Best all in one AV remote control
Discussion
k" have killed remotes.I still have a Harmony One. Stopped using it about 8 years back when I replaced my DVD player with a Blu Ray one and the new one on the list of options (and I was not going to manually program it in), TBH was still in use, but I rarely use my stereo and that was the only thing it was still used for. Have three batteries but none last long. Since then I have replaced my TV set and Blu Ray player.
Did Philips start updating the device list again? Started up the app the other day and got a message about 20 remotes were no longer supported, but the One was not listed.
Did Philips start updating the device list again? Started up the app the other day and got a message about 20 remotes were no longer supported, but the One was not listed.
pills said:
Thanks for the replies so far.
Harmony 650. I thought you couldn’t update them anymore as servers have been shut down?
From what I can make out, Logitech dropped the web-based programming, but the app-based programming still works.Harmony 650. I thought you couldn’t update them anymore as servers have been shut down?
The app works fine with their hub remotes, not sure about the cheaper models.
I can still configure my Elite and Smart Control devices using the app on my Android tablet.
I used to run a website selling smarthome and home media hardware and even I never found anything comparable to harmony.
My Harmony One died, the Elite screen got scratched by my kid and stopped working.
I still just use the hub and App.
Really not sure what I'll do when it eventually dies other than another harmony hub.
My Harmony One died, the Elite screen got scratched by my kid and stopped working.
I still just use the hub and App.
Really not sure what I'll do when it eventually dies other than another harmony hub.
I'm definitely interested to know about anyone who has moved on from the Harmony. I have a couple of hubs in different rooms and a bunch of different controllers linked to them but the actual physical keys on the controllers (particularly the smart controllers which are my most used by far) are starting to give out.
With that in mind, plus the inevitability of the servers being taken offline at some point, I'd really like to know of a good replacement for when that day comes.
With that in mind, plus the inevitability of the servers being taken offline at some point, I'd really like to know of a good replacement for when that day comes.
I've had to move to a cheap SofaBaton one (£60) as Harmony software on the Mac doesn't play nicely any more.
The SofaBaton software in comparison is awful to use, but the remote supports Bluetooth which is increasingly common in devices. It took me about 2 weeks of tweaking the SofaBaton remoted to get it playing nicely with AVR, NVidia Shield, projector etc.
Now that it's working its fine, but unlike Harmony I cannot just 'copy' the setting on the remote to a different one if I ever need to replace it, I have to start again which would be a pain. Still for the price, its not bad.
The SofaBaton software in comparison is awful to use, but the remote supports Bluetooth which is increasingly common in devices. It took me about 2 weeks of tweaking the SofaBaton remoted to get it playing nicely with AVR, NVidia Shield, projector etc.
Now that it's working its fine, but unlike Harmony I cannot just 'copy' the setting on the remote to a different one if I ever need to replace it, I have to start again which would be a pain. Still for the price, its not bad.
I think the future in this area is network-based control.
I used to use a Harmony IR remote, but now everything is controlled via IP using Home Assistant. Home Assistant has integrations for pretty much every well known smart device and lots of not well known ones too.
In my case that's a Sony TV, a Minidsp amplifier, and a pair of active speakers. I have a custom app interface that controls a bunch of useful routines, and also an external smart dial device that allows volume adjustment, channel selection etc.
A big advantage is that the rest of the family can easily use it, which they could never manage with the smart remote.
I used to use a Harmony IR remote, but now everything is controlled via IP using Home Assistant. Home Assistant has integrations for pretty much every well known smart device and lots of not well known ones too.
In my case that's a Sony TV, a Minidsp amplifier, and a pair of active speakers. I have a custom app interface that controls a bunch of useful routines, and also an external smart dial device that allows volume adjustment, channel selection etc.
A big advantage is that the rest of the family can easily use it, which they could never manage with the smart remote.
outnumbered said:
I think the future in this area is network-based control.
I used to use a Harmony IR remote, but now everything is controlled via IP using Home Assistant. Home Assistant has integrations for pretty much every well known smart device and lots of not well known ones too.
In my case that's a Sony TV, a Minidsp amplifier, and a pair of active speakers. I have a custom app interface that controls a bunch of useful routines, and also an external smart dial device that allows volume adjustment, channel selection etc.
A big advantage is that the rest of the family can easily use it, which they could never manage with the smart remote.
What are you using as the controller - a tablet with the HA Companion app?I used to use a Harmony IR remote, but now everything is controlled via IP using Home Assistant. Home Assistant has integrations for pretty much every well known smart device and lots of not well known ones too.
In my case that's a Sony TV, a Minidsp amplifier, and a pair of active speakers. I have a custom app interface that controls a bunch of useful routines, and also an external smart dial device that allows volume adjustment, channel selection etc.
A big advantage is that the rest of the family can easily use it, which they could never manage with the smart remote.
Does using HA mean that you can only control devices that have HA integrations, or can you do IR stuff indirectly?
