Full Review - Home Theater Use
Home Theater Use
Once the Harmony 1000 is all set up, you can begin using it with your home theater components. Point it in the general direction of your TV, DVD player and other devices and, if those devices are off, hit the power button. Everything should light right up and be available for commands. Select a sample activity, like "Watch TV". Your cable box, TV and receiver should begin playing content. Select another activity like "Listen to Radio", and the DVD-related components will give way to your stereo, which will begin playing.
The Harmony 1000 remote has a handy "Help" feature, accessible through the Help button on the top of the LCD display. It'll attempt to clarify settings and debug performance issues by way of a contextual help wizard. There are two versions of the Help system - "Smart" and "Full". Smart help attempts to recognize and resolve the problem for you. Full help gives you full contextual control over help topics.
Because the Harmony 1000 has a ton of features, multiple screens and involved configurations, it's not too hard to imagine someone getting a little overwhelmed. If you get stuck, reach out to Logitech's support site or call them on the phone. They're typically very smart and will help you iron out any kinks related to the Harmony 1000 and your home theater setup.
Of course, with repetitive use over time, one becomes more and more comfortable with the Harmony 1000 and gains a faster, more natural control of it. The more dedicated you are, the more you'll find the Harmony 1000 to be an indispensable part of your entertainment system.
Battery Life
Battery life seems to be an issue with many users. In our tests, the Harmony 1000 endured only a few hours of constant use before the battery indicator on the screen indicated it was near empty. To combat this problem, drop the LCD brightness down to half and set the time-out interval to 10 seconds. This keeps the LCD touch screen from drawing power from the small rechargeable battery and can extend usable time by 50% to 200%. Be sure to keep the Harmony 1000 on its charging dock whenever not in use
Achilles Heel
The biggest let down for us was the lack of RF support out-of-the-box. Instead you are forced to shell out another $149 USD to get this sort of support. What does this mean? If you have your components in a rack or TV stand, you need to make sure that the line-of-site is not blocked so the Harmony can communicate with your products.
Conclusion
Logitech's Harmony 1000 remote control is a very useful, high-tech device that almost any home theater enthusiast would greatly benefit from. It keeps the clutter of remotes from overtaking your media center or coffee table. It intelligently controls media components based on manufacturer defaults or based on user preferences. It also goes far, far beyond the reaches of normal universal remotes by controlling Z-wave compatible devices in your smart home, like lighting, heating/cooling, security, etc.
The Harmony 1000 is a tad on the expensive side for a remote without built-in RF capabilities, but it is also easy to set up and manage. With the Harmony 1000, you won't have to hire an expensive home-theater geek to program or debug an esoteric device. We just wish the battery life was better.
Check out our video presentation of the Harmony 1000 for more information.
Pros:
• Recognizes over 145,000 devices
• Compatible with Z-wave home automation
• Semi-customizable interface
• Greatly reduces clutter
• Color display
Cons:
• Setup can be slow and tedious
• Poor battery life with default settings
• RF use requires expensive add-ons
• No hard buttons for some common controls
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by Donna on May 26, 2008:
“Although pricey, the remote fulfilled my expectations. It took a little time to get all the activities set up and tested, but once I was done, it worked beautifully. My husband is technically challenged and he loves it! The help option is especially useful....” More...