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[DarienA]

The missus picked me up a Harmony 688. A bit of back story. When we first met she was on her way to CES, and when she came back she prompt pamphelts about the Harmony line of remotes in a nutshell, controls a shitload of devices and can be updated and customized via the web through your PC/USB cable connection to the remote.

I've been eyeing them on eBay ever since, just never pulled the trigger on one. So she picks up the highest model # out, the 688. Controls 15 devices, and not only that you can set up activities. Say you have a TV, VCR, DVD, Receiver and Cable box in one room. You go to the website, give it the manufacturer and model # of all the devices and it downloads the appropriate codes... but it doesn't stop there... you can then set up activities. Say I want to watch a DVD... the TV needs to be on a certain setting, as does the Receiver, and the DVD player needs to come on. Simply answering questions you can set it up to do that... Want to go back to watching TV, that Activity is setup as well... so when it's time to watch DVD's I hit the button for it... Receiver goes to the right setting, DVD player comes on, TV goes to the right setting... that's it.

There's a shitload more customization and activities you can plug in and I'm just getting started... FINALLY I'll be able to use the damn receiver surround system we have in the family room... damn thing is like greek to me but the missus can set it up in 5 secs flat... now I'll have her beat.


Mine is the black one.

 

[Folder]

Um.
Congratulations I guess...

 

[luxsol]

It looks like a really ugly cell phone that's meant to be inserted into your shoe.

And what the hell is up with those ugly rainbow stickers on top?

 

[Folder]

It looks like a really ugly cell phone that's meant to be inserted into your shoe.

And what the hell is up with those ugly rainbow stickers on top?

Said a troll one day...

 

[luxsol]

I was expecting to see cool looking PDA-like lightup touchscreen device. It has nice features, but it's down right ugly. It really would look better at the dark bottom of a shoe.

 

[Folder]

I was expecting to see cool looking PDA-like lightup touchscreen device. It has nice features, but it's down right ugly. It really would look better at the dark bottom of a shoe.

Continued the same troll...

 

[DarienA]

I was expecting to see cool looking PDA-like lightup touchscreen device. It has nice features, but it's down right ugly. It really would look better at the dark bottom of a shoe.

Troll Grade: C+

Comment: You're overdoing it... learn a bit of subtilty.

 

[Jim Bowie]

Jim enters the thread, curious as to what the Harmony 688 entails. He notices a disgruntled man with a black t-shirt reading "Luxsol" arguing with the narrator. He continues with a relevant question:

"Does the controller also handle speakers?" he asks.

Spoiler

Talking in narrative rules.

 

[luxsol]

Troll Grade: C+

Comment: You're overdoing it... learn a bit of subtilty.

pfft... I thought that was quite good. =P

Anyway, what is up with the colored top buttons? I've looked around at their site and the buttons aren't as bright as that pic. Is that the final model or is the one at their site the final model?

 

[DarienA]

Jim enters the thread, curious as to what the Harmony 688 entails. He notices a disgruntled man with a black t-shirt reading "Luxsol" arguing with the narrator. He continues with a relevant question:

"Does the controller also handle speakers?" he asks.

Spoiler

Talking in narrative rules.

Define handle speakers please. Do your speakers have their own remote control? If so probably.

Anyway, what is up with the colored top buttons? I've looked around at their site and the buttons aren't as bright as that pic. Is that the final model or is the one at their site the final model?

The buttons at the top are colored as the pic shows... as for whether they are that bright? They don't really seem BRIGHT like screaming bright on the control, but they are easily identifiable... those are the preset activity keys, but you can add more than just the colored buttons and assign them to the LCD screen scrolling through them as necessary.

 

[Jim Bowie]

I didn't want to use the word control twice. They have their own seperate remote.. I just thought that this would be a pretty awesome gift for my parents' anniversary. Of course, it's probably pretty expensive, so saving would be in order. They have a lot of tech in the rec room, so one of those remotes looks like it would be worth it's weight in gold.

 

[D'ultimate]

I'm curious as to why you went with the 688 instead of the 680 or the 676, aside from having the highest number in the Harmony line? From doing my own research on these Harmony remotes in the past, there's issues with the button layouts on this remote as well as button feel. The other models have lower numbers but are newer with a better layout, IIRC. I believe the newest are the 680 and 676.

I believe the advantage of this is the DVR control but I didn't see you mention that. The others could be set up to control DVRs' as well, as I'm sure you know.

H676

H680

 

[DarienA]

I'm curious as to why you went with the 688 instead of the 680 or the 676, aside from having the highest number in the Harmony line? From doing my own research on these Harmony remotes in the past, there's issues with the button layouts on this remote as well as button feel. The other models have lower numbers but are newer with a better layout, IIRC. I believe the newest are the 680 and 676.