I'm currently using a Harmony Elite, with the Hub and an IR blaster inside a cabinet - no line of sight.
I like the physical buttons for volume and pause/play - using a touchscreen tablet or phone would be a pain.
I'm using HA for a lot of things, including the Harmony integration to send commands to the Kitchen TV. Very clunky to set up though.
The HA integrations for the few AV devices that were detected don't seem to do much more than switch on and off. Certainly far less user-friendly than configuring the Harmony.
I went through the "hundreds of hours to configure" thing with my old Pronto, not sure I want to do that again - unless I really have to.
Edited by clockworks on Tuesday 27th May 18:19
outnumbered said:
I think the future in this area is network-based control.
I used to use a Harmony IR remote, but now everything is controlled via IP using Home Assistant. Home Assistant has integrations for pretty much every well known smart device and lots of not well known ones too.
In my case that's a Sony TV, a Minidsp amplifier, and a pair of active speakers. I have a custom app interface that controls a bunch of useful routines, and also an external smart dial device that allows volume adjustment, channel selection etc.
A big advantage is that the rest of the family can easily use it, which they could never manage with the smart remote.
You are correct, about HA, but the physical remote offers things a computer interface system never canI used to use a Harmony IR remote, but now everything is controlled via IP using Home Assistant. Home Assistant has integrations for pretty much every well known smart device and lots of not well known ones too.
In my case that's a Sony TV, a Minidsp amplifier, and a pair of active speakers. I have a custom app interface that controls a bunch of useful routines, and also an external smart dial device that allows volume adjustment, channel selection etc.
A big advantage is that the rest of the family can easily use it, which they could never manage with the smart remote.
- physical remote that just does the job of a remove
- volume buttons - real buttons
- TV guide buttons , etc
- and teh deal breaker for me - the "help" button - so when I'm away the mrs doesn't have to try and figure out of the amp is on the wrong input, or the TV had sun on it and missed the command to move to HDMI2 etc. the help button on the Harmony remote, to me, is its' USP.
Griffith4ever said:
clockworks said:
W
I went through the "hundreds of hours to configure" thing with my old Pronto, not sure I want to do that again - unless I really have to.
Amen to that brother! Amen! - omg the memories!I went through the "hundreds of hours to configure" thing with my old Pronto, not sure I want to do that again - unless I really have to.
Harmony is a lot simpler to configure though!
clockworks said:
What are you using as the controller - a tablet with the HA Companion app?
Does using HA mean that you can only control devices that have HA integrations, or can you do IR stuff indirectly?
I'm currently using a Harmony Elite, with the Hub and an IR blaster inside a cabinet - no line of sight.
I like the physical buttons for volume and pause/play - using a touchscreen tablet or phone would be a pain.
I'm using HA for a lot of things, including the Harmony integration to send commands to the Kitchen TV. Very clunky to set up though.
The HA integrations for the few AV devices that were detected don't seem to do much more than switch on and off. Certainly far less user-friendly than configuring the Harmony.
I went through the "hundreds of hours to configure" thing with my old Pronto, not sure I want to do that again - unless I really have to.
Pretty much every Smart TV will show up as a Media Player in Home Assistant, which should allow very flexible control. I guess it does depend on how many IP-capable devices you've got.Does using HA mean that you can only control devices that have HA integrations, or can you do IR stuff indirectly?
I'm currently using a Harmony Elite, with the Hub and an IR blaster inside a cabinet - no line of sight.
I like the physical buttons for volume and pause/play - using a touchscreen tablet or phone would be a pain.
I'm using HA for a lot of things, including the Harmony integration to send commands to the Kitchen TV. Very clunky to set up though.
The HA integrations for the few AV devices that were detected don't seem to do much more than switch on and off. Certainly far less user-friendly than configuring the Harmony.
I went through the "hundreds of hours to configure" thing with my old Pronto, not sure I want to do that again - unless I really have to.
Edited by clockworks on Tuesday 27th May 18:19
There are still a couple of physical devices that we use: The Roku remote to mainly control what you're watching, and the Smart Dial I mentioned that can do volume/mute and media channel/track changes. So you don't have to go delving for a phone to do those basic things if you don't want to.
It does allow operation to be much simpler for the users. For example, if someone just turns on the TV with the Roku remote, HA will notice and turn on the amp/speakers and select the correct inputs on everything. If you start a music player, it will automatically switch the amplifier to the correct input, and then put it back to the TV when the music stops. This avoids the problem with people ever needing to understand audio routing, input selection etc.
My wife, who's quite a technophobe can easily operate the new system where she'd never get the right combination of Harmony buttons before.
I'd argue that in most home setups, if you have smart enough devices, then you can probably retain the use of just one key device remote that controls enough of the system to give the automation the cues for setting up everything else in the background.
outnumbered said:
Pretty much every Smart TV will show up as a Media Player in Home Assistant, which should allow very flexible control. I guess it does depend on how many IP-capable devices you've got.
