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Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 5:29 PM

Logitech Harmony Smart Control Remote

Someone posted on getting a new Logitech Harmony remote. It intriqued me about the new Logitech Harmony remotes, particularly the Smart Control (SC)  as a replacement for the U-verse point anywhere remote to ccontrol the second TV (see avatar). When the OK button seems to have worn out on my five year old point anywhere remote, I went for an SC.

 

The SC does have a unique design - It has an IR blaster that connects to WI-fi to communicate with an app on a portable tablet and a physical remote. The physical remote has no IR. It only communicates with the IR blaster. The SC wi-fi also communicates with the mother ship to allow programming via a computer or tablet and save the settings.

 

I feel that a physical remote is much easier to use for regular viewing than an app. The app is only for miscellaneous use. The SC app is especially ugly. It does have gestures.

 

The SC physical remote has a really good feel to it. It is about 1.5 - 2 inches shorter than the U-verse remote. The buttons do seem smaller & closer together, but they are OK, except for the numbers - Too small & too close.

 

The following U-verse buttons are missing from the SC remote -

 

Jump ahead & back

Back

TV/video

Video on demand

Go Interactive

 

The SC has one additional button - Blue. The only non-labeled buttons are the four colored buttons. I programmed mine (four colored buttons)  to navigate the input on my JVC TV. I programmed the red record button to be a power toggle. And, I changed the Exit button to Back. I will probably, add the Jump ahead & back as a long press of FF. I went to do this & found it in place as part of the auto assignment of buttons.

 

The SC has an interesting way of allowing for many functions - each button has two functions - one for a short press & one for a long press. I was leery of this feature, but it seems to work well.

 

Other Logitech Harmony remotes have distinct Activities and Devices. The U-verse remote has one activity oddly combined with some device access.

 

The SC has six activities - No direct access to devices. Devices are all  controlled by the buttons assigned to an activity. It can control up to three of the same device, such as STBs, because it has three IR blasters that can be assigned to specific instances of devices.

 

For those unfamiliar with activities - In the beginning, there was one device (e,g, TV) with it’s own remote. When it becomes necessary to add another device (e.g. STB) a universal remote needs to have some buttons for one device & other buttons for the other device. This is sometimes called  “punch through”. This is the way the u-verse remote works. The next step is activities, where the button map is set to support an activity that encompasses multiple devices & pre sets power and input. Of course, the devices still control what happens. The  Activity is just an overlay to help bring order to the complexity. That said, the complexity is encountered in the set-up.

 

SC programming is daunting - time consuming - perhaps hard to get used to because it is quite comprehensive. If you already have a Harmony, you can just copy it. Also, the SC has a learning feature.

 

My programming was especially frustrating because I am  going against the tide. When selecting an Activity, Logitech wants to turn on all the devices & set the proper input. Since I am primarily using my Harmony 700 for primary control, I want to disable those two steps. I believe I have found the programming to do that. Previous models of the Harmony could not do that. It is good that Logitech wants to include a correct set-up of the equipment, but a robust support needs to include the flexibility to skip those steps.

 

I think I am at the point where I could use the SC remote as a primary remote except for two things - the aforementioned  small & close number buttons and I have two very large buttons on the 700 for FF on recordings. These are so much better than the usual recording buttons.  The base reason for the SC is to control the second STB

 

So, I have the SC controlling two TVs and Two STBs. I believe I will add the DVR & third TV.

 

The ideas just keep rolling in - I have the three Activity buttons programmed for the three different STBs connected to three different TVs. I just added three more Activities - Just the three TVs - providing the equivalent of direct device access. Then I programmed the long press on the first three activities- Volume up/down/mute - long press to be STB instead of TV. So, all the functions are covered with direct access to the device.

