Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 reviewed

Along with the many customers Sony must have lost over the whole rootkit fiasco, another Sony devotee has recently jumped ship, eschewing his Japanese giant's universal remote for the $130 Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 (to be known henceforth as the LHAURX360). Krunker.com recently took the LHAURX360, whose long name pretty much explains its purpose, for a review, and came away most impressed. Capable of controlling up to 12 devices (including the 360 of course as well as any Windows MCE PC), the LHAURX360 hooks up to your computer for initial setup and uses a supposedly simply wizard to download device codes and set up macro-based activity functions. Unlike a lot of macro-capable universals that we've seen, the Logitech is a so-called "stateful" remote, which means that it remembers the last state of the devices it controls and doesn't annoyingly turn stuff off when it should stay on. With comfortable ergonomics, futureproofing through online updates, and an intuitive interface, Krunker comes to the conclusion that the LHAURX360 is, well, crunk.

[Via Digital Media Thoughts]

[Alcaron @ Jan 18th 2006 4:33PM]

For an extra $30 you could buy a Harmony 880 off Fleabay and it will not only look nicer but have a nifty color LCD and some nicer features, as well as being a WHOLE lote nicer to hold.

I

[Brian @ Jan 18th 2006 4:33PM]

looks cool, but how well does it work? *goes to read review*

[Jburton @ Jan 18th 2006 4:40PM]

I ahve one of these remotes, but after less than a month of use, the "activities" button is working only half the time. this can be a real pain. I'm thinking about getting an 880.

[Joe @ Jan 18th 2006 4:41PM]

I have this remote and it is very nice to hold. Very comfortable. Also works seamlessly with the Xbox 360. Excellent remote. Very esay to use and setup. My wife even likes it.

[Miacol @ Jan 18th 2006 5:09PM]

I am thinking of getting this remote, but I also like the 880, will the 880 work with the XBox 360? Like this one does, that's the question.....

[Tim Dorr @ Jan 18th 2006 5:15PM]

I absolutely LOVE this remote. It replaced 6 separate ones for me, which was worth the price alone. The customization options are great (a little cumbersome to setup, but you only have to do that once, anyways) and it's extremely intuitive once you get it set up. It has just the right number of buttons to do everything you need to do without overwhelming you with options.

The only thing I don't like about it is some of the lag times with it. Even with the delays reduced to 0, it doesn't signal my receiver's volume control quickly. I end up having a short .5s delay between pressing the button and seeing the effect. This leads to me overshooting the volume controls a lot.

Other than that, it's just about perfect for everything else. The remote even knows how long it takes for my TV to power up before attempting to switch the input. Brilliant!

[Heath Stahl @ Jan 18th 2006 5:25PM]

I have a Harmony 880 and you couldn't pry that thing out of my hand. Best remote I've ever owned - controls the 360 with no problems. I used to have a Sony universal and that thing was clunky/ugly and not very useful (macros were a PITA to program). It wasn't "parent safe." My parents have no problem turning on/using my HT/surround system using the 880.

[josh @ Jan 18th 2006 5:27PM]

I have this remote, and it is great. super easy to program and customize for each activity. even easy to tweak the menu. i love it and it's the first multi-remote that my technologically inept wife has been able to master. the one downside is that when we bought another one (the non-xbox model) for the other room, the software did not recognize it was a new and different remote and i had to completely un-install the software on my computer and start from scratch, hence losing my setup for the first remote, so i'll be in trouble if i ever add a new component to my original setup.

[Alcaron @ Jan 18th 2006 5:34PM]

The 880 does everything this does and more, so yer, it work perfectly with the 360.

#6, I use it with a HDTiVo and it works great. I gotta admit the shape IS similar to the tivos, which is a great thing because it feels SO my nicer than the "rectangle" remotes do.

Fantastic remote, picked it up for $170 on Fleabay brand new and never looked back!

