Harmony Remotes
Logitech announced that the long-running and popular universal remotes will not be manufactured anymore. Seems that streaming has changed the playing field. Logitech will continue to support them for "as long as" they remain in the wild. If the buttons didn't wear out I would still be using my old original 650. Buy yourself one or two while supplies last.

Those were awesome back in the day when everything was separate- worked great. Haven't used one in probably close to 10 years. I moved away from the old separate stereo, cable box, etc. a long time ago - before they were bought by Logitech.

Do a lot of you guys still use separate components?

(We don't even have access to live TV at all - after college football season I canceled Hulu Live, it was literally the only 'live' TV our family has watched in the past year or 2. We don't even fool with an antenna for local channels - just have Prime, Netflix and regular Hulu (not Live) now.)

Just DirecTV, Samsung TV, Sony Stereo and Sony DVD player.

I use 3 remotes for all this and it works fine.

Cable and Sat companies now have remotes that will run most components, so you really don't need a Logitech anymore.

I love them, and have a couple. Cable box, Roku, TV, Sound bar on one, and cable box, DVD player, surround sound system, projector and Roku on the other, all controlled by one unit, and more importantly setting activities allows the correct units to be turned on with one button.
Their setup software is absolutely great too.

When they worked, they worked great. Unfortunately I've been through 4 of those remotes and they were made like crap. Buttons would randomly stop working and no one was abusing them nor were they damaged.

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
When they worked, they worked great. Unfortunately I've been through 4 of those remotes and they were made like crap. Buttons would randomly stop working and no one was abusing them nor were they damaged.

I had one that I never could get to mork.. ended up eating the 80.00 cost so good riddance to them

CNET article about Logitech's discontinuing the Harmony line

quote:

"We plan to support our Harmony community and new Harmony customers, which includes access to our software and apps to set up and manage your remotes," the peripherals maker said in a post on its support site. "We also plan to continue to update the platform and add devices to our Harmony database. Customer and warranty support will continue to be offered."

Stopped using mine, between the TV, my infrared blaster, and cable remote I end up having 99% functionality with cable remote.

Mine was great until the rubber coating turned to goo.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Cable and Sat companies now have remotes that will run most components, so you really don't need a Logitech anymore.

What is this satellite or cable company you speak of???

I’d be in a hot mess without our Logitech.

I really like my 2 Harmony 650s. Switched from cable to streaming via Roku and a few minutes later the 650s and its macros are reprogrammed.

Houston Astros signed a dumb ass TV contract in which barely any Houstonians can watch them on Cable or streaming. Don't even get me started on MLBTV and their GD blackouts. Also, the only streaming service that carries it aren't buttons on the Roku for them so it's either a bunch of button mashing or a few minutes reprogramming the 650s.

One of the smartest things I did when I bought the 650s was to buy the silicone sleeves which provides some drop protection (hard floors in both rooms with 650s) and keeps finger gunk out of the remote.

Sad News! I have a Harmony Home Remote. I can control 4 Zwave light switches along with 6 components. All of my components are in a different room than my TV. It works absolutely perfectly. It also replaces my crappy Apple TV remote.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Mine was great until the rubber coating turned to goo.

Mine started to lose the rubberized coating. Cleaned it up and now it just feels just a little bit creepy.
My sweetie is not a techie. We have few separate pieces in different rooms. Heck in a pinch we use it on wave radio. I can’t imagine having to explain remotes again.

I hope my old Harmony One lasts forever. Their software was always a bit sad but has been a great product overall.

Gahh. I have 650s everywhere so it’s the same functionality no matter which setup in the house is used.

Hope they all last forever and that I will be able to continue to reprogram them as needed.

Sucks. I hope someone buys that division from them. The wifi high end one I have that integrates with the hub is the best one I have ever had. The old ones would often get a device out of sync with the rest. This new one seems to know what is up and running and on what activity.

Yeah, it dove nuts when devices were out of sync and I have to find the remote anyway

And immediately they jump about 50% on Amazon.

quote:

...I will be able to continue to reprogram them as needed

That's the bitch of it. Microsoft and/or Apple will inevitably change the operating system at some point and the old Logitech program will no longer run.