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Logitech Harmony One - Advanced Universal Remote Control | 
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| Brand: Logitech
Category: CE
Buy New: £104.34
New (8) Used (2) from £89.99
Rating:  22 reviews
Media: Electronics
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.8 x 3.7
MPN: 915-000038
Model: 915-000038
EAN: 5051749756180
ASIN: B0012RHQN4
Release Date: February 1, 2008
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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Product Description
The Logitech Harmony One will get the thumbs up from the whole family! This easy-to-use universal remote control reduces clutter on your coffee table, because it can control up to 15 devices. The Logitech Harmony One has a set of backlit buttons and a colour touch screen, so you can find the command you?re searching for even in the dark. All your multimedia entertainment is the touch of a button away. You don?t have to change the batteries either, because the Harmony One works with a single rechargeable battery. Technical features: Direct access to multimedia entertainment Replaces up to 15 remote controls Colour touch screen Sculpted, backlit buttons in logical zones User-friendly design A rechargeable battery Guided online setup Large A/V control database
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| Customer Reviews:
 excellent remote March 5, 2008
William Moffatt
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
I moved to this from the Harmony 1000, which I didn't like because of its shape and the touch screen. The Harmony One is a much more pleasing device, working in the same way, but with mechanical buttons rather than the touch screen of the 1000.
I configured this by adding the remote to my existing setup for the 1000 that transferred all the remotes and operations without any further action required by me - setting up the 1000 had been trivially easy, with most of the time taken by installing the software, downloading the updates and figuring out the model numbers of my equipment.
I only had two problems - my dvd player did every operation twice, and the wrong device was used to control volume when listening to music. The first problem was solved by a call to the tech support line - the call was answered after a couple of rings and the rep fixed the problem for me quickly (though in retrospect I wish I'd gotten him to explain how to do it myself). The second problem went away when moving to the Harmony One, so I don't know what was wrong.
The handset itself is light, and a good fit in my hand; the construction is solid and pleasant to look at, though the buttons are perhaps a little squishy. The cradle is well designed, with wide power connectors on the handset. It lights up when you move it, with each button being displayed perfectly. Most operations are easily done with the mechanical buttons.
The top third of the device is a touch sensitive LCD screen; the screen responds to a light touch, with a pleasant feedback sound - each side can be pressed to scroll through available pages, with the center displaying up to 6 buttons well sized buttons - I haven't yet triggered the wrong action by accident.
Similar to the side buttons, there are two lower buttons to switch between operating mode; typically you will be using the "activities" mode, where the handset tries to do the most appropriate thing for any button press - fast forward will control the dvd, volume will control the tv (or whatever); if you need to, you can switch to a specific device and the handset will control that device alone; I rarely need to do this.
The LCD also displays what you're currently doing, the time and battery level.
Pressing the power button will turn off any device that is on, and switching activities will toggle the power of all the appropriate devices; I only have 4 components though, so I don't know how well this would work with more - I also don't have to switch inputs for tv vs music, though from other reviews I understand this works well.
I haven't tried using the software to change the configuration of any of the buttons yet, I may do so at some stage, though at the moment I am happy with the default settings (other than turning off the annoying assistant, which I recommend everyone do as soon as possible).
I am very happy with this remote; well worth the money and better, IMO, than the Harmony 1000 which is a much more costly device.
 Makes complex systems easy for everyone February 19, 2008
B. HALL (UK)
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
This remote has replaced 4 originals (Amp, SkyHD, DVD, TV).
My one real gripe is how they felt it necessary to leave out bluetooth for controlling PS3, Wii and PC. (that's the one star off)
It's not mentioned anywhere, but it does sense movement, so turns on when you pick it up, ready for input.
The remote has good build quality and is comfortable in you hand. The cradle is not only a charger, but good place to store it.
The setup is a complex as your equipment. I though the software to configure the remove felt like a windows 98 app with vista look. Some thing just did not work as I expected, but I did eventally get it right. Not a big issue, just can't have custom icons, renaming took a while to find. Mine took a few hours to setup.
Overal I am quite pleased, and my wife is even happier now that it does not take 3 remotes to swap activities.
I still have to work on shortening the timing for the various commands. For my Toshiba, it is quite slow to swich between HDMI / Compenent inputs (no direct command). Will depend on your quipment.
Great piece of kit ! March 19, 2008
Alan J. Stedall (Birmingham, UK)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
This device is light-weight, built to a very high quality and beautifully sculptured, all of which makes it a real pleasure to use. The layout of the buttons is a considerable improvement on previous Logitech models. The programmable built-in screen display is clear and touch-sensitive: even this is adjustable.
You need to have a PC to program the Logitech, but once you are familar with the concept of defining "devices" and then assembling these into combinations of "activities", it is a piece of cake.
If you find that one of the infra-red functions doesn't work for a particular device, you can easily "teach" the Logitech using your old remote for that device.
