Logitech Harmony Ultimate One IR Remote with Customizable Touch Screen Control (915-000224)..
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
By R. Garth
I have owned Harmony remotes since long before Logitech bought out the company.
I have lived with the knowledge that each remote would only last about 3 years before some form of button failure would develop, but it was worth it because no other remote on the market had the ergonomics and feature base and ease of setup of a Harmony remote.
My fifth and best remote was a 900 and it was a fantastic remote until the volume and channel buttons started to fail at the young age of only 2 1/2 years.
So I went out and bought a Harony Ultimate One at Best Buy and man oh man did I regret that! First of all has Harmony completely forgotten why remotes like the 1000 where failures and remotes like the 900 and the orginal Harmony One where great success stories? Yes Harmony it was the BUTTONS and the right mixture of LCD that made the remote a must have. With the Ultimate you have too much LCD and not enough hard buttons. With LCD buttons you have to constantly look down at the remote when trying to do anything! With Physical buttons you can feel your way around the remote. Anyone who uses a remote for 2-3 weeks will become very use to finding most of the needed buttons without ever looking down once at the remote. With Touch screen buttons you can use it for years and you will still need to look down to see if your finger is over the right spot.
Now while I am not happy towards the lessening of physical buttons and the leaning towards touch screen, I knew what I was getting into so I was willing to live with that until hopefully Harmony realized the mistake and made a more button packed remote like the 880, 900. But then acame the problems, it was like the remote had a built in Gremlin that just messed with it every so often. I dealt with lockups galore, problems with the LCD light staying on and killing the batteries and then prgogramming issues that I never had with any harmony remote before. In the end I packed up this puppy and sent her back.
The real shame of all of this is that Harmony put the words "Ultimate" on this remote when in fact they have had so many better models over the years. Lesson for Harmony is go back to basics and give the customers what they want, not what is cheapest to build. This remote finaly crossed the line and got into the realm of low quality with too much glitz and sparkle and not enough of what once made Harmony remotes great.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
By Marty Gillis
I have used nothing but Harmony brand remotes for the past 8 years. I currently own and use a pair of Harmony One's as my 'go to ' remotes. They are VERY durable if properly cared for with one of my two 'One's” lasting more than 6 years old now and subjected to DAILY heavy use! Needless to say I am a Harmony fan and was eager to try this new Harmony Ultimate One out and see how it stacks up against my beloved original Harmony One.
Before reading more you may wish to read this disclaimer:
“These remotes are NOT for the technically challenged OR the chronically impatient! The website/software that allows you to custom program your Harmony Ultimate remote features unlimited combinations that you can use for both your devices and your “Activities” (macros), but also features one of the WORST software interfaces currently in use. It took me a good few months to find my way around the software enough to get fast with it. At this point it is all 2nd nature to me but honestly if you are not willing to spend the time and trouble on Harmony programming, you most likely should look elsewhere. On the other hand if you are willing to learn and spend a bit of trial and error time, you will be greatly rewarded with a remote that controls all your devices exactly the way YOU want it to.”
Ok, end of disclaimer....... Now back to my review.........
This particular Harmony is the IR model and will not shoot commands through solid objects, etc. This is for 'Line of Sight” control.
*** You can upgrade this remote by buying the Smart Control unit which will add RF capability to this , and more.
The until itself is very well made. It is smaller and lighter than my original Harmony One. Like the original 'One', it is rechargeable and includes a recharging base. You can control All your devices (up to 15) and create custom “Activities” to turn any number of devices on/off and change them to the appropriate inputs in one button push. All the functions work as advertised, although the gesture control will take a bit of getting used to. I am sure it will be a very fast way to do certain things, once I get the knack. Smart Phone users should have no trouble at all using the touch screen and the associated gesture controls.
Honestly, for what it is, the new Harmony Ultimate One remote works exceedingly well. I have a complex system consisting of up to 9 devices and have encountered ZERO programming/operational glitches. What I mean to say is that IT WORKS!
I honestly only have one major complaint/problem with this remote.....