I believe the advantage of this is the DVR control but I didn't see you mention that. The others could be set up to control DVRs' as well, as I'm sure you know.

H676

H680

The missus bought it as a birthday present, with both of us being fans of Harmony remotes I assume she simply decided to get the newest model.

It will definitely take some time to become comfortable with the remote, there are a shitload of buttons. I'm not pressed so much about feel if you mean in terms of using it by touch alone. The DVR functionality is key for me as I'm a heavy TIVO user. Also nice is the ability to program in TV listings for your favorite channels and then view them right on the remote... hit a button, boom you're on that channel. Not sure which of those fuctions is standard across the line.

Will the remote overwhelm some people? Definitely... as you can see from the picture, lots and lots of buttons... but the customization options of the thing simply blow me away.... I may start walking around the house with the thing in my pocket.

Now if only they had the codes for the remote that goes with our bedroom lights and ceiling fan....

Whats' the manufacturer and model of your speakers jim?

EDIT: Just checked no go on the speakers.. here's a list of devices it can control:

Television, Projector, Monitor, TV DVD combo unit, Amplifier, Stereo Receiver, Audio/Video Switch, Cable Box, Satellite, Digital Set Top Box, VCR, PVR, TV DVD VCR combo unit, TvVcr combo unit, DVD, DVD Recorder, DVD VCR combo unit, Laserdisc Player, CD Player, CD Jukebox, Digital Music Server, Radio Tuner, Game Console, Game Console (With DVD), Mini System (DVD, CD, Radio), Mini System (CD, Radio, Cassette), Mini System (Dvd, Vcr, Radio), Computer, Laptop, Media Center PC, Light Controller, Climate Control, Home Appliance, Tape Deck, Minidisc Player, DAT

Hmm it can control light and climate controllers I may have to see if I can hook up our lights and ceiling fans to it... that would be great I could have an activity go to sleep(we tend to watch movies on the surround sound system in our room at night some times), and that activity could shut everything off and turn the fan on low... <rubs hands like little kid>

We were talking last night and I'm actually thinking of getting rid of my PS2 to get one of the models that came with the built in IR unit. That way I'd never have to touch my PS2 except when I wanted to swap HD's... turn on with remote, grab wireless controller and I'm gone....

 

[tedtropy]

Nevermind the whiney trollers, it looks like a cool customizable remote. I'm always on a search for an affordable, tweakable remote. Right now I have a little $12 Phillips one I picked up that finally has enough buttons to control my satellite receiver, TV, DVD player, etc. Honestly though, of all the remotes I've used, the remote that came with my Hughes DirecTV receiver is still my favorite. That little clickable selector joystick thing is the best, and I've had a hard time finding another remote with a similar feature. Plus it's comfortable to hold and all the buttons are in really intelligent places - the engineer that designed this thing should get a promotion.

 

[Folder]

*Resgisters fear at remote control obsession*

 

[tedtropy]

*Resgisters fear at remote control obsession*

People obsess over their home theater equipment, consoles, hell, even the brand of cables connecting said equipment, so why not the remote that ultimately controls all of them?

 

[Folder]

People obsess over their home theater equipment, consoles, hell, even the brand of cables connecting said equipment, so why not the remote that ultimately controls all of them?

Because they might have a life?
Edit: Sorry - I'm in a right cuntish mood today. I'll stop.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Sounds great, but looks u-g-l-y.

 

[The Faceless Master]

Sounds great, but looks u-g-l-y.

IAWTP

i like my $20 remote

 

[tedtropy]

Because they might have a life?
Edit: Sorry - I'm in a right cuntish mood today. I'll stop.

I'm sorry, but I think one of the requisites of 'having a life' is NOT posting snarky remarks in an Internet forum. In Soviet GAF, a loser is us! And it's ok, I forgive you.

 

[DarienA]

IAWTP

i like my $20 remote

The Harmony remote looks ugly but that thing doesn't?

Okaaaaaaay.



Thank goodness there are different remotes, for different people, with different tastes.

 

[Folder]

I'm sorry, but I think one of the requisites of 'having a life' is NOT posting snarky remarks in an Internet forum. In Soviet GAF, a loser is us! And it's ok, I forgive you.

That doesn't make sense. Let's just pretend none of this ever happened and make jokes about Black Stallion:

How many Black Stallions does it take to change I lightbulb? (go on, ask me)

 

[tedtropy]

That doesn't make sense. Let's just pretend none of this ever happened and make jokes about Black Stallion:

How many Black Stallions does it take to change I lightbulb? (go on, ask me)

One to change the lightbulb, one to masturbate furiously to the site of him changing the bulb while (for some unknown reason) not wearing a shirt, and one to post high-res pictures of it in another unwanted post on GAF. Duh.

