Harmony 550 Remote $49.99 @ Bestbuy.com

I've been needing a new remote for a while, since I broke the one that came with my TV. It would cost $40 just to get an exact replacement, but I'd much rather get this for just $10 more. Nice find, thanks OP!
 
It's the same thing as the 360 model except without the 360 buttons, I got my Harmony 360 a couple weeks ago and still haven't really gotten all the kinks out. :\
 
I have the one that works with the Xbox 360... it's awesome, I don't know how I would live with 4 remotes
 
[quote name='gwill']hmm....seems like a good buy. Anyone have any praise for this thing?[/QUOTE]

Fantastic remote. I have the 360 one and this one is identical other than missing the y, x, b, a buttons as noted above.

Works flawlessly and I'd never go back to a normal universal remote. It's great to just press one button and have it put all your stuff in the right settings/inputs for whatever activity (dvd, cable, game consoles) vs. having to use multiple remotes or hit a bunch of buttons on a regular universal remote.

Easy to set up too since you just hook it up to the computer and tell it your hardware, what inputs things are on, etc. and can customize buttons through the program as well.

Great price too. I paid $75 for my Harmony remote last year.
 
It's $59.99 on sale in store, so make sure to bring a printout for a PM if you don't buy online..

Thanks for mentioning it, got one for my dad, had been thinking of something like this but nothing got quite cheap enough til now.
 
[quote name='js1']Will this work with the PS3?[/QUOTE]

no because ps3 is bluetooth. The only way around this is to get a wireless reciver.
 
How well does it work with DVR controls? I'd love to get my parents this as they have a Samsung LCD, Bose 3-2-1, and motorola DVR cable box. I have it set now where the cable box will turn the tv on, but they have to use the Bose remote to control dvds and volume and still need the tv remote to switch sources.
 
Hmm...the 0 button on my 360 version of this remote has been acting up recently. Might just need to bite.
 
[quote name='WatchdogXC']How well does it work with DVR controls? I'd love to get my parents this as they have a Samsung LCD, Bose 3-2-1, and motorola DVR cable box. I have it set now where the cable box will turn the tv on, but they have to use the Bose remote to control dvds and volume and still need the tv remote to switch sources.[/quote]


Switch the Samsung TV for a Panasonic TV, and my mother has the exact same setup. Your motorolla DVR remote can actually do it all. You have to lock the volume to the AUX setting (assuming that the Bose is set as AUX). You can look up the command to do this, but it is something like hold the program button until it flashess, input code 2255 and then push the volume down button. Then it will control the Bose with the remote. If you are having to use the TV remote to change inputs, the remote is not properly set to the TV because that should be no problem at all. Try using one of the other TV codes for Samsung.

Or get them this remote becuase it is awesome. I am not sure what it is about remotes and dudes, but I think a new remote that does everything and lights up is one of the coolest things ever. I am really holding myself back from buying this despite already having a remote that works well.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Fantastic remote. I have the 360 one and this one is identical other than missing the y, x, b, a buttons as noted above.

Works flawlessly and I'd never go back to a normal universal remote. It's great to just press one button and have it put all your stuff in the right settings/inputs for whatever activity (dvd, cable, game consoles) vs. having to use multiple remotes or hit a bunch of buttons on a regular universal remote.

Easy to set up too since you just hook it up to the computer and tell it your hardware, what inputs things are on, etc. and can customize buttons through the program as well.

Great price too. I paid $75 for my Harmony remote last year.[/quote]

While it is a great remote, I wouldn't say "flawlessly", from time to time, and almost all the time recently, when I press watch TV, or Play 360, the remote isn't turning on my reciever in the sequence, or it isn't setting it to the right input.

I even re-synched it to my computer and it is still acting up.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying one, in any case.
 
Everyone here only seems to talk about this remote like it's the best thing since toilet paper. I had the 360 version for my setup, which included a TiVo and before that, a cable DVR along with a VCR for my Sony 46" LCD TV.

It's true that it can do *almost* everything the other remotes do, but what nobody seems to mention is what a pain in the ass it is to navigate through all the friggin screens on the LCD to get to the more advanced functions that you use all the time with a TiVo or a DVR. It's not just a "pick up the remote and press the buttons you need to use" kind of approach.

I don't know what everyone's viewing habits are here, but when I'm watching recorded TV, I don't feel like puzzle-solving on a stupid remote. While I don't have any better alternatives to offer, please be forewarned that this is not exactly the easiest solution since the industrial design sucks ass. It's like it was engineered for engineers, not for consumers. While everyone here is smart enough to navigate through all the screens to get to the right command screens, it's such a shitty interface I can't imagine who would enjoy using this thing for anything other than a backup remote. As for me, I'm still looking for a better solution.
 
[quote name='DestroVega']While it is a great remote, I wouldn't say "flawlessly", from time to time, and almost all the time recently, when I press watch TV, or Play 360, the remote isn't turning on my reciever in the sequence, or it isn't setting it to the right input.

