Logitech Harmony Remotes

[Daveburt714]

First, let me say that I have a Harmony 520 that I've absolutely loved for the last 5-6 years...
The styling and functionality of this remote is damn near perfect IMHO! Sadly, some of the buttons are starting to get a little sticky.
Not in a physical sense, just that it sends the same code repeatedly, especially the cursor pad (scanning Up/Down through the menus sometimes sticks and goes way farther than I want it to)...

The 520's are no longer available (I'd buy another one in a heartbeat), so this makes my choice a little harder.
I need something that will control at least 8 devices, so that counts the 650 out... The 900 is too expensive (and I don't need RF).

From what I can see, this leaves me with 2 options. The 1100 which looks nice, (but I'm still not sure about the whole touch screen thing).
Or, a refurbished Harmony One for $99 online.
I'm leaning toward the Harmony One, but I'd like to get a few opinions before I spend $100 on a refurb'd remote...

Any experience from folks with the Harmony line would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Dave

[GFDuke]

I have the 880. I've had for for around 5 or 6 yrs and its been flawless. I don't know if they make them anymore though.http://www.logitech.com/en-us/suppor...osid=14&bit=64

[Daveburt714]

Thanks for the input GFDuke...

I went ahead and ordered the refurb'd Harmony One. I got it yesterday, charged it and have been setting it up today.
It has some plus's and minus's compared to the 520. I really liked my old remote, so I may be somewhat biased, but I'll try to give an honest opinion.

1st the positives:
The touch screen is a lot clearer and easier to read under low light.
The fact that it has 6 options per screen compared to the 4 offered on the 520 is also a plus!
For a Refurb, my remote is pretty clean (may just be luck).

The Negatives:
Battery life is poor, and the fact that it requires a custom Li-Ion pack doesn't help my opinion of this new remote.
My old 520 took 4 AAA batteries and I could use NiMH (awesome tech BTW), that I could have pre-charged and ready to go if the remote got low.
The touch screen is also a negative (in a sense). It's not only touch, it's touchy and sometimes changes screens just by brushing a finger across the wrong position.

The other thing that sucked about switching was the fact that I couldn't just move my 520 settings to the Harmony One. I pretty much had to start from scratch...
(This is a long standing software problem).

It's been years since I've changed remotes, but after doing a little research and having some hands on experience, it's kind of sad that Logitech has given up on the Harmony line and is trying to sell it....

As Home Theaters get more complicated, smart remotes make a lot more sense!
Hopefully, someone will buy the Harmony franchise that actually cares.

[Soulburner]

I have the same 2 remotes, and agree on all points. It is annoying having to make 2 accounts to manage the remotes, and it feels a bit clunky. However I wouldn't trade them for anything.

[eschreibman]

Agreed on your points as well.
The Harmony One battery life has been poor, at least from the perspective that even when not getting 'heavy use' I need to cradle it otherwise in about 24 hours its under 50%. The buttons have been pretty good the past couple of years, but they are starting to feel less 'clicky' and more 'sticky'. Maybe I have a touch touch?
The touchscreen for me is ok but it fails the (please take no offense) Mother-in-Law/Father-in-Law test.
In my observation the casual HTPC user does not use the screen/ & never goes to 'next page'.

FWIW, using iMon to control WIn 8.1 WMC.