 

Contributor

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2 Messages

8 years ago

.or. I'll just get to the prime interest, perhaps I dont need all of this setup. I get that I can program an Activity to punch through the button sequence to get to the Receiver-stored Favorites, but that doesn't actually get to the real underlying issue here. I'd be willing to invest the time in building a list of Favorites .once., not have to do this 4 times for the 4 receivers in the house, then have to update all 4 every time I want to adjust or add another Favorite "flavor" list.

1) Does the Harmony keep its own Favorites list(s) that you program in with the channel numbers?

2) Is the Harmony then able to refer to the same list(s) when addressing multiple different devices (Uverse Receivers)?

3) will the andriod app display the channel list(s) of these programmed favorites to select from? (as the Harmony itself has no screen)

4) (different subject) does the Harmony store and allow "back" selection of the last (x) number of channels viewed like my recently discarded Dish Network did? The just one "back" that Uverse has is so .... Neanderthal (sorry if I'm insulting some of my Neanderthal friends ;-}. 

 

It is these things that make me pine for the Dish Network I just discarded, and seriously consider reverting before the 30days is up to "undo".

 

Really appreciate your pro-bono posts here "aviewer"!!!

-anjin-

 

Expert

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10.1K Messages

8 years ago

@anjin1 - Thanks for posting.

 

I know the process sounds daunting, but it can be simplified quite bit if you know what you want to do & just take it a step at time. If you use the defaults it is relatively straightforward & if you do a lot of customization it is too personal for anone to do it for you.

 

I have mixed feelings about making a plan. If you can do that it should make it easier. The problem with a plan is it is hard to come up with ideas without hands on experimenting.

 

 

If you want simplicity the Logitech models 200 & 300 (both discontinued) & 350 are similar to the u-verse remote. But, sooner or later you will find something you cannot do with them because they are like the u-verse remote.

 

The full featured model 650 should be considered entry level or model 700 (discontinued).

 

Moving up to a hub is good for hiding equipment, getting started with other controls, such as lighting, and up to three instances of the same IR (such as STB).

 

Many people seem to want to load their whole house on one remote. My personal perspective is to try to balance coverage with efficiency. You cannot control what you cannot find - the reason you upgraded - You still have to find the buttons, easily.

 

Another personal perspective that does not follow the herd applies to automatic setup on an activity. Everyone (as sold by Logitech) must have every setup step automatic. Sometimes, it is not so easy. Sometimes, a manual button is superior to finding it automatically accomplished.

 

Just load your devices, set up an activity or two& maybe program a few custom buttons & you will be energized by thinking of great things to do.

 

If you go for multiple instances of STB/TV be sure to buy TVs with different IR, so you do not have to worry about that getting in the way.

Expert

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10.1K Messages

8 years ago

@anjin1 - So, I posted my response & see that you have posted addl questions -

 

The LH models 650 & up do have a favorites list. But it is not without its problems. I have avoided it because my experience with the 700/u-verse STB combiation was that the IR was not reliable enough to send four digits for the channel.

 

LH does have a list programmed that you can load based on location & provider. I do not know how you cull that list to only what you want. Could be more daunting than the u-verse build.

 

There is only one LH Favorites list per remote & it applies to all Activities in the remote.

 

 

I do not like scrolling the small LCD screen (for favorites or anything else). For me, LCD screen is only for infrequently digging deep into menus for devices. Getting all device options in one remote.

 

I do like using the "one button" favorites guide. I can select shows based soley on name. I do not even notice what channel it is on.

 

I would not build multiple u-verse favorites guides, just so I do not have to press the extra buttons to select on each usage.

 

I have a few chanel number buttons programmed to send the four digit channel on a long press - these are my most favored channels for live watching.

Scholar

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289 Messages

8 years ago

I have a Harmony 650 for over six years. I had a 550 before. It is one of the best investments that I've made. If you have issues programming the remote just call Logitech support and they will walk you through whatever you want to do. Ask for a US agent as they do use offshore call centers.

Expert

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10.1K Messages

8 years ago

Latest button map

 

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