Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote - universal remote control ( 966191-0403 )

Control your entire Home Entertainment system with the touch of a single button! Simply select an activity (e.g., "Watch TV", "Play a videogame", etc.) and your Harmony remote will send the right commands so you don't have to juggle remotes or remember a sequence of buttons. The Internet-based setup is a breeze. An intuitive setup wizard will walk you through the steps to get the Harmony remote to work with your systems. The online database contains all the information of 2, 500 manufacturers and over 80, 000 models of components. The Harmony 520 makes Home Entertainment accessible to the whole family.

I just got the 520 a week ago. I'm a perfect example of someone that was skeptical about this kind of "activity based" universal remote. This is the type where you instruct the remote in 3-5 of the main activities that you use your system for ("Watch TV," "Watch DVD," "Listen to Airtunes," you can also make your own) -- and then the remote (1) remembers the full sequence of signals to your various remotes to get into that state with one button push and (2) allows you to customize the functions associated on the remote's buttons while you are in that state. In short, this remote is about perfect and has made dealing with our entertainment system totally painless. Here are the worries that I had had about buying one of these things and why I was wrong. -- I read about "Getting out of sync." The problem is supposedly that at some point, when you have the remote take you to a new Activity, one of the multiple commands doesn't get recieved by the system, and therefore your remote winds up totally confused as to what state your devices are in, causing a scramble. However: (1) this has not happened ONCE the entire 10 days I've had this thing. and if it did happen, you press this Help button that just asks you some questions about what state things are in, and gets it back in order. But the bottom line is, this is obviously RARE. Note that I'm careful of making sure the remote is pointed at the devices when I press stuff. -- I was worried that this new style of remotes was "over engineered" and way more complicated than what I wanted, which was a simple, universal remote that I could flexibly control my stuff with. It just isn't so. Once you get set up, the tool gives no sense of being more complex than you need. Once set up, it looks and works simpler than the average out-of-the-box remote that came with your dvd player. (Note: on this topic, I would say that I recommend the 520 model. Because I still think that the other Logitech model that has the color lcd screen would be a little bit much, with the cheesy icons of popcorn next to your DVD entry, etc. That's lame.) -- I thought that, with all of the emphasis that the advertisements made about the LCD "soft buttons," that the tool wouldn't do a good job of also allowing you to change the function of the regular old plastic buttons on the remote. Not true. When you have set up an activity (like Watch DVD), you can totally customize the function of almost EVERY plastic button AND pages and pages of customized "soft buttons" on the lcd screen -- and those functions can be related to ANY of the devices you have -- and a single button press can also be made to create a *sequence* of commands on one or multiple devices. You can REALLY get custom with it. Note: the computer software where you configure the remote's functions is EXCELLENT. excellent interface, easily understood. (you would not want to be a true novice though. You want to be a little comfortable with using computer programs.) Setting up your remote's activities and functions, getting it just right, will probably take place over about 1-3 days, as you make changes, try the remote, realize some adjustments, etc. My only complaints (and they are few -- I still give this 5 stars): -- the "soft buttons" on the lcd screen are awesome, but I wish that it would allow more than 4 buttons at a time (if you program more, you have to page through the selection of "buttons" you've made. six would be better. maybe that color lcd on the other Logitech has six -- I'd prefer a non-color lcd screen that accommodates 6 buttons. -- You should realize that it's not lightning fast when you press a button on the remote that's doing 3-5 commands. It can take 5-10 seconds. -- the construction of the plastic buttons is extremely good looking BUT a couple of them (like the down direction button, and a few others) you need to press solidly. if you just press it enough to hear the button click, sometimes it's not hard enough to do the command. So you have to press firmly. ALL IN ALL THE 520 IS EXCELLENT -- a classy and simple tool that really does allow you to store your pile of remotes somehwere, once you get your setup finalized (like I say, a few days of tweaking this and that.)

This has been a great remote so far. I have had it for over a year now. All you have to do is hook it up to your computer and tell it what device you want to add and it asks all the appropriate questions and sets it up for you. You can also do plenty of manual adjustments as well. I was deciding between this one and the more expensive color screen ones. In the end I think I went with the right one cuz after a week the color screen would've not excited me any more anyway. This control feels great in your hand too! Wish it had bluetooth, but not too many of even these types of remotes do.

I am very pleased with this product, it is so nice not to have 6/8 remotes on the table to change all of the devices.

The remote is easy to use but very difficult to set up. Requires good computer skills and a bit of tenacity. Back light is necessary to see the small buttons and all-in-all the screen is difficult to read. If this had a favorite channel feature it would have far more value.

I'll keep this short and sweet. I have 2 points to make. 1. This remote feels cheap. When I press a button, the remote creaks as if it's about to break. Some of the buttons click when they are pressed, making it feel like a kids toy. Do not expect this remote to wow you AT ALL in it's craftsmanship. 2. I never have gotten it to work reliably. I have a Vizio TV and since buying the remote I've heard from users that Vizio TV programming takes some very touchy tweaking. Several users even said I would have to call Vizio and have them help me program it. The remote works on the concept of activities. These are essentially scripts: Do this, then do this then do this. Problem is, half the time, one of the steps doesn't execute perfectly and you're now left to either clean up the mess yourself or wade through the tedious help system on the remote. My suggestions: A. Buy a better, higher end model B. Set it up and try it out immediately because you may end up sending it back. C. You might consider skipping it altogether.