Harmony 520 Remotes Under $30

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Got mine last week. I had problems in that the computer wouldn't communicate with the remote. I ended up disabling my firewall and then it went smoothly! Just thought I'd share that as others may have similar problems.
Seems like a pretty decent remote. I'm going to have to tweak it a bit and I'm not sure that the software is going to do exactly what I want. I was able to find all my equipment without a problem, but the trouble is that I have 6 different input sources for video (DVD, VHS, Beta, LaserDisc, ExpressVu, PSII) and all they have for activities is "watch movie" and "watch movie 2".
Didn't spend a lot of time messing with it but I probably will over the holidays.
But other than that, GREAT DEAL!
 
I don't have the 520, but usually with Harmony remotes you can setup as many activities as you need and label them the way you want.
Not sure what the limit for the 520 is, but it should be at least a dozen of activities, perhaps even more.
So, go ahead and create activities like "Watch VCR" or "Watch Beta", whatever you need.
Select which devices participate in each activity, e.g. player, TV set, receiver, etc.
 
The one I ordered is supposed to be coming today (unless UPS feels like being a bunch of d*cks and hold on to it to fit it's "original" arrival date.) This may be the "sleeper" gift of the year for my dad if this ends up working for him as well as it seems to be working for others on here. Also if this thing cuts down on the amount of annoying calls from my dad trying to figure out why his remotes aren't working properly, then it'll be the best $45 I spent for Xmas. Hell depending on how good this thing works for him I may end up picking one up. Having 4 different remotes does tend to get a bit annoying after a while.
 
I've always been hesitant to jump on the Harmony band wagon in fear of not having some buttons that I need on certain devices. It seems everyone's attempt at a universal remote gets a big F in my book since I still have to keep the remote handy to press a button on the original remote every once in a while.
 
I haven't tried yet, but I believe in the setup it asks you if there are other buttons or functions that you would like to add for your equipment. It may take a few button pushes to get to the one you want but it seems that everything is there.
 
digiblur said:
I've always been hesitant to jump on the Harmony band wagon in fear of not having some buttons that I need on certain devices. It seems everyone's attempt at a universal remote gets a big F in my book since I still have to keep the remote handy to press a button on the original remote every once in a while.
Click to expand...
The default configuration will not be perfect, but you can usually customize and remap the buttons the way you want.
Personally, I still keep the original remotes around (you can do virtually anything with Harmony, but sometimes it's just easier to use the original remotes for advanced features), but 99% of the time Harmony is all I use.
 
Ilya said:
The default configuration will not be perfect, but you can usually customize and remap the buttons the way you want.
Personally, I still keep the original remotes arround (you can do virtually anything with Harmony, but sometimes it's just easier to use the original remotes for advanced features), but 99% of the time Harmony is all I use.
Click to expand...

Mine did well.

For day to day use of dvr, rcvr and tv, its excellent. Doing thing in user menus might need the original.

I just like how I can hit "watch tv" and the tv, dvr an rcvr turn on. It then sets the tv and rcvr to the right inputs and outputs.

Then, if I hit "dvd" which watching tv, it turns off the dvr, turns on the player, then changes the tv and rcvr to the proper inputs and outputs. Setup was VERY easy, and it controls the HR22 very well.
 
elwaylite said:
I just like how I can hit "watch tv" and the tv, dvr an rcvr turn on. It then sets the tv and rcvr to the right inputs and outputs.
Click to expand...
And not just that: it takes it a step further. For example, when I hit "Watch TV", the remote knows that the TV set requires some warm-up time before the channels or video inputs can be switched. So it turns the TV set on, then proceeds with other components, takes a pause and then switches the inputs/channels on the TV set. If I then switch to another activity, say "Watch Blu-ray", the remote knows that the TV set is already on and doesn't waste time on waiting for the warm-up. It's very smart about how it does things. :up
 
Is it smart enough, or can you make it smart enough to control 3 devices at once? What I mean is, can it know that when I'm watching television that I want the channel buttons to control the DVR and the Volume buttons to control the stereo? I'm a little worried because also when I tried to look up my dad's system in the database, they said that it's not available, which I do find to be rather obtuse. I really don't think that this device is that rare. Do you think this thing will be able to be "taught" to work correctly?
 
yourbeliefs said:
Is it smart enough, or can you make it smart enough to control 3 devices at once? What I mean is, can it know that when I'm watching television that I want the channel buttons to control the DVR and the Volume buttons to control the stereo? I'm a little worried because also when I tried to look up my dad's system in the database, they said that it's not available, which I do find to be rather obtuse. I really don't think that this device is that rare. Do you think this thing will be able to be "taught" to work correctly?
Click to expand...

