Oct 2 Podcast #393: Harmony 700 Universal Remote
Not content with what the HT Guys have declared the best universal remote on the market, Logitech continues to put out new Harmony Universal Remotes. Of the two most recent models on the market, the Harmony 700 and the Harmony 900, we've had a chance to look at the 700. It is the less expensive of the two, and can be found in retail stores and online for an MSRP of $150 US (Buy Now).
Listen to the show
Today's Show:
News:
- NPD: Blu-ray will penetrate mainstream by next year
- World's Smartest 2160p Toshiba Cell TV On Sale Soon
- Panasonic Shows Prototype 3D Plasma TV
- Akamai aims to bring HDTV to the Web
Other:
Smaller HDTVs Selling like Hotcakes
We came across an article at twice.com called Ratio Of Small TVs To Large Shifts To 3:2. The article points to research from Retrevo Pulse that found smaller TVs, those up to 37 inches, are selling at a 3:2 ratio compared with larger sets in the 37 to 50 inch size range. This is up from a 1:1 ratio one year ago.
The research analyst cited three potential reasons for this change:
- The completion of the digital TV transition on June 12 was a motivating factor in a new TV purchases by a wider population segment.
- More households are now adding multiple HDTV sets for various rooms in the house.
- More HDTV programming through terrestrial broadcasts, cable, satellite and Internet TV is now available, stoking consumer demand for sets on which to view it.
In other words (or our words):
- People buying TVs now will only buy digital because it's just plain silly to buy analog and it's tough to find a digital TV that isn't high definition anymore. Most TV purchases are smaller TVs, so it stands to reason that the number of smaller HDTVs sold would increase.
- People already own their big Family Room/Home Theater HDTV. That was the first one they bought. Now they're adding TVs for bedrooms, bonus rooms, offices, kitchens, etc.
- Perhaps consumers are finally getting over the "there's nothing on in HDTV" or "everything I like it still only available in standard definition" hurdle. Could it be true? We certainly hope so.
So on the surface, the trend makes perfect sense, but we decided to put it to the test. As with everything else consumer and buying related, we turn to Amazon.com to be our barometer.
Top 10 TVs at Amazon.com:
- Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P46G10 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV by Panasonic
- Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-46V5100 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Black by Sony
- Samsung LN52B750 52-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV with Charcoal Grey Touch of Color by Samsung
- Samsung LN26B360 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV by Samsung
- Panasonic VIERA C12 Series TC-L32C12 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV by Panasonic
- Samsung LN22B360 22-Inch 720p LCD HDTV by Samsung
- LG 32LH30 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV, Gloss Black by LG
- Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L37S1 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV by Panasonic
- Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P42X1 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV by Panasonic
- Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L26X1 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV by Panasonic
Observations:
- Amazon's top 10 bestselling TVs represent the exact 3:2 found in the research, but the top 3 TVs in the list all fall in the large size range.
- There are 8 LCDs on the list and 2 plasmas
- Samsung used to dominate the top 10, now Panasonic is the big player with 5 of the top 10 including the #1 set.
- The first set 60 inches or larger in the full top 100 list appears at #57. it is a plasma: Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P65S1 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV, Black by Panasonic
- There are no rear projection sets in the top 100
Harmony 700 Universal Remote
Not content with what the HT Guys have declared the best universal remote on the market, Logitech continues to put out new Harmony Universal Remotes. Of the two most recent models on the market, the Harmony 700 and the Harmony 900, we've had a chance to look at the 700. It is the less expensive of the two, and can be found in retail stores and online for an MSRP of $150 US (<Buy Now).
Setup
The manual tells you to reserve 45 minutes to get the remote set up. If you're a first-timer, that might be about right. You need to make sure you know the model numbers for all your home theater equipment and also set aside a few minutes to get familiar with the programming software.
For us, and likely for those who've owned a Harmony before, it's much closer to 15 than 45 minutes. As is customary, we started from scratch, but there's really no difference in how most of the Harmony remotes are programmed. There are only subtle differences on what buttons it has, how many soft buttons are available, etc. It took about 15 minutes to program 700 even when you consider the time it took to include all our customizations.