I even re-synched it to my computer and it is still acting up.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying one, in any case.[/quote] Adjust your delay settings in the software. Things like turning on the reciever and changing inputs take longer to execute than simple stuff like channel or volume changes. I had this same issue.
 
[quote name='aojeda']Everyone here only seems to talk about this remote like it's the best thing since toilet paper. I had the 360 version for my setup, which included a TiVo and before that, a cable DVR along with a VCR for my Sony 46" LCD TV.

It's true that it can do *almost* everything the other remotes do, but what nobody seems to mention is what a pain in the ass it is to navigate through all the friggin screens on the LCD to get to the more advanced functions that you use all the time with a TiVo or a DVR. It's not just a "pick up the remote and press the buttons you need to use" kind of approach.[/quote]

I may be way off base, (because I have an 880 which is great), but with mine, you can arrange the order that the buttons appear in, so you put your most frequently used buttons on the first page of LCD buttons. If you're still needing to scroll, then quit hitting so many buttons and watch your frickin TV... :)
 
[quote name='DestroVega']While it is a great remote, I wouldn't say "flawlessly", from time to time, and almost all the time recently, when I press watch TV, or Play 360, the remote isn't turning on my reciever in the sequence, or it isn't setting it to the right input.

I even re-synched it to my computer and it is still acting up.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying one, in any case.[/quote]

Same here! I wonder wtf is wrong with it! I might sell it :(

[quote name='klwillis45']Adjust your delay settings in the software. Things like turning on the reciever and changing inputs take longer to execute than simple stuff like channel or volume changes. I had this same issue.[/quote]

I tried adjusting them a little while ago and it didn't help. Why would it help if the controller worked just fine before? I'll hit Watch TV and it'll turn on my TV but stay stuck on the HDMI2 input? WTF?
 
[quote name='gwill']hmm....seems like a good buy. Anyone have any praise for this thing?[/quote]

I picked one up on Ebay (during the 30% cash back) for $34.
Great little remote. Especially if you've never tried a harmony before.
I was amazed that it even recognized my "phyclone component video switcher".
If you have large fingers, you may get annoyed by how close the numbers are together.
But other than that, I have no problems with it.
It does get tons of fingerprints on it because of it's gloss finish. But so what.
 
[quote name='Darthjer']I may be way off base, (because I have an 880 which is great), but with mine, you can arrange the order that the buttons appear in, so you put your most frequently used buttons on the first page of LCD buttons. If you're still needing to scroll, then quit hitting so many buttons and watch your frickin TV... :)[/QUOTE]

Yep. Every single button on the remote is customizable, including all the buttons on the LCD thing, through the computer software for the remote. You can put whatever you want on the LCD screen buttons in whatever order you want.

The software is pretty straight forward to, and once you have all the buttons the way you want and the LCD screen options in the order you want it's great. But it is a bit time consuming and took me a good hour and a lot of playing around to figure out how I wanted everything set up.

Once I got it, it's super easy to use and my roommate, parents (when they visit) etc. can now use my home theater set up with no problems--where as the old universal remote was too complicated with having to switch back and forth between controlling different components manually etc.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']Same here! I wonder wtf is wrong with it! I might sell it :(



I tried adjusting them a little while ago and it didn't help. Why would it help if the controller worked just fine before? I'll hit Watch TV and it'll turn on my TV but stay stuck on the HDMI2 input? WTF?[/QUOTE]

The problem with the TV is the TV has to be powered on all the way before it's able to switch inputs. So it's missing the input signal from the remote. In that case just hit activities and Watch TV again and it will fix it.

What I do is I always put my system in Watch TV before turning it off every time, and always just start it in watch TV and then switch to another activity if I'm wanting to game or watch a DVD etc. It's unavoidable with any kind of macro remote with some TVs--especially a rear projection set like mine that takes 15-20 seconds to warm up and turn on.

As for the receiver power not getting hit, you may just not be aiming at it long enough. I have that problem sometimes if I don't be sure to aim it so the coffee table isn't blocking the path from the remote to the receiver (which is very low as it's on the bottom shelf of my TV stand).

But in general, just hit activities and then the activity you want to do again if something didn't come on or is on the wrong input, and make sure nothing is blocking the remote's path to any of the components as it's an IR remote.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']The problem with the TV is the TV has to be powered on all the way before it's able to switch inputs. So it's missing the input signal from the remote. In that case just hit activities and Watch TV again and it will fix it.

What I do is I always put my system in Watch TV before turning it off every time, and always just start it in watch TV and then switch to another activity if I'm wanting to game or watch a DVD etc. It's unavoidable with any kind of macro remote with some TVs--especially a rear projection set like mine that takes 15-20 seconds to warm up and turn on.

As for the receiver power not getting hit, you may just not be aiming at it long enough. I have that problem sometimes if I don't be sure to aim it so the coffee table isn't blocking the path from the remote to the receiver (which is very low as it's on the bottom shelf of my TV stand).

