So I'm a long time lurker, recently first time poster in need of input. I managed to get a sweet deal on the 67a750 Samsung right before Superbowl, and I LOVE it, but I'm in the market for a universal remote and wanted to get the board's input On the Logitech Harmony 520.

I know it's an older model remote, but it seems to do what I need it to and for the price it's hard to pass up. What I'm looking for is:


Is anyone here using one with a 61/67a750?
How well does it work for you?
Any complaints or issues?
If this isn't a great choice, any other recommendations for this TV?

I've got a limited setup right now, just a reciver, Wii, DVD and VCR (for the kid's tapes, I'm dying to plug it in and, um, "marvel" at the picture:p), so I won't need a Harmony 1000 or Philips RC9800i.

All input appreciated!

-voodoozen

PS I've wall monuted my Sammy and find it absolutely fantastic. I can post pics if anyone is interested.

Well, first of all, the Harmony 520 has limited memory. I think it only supports 5 devices? That may be just fine for your setup but I think it also precludes any custom codes. The Harmony 550 can be had for just a few more dollars and has 3x the memory; that's what I have.

The other big differentiator for the various Harmony models is the buttons/layout. Personally, I like the 520/550 layout, but the volume and channel buttons are recessed rather than raised?? I'm assuming this was to prevent accidently pressing them? But it also makes it hard to find them by feel.

Is this your first Harmony remote? If so, you need to be prepared to spend HOURS configuring it. It really shouldn't take that long but my experience (and I have a Samsung DLP, too) is that the default commands are ALL WRONG. Most of the inputs are initially set (using Logitech's labels...) as "HDMI1", "HDMI2" etc but then I had to go back through all the menus until I found where to change them to "HDMI1v2" and "HDMI2v2" etc.

Well I have had so many universal remotes I had a box of them. Anyway I purchased the new Harmony ONE Remote when I upgraded my Home Theater (see below LINK) in the last month, also with the 67A750, Onyko Ht-S9100THX and Onyko Blu-Ray. My setup has always been complicated having both DISH and DirecTV HD and their DVRs. Using this new remote, my Wife for the first time can now switch between them both and it has a touch screen, recharging batteries and is lighted. No remote I have ever had including several expensive Logitech/Harmony have been so user (Wife) friendly. It also controls my new Blu-Ray DVD with just one touch, switching off the DVRs and selecting the proper input on the A/V receiver. It also controls the DVD player in a much simpler way than the original remote. For this reason why not buy the best remote now that will serve you in the future as you add to your set up. Thus far it has replaced five remotes in my system and will add the remote lighting remote in the future. Do yourself a favor and invest in it instead of something older. Check out the reviews on this remote as I did and that should help you with your decision. Enjoy!

I had the Harmony 550. It was a great remote, it does go through batteries every few months. I would still have it, if my dog had not used it for a chew toy. I upgraded to the 880 because of the rechargable batteries but I think I perferred the 550. It really is a good remote, especially if you have a reasonably simple setup like me. Which it sounds like you do. Like sdsalsero said it might take some time to setup, it all depends on how detailed you want to get. And it is simple, it took me about 45min.

Wes

I use a 520 with my 67 and it works fine. It did take a while to get it to select the right inputs. You definitely want it using discrete inputs. My setup is similar to yours and it works fine. In my case it is the wife's remote, so it had to be easy to use. I use an old JP1 (15-2117)remote which is more challenging to set up but works well.

PS I've wall monuted my Sammy and find it absolutely fantastic. I can post pics if anyone is interested.

Of course we want to see pics!

No remote I have ever had including several expensive Logitech/Harmony have been so user (Wife) friendly.

LOL, wife friendly. I too have the Harmony One and you are correct. My wife can now hit "Watch TV" and the One does everything for her. Now I can't get her off my 67" and a TV this nice should NEVER be tuned to Lifetime! :)

So I'm a long time lurker, recently first time poster in need of input. I managed to get a sweet deal on the 67a750 Samsung right before Superbowl, and I LOVE it, but I'm in the market for a universal remote and wanted to get the board's input On the Logitech Harmony 520.

