Logitech Harmony® 659 LCD Remote Control

Pros: Not many to speak of - good concept from Logitech that didn't materialize.
Cons: Save your money & buy the Sony RM-VL600!

I read so many reviews & was in need of a new remote.  This remote received so many good reviews, that I thought it sounded promising.  According to the instructions, all that you do is plug in the remote to the USB port of your computer and input your devices.  Boy, was I in for a surprise!  Even though I'm a tech-saavy guy, I spent 2 nights configuring this remote. 

The problems that I experienced were simple to resolve, yet took waaayyyy to long to fix with the subpar Logitech software.  The main issue focused around getting the wrong input selection on my AV receiver.  For example if you used Video2 for your TV and Video1 for your DVD, the software & remote wasn't smart enough to figure that out!  The software walked you around the heart of the problem...

Pros: Versatile, ergonomic, powerful, totally customizable, and intelligent
Cons: It's expensive, the transport buttons are at the very bottom, kind of awkward to use.

Ok, I love this remote. I tried a few others before buying my Harmony SST-659, namely the One For All Kameleon, and the One For All 9910 with rf transmitter. Both failed my litmus tests. My big gripe with both, although they have a 'home theatre' option where the transport buttons work the DVD, and the volume works the receiver and the like, was that they were not configurable in the least. This thing is like gold, you can have it do anything you want, in any configuration you want. It even has soft buttons which you can assign functions to via the LCD screen, something I was very interested in. It does everything I need it to, and more, and I'm in love with it. I cannot recommend this remote any more strongly.

Pros: Easy to use. Cool backlit keys. TV Listings on Remote. Operates everything infrared.
Cons: Price. Little "plasticky" buttons. Need to be computer knowledgeable to program.

I picked up this remote from my local F.S. The salesperson gave a good explanation of the product.

Setup of the remote took about 45 minutes to get all of my HT devices organized. A person wouldn't want to be computer phobic though, as some comfort with the web interface helps to get things set up quickly.

The remote delivers on its "activity" promise. The "Watch TV" button fires up the tv, receiver and sat box, and then to watch a movie the "Watch a Movie" button makes the transition seamless. Definitely a "house guest" friendly remote.

Synchronizing the tv listings is a cool feature. I programmed it to show only the HD listings from my provider right on the remote control.

The downfall for me was the price. At 199.99 (CAN) the price was too steep to justify keeping it just to save 5 seconds a couple times each day.

Pros: Software
Cons: Reliability and batteries

I have the SST 659 to run my home theater setup. Since the first battery replacement the inferior quality of the battery compartment components has been a hassle. It frequently loses its power, even after having new batteries inserted and the cover taped securely shut - necessary since the very small plastic tab to hold the cover broke the first time the unit was opened. The great software and operations is overcome by the hassle with the power problem. For what this remote cost, it is a shame that the power components aren't up to the standards of a $10 Best Buy cheapie.

Pros: I got frustrated with the Harmony 659 and returned it before I found any pros.
Cons: The Harmony 659 is incompatible home theater setups that don't match a template.

I bought the Logitech Harmony 659 to control my XBox, Playstation 2, and Olevia LT42HVi television. It performed poorly, so I returned it.

Notable things about the Harmony 659 are:

1. The tab on the battery cover will break.

2. The Harmony 659 is large, clumsy, and the smaller buttons are difficult to press.

3. It is difficult to program the Harmony 659 to do simple things like "just turn off the XBox" or "just turn off the Playstation 2". The Harmony 659 design tries to pidgeon-hole your home theatre into pre-defined "tasks", and it operates poorly if your setup doesn't fit a template.

4. You must connect to the Logitech web site to program the Harmony 659, which is frustratingly slow.

5. The Harmony 659 programmer is wizard that hides most of the advanced features of the remote control. If you don't have a home theater that fits the template, then you need more than an hour to learn the software.

6. The button definitions for the XBox and Playstation 2 are bad. For example, the arrow keys on the Harmony 659 are not programmed to be the arrow keys on the XBox or PS2 remote.

Pros: Does EVERYTHING a universal remote should--the "original" ones are now in a drawer!
Cons: Does't prepare margaritas and quesadillas to accompany watching TV.

This is the FIRST time I've been so impressed with a product that I've gone to Epinions specifically to add my evaluation.

This is not the first remote I've purchased. Every couple of years I would buy a "universal" remote, try setting it up, and end up returning it because it didn't work.

THIS universal remote is phenomenal! It arrived yesterday, and within an hour I had it up and running. (OK, it took longer because I had to find a mirror in order to read the the model numbers on some components in a heavy cabinet.)

This remote does exactly what it's supposed to, Considering that my components are all ten years old or older, I was concerned that they might be "too old" to be in the Harmony dataset--but no problem, they work great.