The buttons and the touch-screen are programmable, so if you need to change say, the volume control to activate your amplifier rather than your TV, this is easily achieved.
Even small details have been well thought through. For instance the power cable to the charging "holster" can either be connected to the top of the holster or the bottom of it, thereby reducing the length of cable left dangling.
All in all, a very nice piece of kit to own and use. I can't really fault it. Well recommended.
best bit of technology I have ever bought May 27, 2008
Geoff Webber (Dorset UK)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this remote partly based on the reviews here on Amazon.
In the past, when buying technology, I am nearly always left with a feeling that its not quite what I expected or not quite value for money.
Well... the Harmony one has been a revelation!
Like many who have written here before I have far too many remotes that require pressing so that I can watch TV or play a DVD etc.
Fortunately I (mostly) remember which ones need pressing and when.
My wife struggles and complains to anyone who listens that she cannot do a simple thing like watching the news due to the number of commands required.
I have even made a "crib sheet" with pictures of remotes and buttons to press for guests and house sitters.
My Harmony one turned up on Friday and the first impression is the packaging - wow. Such a feeling of quality.
The remote itself carries on this theme - a truly beautiful thing.
Setting up was easy, just follow the instructions.
Having a list of devices is key to success here.
Then it just worked!
This however is just the beginning.
The configurations options are immense.
In my setup
Sony Bravia TV
Sony AV amp
Sky HD
Sony CD player
Toshiba DVD
The Sky backup button didn't seem to be configured.
By editing the button assignments I mapped the SKY backup button to the "prev" key a sort of arrow doing a U turn.
I also mapped backup to "exit" just in case the U turn arrow was not obvious enough.
Next it was the Green and Red buttons to + and E at the bottom of the remote.
When viewing an Activity it is possible to create favourites (eg channels) so now I have 12 different shortcuts (over 2 screens) for the most used channels.
These can be renamed to suit.
Some channels have pre-determined icons or you can upload your own.
I have also created function buttons that operate "sequences" so that it is possible to switch off the AV amp and switch to the TV sound or the other way around.
The unit is rechargeable - so as long as you put it in the cradle you will never suffer from flat batteries again
All in all a fabulous bit of kit.
Brilliant - go buy one - now !!!
What a remote, well worth the cost!!! August 8, 2008
A. H. C. Stevens (Stonecross, UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
After receiving the remote and inspecting the fabulously styled remote and charging cradle, information is transferred to the remote by connecting a USB cable to a hidden connector on the remote - After a wait for the initial charging period to finish - then it was time to begin programming the remote!
I was replacing 6 remotes (Sky+, 42" Sharp Aquos, Sony Bluray, Sony AV Receiver, Sony SACD & HDMI switch), and attempting to make switching from one activity to another as simple as possible for my whole family.
Setup for the devices was relatively easy, but not as straightforward as the manual would suggest. The programming procedure is by means of a PC based application and an online database of devices and their codes. By selecting type of device, manufacturer, then model you can filter down to the exact model you have, failing that the Harmony 1 will perform as a learning remote, but still requiring the PC based application to manage the learning process and attribute the learnt code to a chosen button.
It all went smoothly, and then it's time to program the Activities, such as 'watch a film' which in my situation involves turning on the TV, turning the volume down (a mute dignal means the screen displays a 'mute' message!) and selecting the correct input, switching on the amp, and selecting the correct input - a macro. The remote performs flawlessly. If you then select 'listen to music' the remote 'knows' the current state of the devices (whether they're on/off etc) so will change the Amp's input, turn off the TV, and turn on the SACD player - it's seamless!!
Other nice features are being able to have favourite channel icons when watching TV (there is a great website out there which has done all the hard work for you by creating a huge array of icons - this is great for my children who recognise the channel icons (cbbc etc) and with a single press the Sky box is set the channel string (e.g. 602) and it magically turns over!
If the remote gets out of synch with the device (users manually operating devices, or using another remote) then the 'help' button walks you through simple questions such as 'is the TV on' with a 'yes' or 'no' choice, and then manages to fix the problem.
Some reviews mention that the remote does not have the coloured buttons Sky users need, they are correct that there are no coloured physical buttons. When you bring up you Sky 'device' or are performing an activity which uses it, by pressing the 'command' button on the screen brings up 4 large coloured buttons - it works great.
The display is bright and easy to read, has a robust resistive touchscreen with adjustable sensitivity. Battery life is suprisingly good, and the device only needs charging every 3 days.
In total i've spent around 3 hours getting the remote to work 100% correctly, and every now and again it's just a little 'tweak' to improve functionality. I have now put away my other remotes, after the initial period of not having the Harmony working 100% and keeping them as a 'backup' measure.
The next step is to use one half of a Powermid remote extender so I can use the IR harmony one to control RF based products (Domialite home automation)
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