But in general, just hit activities and then the activity you want to do again if something didn't come on or is on the wrong input, and make sure nothing is blocking the remote's path to any of the components as it's an IR remote.[/quote]

Nah dude.. there's really no rhyme or reason to it. When I press Play Xbox (I want it to go to HDMI2 and the last channel was Tuner), it'll stop half-way at SVid2. When I press Watch TV (the last channel was HDMI2), it won't move at all! WTF!
 
Ah, that's odd. Mine just goes right to the input it needs as it sends a code for the input rather than a code hitting tv/video (or input) however many times.

Not sure what to tell with your issues other than there's something goofy in the setup or it just doesn't like that TV (which would be odd as Harmony has such an extensive data base.

But if it's doing that and you can't get it fixed I'd definitely return it if I were you.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Ah, that's odd. Mine just goes right to the input it needs as it sends a code for the input rather than a code hitting tv/video (or input) however many times.

Not sure what to tell with your issues other than there's something goofy in the setup or it just doesn't like that TV (which would be odd as Harmony has such an extensive data base.

But if it's doing that and you can't get it fixed I'd definitely return it if I were you.[/quote]

Well I bought it off ebay so not gonna return it.. I'll probably just reset it again one of these days. No big deal.
 
[quote name='js1']Will this work with the PS3?[/QUOTE]

if you really want it to, it can control the ps3, i use a device that is pretty much a DIY kit that involves tearing apart the official PS3 blu-ray remote.
 
[quote name='anubis20']if you really want it to, it can control the ps3, i use a device that is pretty much a DIY kit that involves tearing apart the official PS3 blu-ray remote.[/QUOTE]

What type of DIY kit is that? I have been told you can get a cheap 3rd party ps3 remote and just use the ir reciever that comes with it and just ditch the 3rd party remote then.
 
Yeah, going the IR receiver route is probably much easier if you dont' mind buying a cheap third party remote you don't plan to use.
 
[quote name='anubis20']if you really want it to, it can control the ps3, i use a device that is pretty much a DIY kit that involves tearing apart the official PS3 blu-ray remote.[/QUOTE]

For under $20 you can get the Nyko Bluwave IR receiver which will allow Harmony remotes to control the PS3. The only drawback is that you can't power on the PS3 via IR. It's not an issue for me because my controller is always on my coffee table so I just hit the PS button and then use the Harmony remote after that.

As far as the Harmony 550 goes, I really like mine for what it does. I'd never go back to having multiple remotes. The build quality of the 550 is a bit lacking though. The volume buttons are "mushy" and paint is wearing off on my D-pad. At $50 I'd jump on this if I didn't already have one.
 
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I have one also and am pretty pleased with it. Only problem with mine is that you have to nail the down button to get it to work. Sometimes you get devices out of sync with the remote, so it thinks they're on when they aren't or vice versa.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']like mine that takes 15-20 seconds to warm up and turn on.

[/quote]


Well that's just not right. If you go into the devices(i think) tab choose your tv and do some hunting there is a setting in there to wait before it sends a command to a device after it turns on, i believe it goes up to 30 sec. Granted you have to keep the remote pointed at the tv the whole 30 sec or whatever you set it at.

I had the 360 remote for a years and it started to wear out, those soft buttons aren't too good. I would remap the more frequently used ones to the LCD and it will probably last longer(or like i did with the 360 one the ab buttons). The 880, which i have now, doesn't have any of those soft buttons and seems like a much better remote. I really like the rechargeable battery and charging station as well.
 
I just bought it today (price matched it in store), and so far I'm impressed with it. It's definitely the best universal remote I ever used, mostly because it's easy to program in all your devices. I'd definitely recommend it.
 
I this remote and I think its great. From what I understand it can even control a roomba or ceiling fan.

The only problem I have with it is trying to manually reach an HD channel. I don't think there is a button to do 4 dash 1.

What I'm stuck doing is pressing 4 going to the SD version of the channel then pressing channel up and then getting the HD version of the channel.
 
[quote name='KingDox']I this remote and I think its great. From what I understand it can even control a roomba or ceiling fan.

The only problem I have with it is trying to manually reach an HD channel. I don't think there is a button to do 4 dash 1.

What I'm stuck doing is pressing 4 going to the SD version of the channel then pressing channel up and then getting the HD version of the channel.[/quote] Set the "*" or "#" buttons to be "-" or "." That's what I did.
 
[quote name='Ertai'] Granted you have to keep the remote pointed at the tv the whole 30 sec or whatever you set it at.
[/QUOTE]

Exactly. That's more hassle, imo, than just keeping it on "watch tv" all the time and just switching from their to DVD or game if I happen to want to jump right into one of those.. TV gets watched the most of all the activities so it makes sense.

So I just never bothered with the delay settings.
 
I have the 550 remote and I really like it. I think I got it for about the same amount, works on everything I own except for my PS3 so I only have 2 remotes instead of 6 or more.
 
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