along with a lot of her speech. It's called "aphasia" and affects emotional control as well. She literally has been in tears with the frustration of trying to watch a VHS movie on her own. That is, without calling for my help in operating the system.

I had decided to design a system-level box to control our equipment: to let her choose one button to "watch a movie" or "watch TV" or "watch a DVD" instead of trying to re-educate her damaged memory on the way different boxes provide the picture while others provide the sound. Should we really need to know all that to enjoy the higher quality of separate units?

Doing the initial research for my own design, I bumped into this Harmony unit and the others from Intrigue Technology. I didn't really expect it to be simple enough for a stroke victim to use, but I hoped I could add programming and possibly some extra electronics to make a complete solution.

No need. The company provides a web site to program the remote for your specific set of equipment. Quick and easy. The result came close, but it still tends to assume you want to revel in the intricate features of all that expensive equipment. Here a button to adjust the aspect ratio; there one to control sound processing.

Cindy does not want any of that. Can't use it. She wants to watch TV or a movie. Period. So I called Harmony tech support: Can I do this? Could I simplify that? Do you have tools to let me try those things? "Certainly, sir, but I think I've fixed it for you already. Click 'update your remote' and see if it's working the way she likes it now." Well, sometimes box A misses the command, and she can't decide how to fix that. Is there an IR amplifier I could use? "Probably, but first let me try changing how we send that command. Click 'update' and test it again..."

With great patience, several technicians over two days removed all the confusing aspects of using a home theater. And all the things a picky engineer found to complain about as well. Now, Cindy is very pleased with "her" remote and with her recovered ability to enjoy television or tapes without calling for help.

I am a retired computer design engineer, and believe me: I was prepared to build custom circuits, code elaborate programs -- do anything needed to let her enjoy herself again. (We live in a remote area, where "simple televisions" get nothing at all. We need the boxes, the satellite receivers and video recorders and what not -- just not the complexity.) This device, and tech support's encyclopedic knowledge of remote signalling in AV equipment made all that design and expense unnecessary.

And it was easy on my end. It did not require my talent. Just theirs at tech support. The actual time it took to do all this was less than an hour I suppose. Perhaps two. Spread over five or six phone calls. It only took two days because Cindy had to be allowed to use the equipment. She needed time to run into all the little aspects that she found confusing. Several times I thought the issue was beyond the control of a remote, but the simulator tools at Intrigue Technology and the imagination of their technicians surprised me with an answer for each problem.

Even with her current speech problems, I think they could have done this with Cindy being the one on the phone at this end. All you need is the ability to describe what bothers you. And quite possibly, nothing at all will bother you. The stock programming required a very simple set of questions about model numbers and worked just fine to the standards of most users. A stroke victim is simply the acid test for simplicity.

It is rare to be able to offer an unqualified endorsement of a company and product, but this is one of those opportunities. If you have anyone in your household who does not share your pleasure in that feature-rich stack of electronics, or if you yourself sometimes just want to "watch a movie" instead of comparing PLII processing to Dolby, then you want this remote.

I've had two Pronto's and various other universals (including the one that came with my Receiver). This is the first one that not only works, but is so straightforward that my wife and 9 year old son can use it.

First, you should know that this is one of the "many buttons" remotes. The same company has created a minimalist remote with very few buttons. I assume that also works well, but for my family, a remote with clearly labeled buttons for each function is best.

There are two main features that distinguish this remote. First, it uses a USB connection to your PC and an Internet-based interface to set up the remote. This gives it great flexibility and access to new updates instantly. The downside is that if you don't have a fast internet connection, set up will be painfully slow.

The other feature is the use of dedicated "Activity" buttons that unify all the various commands you need to "Watch TV" or "Watch a movie". There are two buttons so labeled on the remote for those two activities and more are available as "soft buttons" via a small LCD display.

This is similar to the macro function of other programmable remotes like the Pronto. But unlike these others, the Harmony already has the programming set up - it just needs the codes and when you tell it your make and model for your home entertainment devices, it is all set up for you.

I found I had to do a little extra twiddling to get the Harmony set up for my receiver (an older Denon). But you can always use the simple Learn mode to set the correct IR signals as with any other universal remote.

