Today, Harmony unveiled their next-generation DVR remote -- the Harmony One.

Based on your initial impressions, and the PC Magazine comments below, do you think this will be a viable alternative to the MX-850 and MX-810 remotes?

Would A/V enthusiasts and CIs choose the MX-810 over this remote?


Harmony One @ Logitech.com

High resolution pictures @ Logitech.com

Pictures @ Engadget.com

Review @ PC Magazine

Quotes from PC Magazine review:





The Harmony One received the CES 2008 Design and Engineering Award: Best of Innovations in Home-Entertainment Accessories.




Images can now be used as buttons -- no longer restricted to text labels.


Colored buttons on LCD. Picture courtesy of Geil.


Harmony One vs old Harmony 880. Compare the button spacing.

A RF version is in the works.

I would choose the mx-810 and did, the harmony will still feel like a piece of s*** in you hand and if you though the univeral software was bad wait until you try to use harmony's. Seriously, I am not trying to be a jerk but there remotes do not even compare in look and feel. Their touch screens also don't last, I had a harmony 880 that after a year and 3 months the lcd screen freezes and leaves images of icons from previous pages. (just my .2)

the world loves a copy cat. the way I look at it is URC has nothing to worry about, especially if the harmony is programmed the same way it has been in the past. It may be great for a home owner, but not so much for the CI.

I wonder what Harmonies next big invention will be? Maybe the MX3000 look alike?

I highly doubt that you are worried about the future of URC. So what is the purpose of your post? I saw the same post on the Harmony site, why not share this wonderful revelation on the pronto, RTI, and Nevo sites?

Lee

nice... does it come in MENS??

;-)

Everytime I go to BestBuy or another electronic store, I pick up a Harmony to see what all the fuss is about.

Everytime I'm baffled. It just feels like a toy remote to me. I'd rather have an MX every time.

IMO, it will be built to the same standard other Harmony's have been built too. Then again the MX810 is built to a lower standard then what I expect from URC.

The Harmony software works well for the lay user, but the power user or Dealer/CI will have some issues with it. IMO, the Harmony software is slowly getting better and adding sequences has fixed a lot. I don't have much to say for the Wizard software URC is beta'ing.

The Harmony One really feels good in the hand. It has 2 points of balance and corresponding button areas. It is slightly curved, b/c most people point the remote too high when holding or pressing commands. It is very smooth. The button placement is very good and the larger raised buttons are much better than the 880.

I think it's a winner. I'm still wary about the touchscreen, b/c I did not have enough time to mess w/ that.

It's another solid product. Harmony continues to tighten up their lineup of remotes.

Very true.

However, the point of this thread is that Harmony has finally made ergonomics a high priority in a remote design -- a departure from all of its previous products.

The Harmony one is Logitech's first "MX style" remote.


That's true of the 880. PC Magazine said itself that the 880 was a piece of trash compared to the Harmony One. IMO, the layout and feel on the 880 is garbage.

I posted this here because some CES attendees are saying that the Harmony One actually feels better than the URC MX-810. No previous Harmony remote was even remotely comparable to any URC MX product in terms of button layout and feel, so this is a very new development.


Since you've held the Harmony One, can you tell us how the feel is compared to the URC MX-810? How about the MX-900 or MX-980?

This is the evolution of technology. Someone make a product and someone else makes a better product. Maybe Harmony will come up with something cool that the CI's can use. If they do be sure that someone else will improve off of that idea.

So I am still missing the point of your thread. Is it because Harmony has a remote that feels good? Should my sales pitch change to "you need to buy this remote, look at how good it feels in your have"? Last time I checked I have yet to develop remote wrist, or even a blister do to a poorly developed remote. My client buy what I recommend, and I recommend the URC remotes because of the ease of use for me and my installers.

Are you one of those reps that prowl the forums trying to drum up business. Going though your post you seem to be very up to date on everything that is going on with the Harmony product line?

