Ask Engadget HD: What's the best universal remote available right now?
By Richard Lawler 
posted January 20th 2010 2:30PM
posted January 20th 2010 2:30PM
We know from the last time we asked many of you have opted for various options from the Harmony line for your controls, so let us know how they're working out for you, and of course what alternatives seem the most worthy. We haven't always found simply spending max cash as a guarantee of a satisfactory experience, but maybe its different with someone else's fingers on the touchscreen controls."So, I've been in desperate need of a universal remote for the last year, and I want to get something that can control all my gear, plus add-ons in the future (including lighting,etc). I'm looking for IR at the moment, but plan to install a cabinet in the future, so RF is a must as well. The obvious conclusion would be a Harmony (One or 1100), but I'd like some opinions on other options and what some experiences have been w/ the Harmony remotes. I'd like to keep it under $500, but if I need to save up for something more expensive, that is an option."
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Any breed of Harmony. Done.
Talk to an expert in your area. CEDIA.net is a nice place to begin searching.
The Harmony line may seem like a great value, but look deeper into other available products and you will find many more useful control and automation features.
@Robert Mechum
Unless of course you have needs that Harmony's crack team hasn't supplied the codes for.
I used to be an avid Harmony user and proponent. After working at my current job and programming URC remotes I could never go back. I cringe every time I have to program a Harmony remote. They are so limited in comparison and what should be simple tasks become tedious treks through countless wizards.
I have a URC MX-900 in my system and I can make it do virtually anything I can imagine. All of my equipment including the TV is run off of RF so the remote is absolutely fool proof for anyone to use.
Harmony 900 ... Best of the Harmony ONE but with RF .. Best Remote Hands down ..
I know I'm probably gonna catch a lot of flack for this, but with that kind of budget your best bet is to find a custom installer that can custom program a URC or RTI remote for you. I work with URC and Harmony remotes, and no harmony can come as close to the functionality and user friendliness of a properly programmed URC remote control (RTI is just as good, but I've never programmed one). Google search (or citysearch or kudzu) for home theater [insert your city] and any of those companies should be able to do a good remote control setup.
Before any of you start proclaiming that im saying DIY'ers can't do as good a job, Harmony remotes are not as customizable as a fully programmable remote, and those take a lot of practice to learn to program correctly - my first five or six URC remotes had to be reprogrammed later to work well.
BTW, I used to have a harmony one for my home theater, and when I switched to a URC MX-880z, my girlfriend and parents immediately told me how much easier it is to control my theater and makes more sense than the harmony one. Harmony One was a good remote, and everyone could figure it out, so not saying it's a bad remote, but the 880z is just a much more refined remote. JMO
@theydroppedme They're not that hard to program... I've had a MX-700 for years. Bought it off eBay and it's the best remote I've ever had. The software is very easy to use and understand. I find it much easier the the Harmony software to setup. The biggest problem I have with it is it uses a stupid serial connector to program it. Yeah it doesn't have color screen but I don't need to look at it anyway (unless I'm doing some arcane sub-menu setting on a device). The button layout is perfect.
@theydroppedme
Out of curiosity, what was easier with the MX-880z? Certainly the MX-880z's RF capabilities are quite nice, but besides that its not clear to me why the MX-880z would be easier to use. It seems like the Harmony One's stateful tracking of what devices are on or off while switching activities is a great feature. At least, I think it is. While you could probably replicate most of that functionality with the MX-880z, its my understanding that those usually get programmed with "dumb" macros that just fire off the same string of commands no matter what things are on/off.
I have a Harmony One and love it. I hear great things about the URC, but I've never used one. I'm curious what people love about them.
@theydroppedme The MX-880 is a great remote. I haven't used the ZigBee model yet but the feedback of lights would be a great feature. Highly recommended.
I'd actually say the Harmony 890 Pro. If you end up with a distributed AV system (all of your gear in a rack with matrix switchers to output to multiple rooms) then the 890 Pro can be used in each room. There is one 890 Pro designated as master and it keeps track of the state of all the equipment and the remotes. So, if a remote in room 1 has turned a cable box off and a remote in room 2 requests the same off command, the master 890 will know that the cable box is already off and not permit the room 2 remote from sending the command again (which could turn the box back on). The 890 Pro is RF and comes with the IR blaster thing that would be installed in a rack or cabinet.