The best thing I can tell you is that within 30 minutes of opening this up, I had it set up and working like a champ. And my wife and son love it too!

WARNING: If your purchase a Harmony remote control from Amazon the manufacture of the Harmony remote Intrigue Technologies will NOT honor the warranty on the remote control unit. They claim that Amazon is a "unauthorized on-line E-tailer". We purchased a Harmony remote on Amazon and it is defective and Intrigue Technologies will not repair it under warranty. They told me that their web site states that Harmony remotes purchase from a "unauthorized on-line E-tailer" are not covered and that we should of checked their web site for warranty coverage before purchasing this item. Well duh, how many times have you gone to a manufactures web site to check on warranty coverage before purchasing an item? This a lame warranty policy that screws the buyer, beware. It is a problem with Intrigue Technologies not Amazon.

I am a techno-geek. My wife is not.

She just doesn't like seeing a coffee table with four remote controls (TV, Cable Box, DVD player, TV) on it. She loves to watch movies on the home theater, but there is no way she can ever set it up to work correctly, and so if I don't do it, it doesn't happen.

This device is unbelievable! It took me about half an hour to gather the names and model numbers of all the various components of the home theater, and then enter them into the website of the manufacurer (go to harmonyremote.com to see exactly how easy the setup is). Then, the remote is updated by the USB cable (included) you connect from the remote to your internet-connected PC. All the settings of your components and the remote-control language that came with each component is updated into your new all-in-one remote. The update is done in a matter of 45 seconds (cable internet connection), and then it's ready to go.

It is organized by activity rather than by device. This means there is an actual button that says "Watch a movie", another that says "Listen to CD", etc. It can even control things like minidisk players, DAT playes, CD jukeboxes, satellite boxes, etc. If you have more than one music source, you can control multiples. And if you have both cable and satellite, you can make a "Watch Cable" and a "Watch Satellite", for example. It can even control projectors, combination devices (TV/VCR, DVD/VCR's, for example), switching devices, and even your room lighting or fireplace(if they have an infrared control)!

When you pick "Watch a movie", for example, it will turn on your TV, set it to the proper video input or tune the correct channel, turn on VCR, turn on receiver and set signal source to VCR, and change the remote control keypad to a VCR controller. If this sounds like gibberish (and to my wife, it does) get this device.

The setup is so easy, she could have done it herself (but she was afraid to try because the thought it would be too hard). It was absolutely painless.

Summary: If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.

Just bought this for Christmas and have been using it for about a week. We are sort of junkies in terms of electronics, and were getting sick of the pile of remotes on the coffee table, and after reading a lot of positive reviews, decided to give this a try.

First, the positives. The "activity" buttons are pretty cool, and actually do work, even in a complex set-up like ours. You press the "watch a movie" button, for instance, and watch all the components come on, the TV switch to the right input, etc. It does take maybe 10-15 seconds for the remote to send all the infrared commands for that to happen... so it will be interesting to see what kind of battery life we get.

After a week, we're thinking of exchanging it for a different model number. We are Tivo fanatics and the main problem with this remote is that the Fast-forward and Rewind buttons you use constantly when watching Tivo to get through the commericials are at the very bottom of the remote... you have to grab the remote and then shift your whole hand down, and sort of hold it by then very tip as you move backwards and forwards through the commercials. I know, I know... it sounds like a really small thing, but it's ANNOYING.

The initial set-up wasn't nearly as easy as the reviews said. The concept itself is great... the main problem is the process for walking through the set-up. Getting the components right wasn't easy, and some of the default settings weren't optimal for some of our devices--HOWEVER, it does give you the flexibility to re-program what some of the buttons do.

After a couple of years searching for decent remote to control my entertainment system, I finally found one. In a word, this remote is AWESOME! Using the internet to set up the remote is as easy as it gets. And the big plus is that this MAC OS X user had no trouble. I had this remote set up and controlling everything in about 30 mins. And since it keeps all of your setting in a flash memory, you won't lose any of your settings, even when the batteries go dead. The fine people at Intrigue Technologies should be congradulated on making the best damn remote on the market today.

