bob the goat
02-25-2008, 08:26 AM
I have a TV, a “home theater in a box” DVD / surround sound system, a Cable box, and a Wii.
Last weekend my mom came to visit. I was cooking dinner and my mom asked “hey, I want to watch this movie, how do I do it?”. Here were the exact instructions:
1) Now grab the Black remote, push the power button
2) Then push the DVD button at the top.
3) Grab the grey square remote, push the power button.
4) Then push that input button 4 times.
5) Now grab the Grey rounded remote, and push the power button.
Pop in the movie
6) Back the black remote hit the play button.
Three remotes, and commands on each to make the change. This is not acceptable.
I went out and bought a Universal remote. It would not control my Cable box. I returned it and bought a different one that supported my cable box, but it would not control my DVD surround system. I returned that one and got another. It would control all the pieces, but did not have a page up and down button for using the cable box guide, so I returned that one as well.
I was not happy.
I remembered back to my Best Buy days a really expensive remote that would control everything, all the way down to flushing the toilet. It was called Harmony. It plugs in via USB to your PC, then you go online and program it. It said that it would work with all my components. I bought a Harmony 659 for $70 on eBay.
I got it out of the box and handed it to my wife. She is not the most tech savvy person, so I figured if she could do it, anyone could. I watched her. She popped the disk in, and plugged in the remote. Simple install of some software. Register on the website, and it updated the remotes firmware, and the PC’s software.
Then it asks what you want to hook up. She chose TV. It asked what brand, pull down chose Samsung. Then filled in a box with the model number. Repeat for the DVD/Surround, Cable Box, and Wii.
Then it asked some simple questions like “When watching TV, what do you use to control the volume: TV or Stereo?” and “When watching a movie what input is the TV set to?” and it gave me an exact list of all the inputs my TV had.
She answered all the questions, only asking me to confirm her selections, but she did it 100% right on the first try. Then when all the questions were done you hit a button to upload it to the remote.
Now, you pick up the remote and hit the “Watch TV” button. It turns on the TV, sets it to the correct input, turns on the cable box, and turns on the Stereo and sets it to the correct input. If you hit the “Watch a movie” button it changes the input on the TV, and changes the input on the DVD.
Total time from cutting the box open to it being programmed and functioning, less than 20 minutes. 10 of which was time spent with updates automatically installing, so it was really 10 minutes of actual time required of my attention. I was ready and willing to spend HOURS of complicated programming, involving many unsuccessful attempts. This was a welcome surprise.
One of the other features that I really like is the backlight. The buttons have a nice bright glow. I don’t usually like glowing remotes because they eat batteries. This remote you can turn the glow on and off with the push of a button. The little feature that I discovered last night was that while all the other buttons are smooth and round, the Glow button has a raised dot in a different texture on it, so you can feel it in the dark.
Also, it did not have a Page up and Page down button. 2 minutes (exactly) of playing with it on the computer and I found out how to set any button on the remote to do anything I want it to. I used Fast Forward and Rewind to be page up and down. So, about 4 minutes after discovering that problem it was solved.
My wife has a DVD/VCR in the bedroom. She lost the remote for it. The problem is that there are only one set of controls on the front, and you have to use the remote to change from DVD to surround. Without the remote, she had to unplug the player, then plug it in and turn it on. Whichever she used first is what it would set itself to. So, unplug it, then pop in a DVD. It would play DVD’s. If you want to watch a tape, you have to unplug it again. I programmed the remote to run the unit, and now she can grab the remote from the living room and change it over without having to fish cables from behind the dresser.
On top of all the good things I have already written, it is also very comfortable in my hand and the buttons are easy to press without being too hard.
This is the first geek gadget I have ever reviewed that I am giving a 10/10.
Last weekend my mom came to visit. I was cooking dinner and my mom asked “hey, I want to watch this movie, how do I do it?”. Here were the exact instructions:
1) Now grab the Black remote, push the power button
2) Then push the DVD button at the top.
3) Grab the grey square remote, push the power button.
4) Then push that input button 4 times.
5) Now grab the Grey rounded remote, and push the power button.
Pop in the movie
6) Back the black remote hit the play button.
Three remotes, and commands on each to make the change. This is not acceptable.
I went out and bought a Universal remote. It would not control my Cable box. I returned it and bought a different one that supported my cable box, but it would not control my DVD surround system. I returned that one and got another. It would control all the pieces, but did not have a page up and down button for using the cable box guide, so I returned that one as well.
I was not happy.
I remembered back to my Best Buy days a really expensive remote that would control everything, all the way down to flushing the toilet. It was called Harmony. It plugs in via USB to your PC, then you go online and program it. It said that it would work with all my components. I bought a Harmony 659 for $70 on eBay.
I got it out of the box and handed it to my wife. She is not the most tech savvy person, so I figured if she could do it, anyone could. I watched her. She popped the disk in, and plugged in the remote. Simple install of some software. Register on the website, and it updated the remotes firmware, and the PC’s software.
Then it asks what you want to hook up. She chose TV. It asked what brand, pull down chose Samsung. Then filled in a box with the model number. Repeat for the DVD/Surround, Cable Box, and Wii.
Then it asked some simple questions like “When watching TV, what do you use to control the volume: TV or Stereo?” and “When watching a movie what input is the TV set to?” and it gave me an exact list of all the inputs my TV had.
She answered all the questions, only asking me to confirm her selections, but she did it 100% right on the first try. Then when all the questions were done you hit a button to upload it to the remote.
Now, you pick up the remote and hit the “Watch TV” button. It turns on the TV, sets it to the correct input, turns on the cable box, and turns on the Stereo and sets it to the correct input. If you hit the “Watch a movie” button it changes the input on the TV, and changes the input on the DVD.
Total time from cutting the box open to it being programmed and functioning, less than 20 minutes. 10 of which was time spent with updates automatically installing, so it was really 10 minutes of actual time required of my attention. I was ready and willing to spend HOURS of complicated programming, involving many unsuccessful attempts. This was a welcome surprise.
One of the other features that I really like is the backlight. The buttons have a nice bright glow. I don’t usually like glowing remotes because they eat batteries. This remote you can turn the glow on and off with the push of a button. The little feature that I discovered last night was that while all the other buttons are smooth and round, the Glow button has a raised dot in a different texture on it, so you can feel it in the dark.
Also, it did not have a Page up and Page down button. 2 minutes (exactly) of playing with it on the computer and I found out how to set any button on the remote to do anything I want it to. I used Fast Forward and Rewind to be page up and down. So, about 4 minutes after discovering that problem it was solved.
My wife has a DVD/VCR in the bedroom. She lost the remote for it. The problem is that there are only one set of controls on the front, and you have to use the remote to change from DVD to surround. Without the remote, she had to unplug the player, then plug it in and turn it on. Whichever she used first is what it would set itself to. So, unplug it, then pop in a DVD. It would play DVD’s. If you want to watch a tape, you have to unplug it again. I programmed the remote to run the unit, and now she can grab the remote from the living room and change it over without having to fish cables from behind the dresser.
On top of all the good things I have already written, it is also very comfortable in my hand and the buttons are easy to press without being too hard.
This is the first geek gadget I have ever reviewed that I am giving a 10/10.