In addition to the remote, the box includes a USB cable for programming which also doubles as a recharging cord when plugged into the included wall adapter. So yes, this Harmony is also a rechargeable model, but it's slightly different. For this one Logitech chose to include 2 NiMH rechargeable AA's. We found the charging cord to be a bit short, but since you can get a week's worth of use out of one charge, there's no need to keep it constantly plugged in.
It would seem that one benefit of the AA form factor is that if the batteries die, you can simply swap them out for some standard AA batteries you have lying around until you can get a pair of new rechargeables. We didn't test this theory, though, since the manual warns of a risk of explosion should you replace the batteries with an incorrect type. Sounds like an episode of MacGyver in the making.
Design
The 700 is a replacement for the trusty 880 many of us had grown to love. But admit it, it needed a face lift and the 700 provides just that. It will drop you to four soft buttons from eight on the 880, but it provides more hard buttons that are laid out much better and a much easier to get to. It also adds three hard buttons for the most common activities, Watch TV, Watch a Movie and Listen to Music. Of course you can always override those to do whatever you want.
Use
The Harmony line of remotes is award winning and a lock for the Home Theater no-brainer award, in our opinion. The 700 continues in that tradition. Setup is as simple as you can get. Then you get one click to turn everything on and setup right to do whatever you want in your home theater. Every button on the remote does exactly what you'd expect it to without having to switch between devices, then one click to turn everything off.
All the buttons light up, so if you're watching in the dark, a simple shake of the remote lets you see everything perfectly.
Other stuff
So the 700 falls right in the middle of the Harmony lineup. Entry level is the 510 for $100 MSRP. You then step up to the 700 for rechargeable batteries, a color screen and a slightly more elegant aesthetic. From there you can move up to the Harmony One for $250. It gives you a color touchscreen with more soft buttons and a charging cradle. And then up to the cream of the crop in hard button remotes, the 900 for $400. It looks just like the One, but includes built-in RF.
It's worth noting that we use Harmony remotes almost exclusively in our homes and consider the Harmony One to be the de-facto standard in how a home theater remote should be built. Harmony also offers a complete touch screen model, the ultra-sexy 1100 for $400 MSRP. But we tend to prefer hard button remotes for their ease of use and simplicity.
In our food analogy from Episode #372, the 880 came in as a nice steak dinner. Enough to get dressed up, but a great deal at the same time. You'll brag about what you got, and how little you paid for it. The 700 fits right there as well, only this time you're going out to the newest steakhouse in town.
Conclusion
As with any Harmony remote, the 700 is an excellent choice to control your home theater. It's new, sexy and incredibly easy to use. While overall it doesn't represent a huge departure from the 880, it does offer some nice usability upgrades. For the coolness factor, the One with its touchscreen is still where it's at, but for those who want the best of both worlds, a great, easy to use remote that costs a little less, the 700 is ideal. If you haven't tried a Harmony universal remote yet, you owe it to yourself.
Reader Comments (15)
Hey Braden, a great 80's rock ballad to check out is "What Does it Take" by Honeymoon Suite. It was in the great 80's movie One Crazy Summer with John Cusak and Demi Moore.
I quite like the design choices of the Harmony 700. The button layout is very similar to the Harmony One. I like that button layout. I think that it makes intuitive sense and everything is easy to find and identify.
While the wizard in the Harmony software can get you up and running in a short amount of time, I always take a few hours to programme everything. The reason for that is because I like to really customize the soft buttons and that can take quite a bit of time when customizing every device as well as every activity. If you just go with the wizard's configuration, many of the soft button commands end up buried way over on Page 6 or 7 or something. So I like to rearrange all of that and tidy it up so that the remote is as easy to use as possible :)
One big advantage of the 700 is that you can easily turn it into an RF remote! All you need is one of those IR-to-RF kits that fits into the AA battery slot such as this: http://www.smarthome.com/8045I/IR-to-RF-to-IR-Remote-Control-Range-Extender-Kit-433-MHz/p.aspx
I may be wrong...but, I don't think a standard battery will explode if used in the remote unless you attempt to charge it in the remote. Then, it certainly will get very unhappy. Otherwise, It would work just fine.
Thanks for another great show...I am considering my first purchase of a Harmony remote, looking at the options and trying to figure out which one to go with. This review was very helpful. It would be nice to hear again sometime why you might choose one model over another or what the break points are for the remotes. Rob H.'s point above is also pretty interesting.
