Friday, 14 August 2009

Are you finding your home getting more and more remote controls? Are you getting frustrated to turn on tons of remotes before you can watch a TV shows? If you do, you should read on!

Recently I received a Logitech Harmony One as a housewarming gift from my friends. This sleekly designed remote control is all I asked for. I have 9 remotes sitting in my living room and in order to watch a TV show, I have to turn to at least 3 remote controls. So I started looking in to the market for options. The package comes with a neatly built and ergonomically designed remote, a docking station for recharging when you are not in-use and a USB cable for connecting to the computer.

This version of Harmony comes with a color LCD screen. The screen is sharp and comes with a touch screen. There are 2 buttons on each side of the screen for navigating between different pages. Another 2 buttons located at the bottom of screen for operations depending on the page you are at. The physical buttons are nicely laid-out and you don’t have to look at the remote when you want to change a channel or turn up the volume. Motion censor is also a new feature and it can automatically turn on the screen when you life up the remote. The remote can be recharged through the docking station. And you can rest assure you can find your remote next time when you are looking for it. The included USB cable is to connect the remote with your computer.

The experience of setting up the remote can be varied. My initial impression is so far satisfactory. First, I installed the “Logitech Harmony Remote Software” that comes the package into my internet connected Mac. Once you finished installing the software, it will ask you to create an account in order to continue the set up. Then you have to select your device one-by-one through a very completed and updated list which is ordered by category and manufacturer.

After finished adding all your devices, you can now set up how you want to interact with your remotes. A number of default “Activities” are built-in, “Watch Television”, “Record Video”, “Play VCR”, “Watch DVD or Laserdisc”, “Listen to CD or Minidisc”, “Listen to Music”, “Play Video Game”, “Listen to Tape”, “Show Presentation” and “Utility”, and are ready for use for most of the time. You will be asked a number of questions and you are all set. In my case, I set up a “LCD - Watch TV” activity. Once I selected this, it will turn on my digital TV tuner, Onkyo Receiver and LCD TV with the correct input. Not only that, the remote will know that you want to control the channels for your tuner and change the volumes on your receiver. Isn’t it smart and handy?

After all, this remote very much suits my daily needs and eliminates my numerous sitting on my coffee table. Of course there are some limitations on this remote, it does not support RF and when it comes to control a larger sequence of devices, it may require some fine tuning on your activity setup. Also it’s somewhat pricey but I believe it worths every penny when tidiness and convenience are your first priority.