Logitech Harmony SST-659 Universal Remote Control (Grey)

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Product Details

Data Sheet [2.48mb PDF]

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Product Manual [851kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 5.8 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000TNZDK
• Item model number: 966179-1403
• Batteries: 4 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 16, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

If you've got a stack of remote controls, each with enough buttons to control the space shuttle, the Logitech Harmony H659 remote may bring some sanity to your coffee table. The H659 offers an innovative, web-based solution to corralling all of your remote functions into one device. This remote exceeded our expectations, even when it was asked to control a wide range of old and new devices.

The "Activity Remote"
Universal remote controls have been around for years, promising to simplify things for home theater or stereo users. The problem with these solutions, however, is that they are largely "dumb" devices, meaning they can only be programmed by pointing them at the another remote and pressing buttons on the old remote until the new one "learns" all the functions of the old. The Harmony H659 makes this hassle a thing of the past by placing 2 MB of solid state memory in the remote that can be updated via a PC USB connection. The information stored on the H659 is updated via an Internet connection and Logitech's (www.logitech.com) Harmony web site. The web site contains a database of virtually every electronics product under the sun that's capable of receiving signals from a remote control. The web interface walks users through a series of steps before uploading the proper controller interfaces to the H659.

Explore all the features of the Harmony 659 remote.

While there are other web-enabled universal remote controls out there (most of which are more expensive than the H659), the Harmony H659's unique role as an "activity remote" is what really impresses. Instead of controlling each device independently, the H659 intelligently groups remote functions into activities. Each activity--which is granted a colored button at the top of the remote--corresponds to a grouping of devices. For instance, the "Watch TV" activity does more than turn on your TV, it also turns on your A/V receiver and digital cable box-- anything you have defined as integral to watching TV. And because the H659 knows everything about all of these devices, it knows how you want them to interact with each other. Want your receiver to control volume instead of your TV? Based on the settings you made in the web interface, the H659 knows this and promptly pumps up the volume on the receiver when you hit the volume button. It's this kind of intelligent control of all devices in, well, harmony that really places the Harmony H659 in a league of its own.

Design
The H659 is well-designed and the buttons are logically laid out. The remote fits comfortably in the hand and is well balanced. The all-important activity buttons arrayed at the top make it easy to trigger groups of devices that work together to perform a single function. The directional buttons at the center of the button are handy for DVD menus and digital cable interfaces. The LCD, which simplifies navigation through device functions, is clear and bright when the backlight is on.

Setup
Once we installed the included Harmony Remote software on our computer and connected the remote via the supplied USB cable, we went to the Harmony web setup interface. After filling in information about our home theater equipment (brands and model numbers) the interface prompted us to make selections about how we wanted our devices to interact. When the selections process is complete, the web interface packages the completed settings into a file that is uploaded to the PC. The update file is then used by the Harmony Remote software to load settings onto the H659. From start to finish, the entire settings and upload process took about 20 minutes-- a pretty painless experience. One note of caution for Mac OSX users: unlike Windows, the Mac OS will not automatically launch an executable that has been downloaded to the desktop. This can confuse the Harmony web interface, which depends on this functionality to upload and verify downloads to the H659. Fortunately, we found that we could trick the web interface into working properly if we manually launched the update executable on the Mac desktop. Better software integration on the Mac side would be a welcome improvement.

In the Den
We spent some quality couch time with the H659 and came away impressed. We were delighted by how much more control the unit gave us over our home theater. In many ways, we felt like we were waving a magic wand, turning on whole sets of equipment and firing up movies and CDs with a single button press. For more precise control of each device we could easily navigate to that device in the LCD menu and tinker with more specific settings. We also liked knowing that we could customize the remote for more advanced needs via the web interface. The basic settings were powerful enough, though, to offer the simplicity and control armchair commanders crave.

Pros

• Excellent integration of functions across all device types
• Easy setup and customization via web interface
• Up-to-date and accurate database of all devices

Cons

• Mac OSX compatibility could be better

Product Description

The Harmony Remote is the world's only remote with Smart State Technology Activity Control. Just press an Activity button such as "Watch TV" or "Watch a Movie", and the Harmony Remote will automatically set-up your entertainment system in seconds without you ever having to program a 'macro'. The Harmony Remote provides simple, intuitive control of even the most elaborate entertainment system for anyone in the family.With the world's only Smart State Database of electronic devices, set-up is a snap. The community-driven database together with IR learning ensures support of all infrared-controlled devices made by any manufacturer, including TiVo, HDVCR, HDTV, Plasma Displays, Monitors, Projectors, Lighting Control, CD/DVD-R, PVR, Satellite Radios, Amplifiers, DVD Players, Receivers, Dual VCRs and even combination devices like DVD-VCR components.With interactive media capabilities, you can select TV Shows, Movies or Music titles from the interactive display. You can even control devices like lights, fireplace and your personal computer!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best remote, with the best technical support., March 26, 2004

By	G. W. Sims (Lancaster, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best All-in-one remote I've tried, January 12, 2004

By	stuartm "stuartm" (United States) - See all my reviews

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!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Marriage Saver, May 1, 2004

By A Customer

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.