I know it's an older model remote, but it seems to do what I need it to and for the price it's hard to pass up. What I'm looking for is:


Is anyone here using one with a 61/67a750?
How well does it work for you?
Any complaints or issues?
If this isn't a great choice, any other recommendations for this TV?

I've got a limited setup right now, just a reciver, Wii, DVD and VCR (for the kid's tapes, I'm dying to plug it in and, um, "marvel" at the picture:p), so I won't need a Harmony 1000 or Philips RC9800i.

All input appreciated!

-voodoozen

PS I've wall monuted my Sammy and find it absolutely fantastic. I can post pics if anyone is interested.

I exchanged a 520 for the 550 because of the device limit on the 520... I'm using it now with my 67A750, works ok... It takes longer to turn on the TV and set the input than it did with my CRT RP Hitachi which I was using with the 550 before I put the Samsung in it's place, but that would be the TV and not the remote.

Overall I highly recommend the Logitech remotes.

Thanks for all the feedback! I love this place...

The programming time sets me back a bit, but hopefully that's a 1-time commitment. I'll do some searching before I commit, sounds like I might want to move up to the 550 or ONE so we're future proof.

Does anyone know of issues with components being off angle or slightly off line of sight? We have the TV and Wii on one wall and the DVD etc. 90 degrees from them (we're still debating the AV list and location; current rule is that if something comes in, the old item has to leave). The room is 17x13, so we're not that far away from any one device, but leaning around to get the DVD player to come on would make me pretty unhappy.

-voodoozen

Of course we want to see pics!

I'll have to get real pics up soon - I didn't find many posts about wall mounting the 61a750/67a750 and was a little surprised... It's easy, inexpensive and looks nice to me. A little forward angle goes a long way to solving the couch vs. Wii viewing angle problems usually feared from DLPs.

Disclaimer: It's lo-res with flash spots, plus I haven't gotten the cables run behind the drywall yet, but here's the front view:

http://drspeedy.googlepages.com/front-view.jpg


The top mount is elevated a bit to ensure it didn't hang over the image, and the whole set is shimmed a few degrees forward to help with the seated viewing angle.

-voodoozen

The programming is a one time commitment and well worth it! How high did you mount the TV? The remote can be off angle but it is line of sight to the device. In smaller rooms the signal can actually bounce off walls but that does not work as well in a large room.

TV is on a 100" wall, and is 28" off the ground. top is angled roughly 5 degrees down, but you don't notice it until you're very close, < 4' from the screen or standing perpendicular to the set.

Playing Wii games and watching TV/DVD are nearly perfect, even with the lights on. My wife actually commented that there's no vignetting or banding as you move from seated to standing, which is a great thing since she's been looking for a flaw :)

The programing is a one time deal, unless you ad something:D Plus I have always found there customer support to very helpful when needed.

My tv is on one wall and all of my equipment on the perpendicular wall about 5 feet away. I just point it at the tv and never have a problem. Also I have white glass on my a/v that it goes through without a problem. Glass guy said it would not work but it does:rolleyes:

Just for ref the above applies to both my 550 and 880

Wes

The programing is a one time deal, unless you ad something:D Plus I have always found there customer support to very helpful when needed.

My tv is on one wall and all of my equipment on the perpendicular wall about 5 feet away. I just point it at the tv and never have a problem. Also I have white glass on my a/v that it goes through without a problem. Glass guy said it would not work but it does:rolleyes:

Just for ref the above applies to both my 550 and 880

Wes

I see some people complaining about the software they provided (with the Harmony remotes you must plug in the remote into a Windows-based PC that has an Internet connection using the supplied USB cable in order to program it). I love the software they provide.... They even had my rather obscure Pelican component/optical switcher in their device library, when I swapped out my Hitachi for my new Samsung TV it took only about 10 minutes to reprogram the remote... I think my inital time was about 30 minutes and that included learning the interface.... Took a bit of time to figure out I could add as my 'Activities' (an Activity is the name the Harmony remotes give to a series of steps controlled by a single press, e.g.: turn on tv, set input to hdmi 1, set stereo to DVD, set optical switcher to device 2...) it did take some tinkering to figure out that I could rename the Activities.