01/25/09

The Harmony 880 Remote

I had purchased the less expensive Harmony 680 universal remote based on recommendations from colleagues and on-line research.  However, the Harmony 680 I picked up at Future Shop appeared to be in a box that had already been opened and I couldn't get it to work.  When Future Shop mistakenly delivered the 42" instead of the 50" Panasonic plasma, the manager kindly upgraded my remote to the Harmony 880.

Pros

It was easy to set-up the Harmony 880 at the Harmony web site.  All my components were listed on the site.  I used the "learn" feature to add a few commands to better control my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR.  In general, this universal remote really simplifies control of my home theatre.  It's nice that the 880 has an onboard lithium battery which charges when it's in the cradle.  Another cool feature, is the instant on feature that activates the LCD screen when the angle of the remote changes.  Owners of earlier models have commented that they would like this feature.

Cons

Manually entering channels with one hand is difficult and this had always been easy on remotes I had used in the past.  The buttons are plastic and are somewhat slippery.  I wind up using both hands to enter channel numbers.  After a month of use, I noticed that positioning the remote in its cradle such that it charges got a bit trickier.  It seems the contacts are out of alignment (maybe my kid dropped it) and I have to jiggle it a bit to get it to charge.

Infrared Repeater

All my home theatre audio-video components are stored in an enclosed pre-existing cabinet.  I use the X-10 Powermid  transmitter/receiver pair to get the infrared signal inside the cabinet.  I have my components spread out in the cabinet to keep them cool, so I use a cable to extend the IR signal from the Powermid receiver to components on other levels in the cabinet.  Interestingly, I was able to use the IR cable that shipped with my Panasonic plasma to plug in to the Powermid RE549 receiver.  I bought my Powermid set from a local retailer, but I would have saved some money had I bought directly from X-10's web site.  I still want a third cable to extend the IR signal to sources directly in front of every component.  I'm looking for a hub to accomplish this.