![]() One of the few annoying things with the Harmony One (and the one thing that regularly tripped up my technologically challenged family members) was that the remote had to be pointed at the devices in order to power them up and do all the necessary switching. Once that completes, you just unplug the remote from the USB cable and you're ready to go. When you have completed set-up for all your activities, you simply "Update your remote" which downloads the device and activity codes to your remote. In other words, if your receiver has an input labeled "CBL/SAT" then this will be one of the input choices in the Wizard. The wizard walks you through these choices one at a time, using simple questions and allowing you to choose from the actual input labels on your specific devices. An activity like "Watch TV" might involve powering up your TV, cable box and receiver, setting the TV to its HDMI 1 input and receiver to its CBL/SAT input. Once you've added all your devices to your account, you then set up activities. In the unlikely event that the Wizard cannot find one of your devices, you can always teach it your device codes the traditional way - by pointing the remote at the Harmony remote's sensor - as long as you have the factory remote. The device can control up to 15 components at a time and, according to Logitech the database of components currently includes codes for well over 250,000 devices from over 7,000 brands (who knew there even were that many electronics brands?). You then add devices to the remote by simply choosing a category (hint: Blu-ray players are in the "DVD player" category), then entering your manufacturer and model number of your components. Once you've installed the software and set up your account (which requires an internet connection), you can plug your remote into your computer using the included USB cable. ![]() You can either install it from the included CD or download it from Logitech's Harmony Web site. Speaking of the Harmony Wizard, this software is the key to the Harmony's ease of programming. In any case, it's easy enough to do add a DVR button to the touch screen area using the activity customization function in the Harmony Wizard. When I asked a Logitech product manager why there still is no dedicated button labeled "DVR" on the remote itself (something found on most DVR remotes to directly access your recordings), he said the market saturation of DVRs is not high enough to justify a dedicated button, and there is no standard button name used on the various vendor's remotes for this. These colors buttons correspond to the same colored buttons on Blu-ray Disc players and also found on some DVR (Digital Video Recorder) remotes. While the 900's LCD color touch screen is slightly improved over that of the One, a more significant change is the addition of 4 new buttons on the 900, a strip of four color buttons - red, green yellow and blue - bringing the total button count from 40 to 44. The Harmony 900's high resolution color touchscreen panel can be customized to include specific buttons that you use often within an activity. The Harmony 900 addresses this issue with integrated RF support, while subtly improving other elements of the One's operation. In other words, the Harmony One is strictly an IR (Infrared) remote it lacks RF (Radio Frequency) capability that would allow it to work through walls or cabinet doors. ![]() And it needs a line of sight to your components. Really the only limitation you could run into with the One is that it does have to be pointed at your components during operation, particularly during that all important Activity start-up stage. Featuring bright LED backlighting on all buttons, an integrated rechargeable battery and charging cradle, ergonomic button layout and a responsive color touch screen at the top, the Harmony One had little room for improvement. The model 900's predecessor, the Harmony One, was the company's previous best effort, and is still a current item, and a popular seller. Logitech's flagship wand-style model, the Harmony 900 represents the culmination of years of refinement as the company again assaults the state of the art in hand held universal remotes, and it's a doozie. In 2003, the company was bought by Logitech, who applied their experience in software and computer peripherals to enhance the programming and operation of the Harmony line even further. Instead of pointing one remote at another to teach it codes, or paying a custom installer to program it for you, Harmony put the power into the hands of the consumer with simple programming and activity-centered operations that power up and operate multiple devices with a single button touch. Harmony's simple web-based Wizard software, combined with ergonomically designed remotes virtually re-invented the category. A few years ago, Harmony burst onto the consumer electronics scene and quickly became the number one provider of universal remotes.
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