neocoffee41's Full Review: Logitech Harmony® 659 LCD Remote Control
So, if you are like me and you have an entertainment center full of audio and video equipment, and not all of the brands are the same; because you are not a fan of buying prepackaged home stereos, or because you are always trying to find the best component for your needs. Either way you have three options, you can have a coffee table full of remote controls, you can use a “universal remote” that was included with one of your components (I have three of these and they are all pretty much a waste to try and work with), or you can purchase a real universal remote.
Normally the latter way is the best way to go, especially if you are not the only person who has to operate your system.
Over the last several years I have owned about a half dozen universal remotes of various brands including RCA, Omivision, OneForAll, Sony. All of them had their strengths and their weaknesses. The largest of course is that any stereo component that comes out three months after you bought the remote will render the remote obsolete. Of course this can be partially prevented by purchasing a learning remote control; but usually they do not have enough memory to hold all of the commands that you need the remote to learn, especially if you also plan to use the macro buttons too. Don’t get me wrong, most universal remotes will offer a way for you to mail them in so they can be reprogrammed to include your new hardware. Of course I am not sure how you are supposed to operate your components for the three to twelve weeks that you are waiting for the remote to come back.
About four months ago I ran into the problem above. I bought a new DVD player that was not able to be operated by my old RCA universal remote. So I started to look around for a new remote. During the same time frame NewEgg.com just happened to have a weekend sale on the Logitech Harmony H659 remote. I had read up some on the brand of remotes, but was always hesitant to buy a $150 item that may or may not actually give me any benefits over other remote brands that are out there. Finally I decided what the heck, it was from NewEgg, if I didn’t like it I could always return it.
So three days later the remote showed up. Surprise, surprise, it actually came with everything that you need to run the remote, including the batteries and the USB cable necessary to configure it. Before I go any further it is best to note that if you do not have a computer with a USB 2.0 port, and a high-speed internet connection, then this is definitely NOT a remote for you. Without these two things you will not be able to properly configure this remote to use all of it’s features.
Before you can start using the remote you will first need to make of list of everything that you will need to control. You can do this by either trying to pull all of the devices out of the entertainment center to try and find the brand and model numbers, or if you kept all of your user manuals you can get all of the information a whole lot easier. Either way, make sure that you have the list before you start doing anything, just to save yourself a whole lot of headaches down the road. Once you have the list you are ready to sit down in front of your computer.
One of the major selling points of the H659 is that the codes are not already stored on the remote when you buy it and you just tell it which set to use, instead the codes that you need are actually pushed out to the remote by the computer; and the codes are actually pulled off the Internet so they are always up to date, and new hardware is added continuously without ever having to send it off for reprogramming.
When you first set up your remote, you will need to set up an on-line profile with Logitech. Once you have installed the software that comes with the H659 fight the urge to start programming your components in right away, and select to download the latest version of the software and the latest firmware for the remote. Might as well not have to deal with any possible bugs that may have been found with the remote before you got yours; Also the latest version of the configuration software is both more user friendly, and it runs on your local machine instead of through a web browser. Also a side note; if you have a laptop where you can set the remote up in the same room as your components it does save a little time and energy.
Setting up the H659 is a lot easier that other universal remotes; there is no manual for you to have try and locate the correct product code, and then you have to try and punch them in the remote in the correct order; along with a set of commands and then hopefully the code that you select will actually operate the components that you own. With the H659 in the setup program you select the manufacturer from a drop down menu, then the model number. That’s it. You know that it is the correct codes for the remote. No guessing, no hoping. Once you have selected all of the components, then you program how they interact together.
On many remotes, you are offered a few macro buttons, and with patience you MIGHT be able to program them to do things such as turn on your stereo, turn on your TV, turn on your DVD player, and maybe, just maybe, change all of the settings on the components so that the correct inputs are selected so that you can watch a movie without having to press fifteen buttons on the remote. And if you get a command wrong you have to start over, there is no way to just change that one errant command.
With the Harmony H659 (and all Harmony remotes) they actually have a question and answer macro configuration. This way you can actually tell the remote which components need to be on for what activity you want to do; and what mode each component needs to be in. So if you need you receiver on with AV Input #1, and your DVD player on, and your TV on with the input set to HDMI to watch a movie, the remote will do all of the key strokes for you, and they actually have a button labeled “Watch a Movie” that you can connect the command to. There are also “Watch TV” and “Listen to Music” buttons on the remote, and you are able to produce additional macro commands with custom labels that you create, and they will show up on the LCD display.
Once you have entered all of your hardware information and set up how you want the macro buttons to work, you are then ready to send the information to the remote. It normally takes about two minutes for the computer to update the remote. Something to keep in mind; You need to make sure that all of your stereo components are turned off every time you update the remote. There is a reason for this. It is because the remote control actually keeps track of everything that it has turned on or off while you are using it. When you do an update of the programming it reboots the remote and it looses track of what is on or off.
If you have entered the correct model numbers and macro info during the set-up process then once the configuration has been pushed out to the remote, you will be ready to go. There may be some additional configuration changes that you will want to make to the remote displays, and operation of the default settings of the buttons, fortunately the remote allows for this to be done.
Once you have the remote set up you can either use it like a standard universal remote by using the “Device” button and manually selecting the component you want to operate and manually turn it on or off and which mode it needs to be in.
I recommend using the macro buttons with a little personal tweaking of the button operations. Like I mentioned earlier, in this mode the remote remembers what it has turned on or off; so if you switch from watching a movie to watching TV, the remote will know to turn the DVD player off, and the cable box on. It will switch the receiver to correct input for the cable box, and make sure that the TV is using the correct video source assuming that it is not the same connection as used for the DVD player. The other advantage comes when you are done using your entertainment center. One button that is on this remote that you do not normally find on a universal remote; this would be the “OFF” button. If you are using the macro buttons to power you system, no matter what mode you are in, the off button will power down anything that you have turned on via the remote. This is also why I suggested that you have everything turned off whenever you update or reprogram the remote. So that the remote will not become confused as to what is turned on or off while it reboots.
All in all I really like the way that this remote operates and feels. It has a really nice balance and shape. The controls are laid out in very logical manner (unlike many remotes that come with the components themselves), most people can operate it with one hand, and it is really easy to give to someone who has never operated you home theater, and they can use all of the features. It is far superior to any of the previous universal remotes that I have ever owned in the past. My real test of the unit came this week while my ten year old daughter visited and was able to use my entertainment center and all of it’s components without any problems. This is not something that ever was possible with any of my previous remotes.
I have read from some people that they are not getting a long battery life out of their unit, but I have not seen that problem; but it may be that the latest firmware updates have helped the batteries last longer.
Make all your electronics work together with the Harmony 659 advanced universal remote from Logitech. Setup is easy; just connect the remote to your P...More at Newegg.com
Press the button representing an activity;for example, watching a DVD;and the remote performs all the required steps Backlit controls and LCD display:...More at Amazon Marketplace
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