Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control

A dream comes true! One remote control for your entire home-theater and HDTV system. The Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote puts you in control of your entire audio-video system with just one button. It´s home entertainment the way it should be?simple. Optimized for complicated HDTV and PVR systems, the Harmony 880 helps you tame tough configurations like switching your television between video aspect ratios depending on the program source. The interactive color display lets you quickly choose a 16:9 ratio for movies and HDTV, or a standard 4:3 ratio for basic television programming. High-end systems deserve a high-end remote. Designed with brushed chrome and charcoal accents, a color LCD display and a low-profile recharging station, the Harmony 880 Remote will match your most advanced audio-video components perfectly. Logitech has won a total of eight Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) in the past two years, including five of Japan´s prestigious 2004 Good Design Awards. This experience helped develop the Harmony 880 and its ergonomic design. Featuring a comfort grip shape and a centered directional pad, it fits easily in your hand and naturally guides you to the most frequently used controls. Even the buttons are sculpted, to help you locate them by feel not sight. Smart State Technology allows the Harmony remote to completely control an entertainment system by knowing how to control each separate component while tracking the current state of up to 15 devices simultaneously. Simply press an Activity button, such as "Watch TV" or "Listen to Music," and your Harmony Remote automatically sets up each of the devices required for that activity. Sleek docking station that remote fully charged Programmable with Windows PC or Macintosh computer / USB Cable included 53 top-mounted hard buttons and 8 on-screen activity buttons 2 MB non-volatile flash memory

The Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote puts you in control of your entire audio-video system with just one button. It's home entertainment the way it should be--simple. Optimized for complicated HDTV and PVR systems, the Harmony 880 helps you tame tough configurations like switching your television between video aspect ratios depending on the program source. The interactive color display lets you quickly choose a 16:9 ratio for movies and HDTV, or a standard 4:3 ratio for basic television programming.   Color display Why settle for another boring remote?  The Harmony 880´s color LCD is both functional and stylish, with user-customizable backgrounds, activity selections, button icons and text. Ample space for up to eight custom activities or controls On-screen battery level indicator shows you charge status Recharging station Never replace batteries again. The Harmony 880 includes a sleek docking station that keeps the remote fully charged. Your family will always know where to put the remote—and you´ll always know where to find it!   Lithium-ion battery provides up to a one-week charge under normal use The horizontal docking station allows remote to be used while charging Award-winning Logitech Industrial Design High-end systems deserve a high-end remote.  Designed with brushed chrome and charcoal accents, a color LCD display and a low-profile recharging station, the Harmony® 880 Remote will match your most advanced audio-video components perfectly.  Logitech has won a total of eight Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) in the past two years, including five of Japan´s prestigious 2004 Good Design Awards. This experience helped us design the Harmony 880.  Featuring a comfort grip shape and a centered directional pad, it fits easily in your hand and naturally guides you to the most frequently used controls.  Even the buttons are sculpted, to help you locate them by feel not sight.  Patented Smart State Technology® Smart State Technology allows the Harmony remote to completely control an entertainment system by knowing how to control each separate component while tracking the current state of up to 15 devices simultaneously. Easy to set-up Easy to use Easy to get help Never out of date Package Contents Harmony® 880 remote control Recharging Station AC adapter USB cable Lithium-ion battery Installation CD Installation guide System Requirements IBM® compatible PC Windows® 98, 2000, Me, XP USB port CD-ROM drive Internet access Macintosh® Macintosh® OS X 10.2 or later USB port CD-ROM drive Internet access

I have a somewhat complex 2-room system with multiple video/audio components. As a result, finding a remote that adequately accomplishes what I need to do, much less one that my wife can operate without frustration has taken many years/models. But I think I've finally found it in the Harmony 880. First the good: Price - At MSRP of $250 a little pricey, but at half that it is quite a bargain. Set Up - Set up using the web interface is really a breeze. Actually my son did it for me while I was out with friends. He is computer literate, but not a 'techie'. The web setup automatically configures nearly all the standard as well as custom features of the original remotes, including some (like dedicated power on/off codes) not available on the originals! I haven't had to teach it a single command yet, though it's nice to know that option is available. Ergonomics - With all the 'universal remotes' out there it seems strange to say that this is one of a very few I have found with a proper set of hard buttons vs. custom screen options. All the functions I use most (direction, enter, page, transport, numeric) are available as buttons. This is so much easier than hunting through screens. But in cases where you need more functions, everything else you need is configurable on the screens. State Management - Pick an activity (watch DVD, Sat., XM Radio, etc.). The remote knows which components need to be on/off and what inputs/outputs each needs to be set at. This is what really sells it for my wife. Custom Features - If you are like me, on a quest to create the perfect set of functions for each activity, with the right placement, so that you never have to look at an original remote again, you can do it with this one. Screen features include uploading your own custom background and icons for favorite channels. Mine has clouds with button shapes. Sounds great! How could it be better? Ergonomics - This is a beautiful remote and fits great in your hand. However it seems concessions were made in order to achieve that beauty. The buttons are small and similarly shaped, and the direction pad is thin on the left and right. I guess if you're used to texting on your cell phone this won't be a big deal. IR Only - If the remote could handle RF I could use it from my other room. Apparently this is a feature only available at a premium cost, with luggable table-top models. Also, I have a PS-3 for my blu-ray player, so bluetooth would be fantastic. Unfortunately NOBODY offers that in a universal remote :( Custom Programming - It would be very cool if I could upload icons for ALL custom functions as well as activities and devices, not just favorite channels. Also, my Harmony 660 included the ability to edit the xml that is used to update the remote. I could use this to get around minor issues the web UI wouldn't let me fix. It seems these last two would be easily remidied with an update in the software/firmware. Unfortunately, it seems Logitech has already moved on with their Harmony One, so I doubt we'll see it.

Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control Outstanding remote and usher friendly. One button touch and everything appears right before your eyes. Anyone who can read can greatly benefit from the use of this remote. I would rate this remote a five Star.

Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control I've used this device for a couple of years. It works fine in a complex setup with tons of devices and activities. My wife has no problem using it. The product is so well conceived and thought through, that I am moved to write about it. Recently I upgraded my setup and had to re-do everything, so I got another run at reprogramming it. Flawless, even learning complex 30-second skip hacks off the internet. I never had a problem feeling the buttons (OK, so they could be a little bigger) or the thing not charging in the cradle. I have had some crummy products in my day, but this NOT one of them. I like the idea of doing the whole setup on the computer, then just downloading to the device. I hate to see bad reviews for such a good product.

I found this remote so difficult to program that 1 year after purchase, I still don't use it. If you are techie type, you would probably have no problems. I am not. I did a lot of research before purchasing this and was pretty soundly the best on the market. That is why I chose it. Some day I will sell it on the internet. It will be like new. Actually, I just sold this on Craigslist. Hey, I am 63 and this was too much for non-technologist generation. Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control

If they have your component it their database; and they have thousands; it's a very seamless setup. Only thing you need know is how each individual remote is used and the rest is done for you. You can even setup 2 activities for the same thing. I for example like to watch some tv shows with my home theater on and some with it off; especially when everyones asleep. With this remote I was able to setup 2 watch tv activies; one with the home theater and one without. While I know a bit about electronics I'm by no means a guru. Reading what some said about the difficulty programing scared me; but it was a breeze. Only drawback like azog said is the loction and size of some on the remotes buttons