Selecting a Harmony Universal Remote

[Mike]

I went and looked. From what I can tell the activities are hard coded buttons (Watch DVD, etc) where as in the 880 you define your activities and they are selected by screen.

Note I don't have a 6xx I'm just going from pictures on how it appears to differ (so maybe some of this has other work arounds).

The screen looks a little smaller aside from not being in color.

I am guessing the programming is different since (if my assumptions are correct) the activities are hard coded. Well different slightly since it may be associate a device with an activity (or disabled if not) rather than define devices and then create activities to your definition.

That's my guess.

 

[Mike]

I've got the 880 and have been real happy with it.

One item I was surprised at, I got mine in July and my down button no longer sends IR when it is pressed (you can hear it click but no IR). If it is pressed harder (harder than should be required for a remote) it will send IR for the most part.

I sent an email (actually 2 at this point) to the email address that is included in the package ([email protected] I think it was) but recieved no response (I waited a week then resent the email and waited another week). Frankly I was expecting a response to direct me to call them, but was surprised when I got no response at all.

I'll post my final results with how they respond to this warranty type issue. I'm assuming mine was marginally defective (was working fine since I got it and it does not get heavy usage). Aside from this however it has been a great product. Most importantly the wife loves it.

A surprising update on this. While Harmony tech support is available almost constantly (I've called on a sunday when I first got it), the warranty and repair department is much more elusive.

No responses from the 2 emails (it has been weeks now since I sent the original and the followup).

I tried calling (available mon-fri 9AM-5PM no weekends) and went to a hold queue. After a few minutes it said there was not anyone to help me and to leave a message. I left a message on Friday and have not recieved a call back yet (has not been much time yet so I won't complain about that).

Most companies let you stay on hold until you are helped, I have found this whole experience disheartening in regards to Logitech/Harmony. I'm hoping the issue with my button failing is not indicative of the product line. Fortunately I did shell out the extra $40 for a two year replacement policy at Best Buy. I can't use it until the warranty is up and they will refund the purchase price. If this is how Logitech handles their customers and supports their products I suspect I would not reinvest that cash into a logitech remote. A little early for that right now, I'll post another update next week after I have called a few more times.

On a bright note they have apparently fixed the website slowness I saw a few months back, although I have only been on it a few times (the remote update site).

Hope this is helpful.

Apparently my concerns were unfounded. I tried again to call today and got someone on the phone almost immediately. I explained my issue and they issued a replacement without a question. They also did not request a credit card to guarantee the replacement (or rather the return of the defective one).

They pay for shipping to you, but do not cover return shipping for the defective unit. I'm glad they thought this through and did not ask to send the unit in first (I can just see WAF going out the window without a programmed remote in the house).

I guess my earlier difficulties in reaching them were an exception. I was actually surprised they didn't ask more questions (unless this is a known issue on some units) about my problem. I was done in less than 5 minutes.

Very well handled in my opinion. I was originally very skeptical about the 890 after I saw this start to unfold (as the 880 is around $250, the 890 is around $400 and if it also had issues after 6 months of light use and support was light I would have been hesitant to continue with Logitech.)

 

[Rustytek]

Looking at Logitech's site, it appears the 895 and not the 890 include zwave. So be sure to look before you buy. I could be wrong. I personally am waiting for the 895. Have used the 880 and find it to be a nuisance holding the remote pointed at the device until everything turns on. I have a DLP tv and it takes a few seconds to turn the tv on. My wife (the impatient one) just toggles the tv on/off because she is not sure if the remote was pointed at the device the whole time (while sending all of the commands to the receiver, cable box, and tv)