 

[Cool]

One to change the lightbulb, one to masturbate furiously to the site of him changing the bulb while (for some unknown reason) not wearing a shirt, and one to post high-res pictures of it in another unwanted post on GAF. Duh.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Folder]

One to change the lightbulb, one to masturbate furiously to the site of him changing the bulb while (for some unknown reason) not wearing a shirt, and one to post high-res pictures of it in another unwanted post on GAF. Duh.

*offers hug*
I had a few answers lined up. Yours was better. *salutes*

 

[TheQueen'sOwn]

Jesus that thing is sexy!

 

[D'ultimate]

This thread has prompted me to put in a order for the H676.

I'm looking forward to playing with my new toy.

 

[jedimike]

I'm a Harmony convert... I got the 688 model like Darien. Although the button layout is not the most intuitave, I have once and for all been able to permanently remove the other remotes from the family room. Plus, it passes the wife test. Just hit Watch DVD and it sets up all the inputs on the TV and receiver. Hit Listen to Radio and it powers off everyhting else and turns on receiver to radio. You can set up any function you want and customize it to your tastes. Works great with my Comcast DVR, all the buttons like OnDemand and MyDVR are displayed in the window area. IMO, it is the only true all-in-one remote on the market.

 

[Dilbert]

I got my parents a Harmony (forget the model number, 659 maybe?) for Christmas. Although they like it a lot, and I'm somewhat tempted to get a Harmony of my own, I have some questions:

1) There was a noticible latency between key press and command for pretty much every key press. Is that typical of the others in the series?

2) How often do you use the USB sync function? Is it a set-up-once feature, or do you actually take the time to download, say, favorite program schedules into the remote?

3) Does it support conditional programming? One of the things which really bugs me about my receiver (Harman-Kardon, forget the number at the moment) is that it defaults to its own Logic 7 faux surround processing for two-channel stereo input on analog cable channels, but defaults to Dolby Pro Logic II for stereo feeds on digital (but not HD) channels. Since there is a end-result volume difference between Logic 7 and DPLII, toggling between channels (flipping between games on a commercial break, for instance) can really jolt you. Would the remote have some way of detecting Logic 7 and switching to the Dolby processing instead?

 

[DarienA]

I'm a Harmony convert... I got the 688 model like Darien. Although the button layout is not the most intuitave, I have once and for all been able to permanently remove the other remotes from the family room. Plus, it passes the wife test. Just hit Watch DVD and it sets up all the inputs on the TV and receiver. Hit Listen to Radio and it powers off everyhting else and turns on receiver to radio. You can set up any function you want and customize it to your tastes. Works great with my Comcast DVR, all the buttons like OnDemand and MyDVR are displayed in the window area. IMO, it is the only true all-in-one remote on the market.

Glad you like it... the thing is tight as hell.

Jinx I can only answer question 2. It's up to you.. you can specify how many days of programming you want to download for your favorite channels. I actually haven't delved that deep in to that functionality that much cause I like to channel surf and see the full grid....

 

[jedimike]

I got my parents a Harmony (forget the model number, 659 maybe?) for Christmas. Although they like it a lot, and I'm somewhat tempted to get a Harmony of my own, I have some questions:

1) There was a noticible latency between key press and command for pretty much every key press. Is that typical of the others in the series?

I don't notice any delay except in my Comcast DVR, but it has a wicked delay even with it's own remote so I think it depends more on the device. You can also adjust delay times... I guess some TV's actually require a delay.

2) How often do you use the USB sync function? Is it a set-up-once feature, or do you actually take the time to download, say, favorite program schedules into the remote?

I've been hooking mine up quite a bit, but it is just to get things set-up exactly like I want. The remote wil hold two weeks worth of TV programming. I like the feature, so I will likely hook it up at least once every two weeks. The database is also dynamic, so any fixes they have for your device are automatically updated.

3) Does it support conditional programming? One of the things which really bugs me about my receiver (Harman-Kardon, forget the number at the moment) is that it defaults to its own Logic 7 faux surround processing for two-channel stereo input on analog cable channels, but defaults to Dolby Pro Logic II for stereo feeds on digital (but not HD) channels. Since there is a end-result volume difference between Logic 7 and DPLII, toggling between channels (flipping between games on a commercial break, for instance) can really jolt you. Would the remote have some way of detecting Logic 7 and switching to the Dolby processing instead?

It should be able to do what you want as long as your Receiver's remote allows you to change to sound type. It would not automatically sense the difference, but you could set it to stay on Pro Logic II whenever you change channels as long as the remote allows a discrete input. Meaning that to select the sound doesn't have to scroll through the options... like setSound+1 ... it would have to be able to accept setSoundDPLII. Then you would just set that command execute after you change channels.

 

[crumbs]

I love my Home Theater Master MX-500, it relatively powerful and can be found for less than $100.

http://www.hometheatermaster.com/htm/mx500/index.html