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| Brand: Logitech
Category: CE
List Price: $149.99
Buy New: $101.36
You Save: $48.63 (32%)
New (53)
Avg. Customer Rating:  303 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 8 x 10 x 6
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: 915-000002
Model: 915-000002
UPC: 097855042927
EAN: 0097855042927
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Powerful Remote But.... August 8, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
To start with I will say that once I was finished programming the remote performs all of the functions I want. It has successfully replaced five remote controls. Once properly programmed it is a great remote control. However, getting it to where I wanted was an intense process.
For most people the wizards provided by Logitech will probably set up their systems satisfactorily. If your system is like mine with every component from a different manufacturer then it will be perhaps less satisfactory. Even with my rather strange collection of components the provided wizards set every thing up with only one problem. The TV monitor did not power down when the off button was pushed during the watch TV activity. In the watch a DVD activity everything worked fine.
My call to tech support was not very productive. The technicians tried various things and did give me some information about how to rearrange the sequence in which things powered up and down but were not able to resolve the problem. I was passed to a second level of tech support with no better results. I was promised that my call would be transferred to an engineer and I would be called back the following day. I never got the call back only an email saying that my trouble was closed unless I called them back. The tech support was pleasant but not very helpful. I do need to say that since I write embedded software for a living, I generally try most of the things tech support people can offer before I call. It is very unusual for me to actually get much help from any tech support lines. I already know what to try for most situations before I call.
At first use the software seems to be very limited and not very customizable and since it comes with basically no documentation to go beyond the basic wizards it has a very steep learning curve. It is however, actually fairly powerful allowing quite a few customizations once you figure out how to access the various features.
Things the software should have but does't:
1. A simple method to reset the remote back to factory defaults.
2. The ability to save different configurations of the software. This would be nice when experimenting so that if you mess things up you can easily return to where you were originally.
3. An index which would provide some guidance as to where in the software various modifications can be made.
The wizards put just about all of the functions for my hardware into the remote control. However, the functions I use frequently were often buried several screen levels down. It took me awhile to figure out that by going into customize buttons/Additional buttons you can type a screen prompt into the label column select the device you want the button to control and then select a command from a drop down list. By putting the commands you want at the top of the list they will be the first ones displayed. You can delete any that you don't need to reduce the clutter.
By defining a few of the unused standard buttons and putting the commonly used other commands at the top of the additional buttons I was able to customize my remote to do just what I wanted.
The problem I had with the TV not turning off was resolved by changing the settings from the original macro written by the software. I discovered that my Motorola cable box and my TV exchanged communications using the HDMI cable during power-up and power-down. This communication appears to interfere with the Akai TV executing the power off command. I tried various changes to the timing functions with nothing working. I think if I had kept playing perhaps eventually I would have found a timing solution. However, I discovered if I went into the activities tab and selected settings for the watch TV activity, by selecting review the settings, then yes but I want to add more control the last step has the option to add actions for any device. I added a power toggle command for my TV when leaving the activity.
The change caused the TV to turn off then turn back on. Not a solution but a clue. The eventual solution for my system was to go into the devices tab, select my cable box settings changing the adjust power setting to leave the cable box on all the time. This rewrote the macro to remove the power on and off commands for the cable box from the watch TV activity. I then went into the adjust setting in the watch TV activity and manually added a power toggle command for my cable box to when the watch TV activity starts and again when the activity stops. My remote now powers everything up properly when I start to watch TV and powers everything down properly when I press the off button.
I don't have enough information on how the wizard writes the macro to say why it works when I add the commands in this way and not when the software adds them. I can just say that it resolved the only serious problem I ran into. Having spent many years making various types of hardware work together I have often found that this is the type of strange solution that is often needed.
The remote is a powerful device capable of being configured just the way you want after you have mastered the software. However, the software instructions need a lot of improvement. I don't think most consumers are willing to fiddle around with it as much as I did in order to customize their remote. If you like to fiddle with software and hardware then you will find this remote is capable of doing nearly anything you can think of.
Most consumers will find that the basic set-up performed by the wizards will meet most of your needs. However, they will find extensive customization a challenge, and possibly very frustrating.