While I like this new Harmony Ultimate One, in my opinion it is far from BEING ultimate. I still consider the original Harmony One (discontinued model) to be the best product they have ever turned out. Here is the main reason:
Basically the Harmony line of remotes underwent a drastic layout change just a few years back. The greatly loved classic configuration of the button/touchscreen layout was scrapped and replaced with new models that moved the touchscreen to the center of the remote and the most used transport buttons to the top. This just a plain bad idea when it comes to ease of use. It is just too easy to activate the touch screen on the way up to your transport controls and when you DO wish to use the touchscreen, functions that USED to be controlled by dedicated buttons are now requiring a glance or two to operate. I am spoiled and used to using my Harmony One by touch alone, but that doesn't cut it with touchscreens.. Also, having to reach to the very top for transport functions is uncomfortable at best and at times requites two hands instead of one. (at least for me it does)
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IF you have never used an original Harmony One or are NEW to Harmony remotes, then this new Harmony One Ultimate should both please you and serve all your remote needs with ease. BUT if you are like me and are still clinging to the older version, you are bound to miss the classic button layout with the touch screen at the top. It really IS the best layout and for many, many reasons. Be that as it may, THIS is the new top of the line for Harmony remotes and while I don't find the layout easier to use, it IS well made and all the functions remain, just implemented differently and found in different places on the physical remote itself.
AS you have probably surmised, I am a real Harmony Fan. The day I put away all my remotes for good was one to remember. I even use my Harmony to turn on/off and adjust my AC and room lighting. The Logitech database is vast and you will most likely find ALL your devices on it.
If you want to control ALL your devices with one remote and be able to make totally customizable control layouts and multi-device macros, then this Harmony One Ultimate will bend to your will. You just need a bit of patience and determination, plus a touch of imagination to turn this remote into YOUR Ultimate remote.
Again, I don't care for the new design, but this device is top of the line with great construction, good looks, and the ability to perform each and every function on every electronic device you currently use for stereo/home theater.
As such, it IS recommended by ME, Marty G !
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
By Steve B
Like most people I hate having seven remotes to control my system so combining them into one unit is a great idea. I appreciate the opportunity to review the Ultimate One and compare it to my two-year-old One with the failing buttons. Although the Ultimate One is pretty smart and quite functional in many ways, Logitech misses the mark for me on several important points.
Software: Try finding Roku for the Harmony. There are several classifications to look under but none of them make sense for Roku. It's listed under "DVD." Go figure. Try Apple TV. Good luck with that one. Brand new hardware (Ultimate One) with the same old crappy software. If they spent a couple of days with a new software team leader in charge, maybe they'd come up with a better system, but this one has irritated me since I bought the old One more than two years ago.
Hardware: Improved the shape and size over the old One so that now it stands up in the charging stand, taking up much less room on the table where it sits. Also added a textured back to make it easier to grip. They got rid of the superfluous buttons that cluttered up the old One, but also removed some pretty useful ones. These buttons are now accessed through layers of a touch screen. Sometimes this works out well, and sometimes not. Really depends on your equipment and the type of controlling you need to do. For me, I still keep the original remotes close enough that I can use them to do the more intricate things I don't want to bother setting up and troubleshooting on the Harmony. Yes, troubleshoot. Not everything works right the first time.
Some inconveniences: Ever hand your remote to someone so they can control things? Well, be careful with the Ultimate. About 1/4 times one of us will accidentally activate something on the touchscreen during transfer from one hand to the other, and we're being careful. Also, for some reason they put the playback buttons (play, FF, REW, etc) above the touchscreen. Try using those without activating something on the touchscreen!
Set up: Since I already had a Harmony One that was fine-tuned to my system (which took months to finesse!!!), set up was just a matter of transferring the information from the One to the Ultimate. Easy-cheesy. I don't look forward to learning how to set up the Ultimate for a new piece of equipment after seeing that the software is still the same: lame. For now, the Ultimate controls most things fine with no fuss on my part.
If you want to get rid of all of your remotes the Ultimate One could be your solution. For me it wasn't. If you want the convenience of controlling most of the common functions of a lot of equipment and don't mind the limitations, then this expensive remote could be a great addition to your collection. We now have nine remotes instead of the seven that came with the equipment. The old One is still on the charger for my wife's use (she doesn't care for the lack of buttons on the Ultimate). The Ultimate is for me, most of the time. The individual equipment remotes are stashed close-by in case I need to access something I can't find on the Ultimate.
If Logitech would update their software to the 21st century (they still have Laserdisc but don't have a proper category for ROKU) and put the touch screen at the top with all of the buttons grouped together, I'd love the Ultimate One. If they don't make changes to the software I won't buy a new One when this One wears out.
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