[joey @ Jan 18th 2006 6:09PM]

Whats the difference between this and the 520 that can be found at Walmart/Target? I bought the 520 and it was made so cheap!!! That plus Logitech site has some connection problem so trying to troubleshoot your remote took longer than it needed to be... if you could even connect to the website.

Returned it as it was less of a hassle just pressing multiple remotes than trying to program the remote then keep the remote facing your components till everything turns on. weak sauce!

[Chip @ Jan 18th 2006 6:30PM]

I got this remote shortly after I managed to purchase the Xbox 360. Now that it is properly set up I love it. However, trust me, it takes A WHILE to get it set up properly. However it is time well spent.

[Justin @ Jan 18th 2006 6:40PM]

I have a logitech 520 (looks identical to this one) and Im actually returning it tonight, the software and online system is crap. All i want to do is have a more advanced setup than they do by default, such as programming my own activities. It is possible to do it but its through an annoying wizard system, that continually asks "is it working now?" if its not working i'll fix it thank you! Take a software design course, this is not how it should be.

Moral of the story, if you have typical hardware you'll probably be ok. I wanted to control a mythtv system as well as 4 other tv's (you can do it, but the way it programs the remote its barely usable). To top it off the glow stays on until you push glow again, so it will drain batteries if like me remotes get bouced around a little (i just found it this morning glowing blue because it got knocked before bed and turned the glow on). Running on 4AAA batteries it isnt cheap to run (I was planning nimh). Buy at your own risk!

[Peter Camperton @ Jan 18th 2006 7:07PM]

I have the non xbox branded version of this called the 520, and the 880. I use the 880 with my primary set up and it is better, what with the rechargeable cradle and most importantly dedicated page-up/page-down buttons which is a must if you use digital cable boxes or Tivo. The 520 is fine for the bedroom, but if you are only going to get one I recommend going with the 880. Plus the color screen is nifty.

[gryphius @ Jan 18th 2006 8:17PM]

I've had a harmony remote for a few years (model 659, we picked it up at a macWorld Expo in SF before Logitech bought Harmony, back when they only had 2 styles) and it has been the best addition to our home theater system. It works with literally every device that uses an IR remote, and even if you don't have the remote for the device (i.e. the iPod dock w/ remote sensor) you can still easily program it.

I would suggest not getting the xbox360 specific remote, since all it adds is the xbox buttons, which can be added to any other Harmony remote through the small screen at the top. The tivo-peanut-shaped remotes are extremely comfortable to hold and use, and in my opinion the better way to go.

For basic functionality, it is fantastic... the setup wizard helps you add devices with only the model number of the device, and can easily set up activities, with a few simple questions. (what type of activity, what controls volume, what displays the picture, what input do those devices need to be on, etc.)

We have a fairly complex system (2 tv's, receiver, DVD, 2 tivo's, ps2, iPod dock, and will be adding xbox360), and have activities for everything, which took a lot less time to set up than the actual wiring of all the A/V cables. When we redo the wiring, it takes only a few minutes to modify the activities, and we're back in business.

If you spend a little time familiarizing yourself with the online setup, it becomes very easy to do the basic setup functions, and to customize buttons. Adding IR commands that the website doesn't know is also very easy (just beam it into the remote's IR-in from your other remote!).

All in all, Harmony remotes finally figured out how to make universal remotes easy and useful, while still maintaining the look of a normal remote. Don't let the price tag steer you away from buying one... It is worth at least twice as much as you would pay for it.

[botkiller @ Jan 18th 2006 8:22PM]

Something I was wondering. How do you get the remote to work with a Media Center PC that you've built?

Basically, where can I find an IR receiver?

[PookiPah @ Jan 18th 2006 9:59PM]

I don't understand the comments about how flaky/difficult the 520 is. I've used mine for 6 months without a hiccup. Best multifunction remote I've ever seen.

[woejilli @ Jan 18th 2006 10:02PM]

for those of you interested in this remote and wondering what the difference is between the 520 and probably not reading the review (not that i did either i love mine already) the xbox version has the a,b,x,y buttons built onto it. that is what allows it the native 360 functionality.

just wanted to point that out.