 I Love This Remote September 24, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This thing is way better than I ever expected! I have some equipment that never works with usual universal remotes, but these guys have codes for so many brands and models. The web programming is cool, because I know if I have to change batteries or step on it. I won't have to program again. It comes with the USB cable to download the settings to the remote.
Really the price is just about what you have to pay for a original remote for a single device. I literally use only this remote now, including a Tivo AND an HD DVR from Direct TV.
The real beauty of this thing is the activity definition. For example, when I press "play DVD" that single button turns on my T.V, turns on my audio receiver, turns on my DVD, sets the proper input on the T.V, and sets the proper input on the audio system. The volume controls the stereo sound, while the pause/forward/rewind buttons control the DVD.
I have different activities defined for things like "play Tivo with T.V. sound" or "play Tivo with Surround Sound". There are six buttons by the LCD screen that can be set to any function you want for each activity. In the unlikely event there is a specific function on your existing remote that is not accounted this remote will learn the function from your old remote.
I'm recommending this thing to everybody I know that has a decent system. Especially anyone that owns a Tivo or DVR.
 Stay AWAY from this control August 9, 2008
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
After spending $100 on this remote, I haven't used it once! This is a battery monster. I put in the batteries that came with the remote, and it immediately started blinking 'low battery'. Then I put in fresh batteries I had in the house: Same Message! I then bought NEW ULTRA batteries, which lasted for less than 6 hours and then started with the Low Battery message! It's ridiculous. Even the manual says that expected battery life is 2-3 weeks.. for a remote control? I would expect 2-3 Months!
Messages to customer support, as always, were never answered.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS CONTROL !
I am impressed! January 9, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After trying several other universal remotes, with limited success, I think I finally found the solution to my multi-remote quandry. I have a Comcast (Motorola) HiDef DVR, a Sony HDTV, Pioneer DVD player and a Sony A/V Receiver, and the remote has worked flawlessly with all of them with all the buttons behaving exactly as expected. The software installed and ran on my computer (PIII 850) without issue, recognized the remote immediately, and within 30 minutes of opening the box I was up and running. After trying the remote for a few minutes, I realized that I needed to make an adjustment to the power setting of the DVR so it would stay on all the time. It took only a few minutes to adjust the power configuration for the DVR re-sync the instructions to the remote.
While the remote doesn't have all the proprietary buttons that the DVR remote has (e.g. "My DVR", "Live TV"), no remote would or can, it covers the functionality of the devices more than any other universal/all-in-one remote I have tried, plus the buttons next to the LCD screen can be custom programmed, which I haven't tried yet.
I really like the software approach to programming the remote. If the Harmony is lost, broken, or eaten by the dog, all I have to do is replace it with a new one and re-sync the instructions stored in my account (online) with the new remote. I never have to worry about losing the programming set.
Hard to believe how poorly designed this thing is! January 29, 2007
2 out of 13 found this review helpful
This thing has the clunkiest interface, and is the most troublesome to program, of any digital device I've ever encountered. What a royal pain to set up, by webpage wizards!!! Want to adjust something? First get online, then work your way through a bunch of circular wizard questions, none of which are appropriate, down load software updates repeatedly, keep at it for hours...Hate reading documentation? Don't worry, it doesn't come with any--instead, check online.
After fighting this thing for 3 months, I did more careful research and bought a Universal Remote URC200--actually cost less...and what a difference!
The URC200 is a very well-designed control. Both IR and RF functions are flawless. Easy to set up, easy to "learn" any command from any other remote (for example, it didn't come with a code for my Sanyo PLV-80 projector, but I was able to get it to learn ALL the Sanyo remote's commands -- like lens shift, input, focus, etc.-- in less than 3 minutes!) The optional base station works very well, but its antenna should not be too close (1 foot) to any component or DVI cables (otherwise it picks up spurious signals and blocks out the remote's RF transmissions). I use mine from 50 feet, through walls. What a refreshing change after the Logitech Harmony! I purchased mine as a set with the base station from B & H Photo online for 99.95.
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