Hi Chris,
You are correct. You would have to charge a standard battery and that only MAY make it explode.
Ara
Thanks Rob H. I have had the 700 for about 3 weeks now, but haven't taken the time to do anything but the superficial install. I guess that's because it works so well out of the box. I purchased it for the reasons given above. Now I better follow Rob's suggestion and do some programming. Let's see, where do I start? Is there a manual or something someplace? Oh, and thanks to the HT Guys for leading me in the right direction. When I saw the 700 was released, I couldn't wait.
I checked out Smarthome - great site. Actually made a purchase but they refused the EHTGUYS code. No mention why, perhaps it's due to my home address being north of the border (Toronto).
If I could make one suggestion for folks who might want to dig a little deeper into the Harmony software: definitely set up a second account! That way, you can "play" with the second account and try all sorts of things. But you can keep your first account "locked down" so that you can always easily go back to a configuration that you know works ok :)
Nothing worse than trying something new and discovering that it doesn't work and then being unable to remember how to get back to what you had before! I usually end up with 4 profiles. One is just for the automated setup with every button and command. The second is for testing different button layouts. The third is for trying out different macros and tuning the delays. Then I use the forth to put all the planning together :)
I currently own both the Harmony One and the Harmony 700 for my home theater systems in my living room and family room. I prefer the Harmony one because it feels the most like my Fios remote. However, and I emphasize this , the Harmony 700 is the Best Remote for the measly $$$$ they are asking. Value is key here. It feels almost exactly like the Harmony one but not exactly. It;s usability is almost as good. The nicest feature is that iall the buttons light up in a dark room. You can not go wrong purchasing this remote . In my humble opinion,it is the best remote for under $200.
Mark
Don,
I checked with the people at SmartHome and they said the discount should work with Canadian addresses. They cited two reasons that it may not. One, the purchase was not for Insteon equipment or two, the order was not for more than $50. If both these cases are true please contact me at hdtvpodcast@mac.com and I will work on getting you the discount.
Have a great week!
Ara
Hey guys, great show as usual! I just got the Logitech Harmony One a week ago and love it! Never thought it'd be so easy to use one remote for all!
Greetings from Vienna, Austria, Europe!
AT&T is selling a RF remote for U-verse. It is called Point Anywhere. $50.
Uses a USB receiver. I have not tried it.
(Posted this on the wrong date first)
Love the content and discussion of shows. Much better than AVRant, due to more content
I think people are buying smaller TVs more just because they are cheaper. With this recession, not everyone can afford a big screen. Prices have dropped enough that now they can afford a 32 or 37" HDTV. Some are seconds, but I think price is the reason. Just my 2 cents.
I'm putting in a home theater with the Panasonic ae3000u and acoustically transparent screen, I'll send pics when it is done. Keep up the good work.
Eric
When is Apple going to support bluray. I'm tempted to buy a wdtv, but can't backup bluray with mac. Any thoughts?
htguys, love the site and everything. Quick comment on your harmony review. I don't think you mention the importance of ergonomics when it comes to remotes. You did mention the button layout on the 880 but I think for the uninformed listener, they would not pick up on it. I specifically waited until Logitech released a better remote (this remote would eventually be the harmony one) because the ergonomics of the 880 was horrible.
Another great show guys. Re grooveshark.com, I was hopIng to try it on my iPhone but yet yet another web site that uses Flash. When will Apple get in line? Too bad grooveshark.com don't have a mobile version of their site. This sounded (pun intended) like a great way to get some audio another way to the iPhone.
Keep up the great job.
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Michael in Calgary, Alberta Canada
Very nice.
I just got a Blu-Ray last week and found out that "Universal Remote" doesn't ALWAYS mean "Universal". I was a little surprised that a component, like a Samsung, would require a different code just because it's a Blu-Ray...I figured the control setup would be similar enough, but apparently not.
So, I'm stuck with two stinky remotes right now. And the fact that I used room darkening curtains to block out the light means that the non-backlit remotes I have are worthless, unless the scene on the screen tends to be light enough to let me see the controls.
I'll definitely be checking out this model now...thanks!