Snowed under with remotes

steady__eddie

Having just converted to this new fangled digital technology business, I now find myself surrounded by 8 remotes. My trusty Lidl multi-function job won't communicate with some of my exotic tastes in electronic hardware including my Yahama surround sound and Yelo dvd so I thought that it was time to upgrade. Having heard people wax lyrical about Logitech Harmony, I thought that I'd have a glimpse.
Cash wise, they are a bit daunting but if I bought 2 300i s, I could control all my kit for £100 cheaper than if I purchased an all singing all dancing model which controls up to 15 pieces of kit.
Is there any technical reason why this solution wouldn't work ?

fwor

Technically, no reason, provided they are all IR remotes (a small number may be radio remotes, which typically no all-in-one remote can handle).

The other problem that you may encounter is if you have two devices which use the same remote code for different functions. It should be rare, but I found that my Philips DVD had one key that caused my Cyrus amplifier to go into Standby mode. Annoying, but not much you can do about that if it happens.

bcl999

Logitech have user forums on their site which I have found useful in the past. It might be worthwile having a look around them.

I have a 525 as I don't have anything like 15 things to control and all I can say is it's the one piece of elctronics I've bought in recent years which has actually made my life simpler, rather than cause added complications.

What I wonder is, when using 2 remotes, whether you'll be able to operate the one-button feature to turn on/off an "activity" (as Logitech calls it) e.g. Watch Sky, Watch PVR, Watch DVD , etc - a feature which I find the best thing about these remotes - I think you may need to program certain appliances into both remotes e.g TV, amplifier, and anything else which has mutiple input sources. May not be a problem so long as you allow for that when calculating how many appliances each remote will have to control i.e. you might need to count the TV, the amplifier, etc twice.

steady__eddie

Thank you for your replies, I've checked on their site and it informs me that their remote can handle all my current eqpt. I was going to buy a dvd recorder today which apparently is not compatible (Tosh) but it says that by ringing a freephone number, I can get it sorted.
I did spot another remote yesterday trawling through google, Xsight Plus but but I think that I'll go for something with a reputation.

Nilrem

Logitech CS is great.
I think if there is a device that isn't on their list for the remotes they do actually hunt down the codes needed and add them to the DB online so that it will work (usually fairly quickly), but a lot of the time you can get away with using a similar models code if need be (a lot of manufacturers use the same remote for a range of models of the same device*).

I bought a Logitech 555 and a pair of 525's cheap last year and love them, they've replaced 6 remotes in one room, and 3 in each of two other rooms, and you can customise individual keys if you want/need to change the position of some functions
It means I've only got one remote per room in use, as opposed to at one point 6 in one room, with constant swapping between them.



*For example you might find that the Toshiba DVD recorder you're buying uses the same remote and codes as an older model (which can be a pita at times if say you want two DVD players in the same room:P)

steady__eddie

I had a walk along the High Street yesterday and came across the Logitec Harmony one which seems to fit the bill nicely. Amazon are currently knocking them out at a couple of pence over a hundred quid so it looks like plan B. An added bonus is the illuminated screen which would come in terribly handed as I invariably wake at about 2 every morning.
I just hope that I am technologically able to cope with activity setup.

Toxteth_OGrady

Harmony 1 is outstanding and worth every penny. One remote for TV, AV receiver, Sky HD, Freesat, Freeview, Blu-ray, Xbox 360, PS3 and LED ambient lighting. The whole family, including technophobes find it very easy to select activities and use it. The art is in the setting up of the activities.