Best all-in-one remote?
Discussion
I have quite a few remotes in the past, from cheapy All in Ones up to a Phillips Pronto (£200 odd programmable touch screen).
I recently got a Logitech Harmony One and it's by far the best.
The Harmony One is currently on offer at Amazon, listed as £94.99 but use HARMONY4 code at the checkout to get £25 off.
If you can't stretch to the One then there are others in the Harmony range that are cheaper but just have less features, they all use a similar set-up interface and are just as good to be honest.
I recently got a Logitech Harmony One and it's by far the best.
The Harmony One is currently on offer at Amazon, listed as £94.99 but use HARMONY4 code at the checkout to get £25 off.
If you can't stretch to the One then there are others in the Harmony range that are cheaper but just have less features, they all use a similar set-up interface and are just as good to be honest.
Edited by Mroad on Thursday 5th March 18:11
Pronto TSU9800/9600/9400
The Harmony line are alright for budget items but they have their limitations. If you want something that will work, completely seemlessly then the Pronto is the correct choice if you are looking for the 'best' all in one remote, without going to a bespoke control system.
The Harmony line are alright for budget items but they have their limitations. If you want something that will work, completely seemlessly then the Pronto is the correct choice if you are looking for the 'best' all in one remote, without going to a bespoke control system.
Gavstar said:
Cheers. I saw another Harmony remote which had coloured "Sky" buttons which seemed like a good thing. Its a about £70 so am thinking that one is better if u have Sky. Would I be right?
The Harmony One has the coloured buttons come up on the touch screen panel when you switch to Sky, the other models like you have found have seperate coloured buttons. The touch screen panel on the Harmony One can be customised to include any button you want. It's really down to your personal preference, I don't use the coloured buttons so it didn't worry me but if you use them a lot then mechanical buttons would be better. To be honest if the Harmony one wasn't on offer when I was looking I would have gone for the 525 or 585 etc. in fact I recommended a friend the 525 instead of the One and got it for a bargain £25 in a damaged box deal.
As for the Pronto, it is the dogs danglies of the remote world. It's great for automating a home but for replacing a few remotes I think it's overkill for most people.
Touch screens I found to be a pain in the ass when used as a remote. In most cases you have to look at the screen in order to hit the 'virtual' touch screen button. With mechanical buttons, just like touch typing, you know where they are. The Harmony One number 5 key is indented unlike the surrounding number keys so you know where the centre of the number cluster is. It's a very well thought out design. I can type in Sky channel numbers without looking at my remote, something I couldn't do with my old Pronto.
Having tried all the usual high street universal remotes, logitechs, one 4 alls etc etc, finally settled for one of these a few years back, and its been with us ever since, rock solid build, easy to use, easy to program, cheap to buy, nice blue backlit screen, sorted.
(Has all the sky buttons, and can do macros to switch everything on/off etc etc)
(Has all the sky buttons, and can do macros to switch everything on/off etc etc)
Edited by SeanyD on Friday 6th March 14:51
threesixty said:
Or you could really goto town and get a Nevo SL. Great if you dont want or have line of sight on your kit(it uses wireless), fully programable so one button press can turn all your kit on too.
Fantastic bits of kit, although pricey.
The Harmony is an activity based remote i.e. you set up Activities like "Watch Sky" or "Watch DVD". You press the Activity button and it will turn on and set-up all the required devices.Fantastic bits of kit, although pricey.
e.g. For my set-up when I press "Watch DVD" it will turn on my TV, DVD player and surround AMP select the correct inputs on all the devices (including a seperate IR controlled optical switch box) and leave the remote set-up so the volume buttons control the AMP while the rest control the DVD player and TV (aspect etc.).
If I then press another Activity it will turn off any device that is not required for the new Activity and set the new devices up.
Each device can also be controlled individually by selecting the device from the Device menu. This is equivalent of having all your remotes in your hand and switching between them, not ideal hence the Activity based system.
When you have finished there is a single Off button which will turn off all the devices.
Be warned you need a PC and internet connection to set-up the Harmony as it downloads the device configurations from it's database.
If you have a device that is not on the database you can still set it up by manually learning the remote.
Also you cannot control a PS3 directly with the Harmony as the PS3 (and Wii) use Bluetooth. You can get a USB to IR remote for the PS3 and then get the Harmony to learn that, that's what I have done. You just have to turn on the PS3 at the start, then the Harmony can take over.
I bought a Marantz all in one remote a few years back. After spending ages programming it to do various things, I have scrapped it in favour of the Sky remote. I still get fed up having to reach for three remotes - turn on the TV, the amp, and then the Sky remote - but the Marantz remote was so frustrating - I guess it's a bit similar to the frustration users of touch screen mobiles have - you really need a button to press if you are going to operate it without looking at it.
EdJ said:
I bought a Marantz all in one remote a few years back. After spending ages programming it to do various things, I have scrapped it in favour of the Sky remote. I still get fed up having to reach for three remotes - turn on the TV, the amp, and then the Sky remote - but the Marantz remote was so frustrating - I guess it's a bit similar to the frustration users of touch screen mobiles have - you really need a button to press if you are going to operate it without looking at it.
Agree about the buttons, thats why the Sony one picture above works well for us. It has physical buttons for normal day to day stuff, and backed up with LCD buttons for lesser used stuff.threesixty said:
Or you could really goto town and get a Nevo SL. Great if you dont want or have line of sight on your kit(it uses wireless), fully programable so one button press can turn all your kit on too.
Fantastic bits of kit, although pricey.
I have one. It's not exactly easy to program!Fantastic bits of kit, although pricey.
Zod said:
threesixty said:
Or you could really goto town and get a Nevo SL. Great if you dont want or have line of sight on your kit(it uses wireless), fully programable so one button press can turn all your kit on too.
Fantastic bits of kit, although pricey.
I have one. It's not exactly easy to program!Fantastic bits of kit, although pricey.
Luca Brazzi said:
Gavstar said:
Luca Brazzi said:
I'm selling my Harmony if anyone is interested. Used it for about a week, then back in the box.
Why have you not used it?Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff