Logitech Harmony 676 Universal Remote Control

Imagine setting up your home theater system to watch a DVD movie with full surround sound? listening to your CDs in full stereo? or enjoying your favorite TV shows. How many remote controls would you have to cycle through? Do you remember the complex button sequences to perform all these activities? With the Logitech Harmony 676 advanced universal remote control, a single button is all it takes. That´s right: Just press ?Watch a Movie,? ?Listen to Music,? or ?Watch TV? on your Harmony 676 and all your equipment turns on and automatically adjusts to the right settings. It´s called Smart State Technology, and it will put you and your family back in control of your home theater system. No macro programming required Need assistance? Just push the Help button

I never thought I would be able to please everyone in the household. We had five different remotes and it seemed I was the only one who knew how to set up any video or audio session in our media center. Needless to say, it was not fun for me or for the other family members. Then I purchased this remote at the suggestion of a friend and - voila! - life is good again. Setting up the remote on the computer was a breeze (and I have a Mac!). The slight snag I ran into because I didn't understand the instructions was quickly, efficiently and pleasantly handled by a Logitech specialist. I can't say enough good things about the Harmony 676 remote.

It's a very functional, programmable universal remote control. You tell it how to manage an "activity" (like "watch a movie") and it can set up the components -- stereo for sound, TV, DVD player, etc. It has much better range than the factory remotes, and in the relatively seldom event it doesn't quite reach one of the devices, the "help" feature is quick to get things back in line. It easily replaced five remotes for us, and now I can't live without it.

I found it to be OK but nothing really special. After 30 months of very light use the glow light quit working and it started eating batteries. NiMH rechargeables would last less than 24 hours and Duracell Alkaline batteries last only one week. Logitech says the model is discontinued and beyond the 12 month warranty so there is nothing they can do. They did offer to sell me a 670 for $75.

I've owned this remote for about 13 months. First let me say, it has a solid feature set and it works as advertised. I control a Samsung TV, a MacMini, a Pioneer 5.1 sound system and a Tivo all from the same remote. The setup is relatively easy (could be more intuitive) and it's still customizable. It's a little annoying that you have to have an online account to set it up, but for the most part it's worth it. But now it's starting to wear. The play, pause, fast forward and skip forward buttons take extra ooomph to work. They used to work great. Maybe as a Tivo user I rely on them too much? I honestly don't know. But now, I have to really press on them for it to work. I imagine in another month, it will become unusable. I had expected this remote to last the life of my Television and Tivo. Eight-five dollar is a a steal for this remote. But $85 ever 14 months is a complete rip. Edit: December 18, 2008 I was reading other posts complaining about the longevity of the buttons when I came across a suggstion made by Terry Solomon. Following Terry's advice I disassembled the remote (six screws in total) and cleaned all the contact with nail polish remover . . . good as new! Ten minutes of effort and I now once again love my remote. It'd be nice if Logitech made it easier to take apart to clean or better still if they provided some instructions. I've would now give this remote four stars.

I love this remote. Easy to program and has macro keys on the top that give access to your favorite utilities that you use the most. Only downside is the batteries only last about 2-3 months.