Customer Reviews

Logitech Harmony 680 Universal Remote Control

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I got tired of constantly having to redo the menus on my Pronto everytime I made a minor change, so when I saw this Harmony remote advertised, I thought it sounded like a really great and easier alternative. I don't have a Media PC but I really liked the choice of buttons on it, so thought I'd give it a try. Let's cover the highs and lows:

1. Good remote for Tivo use (probably best of the Harmonies), but I had to manually configure a lot of the buttons that really should have been preset. Like play, pause, forward, etc. None of those worked with the basic setup.

2. Basic setup is easy, but the online help if you have any problems is really confusing and annoying at times. I never did find anything that described how to use the online program guide. I did figure it out myself, but there should be more help for stuff like this.

3. As another user mentioned, ability to customize is somewhat limited, certainly compared to some other fancier (but more expensive) universal remotes. For instance, the macros for doing things like Listen to Music only determine what components will be on and what inputs they will be set to. I cannot, for instance, make Listen to Music tune my cable box to my favorite digital music channel. The up-side of this is that for most people, the setup is pretty easy, you don't have to be a techno-geek to figure it out, like you do with some remotes.

4. The ability of the remote to remember what components are on and off and switch them automatically is *really* nice. The Help button to correct any issues always worked great for me if something got messed up accidentally.

5. I'm glad I can add some custom commands using the LCD but the biggest issue for me here is that it only allows 5 characters to display. Definitely NOT enough.

Overall, this is a decent remote that does what you want 95% of the time. For a lot of users that find programming universal remotes too difficult, it's a great solution. I'm not sure it's quite the right remote if you really want complete control, but for the most part, it does the job.

With our recent Panasonic TH-42PD50U 42" plasma purchase (fantastic, esp. finding it for $1500), we were up to 4 needed remotes:

* Plasma (only really need pwr, vol & mute)
* 8300HD cablebox (guide, channels, PIP, DVR, info)
* Tivo (8300HD DVR UI is terrible, esp. compared to Tivo which is wife-approved:) use Tivo for SD recording & 8300HD for HD.
* DVD (magnavox - none of the other remotes would talk to it)
* VCR (rarely used now, but nice that Harmony does it too)

After some trouble setting the 680 up (& after some tweaking), this remote works great for all my devices, is easy to use & covers all often-used functions.

Trouble I had: Like the 676, has only 3 activity hard buttons & wanted 1st (TV) = cablebox, 2nd (movie) = DVD & 3rd (music) = Tivo. Made initial mistake of trying to mod the Listen to Music activity to control Tivo & TV... Had to bail on that & simply create a "Watch Tivo" activity & assign that to the music button.
Had to "learn" the DVD Chap+ function, reduce plasma key repeat (from 3 > 2, vol +/- was going by 2) & reduce most delays. Now its all good.

Minor reasons to not give 5 stars: 1) All setup is web-based - so reliant on internet & their website for *any* setup mods (which seem to take at least 15mins or so each) & 2) LCD could have better contrast. Not sure of battery life.

No question I would purchase this again (or 676... Tossup between the two).

I spent many hours on the web researching a remote to replace my Harmon Kardon TC1000 and the Harmony 680 appeared to be the right replacement. I have been completely satisfied with this remote. I use it to control a Plasma TV, Home Theater Receiver, VCR, DVD Player, TiVO, and Satellite Receiver. I have to disagree with some of the comments of other reviewers as I have not had the same problems. Some of the highlights:

1. Simple and Efficient Macros - Touch one button and you can turn on all components and have each component execute a number of commands. For example, I have one button set up to turn on my TV (then set the TV to the proper video input and sceen selection setting), turn on the receiver (then have it set to TiVo input and dolby digital sound selection), and finally tune TiVO to a specific channel. Others have claimed you cannot do this. Not true.

2. Great Design - Same bone style design of the very popular TiVO remote. Fits in the hand well. Two slots in the back for your fingers to rest in. Reaching all buttons is very easy. Buttons are shaped well, press easy, and are not too close together (unlike the 688 model). I initially had a problem with the buttons not responding when I pressed them repeatedly(especially for TiVO use), but once I learned that you could adjust button response times, that problem went away. All remote buttons light up so it is easy to use in the dark. The LCD is easy to see and provides you with six additional customizable buttons for each function you set up (i.e. watch TV, listen to music, etc). You can also use the LCD to scroll through different functions for each of your components, but once you customize the remote you probably won't need to do that.

3. Set Up - Set up is done online at the Logitech website. Basic set up was fairly simple, but there was a bit of a learning curve when I tried to fine tune my set up. If you are technically inclined, you will be slightly annoyed. If not, you may find this a bit frustrating.

All in all a great product that is easy to use for the whole family. My wife loves it and my mother bought one after I showed her how it worked. Actually, she took mine and asked me to order another. That's how good it is. If you are willing to spend an hour setting it up, then this is the remote for you.

After owning 3 other universal remotes from 3 different companies, it is amazing how much easier this one (and others from Logitech) is to program and use.

I have read other reviews here where people complain about the software/programming. I just don't get it. The software walks you through the whole process step by step. If you have any problems, just call the 800 number and they will walk you through it or do it for you if you would prefer that.

The remote itself works great and the button layout is excellent for people that are using a DVR. You can program just about every function from the original remote control.

I've had mine for almost 2 years and it has worked flawlessly for me ever since. I bought one for my parents last Christmas and they too really enjoy controlling all their equipment from this easy to use remote.