This is a great product, but as many have noted, the buttons tend to quit working.

I have two of these and after about 2 years, 5 buttons on one of them quit responding. The fix is very simple. The bottom of the rubber buttons (which contact the circuit board) have a conductive carbon coating on them. This coating wearing thin/off is what keeps the circuit board from registering the button presses.

Fry's electronics sells a button repair kit that essentially allows you to repaint the carbon coating onto the bottom of the buttons.

You will have to take the remote apart, but it is simply 4 screws holding it together (2 on the back and 2 in the battery compartment). After taking the 4 screws out, the 2 halves of the remote need to be gently pulled apart (they snap together). Then you will find 2 more small screws that hold the circuit board to the top half of the remote. Remove these. All the keys are on a single rubber piece. Clean the bottom of the rubber keys and the circuit board contacts with rubbing alcohol. When it is dry, follow the painting directions on the kit.

The name of the repair kit is "Caikote 44" and the part number is K-CK44-G. I bought it at Fry's for $5.99. You can order it directly from the manufacturer for $7.99. There is enough paint in the kit to repair a lot of remotes, cell phones, basically anything with rubber keys.

Just Google "Caikote 44" and you will find the manufacturer site easily.

Don't throw away an expensive remote that you can fix for $5.99 and a few minutes of your time!

(and no.. I don't work for Caikote)

Finally! I have been so skeptical of remotes. No matter how good they claimed to be, I could never get any to work all of my devices. Not even close. This one does. Including a Scientific Atlanta HD-DVR, not the simplest of devices. Set up is easy, if a bit time consuming with a number of devices. You can easily get all of your basic functions to work in about half an hour, because the library of devices set up to work right away is extensive.

To get ALL of your TV, Cable, Stereo and DVD functions to work - just the way you want them - might take a couple of cycles through the setup process (downloads of settings from the internet to your remote) and a couple of hours. But it will be worth it to have one remote that the whole family can use. Yes, my wife too loves this thing.

I bought the first for the family room and now I have another on order for the living room. As a skeptic, there was no way I was buying 2 until I proved it could work. It works.

I just purchased this remote last week. So far I cannot find any problems. The remote operated all of my devices right after the initial programming. I went from 6 remotes to 1 in about 2 hours. One of these devices was my Linksys media adapter which remote I never thought I would be able to eliminate.

It did require some tweaking through the help menus on the remote and through the online programming. After about an hour I was able to get my most used buttons and commands available and up front on the main screens. Once I got used to the online programing the process became easy.

I have not tried any command-learning because all of my devices worked. Which I found to be amazing because even the odd and seldom used commands for my Onkyo reciever and Linksys adapter were pre-programed.

I am working with Tech Support to fix problem with the Media function that lets you see what TV Shows are on. Tech support has always responded within 24 hours and we seem to be progressing towards a resolution. The problem is software related not hardware.

Beware where you purchase this device: Not all online retailers are authorized retailers and if they are not authorized then you have no warranty. I bought mine through JR's electronics who is an authorized retailer.

This is nothing short of fabulous. It's extremely easy to set up via a on-line interface. The whole idea is that you set up "activities" on the website. Activities are things like "Watch TV", "Watch a DVD", "Listen to Radio", "Watch VCR", "Watch TiVo". They put you through an on-line wizard and ask you things like what does your TV have to be set to, what does your A/V receiver have to be set to, etc. Once it's set up, there's a USB cable that hooks up to the remote and it downloads all the set-up stuff. When you press the "Watch TV" button, all the right equipment gets turned on and set to the right settings. If you then decide to watch a DVD, you press the "Watch DVD" button and the right stuff turns on, the right stuff turns off, everything is set to the right settings and you're ready to go.

Of course you can also have all of the controls of the individual device at your fingertips. The normal buttons like, play, fast forward, rewind, etc. are all on the remote, but it also has a multi-function display that has the unique controls for the brand and model that you selected on the web.

My wife was ready to chuck our other 7 remotes and the notes I wrote up for her through the window. Now she's happy, so I'm happy. One remote. Really!