Logitech Harmony® 880 LCD Remote Control

After expanding our bedroom electronics setup to include multiple devices, we found ourselves with 5 remotes. After dealing with the temperamental nature of Sony's Remote Commander,the way too basic All in One remote, programmable cable box remotes ETC, we were about to give up on the idea that we could efficiently reduce the size of our remote collection when we stumbled upon the Harmony 880 Remote.

After getting over the initial sticker shock, we took one home in late November. Setup was easy enough. Plug in the base station, install the battery, Install software, plug in remote to the computer and away you go...Almost

I would say add a step in this process. Let the harmony charge overnight before you start the programming process. As we found out, you may have to repeatedly revisit the setup to fix, or adjust for your various components. The initial charge on our remote battery was not sufficient to handle the several hours of programming needed to get our TV to function properly.

Which brings me to one of my major issues with the Harmony process. The Over the Phone Support. The Website is well laid out, easy to navigate and the questions asked for programming were easy to understand. Most people I have talked with that own a harmony felt it was easy to program, and very simple to get working with their systems. Mine was a bit more difficult, as my Television (Westinghouse 37in LCD) had a very different Input selection method. After several hours of program, test, troubleshoot, reprogram, test, troubleshoot...etc, I finally called the Phone support.

After a brief hold,(1-2minutes at most) I was greeted by a friendly woman, who was more than happy to assist me. Unfortunately, after spending 30 minutes on the phone with her, repeating the same steps I had tried before, such as learning specific commands from the original remote, changing sensitivity settings and so on, I finally asked her if there were a higher level of tech support I could try and deal with. I had told her several times that I had tried these same steps before, but she "had to verify these steps first before she could upgrade my status to level 2" She was quite pleasant to work with, and I don't blame her for what transpired, but once I finally got to level 2, I was quickly informed that my issue wasn't uncommon with my model TV, and the quickly( 5 minutes) resolved the programming issue. I updated my remote once again and Hurray!! It works perfectly. I wish Logitech had simply provided their level 1 support staff with a list of products with known issues, so people in my same situation could get fast resolution, rather than 45 minutes of on phone frustration.

After that issue was resolved, we found the remote to be comfortable to use, logical in design and function. Easy to read and use. Having the Menu/Guide/Info buttons grouped works well with out digital cable system, and the play/pause/stop commands are neatly placed in order with rev/ff etc. the Numeric Keys are easy to read as well. I only wish the Volume and Channel buttons were a little wider. I find myself pressing the directional keys a lot by accident, due to the "too slender" design of the keys.

I have since programmed several more of these remotes, (mostly 659s) for friends and family, and
have received very positive feedback about them. I have not since needed to contact phone support. It's battery life surprised me as well, as it can stay off its charging base for several days without telling me to charge it. The screen is bright and clear. All in all the Harmony 880 has been a welcome addition to our bedroom. phone support issues aside, I would purchase another harmony if needed.