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Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control
From Logitech
List Price: $399.95
Price: $248.80 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

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Ships from and sold by Amazon.com

49 new or used available from $199.99

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

Logitech 890 Feedback
This remote feels solid, has good key layout and action / feel. The RF to IR portion works really well in the closet even though I did not really install it yet (just set it on the floor). I think it does an especially good job of controlling my Comcast Motorolla DVR, including coming pre-programmed for the commercial skip feature which you have to hack on the Motorolla controller. The Activity macros are pretty good, though you sometimes have to be patient to make sure all devices are in the proper power state (i.e., my DVR only has power toggle, not separate on/off signals so if it was already on to say, record a show, the “Watch TV” activity tries to turn it off.) But general navigation of the DVR is actually better than with the native remote.

Another plus was the ability to control an Onkyo receiver I have which has been finicky in the past with IR repeaters from Niles. All functions worked with no adjustments, telling me Logitech really does their homework on the makes and models it controls.

Slight negatives include the lack of icon capabilities at the top level of the activity menu (you can do channel icons at the “media” level, one screen down). And when you make adjustments to the programming with the desktop software, you have to wait for it to reprogram and reboot BOTH the IR repeater and the remote itself. This process is a bit tedious if it requires multiple iterations (which it will) to get your settings right, and if your computer and your media installation are not close to one another it could be rather irritating.

All in all, a great product for the money – it just takes a bit of tweaking to get it right and then you have to get used to using activity macros instead of individual component controls.
Remote is Great – Support is Awful
I can’t add more about how wonderful the Harmony 880 is as a remote. I can however mention Logitech’s abysmal customer service. My 7 month old Harmony got a cracked LCD (not sure how, I grabbed it from the cradle one morning and it was messed up). After contacting Logitech, they told me that they don’t do repairs, but would sell me a new remote for 50% off their list price (which is $250) – plus shipping. Which net’s out to the same price I’d pay here at Amazon (within 4 dollars). I found that pretty snarky. I’d have gladly paid for a repair if they don’t think it’s a defective LCD, but to tell me I just need to buy a new one was a little cavalier. It’s not like $137 remotes should be disposable.

Buy a dozen, maybe one will work.
This is my second Harmony Remote 890. The first I replaced after the keys began to fall off. Perhaps I’ve happened to get two lemons in a row, but this has been an expensive device, in time as well as in money.

With the second 890, at first there were serious problems because the software required to program the device was flaky. The software has been improved, somewhat, over the past year but still leaves much to be desired (e.g., they do not use even their own terms consistently; the software rarely remembers the state of a connected device). With all the junk email one gets, a company that can connect customer satisfaction and its own efficiency to its bottom line should think to email its registered customers when their device is due a firmware update, or at least have the software recognize that the device needs an update when it’s connected. But, no. And now it’s too late; the device refuses to update. The evil magic spell that cripples so many electro-mechanical devices as soon as they are out of warranty has struck again, putting me into the an apparently endless email loop with customer support, who tell me again, and again, to do what I’ve already done, again and again.

The sad thing is that the radio controlled Extender, which really drove the purchase of this thing for me, works fine. And updates without a hitch.