JoeyN Posted November 27, 2005 Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 I’ve been searching for an all in one remote for a while. I’ve heard good things about the Harmony line so when I saw they had one that was made to work with the 360 it peaked my interest. No one online has it in stock yet, but while at Best Buy, I saw one Harmony remote in a pile of regular Media Center Remotes for the 360 and Picked it up First thing you should know. The remote is $129.99 which is pricey; however there is a $30 rebate for those who have bought the 360 so $99.99 it is after all is said and done. It comes with the remote, a USB cable and software. The box says it works with PC and Mac, which is supposed to be good for all computer owners. There is a problem with the Mac side though. I installed the software and the program just would not load on the Mac. I tried multiple installs and nothing. So I used my PC laptop, and everything installed smoothly. After the install, you set up a Harmony account with Logitech, which stores your settings on their end I believe. The software then connects to Logitech’s database to begin your controller’s configuration. Before you start, it is smart to get a piece of paper and write down the model numbers of all your equipment so your ready to go at this point. Its pretty straightforward stuff, and if you have a basic 3 or 4 item setup it should take you a short time. If you have more then that be ready for a bit of trial and error. You can use the Harmony 360 like a normal remote turning on one item at a time. The items pop up on the little LCD screen and you use the buttons to the side of the screen to select the options. Very easy to learn. My favorite item on the remote however is the activities button. This button will let you turn on everything for a certain task. For example if you want to watch a DVD movie it turns on the TV, DVD player, surround sound system, and even switches your equipments input settings. If you go to another activity it shuts off the equipment that wont be used and turns on the stuff that will, plus it keeps on stuff that will be used again. You can setup an Activity for DVD Watching, Gaming, VCR, Tivo and so forth for tons of different equipment. There is also a setting if you use X10 lighting. I wish I had that to try out. Once you get the Activities working right they are a godsend. For myself it took a long time to finally get things the way I wanted it. The first reason is I have a lot of different devices so setting up all the activities was a little time consuming. The second is that the remote by default shuts off all equipment not being used in the recently activated Activities. I needed to dig into the menu system to find a way to keep the remote from shutting off my Tivo and Direct TV Receiver. The setting is in there however, so that was fixed. The third problem was one I was dreading. I have a Sony Upconvert DVD player, as well as a Sony Surround sound system/receiver. The DVD players play button signal is the same as the change input signal used on the receiver. I usually never use the play button on my DVD remote because of this. At first anytime I ran the Activity for DVD watching, the inputs on the receiver would change. By default the remote automatically sends a play signal. Have no fear, as there is a setting to shut that off as well. Thought I was done, but the default Harmony settings for my Samsung DLP was a little off. All the inputs on the TV were configured correctly except for the DVI input. For some strange reason I had to go in and select a DVI 3 setting even though the TV only has one DVI input. So after over an hour of working on setting everything up via trial and error I was done. Tested out each of the Activities and each of the devices separately. Everything works perfectly. Being able to press one button and have the TV, 360 and the receiver turn on at once, then switching to the correct inputs is bliss. If you press the power off button, it shuts each of the components down that are on. I used it with the 360 for about 20 minutes and its nice to have a normal remote to use when not playing a game. Also played around with my Tivo for a while with no problems however I have not had a chance to use it yet with my DVD player settings, or my Laserdisc player. In the short time I used the remote I liked the layout of it, but I don’t want to say much more until I use it for a longer period of time. Ill do that tomorrow and get back to you guys with my final thoughts sometime tomorrow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted November 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Sorry i didnt post my thoughts yesterday but i was a little busy. I finally set up my laserdisc player and works perfectly , and so does everything else. Im really enjoying the remote so far. Not having to switch all the inputs by hand is a real time saver. I do have to adjust some of the controls on the menu for the tv and tivo, so ones i use more often are on the main screen by default so i dont have to go to pg2 or pg3 of the menu options capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solitice Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 What color is the back lighting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted November 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Green to match the 360 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris The Rock Posted December 4, 2005 Report Share Posted December 4, 2005 Don't have the Harmony 360, but I have the 880 that came out this spring/summer. It's awesome, and the Harmony website has all the 360 codes for download. You can't go wrong with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted December 4, 2005 Report Share Posted December 4, 2005 I recently splurged and got the 880 from a Dell sale, absolutely love it. Good to hear the 360 codes are already available. Need to add the Joytech switcher as well and I should be set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exile Posted December 4, 2005 Report Share Posted December 4, 2005 In the grand scheme of things $129 is nothing for a remote. The better remotes cost atleast 3 times that amount( the 880 or more if you consider Crestron etc..). Ask all the pronto owners how much they paid.