I do believe that the 890 Pro is discontinued though and that same functionality doesn't exist in any of the current Harmony remotes.
The harmony remotes are amazing. But if you do not need to RF right now, I would recommend not overpaying for a feature that you may or may not need if the future. An 880 can be had for under $100 now, and is a great remote. The 'One' is also really nice if you've gotta have the touchscreen. If you finally build that cabinet and put all your gear behind the door, you will be spending a lot of money, so replacing the remote at that time will be a relatively small additional cost. Or you just use an IR repeater.
I have the Universal RF20 and highly recommend it. It's cheaper than even the cheapest new harmony remote at only $50-60, and it does RF which none of the lower end harmony remotes do. While it might not look as slick it performs all the same functions that a harmony 3x the price does, and I have no use for a color touchscreen
Harmony One
I went with the Harmony 720 because it's the only Harmony remote with a proper buttons. The One, 880, 900, etc all have terrible non-standard button layouts, especially for DVRs. The 720 is standard, and anyone can pick it up and be familiar with it.
I'm really happy with my Harmony 880, but I will say that their setup interface is just insane bizarre.
Don't go for the 1000 or 1100. I have the 1000 and I have two complaints about it.
1) It's laggy. It feels like the CPU or whatever is powering it is very underpowered. For example, pressing the Help button isn't instant - it takes a good second or two to show up. Not ideal.
2) It's a touch screen. Yes, okay, sure, it's cool, but in the end, when you're fast forwarding through ads, having physical buttons sure is better.
That said, the rest of the Harmony lineup is top notch. :)
I have an older harmony xbox360 remote. The remote works fine, but the biggest problem is the software- Logitech's biggest liability. I will never understand why I need a username and password to set up a remote.
@Nestaja don't forget internet connectivity to go along with the login. I was going to update my 880, but AT&T was down at the time and I couldn't get past the login screen since it couldn't be validated.
it depends on how often you change equipment. If you change frequently (like me) go with harmony because it's easier to reprogram yourself. If you never (or very rarely) change then go with a more custom programmed setup.
Harmony 900 period
A different opinion:
If you get a Harmony it's just one more thing you have to dock/charge and often. Task based is junk without discrete on/off codes for all gear involved.
So..
Sony RM-VL610
It's not task based, it's $30, it's a comfortable, learning remote that saves to non-volitile, can do macros, and has a strong IR.
Yeah, it won't do RF, go get a dinky link ir repeater for your cabinet.
Yeah it won't do PS3, but anything but the official remote, for me at least, has lost connection from time to time, has had trouble "waking up" etc.
and yeah, it ain't got codes for blu-ray, but the learning has enough memory for every button on all 8 device modes, and is dead easy. No backlight on it though. If they updated the RM-AX1400 to include the DVR buttons on the 610, it would be the perfect, add Blutooth even better.
Eventually you have to give up on some stuff, like HDMI from cable box through a receiver. Switch back to component/optical and live without the BS.
I've been using the Harmony One for over a year with no problems. It is extremely easy to use and program. It took me 2 minutes to update my DVD player from a Sony to Oppo with all of the system on/off commands. Works great with Xbox 360 and Media Center.
I'd say tHe Harmony 900 but so many people get an RF unit that doesn't work well at all that I can't recommend that. Friends that shelled out the extra money and time for a URC solution have yet to regret it, though.
I got a Harmony 900 for Christmas and love it so far. It will be perfect for your A/V components over RF or IR and you can get it on Amazon for about $280 or less I believe.
Might not work well for adding things like lighting though. I've only read into that a little but I think the 890 is more flexible with that. I'd stay away from the touch-only models like the 1100 though because you'll probably miss physical buttons when it comes to things like the DVR. My friend has a 1000 and wishes he had a 900.
Great topic for sure! I've got a Harmony 1000 and it's a love/hate relationship. When it works (which is about 70% of the time under some conditions) it's great, when it doesn't work, it really sucks. I actually had to give up using it to change channels because the lag time was so slow that it was useless. Even if I tried to type in a channel number sometimes I couldn't get the numbers to transmit fast enough so it would send all the numbers to change the channel before the DTV receiver gave up and went ahead and changed. Either that, or it would send the wrong number. I also have had problems w/ it actually not even recognizing the XY coordinates on the touch screen. I'd press button "A" and button "C" would activate.
