[mad-max]

I couldn't do this because on my Harmony 300 the software doesn't support changing the delay, and that's why I'm using the ORtek receiver.

Just a quick follow up on this:
Yes, the software for the 300 isn't capable, but Logitech Support can do this in their database even if it's a Harmony300...
Is just one mail to support with your details...
This works fast and very well...
Had the same issue with the 300 of my cousin...
3 hours after sending the mail, I got a reply that said I should sync with online portal and it was fine afterwards...

cheers,
mad-max

[jhsrennie]

All I want is instant reaction on screen in xbmc. ive tried changing the delay & repeat settings etc. but it just doesnt feel nice to use because sometimes i press the ok button and nothing happens etc.

There seems to be a basic limit of the Harmony remotes that the delay can't be reduced below about 300ms. With my Harmony 300 and the VRC-1100 receiver the delay is around the 300ms mark, and this is noticable if you're looking for it. Whether this bothers you is down to you. The only way to get instant response is to use the original handset or use a different universal remote.

To check the delay open Notepad, and on your Harmony press one of the number keys 20 times as fast as you can. Assuming you can manage about 5 presses per second, you find that after you've stopped Notepad keeps on entering the number you pressed. Time how long it takes from starting to press the button to when Notepad stops printing the number. With my VRC-1100 receiver it takes about 6 seconds, so the response time is about 6/20 or about 0.3 seconds.

JR

[thebearnecessit]

do you experience any problems where thescreen just doesnt respond at all. every ten key presses (approx) i then press a key and nothing happens on screen! sometimes its a navigational button, sometimes its the ok button, any button really.

i get the same problem when trying to search for something by typing in sms text style, every ten buttons or so its as if i didnt press the button.

is this just another thing i have to live with or should this not be happenning?

[jhsrennie]

do you experience any problems where thescreen just doesnt respond at all. every ten key presses (approx) i then press a key and nothing happens on screen!

I've never seen this with my Harmony. With the more expensive Harmonies I believe this can happen if the interkey delay is set too short.

JR

[thebearnecessit]

I've never seen this with my Harmony. With the more expensive Harmonies I believe this can happen if the interkey delay is set too short.

JR

thanks for posting back jr you're a gent.

I bought a model of hp receiver that it turns out is not compatible with xp. ive got it working using some hacked/homemade drivers i found through google.

I'm havinga whole host of issues with the remote though and every time i encounter a problem i think that it may be caused by these drivers.

so anyway ive gone and bought a proper microsoft remote. i know it wont fix my delay problems but maybe it will help with some others:

wake from sleep problems
keys not working every ten presses or so

[mattchapman]

The Harmony will never be as fast as an original MC remote. Hardware limits the lag only to about 300ms which is OK for most but it is clearly not as snappy as some would like.

[thebearnecessit]

i could live with the slight lag i think. but am i the only one having problems with sms-style text input? i think its the lag that means i have to go at a very precise speed. not too fast and not too slow lol. and even then some key-presses do not register in xbmc.

[beetlesnack]

It seems that Harmony remotes = lag, no way around it.

Does anyone know of any other universal remotes without lag?

[thebearnecessit]

It seems that Harmony remotes = lag, no way around it.

Does anyone know of any other universal remotes without lag?

Boom! There it is. Good question. I paid £60 GBP for my harmony one, and didn't expect it to have a bloody delay. What are our alternatives? I want a universal remote that works well with windows and xbmc and doesn't have a fekking lag. too much to ask?

From what i understand, Logitech are generally accepted as the market leaders in universal remotes but who are the competitors?

[Chambers]

Sorry for digging up an old thread but I came here after experiencing the delay and doing a quick google search. As the previous two posts ask, is there an actual universal remote that won't have lag? I love being able to use 1 remote for everything but that lag is very noticeable

[bossanova808]

>>>>There seems to be a basic limit of the Harmony remotes that the delay can't be reduced below about 300ms.

This is only true of other Harmony remotes below 600. The 600 and up can do 0ms lag no issue, and there is zero lag and no difference between my 600s and 650s and my MCE remotes at all.

Just don't go for the cheapest models....

If you're having lag with a Harmony One, you either haven't adjsuted the delay properly or there's something not right with your remote/receiver. I have two receivers and hvae used maybe 10 different harmony/non harmony remotes...

[Chambers]

Hey bossanova808, I have mine set for delay of 100ms and 1 sec retry, still have a delayed reaction, any suggestions?

[bossanova808]

I use 0 and 0 if I recall. My receivers are a Formosa 605 and some knock of MCE one sold with a 'vista rock remote'. I have also used them with an HP MCE receiver.

Actually - I do experience slight lag with Openelec (since they made some remote changes a year or so ago) - but none with Windows, Mac etc. I only use OE on some secondary machines so I'd forgotten that - but it's definitely an OE issue, not a hardware one...

[mattchapman]

This issue has been discussed for a long time now.
For me, the Harmony (One, 650, whatever...) will never be as fast as an original MCE remote. You can tweak it to be pretty close, but there will always be a small amount of lag. Some don't notice it, so good for them.

[thebearnecessit]

yeah apparently the remote itself doesn't send the signal for about 0.2 seconds. And there's nothing that can be done about that. The settings can be changed using the logitech harmony software and that can help, but it takes a lot of trial and error to see which setting work for you.

I use the harmony remote so that i can change activities away from xbmc etc, and so I can have handy on screen buttons of my choosing, but when i have folk over i always give them the original mce remote because the response on screen is instant. With the Harmony I don't only get the tiny delay but i also get frequent buttons presses that just aren't picked up at all by xbmc, which is FAR more annoying because you don't know whether t press it again, or whether xbmc itself is just taking a couple seconds t do it's thing.

Things you can d to make the dalay less annoying:

1 Use a skin that is easy to navigate (i use quartz which isn't the most visually stunning but has everything you need on screen on one home page.
2 make sure you have the ability to tap a number key to skip to a certain letter in a long list, for example in my music artists list i can hit number 8 to skip to the section of the list with artists beginning with T (ie its using the sms style text input)
3 have the harmony's on screen buttons setup to do the most frequent things you use, for example i have buttons for "tv shows" "favourites" "settings" "navi-x" "play random music playlist"
4 whichever app or section of xbmc you use the most, you can setup xbmc so that when you press the play button on the remote it opens that addon/section of xbmc (very handy)
5 use the page up, page down type buttons as well (the little up and down arrows on the remote)
6 you can even setup the ~ button and the + button on the harmony remote to open a part of xbmc you use frequently (addon/tv shows/movies etc)
7 i find myself quite often holding down the direction key (for example down when scrolling through a list) and you get quite good at judging when to stop
8 when adding buttons to your remote screen make sure you add the specific part of teh addon that you use. for example my youtube button takes me directly to the search youtube part of the youtube addon. and my 1channel button on my screen takes me directly to popular movies.

some of things above are not easy to figure out how to d using the forum search so reply here or PM me if you want to know how t do any of those things