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted December 4, 2005 Report Share Posted December 4, 2005 Picked this up yesterday and am enjoying not having to use 5 remotes anymore. Everything works great! The only problem is that when changing channels or pulling up the guide on my cable box, there's a slight delay from the button push on the remote to when the cable box displays the action. A small annoyance as everything else works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted December 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2005 Scott there is a setting in one of the setup menus to fix the delays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Thanks, Joey, that fixed it :tu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoolieMan Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 I wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the HTPC thread but I figured this would be fine. Ok, I am planning on building a little HTPC and am trying to choose a remote. Since I plan on getting an XBOX 360, the Logitech 360 is appealing to me. So here is my question: Logitech has the Harmony 680 remote which is the only one I can find that talks specifically about controlling/working with Windows Media Center. Will I be able to achieve the same functionality with the Logitech 360? If so, I would rather go with the 360 over the 680. Thanks for any light you can shed on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 I'd assume the 360 remote would work since the 360 itself is in a way a remote for MCE 2005. Plus, you should be able to control anything any of the Harmony remotes control, the main differences between them is the amount of devices they control as well as a few cosmetic touches. I'll check tonight and see if the 360 remote has settings for MCE 2005 just to make sure though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoolieMan Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Thanks Scott. I really appreciate the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted December 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 The 360 will work with windows media pc's. All the remotes work with the same devices. Just other features are different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Just checked and MCE 2005 is an option for the 360 remote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoolieMan Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Sweet! Then I guess I will be going with the 360 remote! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted January 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 I saw Grumpy post that he ordered one. Some impressions after a month of use. This remote is excellent. Best $130 ive spent in a long while. Have not had one single problem with it at all. Only thing im going to change is having the 360 tray open once it turns on so the game dosnt auto load if i just want to get to the dashboard. Also gonna cut down the delay time from when the tv turns on till it switch's inputs. But thats the great thing about the remote. You pretty much do whatever you want with it. My only regret is not having more stuff like X10 lighting to really see what this thing can do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whooter Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Picked this up yesterday and am enjoying not having to use 5 remotes anymore. Everything works great! The only problem is that when changing channels or pulling up the guide on my cable box, there's a slight delay from the button push on the remote to when the cable box displays the action. A small annoyance as everything else works great. Hey Scott, where in the setup menu did you find where to fix this? It's the only problem I'm having with mine, as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemaEms Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Can't wait to get mine tomorrow. Eliminating all these remotes will be nice. -Dean- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hey Scott, where in the setup menu did you find where to fix this? It's the only problem I'm having with mine, as well... Devices--> Select device you want to modify--> Adjust the delays (speed settings) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whooter Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 Excellent! I was looking in the wrong place... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoolieMan Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 I have been meaning to post to this thread since I have had this remote for a while now. I really love this remote when it works, but it is tons of work getting it to work correctly. The worst part is that the configuration software is more the problem then the actual capabilities of the remote. For instance, when I press "Watch DVD", it has to turn on my DVD player, turn on my TV, turn on my Receiver, and setup everything to the right input. Instead of sending one discrete code to change the input on the TV to the correct one, it tries to remember the last input the TV was on and then just send "Next Input" signals until it thinks the TV is on the correct input. It is almost always wrong. This wouldn't be a problem if I could go into the configuration of the remote and just change the sequence of events. But I can't. I can only add more commands on to the hardcoded ones that it already has for that activity. Pressing the help button on the remote and going through the help wizard will usually fix any problems I have (eventually) but that doesn't help because it doesn't remember anything about the problem or how it fixed it, so it just repeats the same mistakes. This isn't the only thing that I am having difficulty with when it comes to the software. I have played around with it so much that some things that I used to have working now don't work correctly when I add new devices. I think I may reset the thing back to factory settings and start over from scratch. Is anybody else experiencing any of these input type problems? I just wish they would let me customize all of the commands and not just some of them. The wizard type UI may be good for some people but I hate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whooter Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 Well, I am NOW. All I changed was the timing to fix the delay, and now the screens/buttons have been changed, sometimes it turns things on that should be off, and off that should be on. Bizarro. And, I can't even reset it to out-of-box, because when I choose that option it just sits at "Update Remote" and the "Show Status" button opens a blank status window, and nothing appears to be happening. Grrr... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted January 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hoolie you can have it select the correct input and not just go to the next one. At least with my TV you can. When i go to DVD it switch's right to HDMI, Cable DVI and so forth. If you go to the tv settings wizard a few options in you can select the inputs your tv has. Then when setting up the chain you can select the inputs you want it to switch to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whooter Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 And, I can't even reset it to out-of-box, because when I choose that option it just sits at "Update Remote" and the "Show Status" button opens a blank status window, and nothing appears to be happening. Grrr... Well, I figured out this part. Despite there being an option in the software, you can't just reset the remote. You have to force a firmware update to clear it. And even then, it'll automatically re-download your devices and activities, so you need to clear those out manually, first. Not terribly intuitive... Edit: Okay, now my remote is behaving like Hoolie's (cycling the TV inputs, rather than just going to the correct one). It wasn't doing this prior to my wiping the remote and reloading everything. You gotta be kidding me... :bh Edit again: I think I *finally* have it all working correctly again. To fix the TV input problem, I had to go to Devices -> TV -> Adjust Inputs -> Go directly to input -> then manually set the IR codes to switch to the proper input. Good God... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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