HoodaThunk?

As a belated Christmas gift to ourselves (ok, ok, to me) I bought myself a new universal remote control. Now, I know what you’re thinking. These aren’t new and they never really work like the actual remotes that come with your gear do. Up to now all of my experiences with universals would support that thought but this one’s different.

The remote is by Logitech, those folks that make all the neat computer accessories. It’s the Harmony 550 Universal Remote and it’s quite different than what you’re used to. In previous universals that I’ve owned there’s always been some kind of brand-name code sequence you put in that makes the universal access the TV or DVD you’ve got. The problem is that tends to treat every Panasonic TV, for instance, exactly the same. You’ll get basic functions like on/off, volume and channel changing but you won’t get menu access or source input selection, for example. The Harmony is way different.

First off, you have to hook the remote into your computer. The software that comes with the remote has to be installed and you’ll connect the Harmony to a USB port on the PC. Basic firmware updates are then pushed to the remote and you’re presented with the first screen of a wizard designed to help you set the remote up. At this point, you’ll need the manufacturer and model number of every device you want to control. The scope of devices controllable by the Harmony is impressive. TV’s, DVD/VCR’s, cable boxes, DVR’s, game consoles, sound systems, lighting, and any other device that uses infra-red to accept control inputs are all in the clearly massive database Logitech has built. The wizard will take you through adding each device on your list, pulling the control setup from the online database and pushing that to your remote.

Once all the devices are added, the wizard will guide you through setting up “Activities.” There’s a big, wide button near the end of the remote labeled “Activities” and what that does is display on the small LCD a list of all the kinds of activities you might use the remote for. “Watch TV” is one of the activities the wizard will set up for you. “Watch a DVD” is another, as is “Play Game Console.” The wizard asks you questions about what you would normally do to get your gear set up to watch a DVD. For example, I would have to turn on the TV, select source Video 1, turn on the DVD/VCR and select DVD as the function. Having set up the activity, I now just press the Activities button and select “Watch a DVD” on the menu. The remote then fires the control sequences I’ve described automatically. Selecting the “Watch TV” activity turns on the TV and makes sure it’s set to the HDMI input from the cable box. The cable box stays on all the time to keep the channel guide active and I’ve instructed the wizard to not send an “off” command to it. Now, when I press the power button on the remote, all the gear in the entertainment systems shuts off except the cable box. It really works very well.

I don’t have a really complicated setup but there are reviews out there with people using this 1 remote to control over a dozen devices. It gets generally high marks in those customer reviews and you can count this one down as one more thumbs’ up.