There are still a couple of physical devices that we use: The Roku remote to mainly control what you're watching, and the Smart Dial I mentioned that can do volume/mute and media channel/track changes. So you don't have to go delving for a phone to do those basic things if you don't want to.
It does allow operation to be much simpler for the users. For example, if someone just turns on the TV with the Roku remote, HA will notice and turn on the amp/speakers and select the correct inputs on everything. If you start a music player, it will automatically switch the amplifier to the correct input, and then put it back to the TV when the music stops. This avoids the problem with people ever needing to understand audio routing, input selection etc.
My wife, who's quite a technophobe can easily operate the new system where she'd never get the right combination of Harmony buttons before.
I'd argue that in most home setups, if you have smart enough devices, then you can probably retain the use of just one key device remote that controls enough of the system to give the automation the cues for setting up everything else in the background.
Have you got a link for the smart dial device please?There are still a couple of physical devices that we use: The Roku remote to mainly control what you're watching, and the Smart Dial I mentioned that can do volume/mute and media channel/track changes. So you don't have to go delving for a phone to do those basic things if you don't want to.
It does allow operation to be much simpler for the users. For example, if someone just turns on the TV with the Roku remote, HA will notice and turn on the amp/speakers and select the correct inputs on everything. If you start a music player, it will automatically switch the amplifier to the correct input, and then put it back to the TV when the music stops. This avoids the problem with people ever needing to understand audio routing, input selection etc.
My wife, who's quite a technophobe can easily operate the new system where she'd never get the right combination of Harmony buttons before.
I'd argue that in most home setups, if you have smart enough devices, then you can probably retain the use of just one key device remote that controls enough of the system to give the automation the cues for setting up everything else in the background.
My Samsung smart TVs and Denon AVR show up as media players in HA, so I've added the integrations. Not added the Shield or Roku yet.
The Samsung integration allows me to control power, volume, and input source, but I have to open the panel to docanything other than power on/off. Nothing showing to allow changing channel, displaying the guide, etc.
Very limited functionality - unless I'm missing something?
clockworks said:
Have you got a link for the smart dial device please?
My Samsung smart TVs and Denon AVR show up as media players in HA, so I've added the integrations. Not added the Shield or Roku yet.
The Samsung integration allows me to control power, volume, and input source, but I have to open the panel to docanything other than power on/off. Nothing showing to allow changing channel, displaying the guide, etc.
Very limited functionality - unless I'm missing something?
The dial is a Philips Hue Tap Dial. It's a zigbee device, so if you don't already have any zigbee stuff, that might make it less appealing.My Samsung smart TVs and Denon AVR show up as media players in HA, so I've added the integrations. Not added the Shield or Roku yet.
The Samsung integration allows me to control power, volume, and input source, but I have to open the panel to docanything other than power on/off. Nothing showing to allow changing channel, displaying the guide, etc.
Very limited functionality - unless I'm missing something?
With the Sony integration, you can select channels using the Browse Media option when you click the ... on the player. I don't do that, but change channels using an automation to call various media player services which allow you to select a channel number, prev/next etc. That's what the channel buttons in that screenshot do, and the Tap Dial is hooked up to volume up/down actions and channel prev/next on a couple of buttons. The TV guide isn't accessible this way, but we never use that, so not a problem for us.
outnumbered said:
The dial is a Philips Hue Tap Dial. It's a zigbee device, so if you don't already have any zigbee stuff, that might make it less appealing.
With the Sony integration, you can select channels using the Browse Media option when you click the ... on the player. I don't do that, but change channels using an automation to call various media player services which allow you to select a channel number, prev/next etc. That's what the channel buttons in that screenshot do, and the Tap Dial is hooked up to volume up/down actions and channel prev/next on a couple of buttons. The TV guide isn't accessible this way, but we never use that, so not a problem for us.
I've not got any Zigbee stuff yet.With the Sony integration, you can select channels using the Browse Media option when you click the ... on the player. I don't do that, but change channels using an automation to call various media player services which allow you to select a channel number, prev/next etc. That's what the channel buttons in that screenshot do, and the Tap Dial is hooked up to volume up/down actions and channel prev/next on a couple of buttons. The TV guide isn't accessible this way, but we never use that, so not a problem for us.
I can't see anything like that for the Samsung TV integration, but I'm just using the integrations that HA discovered automatically. Possibly there are some HACS integrations with more functionality?
For the kitchen TV, I'm using the Harmony integration to switch on, change channel, and control the amplifier volume.
This way, I can use the Harmony Smart Control handset, the HA tablet, or Alexa voice control.
Maybe someone will come up with a properly universal "blaster" that integrates directly with HA. It wouldn't need a fully-maintained database, just the ability to learn from the original controllers. Basically a Pronto without the dedicated handset.
Failing that, an app that allows local configuration of Harmony, Sofa Baton, etc hubs without relying on the host servers.
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