The 1000 is a neat looking remote, but as far as form factor and usefulness - it's completely worthless. For that alone I'm extremely hesitant in trying another Harmony remote. The 1000 was supposedly their "top of the line" remote at the time I purchased it. If that was the case - the rest of their line has got to be worse - right?
Brian
@ibgarrett
I have the 1000 myself now for quite some time and I like it about 90% of the time. What really helps is to use it with the RF Module so you don't have to point the remote at your hardware. Works great. I like the touch screen for the most part. It changes for what activity I'm doing. Most of the time It's a one button press to do most things. Mine is setup pretty good. I DO have some complaints. There's no clock, even though there was several pictures of it with a clock on the display, including the sticker I peeled right off the screen!!! Sometimes when I'm FF and then go to hit the Play button, I end up getting the Help screen instead while the program is continuing to FF!!, I have to get out of it and then REW and get to where I want to be. Sometimes I hit the FF button and the Menu button is clicked on instead. Battery life is not great, so it needs to be docked and charged up nightly. I had a Harmony 360 before.
I love the Phillps pronto 9400 i know it is not cheap $700 buck but if you have alot of equipment and are looking for future use and customizing...... 2 way control of ur HTPC & and the list goes on , or just go for one of the lesser $250 they also have great functionality
Use the iPhone as a remote and full house controller, or if you aren't single use a dedicated iPod touch. You don't need any attachments, just an app and an Internet connection. I don't think I would do it any other way, for the sake of integration. Now I just have to get a place to live so I can try it out. (I'm a truck driver)
I have a couple Harmony ONE remotes. I had the 880's but the buttons didn't stand up to the test of time. I have had no problems with them outside of the 'tilt' feature not working on the one that my wife has dropped a lot. Not a big deal - just annoying. Between the 2 ONE's that I have they control TiVo, XBOX 360, Blu-Ray, Sony Receiver, and a Sharp and Sony LCD.
They are very easy to program and if you search around online can be had for a pretty good price. Not inexpensive even with a deal but well worth it. I have been able to switch equipment with no hassle and though I don't do much in the way of fancy macros it apparently does have the option.
I recently upgraded a TV and stand. The stand has solid doors so I went with the remote extender Logitech offers as compatible with the ONE remote. It works great, no lag at all and even though it just bounces the signal (not a TiVo style that affixes over the sensor) it has no problems at all sending commands to all the equipment. Of course it has limited expansion options so if you need more than the 3 repeaters (one is big as it handles the power and distribution) then you may want to use some other repeater. The receiver is a little hidden away on my setup but I have not had any line-of-sight issues at all.
I have seen some other programmable types of remotes and yes they are nice. But it seems that unless you are building a sophisticated home media room it may not be worth the cost.
RTI!
This is a FANTASTICALLY versatile control system. ANY IR, or RS232 can be put on these codes, (lighting, security, old gear, anything you need.)
Start simple with a T-1b in straight IR, then go to a nicer remote T2-C. Then add an RF processor, (RP-6 or RP1.) The remote upgrade should be supported by your dealer, 1 year, no loss trade up or something along those lines. The addition of the processor is simple, the price of the programming will be less than the hardware.
Get to know the programmer, obviously if you are looking here for help, you know what you need. get to know him personally and make sure you get what you need from him.
I have yet to find a remote that does everything my Radio Shack 15-1994 can, programmed EXACTLY as I want it via JP-1. Sure, no pretty graphics, but I've used this for over a decade now and muscle memory is all I need.
How many people recommending Harmony's have tried URC's? I've had a few of each brand and although neither are perfect, logitech's software drives me crazy and i'm not a big fan of their buttons.
@nsfw
Fair question. I love my Harmony One, but I have nothing to compare it to. I looked at the older Harmony remotes, and never liked their button layouts. The Harmony One layout is great, and, IMHO based on pictures, better than the URC remotes. I hear the "feel" of the URC buttons is nice though, but I really don't mind the hard-style buttons of the Harmony versus rubbery buttons on other remotes.
The Logitech software gets criticized a lot Maybe it was just because I was expecting something awful, but I actually found it very good. Sure, it's automated wizard setup didn't get everything completely right on the first try, but I think it helped. I used the wizard at first, then manually fixed things that it got wrong. I never thought the Harmony software was limiting my ability to do things that I should have been able to do. Some of the lower level settings, like different IR timing/delay options were buried quite a bit, but I was able to find everything I wanted to.
