[dukey]

i use any remote control lying about the house, because winlirc supports them all :p

[joemm210]

I bought a harmony around 7 years ago and I keep buying Harmony remotes, please correct me if I am wrong but I dont think too many remotes have these features I would guess the microsoft one doesnt.

My remote needs to control my TV, Receiver, xbmc PC, Cable box, switch to different game systems.

With a Harmony you select your activity on my remote I have the following
Watch TV(cable box, Play a movie (starts XBMC), Music(starts sirius addon), more activities(gives me a selection, ps3, wii etc)

I will push Watch TV and I have the following commands set to send
Turn TV on (not toggle power, so ON will only turn the tv on and not off)
Turn Receiver on( again this is not toggle power, will only turn it on)
Change TV to HDMI input 1
Change Receiver to HDMI input 2
My cable box is set to stay on (so the pvr function willl work)

Hit the Off button, and The TV will turn off, and my receiver will turn off.

most techies will know exactly what inputs to turn to but I find this is great when having a guest over, they will look at the setup and ask how do I just watch tv, and all you need to say is just push the watch tv button

You can also usually find cheap Harmony models on ebay, my favorites are the 628 and 670, since you can feel the buttons and can change channels without looking.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-Logitech-Harm...27bd1679e2

[glennt]

I bought a harmony around 7 years ago and I keep buying Harmony remotes, please correct me if I am wrong but I dont think too many remotes have these features I would guess the microsoft one doesnt.

Any macro capable remote can send a series of commands to put equipment into the desired state.

The biggest problem is that you need to use discrete codes (i.e. not power on/off toggles or input toggles) for them to work reliably. As an example, my macro has to send discrete power ON to the TV, AVR and HTPC, plus discrete power off to the Squeezebox, blu-ray player, etc... (just in case they're on), discrete HDMI2 to the TV, and a discrete input selection on the AVR (don't remember off hand which one). The macro can be fired off any number of times until everything receives the commands it is supposed to, just in case something like the AVR didn't get the commands on the first try. If you used standard toggle codes and the AVR didn't turn on, running the macro again may turn the AVR on, but it would likely toggle everything else off.

The Harmony database contains a lot of discrete codes, but for those times that it doesn't or when one doesn't exist (shame on you AT&T U-Verse), they have their user guidance interface that attempts to resolve the problem via Q&A. In my case, for the time we had U-Verse, I didn't need this. If the U-Verse receiver didn't turn on, running the macro again would leave everything else alone and toggle power on the U-verse box again. In the case of the Harmony, it meant needlessly answering the Q&A to maintain the state tracking.

Another issue is, many macro universal remotes are designed to be device based (vs. activity based like the Harmony), where you end up toggling between devices. If you're creative, like I was with my Home Theater Master (URC) MX-500, you can arrange the buttons in an activity based layout. It generally only requires teaching codes for a couple functions for something like the AVR to buttons on the "Movie" page, especially since most allow for "punching through" the volume from your AVR or TV to other devices.

Something like the URC R50 is a reasonable alternative to Harmony remotes, being similar in capacity and capability as the Harmony One, but only $80-$90. It cannot be programmed via a PC however, and it also cannot be updated by the user/owner. URC remotes are generally pretty simple to configure, but not likely as easy as a Harmony. My MX-500 is an older, more complicated remote, but my recollection is that it only took me about an hour to set it up satisfactorily, which isn't far off from when I first setup the Harmony 700. The R50 is supposed to be much easier, with it being wizard driven. It also allows for more macro enabled buttons, activity based configurations and such.

The only time I had a problem with non-PC-Programmable remotes is when I needed a code that the MX-500 had, but my factory device remotes did not. It has discrete codes for my Panasonic plasma and I ended up teaching them to my Yamaha remote so that I could teach them back to the MX-500 on the buttons I wanted them on. My MX-500, being as old as it is, also doesn't have discrete codes for some newer equipment. It didn't have the discrete HDMI input codes for the plasma TV. I taught those to it from the Harmony 700 before I returned the 700. The Harmony remotes definitely have an advantage here.

On most universal learning remotes, once you put the remote in learning mode, you can very quickly go through each button one after the other. The Harmony software is clumsy in comparison, at least if you're teaching a large number of buttons.

FWIW, the URC MX-450 is another alternative that still doesn't offer PC programming, but it is updatable, can be backed up and appears to be of higher build quality. It's closer to $200 though. URC has several models that are PC programmable, but are much more costly are are intended for distribution through custom installers and have to purchased from an authorized dealer. The MX-810i is the model I have my sights on, as it's the only newer model that isn't $300-400; Amazon has it for $165 right now.

[Squa7ch]

Well, it still is in beta. Hopefully this will improve with future releases ...

fooled around with some firewall settings, seems to have fixed the issue I was having...must have been the amount of requests it was sending to/from the pc

[skunkfu]

Going back to the lagfest some people have with Harmonys, including me.

I have a 555 remote along with the HP reciever, and I have tried every conciveable way to remidy the delay I have. It seems that people in this thread that own the Harmony One don't have such lag? May it be that the One remote is faster than the older versions?

Would love to try one out, but if its the same problem then I'm stuck with two remotes

[dtviewer]

Going back to the lagfest some people have with Harmonys, including me.

I have a 555 remote along with the HP reciever, and I have tried every conciveable way to remidy the delay I have. It seems that people in this thread that own the Harmony One don't have such lag? May it be that the One remote is faster than the older versions?

Would love to try one out, but if its the same problem then I'm stuck with two remotes

Which HP receiver are you using?

Some of them are the cause of the lag. Post your HP model # here.

[skunkfu]

Model: OVU400102/71 P/N: 5187-4593

I realize that hairypoofguy recommends the 5188-1667 but since mines worked I didn't give it a thought. Would this be the actual cause for the lag?

[dtviewer]

Model: OVU400102/71 P/N: 5187-4593

I realize that hairypoofguy recommends the 5188-1667 but since mines worked I didn't give it a thought. Would this be the actual cause for the lag?

Could be.
Read through this thread:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...ght=remote

Post 53 in that thread is a good example that not all HP receivers work the same.

[DeniedByFleury]

I'm using Mediagate - Windows Vista Certified Media Center MCE Remote Control w/ 2 Channel IR Emitter and Infrared Receiver for Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate

Although I'm using one on each of my Windows 7 machines and I must say they has worked flawlessly since getting them programmed the way I want for my specific needs.

[ursule15]

Logitech Dinovo mini.
Not only a remote to use xbmc, but a perfect tool to use browser on TV too.

[skunkfu]

Thanks dtviewer, great help.

I'll nab the recommended one off ebay as soon as I get paid and will post the results.

[okie]

Would a Harmony 200 work?
I have a HP Laptop with IR receiver built in (hp mobile remote - card slot type).

[dan1son]

I have 2 Harmony 700's. Sure there are other programmable remotes that might be better (the URC stuff is quite nice), but the harmony's are considerably easier to configure and get working for people who don't do it all day. I do agree they're worth every penny. I don't have to explain things to the wife or guests anymore. "Click watch videos" and poof the receiver turns on, goes to the right input, kicks in surround sound, TV turns on, goes to the right input, and XBMC launches the videos section ready to go.

[mediumdry]

I use the Apple remote for all my XBMC installs. Great remote as the buttons feel good and there aren't many buttons which just confuses things.

It does mean I have to occasionally get some other remote/keyboard unfortunately.