[Mike @ Jan 18th 2006 10:28PM]

I have the 880 and it is a great remote, the online programming system is kind of a pita but overall once its working its awesome. Also, for tivo use I still find myself using the tivo remote a lot as the buttons I frequently use on a tivo remote are akwardly placed on the harmony. This is definitely not a tivo remote killer for me, but for some it may be, either way I can live with 2 remotes over 6 or 7 any day of the week.

[robrob @ Jan 18th 2006 11:40PM]

i love the actual remote, but the software is GARBAGE.

i had to go add one button i forgot to add during my intial setup tonight, and christ, do i hope i never, ever haqve to go change anything again.

hardware= awesome.

software= slow, unstable, poorly organized. ugh. almost- but not quite- a deal breaker.

[Guy Via @ Jan 19th 2006 7:25AM]

I would just like to nickname this the 'Lorax'. I know its not exact, but its what i thought when I read the abbrev.

[Jeff @ Jan 19th 2006 8:28AM]

I own this remote and love it! I highly recommend it for anyone who is tired of having 4 remotes laying around and wishing to have only one. But, keeps those other remotes kind of handy. It's difficult to find some of the not often used commands on the Harmony. For example, changing the source of zone 2 on my receiver.

[The Doop @ Jan 19th 2006 8:34AM]

Awesome remote!!! I got this badboy for Xmas and immediately fell in love with the styling and comfort. It was difficult to program at first since the servers were all slammed during the holidays, but now the software works without a hitch. You can even program it at work and then download the file at home to your remote.

Also, the SmartState feature works flawlessly and the Help button fixes any problems that might have occurred. Like when my dog sits down in front of my receiver when I'm trying to play the 360.

But it Now!!!

[Brett @ Jan 19th 2006 12:24PM]

I've had this remote since the 360 has been out and I cannot say enough good things about it. Easy to setup and have many extremly advanced features, like being able to set the warmup time of the TV so it knows when it can change inputs. GREAT REMOTE!

[yeti sports @ Jan 19th 2006 5:13PM]

I also have the 880 and I really like it, well worth the money. Only dowside is the software is kinda clunky, and it really hasn't eliminated my tivo remote. Hope they only get better with this one.

[zero @ Jan 19th 2006 10:14PM]

I have two Harmony remotes that I received for Christmas, one being the highest end and the other being the lowest end. Each took between an hour to 2 hours to program. And that's just to achieve basic functionality. I was totally unimpressed with the major functions being buried under mounds of menus. Granted, I'm sure if I continue to program the control it'll make it easier, but I just wanted to say that there's a major time commitment with these units. It's not simply plug into your computer, tell the system what components you have, and you're done. There's a lot of customization. And the interface (using JAVA) is the slowest I've ever used.

[gryphius @ Jan 20th 2006 12:08AM]

#23: did you set up the sound and picture buttons on the remote? Mine is set up so every device that uses the receiver uses the same sound menu, which has all the other receiver specific commands that I use often... mainly switching inputs, but it also has some setup/menu functionality too... The picture button switches over to control the PlasmaTV, and all it's menu's. If you use the zone 2 buttons alot, just move them to the front of the line on the sound menu so they're only 1 button-push away!

[dlimiter @ Jan 26th 2006 2:22AM]

One big disappointment is that it does not support a "page down" function when browsing music on the xbox 360. I believe this is because the 360 does not have an IR command to trigger the function, only an RF command for the controller. This makes the remote practically useless when using the streaming audio features of the 360. Between Microsoft and Logitech, someone needs to make this work. Other than that, the remote works great. It will do things with my cable box that the manufacturer's remote won't!

[patricia kristoff @ Jan 29th 2006 11:00PM]

I have a logitech all in one remote model#659 I need the phone number for support. For some reason...the surround sound is not on with the tv.

[George Bishop @ Jan 31st 2006 10:51PM]

Has anyone been able to use an IR extender with the Harmony 880. I really need to solve this problem as my equipment is all behind wooden doors. Suggestions?