This is probably very much a matter of personal preference, but I really like how the Harmony remotes keep track of the on/off state of devices, and makes appropriate changes when you switch tasks/activities. It's my understanding that you could theoretically duplicate that on the URC remotes, but I haven't found anyone that has.
RTI rticorp.com
Any jp1 remote. You can get 4 for the price of a Harmony and never need to search for the remote again. Also infinitely programmable. For real geeks only though - for my parents - Harmony.
www.hifi-remote.com/forums
xnappo
RTI has been well worth the money for me. The thing is dang smart. Want the lights to dim when you put a BRD in, then fade the rest of the way when you hit play? Want to set up a password for party's so some overambitious jerk doesn't tinker? Want to have one button that turns your favorite playlist on in the kitchen? Done, done done :) It works right every time. My fiance picked it up for the first time and worked it like a pro. I can't say enough about it. But it's expensive and custom. You have to decide if that's worth it to you.
I own a Nevo S70. It's more than double the budget you listed but if you like to tweak on this sort of thing it's worth saving your pennies for.
Here's a blurry cam video of the Star Trek TNG LCARS theme I'm working on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6-izVCFnU0
I am a custom av installer I have programmed harmony remotes, the mx-880, Sony universals, RTI and most recently the red eye for iPhones an iPod touch. Wha. Wins hands down is RTI.
RTI gives the use the capability to control any device in the home that accepts IR or rs-232 and allows two way communiation between rs-232 devices.
What I like to do for every RTI client that 20/20 Audio Visual Inc. Has the pleasure of serving, is allow them to design the function on their remote. Whether that means one touch solutions or multitouch solutions, it I up to the client. Most client's love the fact that their wives can walk up to the remote and actually use it (and not be worried about their frustration later in the evening).
RTI is the way to go...
I'm a custom programmer and here's my take. I have nothing against the Harmony brand of remotes, but my complaint of them has to be how limited you are at customizing it. There IR database is pretty good but they don't use discrete codes for all devices. Meaning if something didn't turn on because someone got in the way or you put your remote down to fast you have to sit through the "help" feature until it does (most of the time it works pretty good). I don't really care what anyone says but when it comes to RF, Harmony remotes are horrible. I'm sure if you're reading this and yours works fine you probably think I'm an idiot. Which is fine, since I've set up many and know that it's not the greatest.
URC and RTI remotes are the best in my opinion, mainly because they let you customize pretty much whatever you want and their IR databases are the best. Most components will have discrete commands so if your blu-ray player didn't originally shut off, running the macro again wont shut it off since it's always sending a Power On command not just "Power" which most harmony codes do. Both of their RF is good.
The great thing is you can even add on wireless light switches and control various lights throughout your home without additional wiring.
My point is, Harmony remotes are great for basic systems, URC and RTI are best for IR/RF, Multiple Zones etc. But that's just my opinion.
On Harmony Vs URC....I've used both extensively, and I believe it comes down to:
URC: For geeks. People who like to muck with settings, macros, button layouts, delays, etc. Infinite flexibility. In the right hands, can work wonders (mine even sets appropriate lighting and can control room heating).
Harmony: For parents (including mine) and friends who want to do away with all their remotes, and do basics like "watch a movie, watch TV, etc" with a single device. No geekiness required. Very limited compared to URC.
For either, I would discount the comments referring to awkward button layouts etc, as I beleive you get used to anything over time,..I would wager that most of us can operate the key functions on our remotes with our eyes closed...
Just my two cents.
Bubba
URC-WR7
Real remotes don't have screens.
(I used a Harmony to teach it discrete power commands.)
I think Logitech has an excellent media remote line-up depending on your needs. After testing several remotes, I still prefer using the basic model Logitech Harmony 520 also know as 550. It simply gets the job done.
http://mymediaexperience.com/top-3-media-remote-htpc-media-center/
I have a Harmony 1000. It puts a wow factor into my HT when friends see it. I have it control my AVR, Bluray, Projector and Lutron Grafik Eye Lighting with the push of one button. Recent firmware updates have made it more stable. I don't use the RF yet, but will be very soon. I'll need to get the Logitech RF Wireless Extender. It would have been nice if it came with IR blasters considering it's an expensive remote.
Logitech harmony 1100; I have it and it is awesome.