Yes to all your questions. Teaching it codes my be time consuming, but I believe it is doable. And, when on the "Watch TV" activity, it is smart enough to know the channels control the DVR, the volume controls the AV receiver. Such things are easily set up in the setup wizard.
 
digiblur said:
I've always been hesitant to jump on the Harmony band wagon in fear of not having some buttons that I need on certain devices. It seems everyone's attempt at a universal remote gets a big F in my book since I still have to keep the remote handy to press a button on the original remote every once in a while.
Click to expand...

these remotes are very customizable so that's not a problem. you can add buttons or change the functions of others to fit your needs. harmony remotes are the best i've ever owned!
 
yourbeliefs said:
Is it smart enough, or can you make it smart enough to control 3 devices at once? What I mean is, can it know that when I'm watching television that I want the channel buttons to control the DVR and the Volume buttons to control the stereo? I'm a little worried because also when I tried to look up my dad's system in the database, they said that it's not available, which I do find to be rather obtuse. I really don't think that this device is that rare. Do you think this thing will be able to be "taught" to work correctly?
Click to expand...

Yes, it definitly knows that. :)
The configuration wizard will ask you simple questions like, "Do you use the TV set to control the volume or do you use your receiver?" Something like that.
I think pretty much any IR-controlled device in the world is in their database. If not, someone will learn the codes and upload them soon: their database is customer-updatable. Try different ways of spelling the model number. You can also call their technical support and they should be able to help you.
 
HDRoberts said:
Yes to all your questions. Teaching it codes my be time consuming, but I believe it is doable. And, when on the "Watch TV" activity, it is smart enough to know the channels control the DVR, the volume controls the AV receiver. Such things are easily set up in the setup wizard.
Click to expand...


you're 100% on the money. also when you hook the remote to your PC it always looks for the latests updates of the software and firmware of the remote to look for improvements over what your currently controlling and to update the list for the latest components you are able to control with this remote.
 
i have a question about the harmony remotes i was looking at getting the harmony one. just liked the buttom layout and felt the buttons are more solid then there other remotes. what i want to know is can i have it set up to have 2 setting for watching tv? For instance most of the time i use the reciever for surround sound, however there are times were i would like to use just the tv speakers, is there anyway to set it up for this type of flexablity?
 
And yes, you can control a dozen of devices within a single activity: not just TV, receiver and the player, but even your lights, curtains, whatever!
You are somewhat limitted by the number of buttons you have on the remote, but you can create "soft buttons" on the LCD display: you will have to scroll through them.
 
hbk409 said:
i have a question about the harmony remotes i was looking at getting the harmony one. just liked the buttom layout and felt the buttons are more solid then there other remotes. what i want to know is can i have it set up to have 2 setting for watching tv? For instance most of the time i use the reciever for surround sound, however there are times were i would like to use just the tv speakers, is there anyway to set it up for this type of flexablity?
Click to expand...


you can add an extra activity saying "watching tv w/ surround. yes this is doable and that's the way i have it right now.
 
hbk409 said:
i have a question about the harmony remotes i was looking at getting the harmony one. just liked the buttom layout and felt the buttons are more solid then there other remotes. what i want to know is can i have it set up to have 2 setting for watching tv? For instance most of the time i use the reciever for surround sound, however there are times were i would like to use just the tv speakers, is there anyway to set it up for this type of flexablity?
Click to expand...
Yes. Just create two activities and configure them accordingly: one with TV only (and perhaps the satellite box), another one with TV, receiver, etc.

(rey_1178 beat me by a second :D)
 

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