Comments on: Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote

By: ralph

ralph — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 21:01:38 +0000

I just bought the harmony 520 and I’m having the most fustrations!!! i can’t configure the damn thing, tech support non excistant if you are not computer savvy then don’t bother buying this unit. remember this unit is completely internet reliant. I have a good computer met all requirements and still… i installed and un installed the software 3 times. Hopefully, if I ever get this thing working, I’m sure it’ll be one cool remote…..
to be continued……

By: moredes

moredes — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 06:29:25 +0000

I’ve got the Harman/Kardon version of the 520, the TC30. The physical difference is the LCD is big enough to allow for 8 buttons. That’s a real convenience in arranging custom buttons on one screen–it means I don’t have to teach my wife *anything*– if she can read, she can choose the desired Activity and the next default 8-button screen allows me to list each required ‘tweak’ so she can use it without notes, a “refresher course”, or help.

Good enough to control 2 DVD recorders, an S-VHS tape, TiVo, CD changer, LD/DVD/VCD player, 3 amplifiers, a line conditioner, a projector, and a sound processor.

It has two weaknesses that I’ve experienced so far– Harman Kardon’s Tech Support is mediocre, and the LCD display won’t let me configure the custom buttons so that they appear in the same locations in the LCD from one Activity to another. That means that my wife has to follow a path of prompts to tweak the Activities when necessary—the buttons are prioritized by keyboard symbols, numbers, capital letters, etc. As long as she can understand the implied importance of symbols on the titled button, she can survive the random button placement from Activity to Activity–but it is an annoyance for the $299 retail pricetag. Then again, the next choice was a Pronto 7000, and its’ tactile use was marginal compared to either of these. So far as I can tell, the “macros” that are possible with the TC30 don’t have me wondering if I could have done better.

By: flung

flung — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:19:21 +0000

I’m currently using a Sony remote control (forgot the model number but one of the large touch screen ones) and although it’s pretty good at controlling all of my devices, I really would like something smaller and easier to use by everyone in the household and by guests. I definitely am going to have to check out the Logitech solutions.

By: bob

bob — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:04:50 +0000

Having tried a lot of remotes I find that the Harmony series seems to work the best for my setup.

I have a plasma but control the volume via a yamaha and the tv via either a tivo or cable box so it’s a mess.

The Harmony works well sending signals to each device as needed.

The wife has since taken the remote so I’ll probably get one of these if remotecentral . com says it’s good..