The "activity" approach is great once you get used to it. There are some minor annoyances that come up here and there if you have some weird (but reasonable) preferences. For example, I use it for a Media Center and sometimes want to adjust the TV volume independently of the Media Center volume. This requires activating the TV device and then switching back to "Watch TV" mode. Since the remote is not the easiest thing in the world to navigate with a single hand, it can get a bit tedious to do that.

I'm indifferent to the software. It could be a lot easier to use, but it's not terrible. I have an IT background, though, so am used to messing around with things to get them to work. It could definitely be better. I'm a little uneasy with the fact that it's Internet-based, and I wonder what would happen if the site went out of service (due to product discontinuation).

Logitech should also really work on making these remotes more blind-usable. The important buttons should have different feels so that you can navigate the remote without looking at it. After about 1 year of using this remote, I still have to look at it to use it, and I can't get the hang of "reaching" certain buttons from the place my hand naturally rests on the remote.

It's a pretty good Media Center remote, but it is not as good as the Microsoft MCE 2005 remote for working with Media Center functions; the MCE 2005 remote is blind-usable, which this one is not. The buttons also feel much better on the Microsoft remote.

The buttons on the remote are hard, smooth, and rounded plastic. They're also quite small. They're not organized in a way that will allow you to reliably feel your way around them.

They have quality control problems with this remote. When I first bought it, the "down" direction on the ring didn't work properly. It required a precise press in just the right position, and require more pressure than all of the other ring directions. Logitech was very good at doing an RMA, but now, after about 1 year, the "down" direction has stopped working on the replacement remote. I have just been browsing the reviews of another Harmony remote with the same style of navigation ring and found a similar complaint.

This remote is excellent, and proved to be fundamental factor drawing my sister's home theater system together.

I setup a home theater system for my sister and her husband consisting of the following:
1. 50" Sony HDTV
2. Media Center PC for music and DVD's
3. Satellite Receiver
4. Tivo Series 2
5. Sony DE-998 Receiver with multi-zone setup (patio and living room)

Unfortunately after setting up the system, the 5 remotes they were faced with and myriad menu selections proved daunting. While they wanted an advanced and flexible home theater system, neither one is a "techie." They found the system reconfiguration that was required when for example switching from watching Tivo to playing music with the media center overly complicated. As a result the media center was barely used and certain features they had wanted, such as the 2nd zone in the patio, were never used at all. Finally, when my parents visited they complained they couldn't figure out how to watch television.

After doing some research I recommended this product. I spent a Saturday setting up the remote and teaching everyone how to use it. My sister was overjoyed at the ability to get her garden music playing with the touch of a button. They have been much happier with their system now that all the features are easily accessible. And for the ultimate test, my mother raves about how easy it is for her to sit down to watch movies and television.
(Note unlike another reviewer I had no problems with the remote controlling the Tivo using the online setup...)

Features on this remote that are particularly attractive are:
- "activity" buttons that will seamlessly control multiple components simultaneously. The activity concept is intuitive and well implemented.
- memory of which components are on and which need to be turned off when switching activities
- extremely large database of controllable components

Cons:
- setup requires precision to enable everything to work properly (know the exact model of your components!). Be prepared for a headache if you're not comfortable navigating through computer menus.
- LCD screen is a bit small/low resolution
- Battery life is limited; a rechargable stand would have been a plus
- Ergonomics aren't as nice as some other Harmony remotes, such as the 550. Some of the buttons are a bit cramped, if you need reading glasses have them handy when getting used to the remote.

If I had to do this over again, I would probably recommend the Harmony 550 to my sister due to the superior ergonomics. That said, this is one excellent product with few drawbacks.

The Haromony 680 has taken the place of my TV remote, DVD remote, and Tivo remote. It's the best Christmas gift I could've gotten! My son programed it, did a bit of twiking to make it respond more quickly for Tivo use, and now I just enjoy using it. I took all the batteries out of my other remotes and stored them in a nearby drawer, in case I needed them, but I haven't had any reason to use them. My eyes aren't what they used to be, so at first,I had to put on my glasses to see what the function buttons were for, but now that I've used the remote for a while, I've gotten used to the buttons and don't have to "read" them anymore. Shifting from live TV to Tivo or DVD and back again is quick and simple. The Harmony 680 will even eject the DVD for me.

It took a couple hours to setup, but now that it is, I have had no problems. It currently controls two TV's, a dvd player, two different cable boxes and my PS2.

Not being the most technically skilled person in the world I needed some help from tech support in setting up 3 activities (macros) on the remote. The first technician helped me program the macros. I placed a second call when another issue came up.
Logitech support is a model of what tech. support should be. I waited not more than a minute or two each time for the call to be answered. The two technicians were not only very knowledgeable, but also extremely nice and easy to deal with (not always the case when dealing with tech support from other companies).
And yes, it's a great remote too.

This remote will do everything you need or want. Simple to use and great customer service. I had a couple of "glitches" (buttons that didn't work quite right) when I first programmed the device, but the Harmony support team helped me through those areas. The changes needed are now permanently in my data area on the Harmony web site so if I ever need to, all I have to do is reload the info.

Like another reviewer, I also have a TiVO (2 actually) and the only button that wouldn't work on my Harmony 680 was the "clear" button. Customer service fixed that in a jiffy, too.

I have owned several multiple device remotes over the years and never had one so good that I could really put away all my other remotes. I now only use one - the Harmony 680. Fantastic device! I'd give it 6 stars if I could.