Universal Remote Controls - My Personal Experience.

In my home theater set up I have a TV, a DVR, DVD player, and 2 Receivers (one as my main receiver and one to control my bass shakers in the home theater seating).  Each of these devices has it's own remote control and although several of my remotes were able to control some aspects of the other components I still needed to keep each of the remotes nearby since there were particular functions that could not be replicated by the remote. 

I added universal remote controls to my home theater "wish list", but was not sure that the cost was justified.  I continued to lose remotes, switch out batteries, fumble around in the dark with my remotes that did not include back lighting and listen to the questions from my wife about why do we need so many ugly remotes floating around, most of which are too confusing to use anyhow.

Then I decided to add Lutron Spacer System lighting to my home theater room.  I found out that rather then purchasing their remote a Harmony remote could program these codes into my remote for me so I could control my lights with my universal remote all without leaving my seat.  This was all the excuse I needed.  At last I decided to break down and add one of the new universal remote controls to my home theater.  Enter the Logitech Harmony 520. 

Logitech Harmony 520

I heard and read many, many positive reviews of the Harmony line of remotes so I began my search there.  I looked at the Harmony 890 , Harmony 880 , Harmony 550 and the Xbox 360 versions.  Still a bit hesitant to dip too deep into my home theater budget I decided to select the most affordable of the models, the Harmony 520 , an entry level model Harmony model which I purchased for about $60.

Design

I liked the slim design of the 520.  The one concern that I had, one that I now know was justified, was the size of the numeric buttons and the limited amount of buttons compared to other models including my DVR remote.

It has a four way directional pad and a backlit LCD display with four programmable keys.  These keys allow me to program any number of functions that can be labled on seperate pages of the LCD display.

Universal Remote Codes / Programming

The first step was to begin programming my remote for my system.  I installed the software and began my web based programming.  There are no control codes to type in.  Simply go through the program and find your components and let the computer do the work.  The Harmony claims to have support for over 100,000 devices, so it is tough to imagine any device that would not be supported.  I had no problem finding any of my components from the list.  The program allowed me to select default selections for each device as well as customize additional buttons.  Although not overly difficult, the sheer amount of setup options can be a bit daunting for first time universal remote owners like myself.

Activities

Not only do you set up individual devices, but then you set up activities.  This is where I really began to realize how much I would love my new remote.  I started by programming 3 different activities:

• Watch TV - At the touch of a button it turns on TV, sets it to DTV input, turns on my DVR, turns on my Receiver and sets it to Video 1.
• Watch DVD - This turns on my TV, sets the TV input to Component 1, turns on the DVD player, turns on my receiver and sets it to DVD, turns on my second receiver for controlling the bass shaker and then dims my lights to optimum viewing lighting.
• Play Xbox - Again, it turns on my TV and Receiver and sets them to the appropriate inputs so that I am ready to play.

Instead of grabbing multiple remotes and getting everything set up, it does it all at the touch of a button.  Another nice thing about using activities is that it is set to know exactly which devices to use.  If I am watching TV and I hit the volume it knows to use the volume on the Receiver and not the TV, it knows that when I change the channel it changes the DVR and not the receiver or the TV.  I don't have to change any devices on the remote in order to control this.

Help

Another helpful feature, at least for new users, is the help feature.  If the set up is not as you are expecting you hit the help button and the remote asks yes or no questions and makes the appropriate adjustments until everything is set up correctly.  (For example - Is the TV on?  Is it set to DTV?, etc.)  

From my research, it seems that Logitech's tech support is very helpful if a problem arises.  Personally I have not had any issues where I needed to call for support, but it is good to know that help is available if needed. 

Summary

Overall, I am now sold on the value of universal remote controls.  I love my Harmony.  It's ease of use and seemingly endless abilities to control my home theater makes it an essential component of my home theater.  That being said, I do find the numerical keys a bit small and I would love to have a few extra buttons to help control my DVR.  The Harmony 880 and Harmony 550 are a bit more expensive, but have these extra features.  If I had to choose again, I think I would spend a few more dollars and go for one of these models or even consider the  Harmony 1000 for an even more advanced model.  This is not to say that I am unhappy with my 520 purchase, but rather that I underestimated the value of a universal remote control and would be willing to spend a bit more then I thought for a Harmony remote.