Lee

Make no mistake about it. Forums such as this are filled with employees of companies whose sole purpose is to covertly extol the virtues of their products while undermining the competition. I'm not pointing a finger at anyone. I'm simply illuminating the fact that this is a common practice.

Getting back on topic, I'm glad to see that Logitech has finally come out with a remote that is ergonomically sound. Competition is always good for the consumer in the long run.

I think about who's a shill regularly when reading.

Some of them are like bulls in a china shop.

Covert does not apply in anyway :).


The Harmony One feels a little foriegn at first, but the rounded edges are easily adjusted too. It reminds me of the smoothness of the MX(50-85)0.

Whatever.............I guess we all have different tastes in quality.

If you like it, enjoy it.

I am not affiliated with Logitech or any of its partners. I think most of my posts were in the URC forums before the split.

I use a Harmony 720 remote now, but I used URC MX remotes (MX-500 and MX-700) for years. I switched because I did not have the patience necessary to maintain my MX-700. I make frequent changes to my equipment setup and redoing every macro and activity just took too much time with the MX-700. If I were able to stick with a single A/V setup for any significant length of time, I'm sure I would have a MX-900 today.


By remote design, it should be obvious that I am talking about the hardware, not the software. Clearly the level of customization possible with the Harmony and URC software is not comparable.

Would you recommend a remote to a customer that wasn't comfortable to use? If the customer said hard buttons were important to them, would you recommend a remote with small, tightly-spaced buttons that were difficult to use by feel? I doubt it.

Button layout and feel has more to do with URC's success than any CI setup feature. URC had a loyal following of MX500 users long before they had any sort of PC software. Most A/V enthusiasts couldn't give a #%@% about what CI features a remote does or doesn't have. They want it to control all their equipment, and they want it to do so with a high degree of usability.

In the past, there weren't many choices if a customer wanted a remote with a LCD, ergonomic layout, and relatively large, well-spaced buttons for most functions that were responsive and easy to use by feel. If that's what the customer wanted, URC was basically the only game in town for a very long time.

Until this announcement, Harmony only had its simple, wizard-based activity setup, somewhat lower cost, and Logitech marketing and distribution machine. Past Harmony designs were not at all comparable to URC remotes in terms of button layout or feel / responsiveness. I think that is generally agreed by users of both brands.

The Harmony One changes that. The Harmony One still may not be up to the level of the MX-900 or MX-950 in these areas, but from the impressions I've heard, it is now in the same ballpark. I've heard CES attendees say they like it better than the MX-810. Combine that with its simple, wizard-based activity setup and large database of discrete IR codes, and Harmony has a powerful combination, at least so far as consumers and end-users are concerned.

High levels of customization are unnecessary for a significant percentage of customer setups. URC said the MX-810 and its software would fill the needs of many customers without the need for a highly skilled CI. The Harmony One would seem to fall into the same category. If what I have heard is true, CIs and DIY A/V enthusiasts will soon have a viable alternative to MX remotes for those same situations.

Yup...... He's a rep all right!... ROFL

Daniel

I think this post should be removed. It adds nothing the URC community, and if Ronl is not a rep Harmony should hire him. The thread should have been posted on the Harmonys site which it was along with the consumer forum which it was not.

I don't think Harmony should be given any more free advertisement on this site. I come here to learn and help with the URC remotes, and not be swayed to another product.

Lee Kropp

Why are personal attacks now allowed? I thought the one of the central tenants of this forum was to attack the post, not the poster?

I guess I don't understand why we are able to discuss the superiority of URC button layout in the Harmony forum, but the minute you think URC has finally got some competition after years of having none, personal attacks are fair game? I've been posting on this forum -- mostly in the URC section -- for five years, long before most of these members.

If this area now has a special provision to make URC free from comparison to newly released ergonomic remotes from other companies, then please move this thread to the appropriate forum for remote comparisons.