Harmony 880 Official Thread. For all info and FAQs [Text View] - Page 2

JBaumgart

06-07-06, 10:47 PM

I don't have the 880 yet, just exploring my options to see what's supported for my equipment before pulling the trigger. I'm sure the Dell deal will come around again soon.

Thanks to those who posted the great deal from Dell. I ordered one last night which will be our second 880. It will replace a 659 which I've been using on my main system for a couple of years. The 659 will be relagated to my basement system so I'll now have 3 Harmony's in the house. Two factors persuaded me to upgrade to the 880 on my main system:

1. Not having to replace the batteries
2. The 880 sends a stronger signal than the 659, especially when the 659's batteries are no longer fresh. One of my components, a Motorola DVR, is partially obstructed and unless the 659's batteries are very fresh it does not recognize the commands unless you "reach and point." Based on my experience with the 880 in our bedroom system, I shouldn't have this problem once I get the 880.

About the only thing I like better about the 659 is the channel numbers are easier to work with than the 880's. They are the hard button type, placed in the middle of the remote, and you can change channels by feel. Conversely, the DVR functions are easier to use on the 880, so this will be a plus.

drewdown

06-07-06, 11:38 PM

Is the remote supposed to turn off the TV after updating it? So I am watching TV and I update my remote, after it reboots it asks me if everything is ok and I say yes, then it turns off my TV/Cable box and then I have to hit Watch TV to get it to come back on

Also how do I control the TV Menu instead of the cable box Menu with the arrow keys? Do I have to go to Devices then navigate to the TV's Menu? After setting up the buttons? I can get the TV Menu to come on, but cant navigate it.

I have a Hitachi 42HDS52A.

xmltok

06-07-06, 11:53 PM

When you update the remote it forgets what state everything is in, it assumes everything is off.

Toolus

06-07-06, 11:54 PM

I just received my remote today. Do the number keys normally have some "play" in them? They seem to wiggle a little more than I'd like them to (nothing really drastic). Heck I like the buttons better on my Sony RM-V202, which was much less. :) But, I will give it some time, as it is charging now.

Also, my Zero does not "click" like the other number keys do - is that normal?

\/\/\/ - I guess what I mean is, the zero has a faint click sound, while the others are clearly audible. Sorry I'm being picky - it's just that I've never spent this much on a remote before, and I've had nightmare's returning anything through Dell.

blazeblaze

06-07-06, 11:59 PM

My zero button clicks.

jnorton1

06-08-06, 02:30 AM

anger

06-08-06, 10:39 AM

Thanks, I'll check it out. Funny how I have an idea for something, and discover there is a product for it.

So - the Harmony 880 works well with this x10 IR-543 console?

works great with my Air Conditioner (samsung) lol

cherry ghost

06-08-06, 11:10 AM

Im sure this has been coverd but will the 880 control the Lutron Maestro IR lights basically turn them up and down and incorporate them into a macro so it will dim them when i push play on the dvd player?
Thanks

You can definitely get them to dim when you press the "watch DVD" activity. Getting them to dim when you press "play" is harder.

chinadog

06-08-06, 11:21 AM

Does anybody know if there is a way to get the 880 to turn on/off a light using an x10 setup? If that's not possible, is there some other IR adapter or something I can use to get it to control my lights? I've read through all 9 pages before posting this, but didn't see anything about x10 in here.

Thanks!

Are you trying to do a scene or control one light? You'll need the IR543 for sure. Works great. If you're looking at trying to control more than one light with the touch of a button or control the light scenes when you hit pause or play, then that's a little different.

Bud

chinadog

06-08-06, 11:26 AM

You can definitely get them to dim when you press the "watch DVD" activity. Getting them to dim when you press "play" is harder.

Here's what I did to manage my scenes, which includes scenes for play and pause.

I used a Powelinc to define triggers. Very easy to set up. I then send the trigger via the 880 -> IR543 that sends the X10 trigger to the powelinc, which controls the lights. For play and pause, I defined the H880 to issue a trigger call when you hit play or pause. Works well.

I got a lot of questions on this in my theater construction thread, so I went and created this diagram. I do have a wall controller for stuff as well, but you can ignore that piece, its optional.

http://images16.fotki.com/v289/photos/6/649633/2311872/Hometheaterlightcontrol-vi.jpg

Bud

Grimdeath

06-08-06, 12:27 PM

Thanks, I'll check it out. Funny how I have an idea for something, and discover there is a product for it.

So - the Harmony 880 works well with this x10 IR-543 console?

I set my 880 up yesterday to control all my HT lights with the IR-543; no problems. I'd been using an HTM MX-700 remote for years and thought I'd give the 880 a try; I really like it so far.

cheneyp

06-08-06, 05:35 PM

Any HK AVR635 owners or Samsung HL-SxxxxW owners have luck using the Harmony 880?

I have the HK AVR330 - not sure the differences from the 635 but it works great with the 880.

decktard

06-08-06, 09:20 PM

I didn't read the whole thread but man...

I like my harmony 880 quite a bit so far... but it seems impossible to order the LCD buttons the way I like them. Do the LCD buttons seem to have a mind of their own for anyone else?

edit: answered my own question... basically reordering the LCD sucks. On a $250 remote you'd think they would address this issue...

JayMan007

06-09-06, 12:34 PM

decktard

06-09-06, 02:28 PM

Agreed!

they show up this way:
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
They need a WYSIWYG for the LCD...

Yeah... seems to be the case. I'd love some better options for the LCD screen. I mean... I have it set up reasonably ok so far but it could be better.

I'd urge you folks to send a comment or two to Logitech about this. I'd love to see it in a software version. There is a comments link right on your Harmony web page.

LDBecker

06-09-06, 02:29 PM

First, my equipment...
Pioneer 59txi Receiver, Monoprice 5in/1 out HDMI switcher, Dish 622 HD receiver (HDMI), Pioneer 79avi DVD player (HDMI video to HDMI switcher, i-Link audio through receiver), Sony XBR 960 TV (HDMI input used)

I can't for the life of me figure out how to do these two things:

1) I want to add a PVR selection on the activity "Watch PVR" so that I can directly access PVR recorded shows from the main screen without scrolling through 3 or 4 screens to get to it. I had it on the setup for my 721 (now retired to another room), but I can't get it on this. Right now on that screen are "aspect" (TV) and Effects (or something like that dealing with receiver sound field - doesn't seem to work), and A and B -- I have no idea what those are for... On the 721 I successfully added a PVR item to that initial screen, but I can't find how to do it...

2) I have the 79AVI DVD player playing video on HDMI and audio on i-Link on the receiver, and it won't switch right away. The receiver stays on the SAT input. It flashes "Check Link" but won't make the link until I hit the Help button on the 880. The first thing it tries usualy makes the i-Link connection on the receiver, but I have to go through the help screen every time.

I'm wondering if the order is wrong (receiver first then DVD player) or if there are timing or repeat issues with i-Link? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Larry

... I'm up and running PERFECTLY!

For issue 1) czzer got me pointed in the right direction to add a command to the main screen (I was working on the device screen rather than the activities screen), and for issue 2) a Harmony level 2 tech added some delay in my Watch DVD activity so the receiver would have time to recognize the i-Link command. I think he added another i-Link command at the end of it, too. 1.2 sec delay, I think.

THIS IS SO COOL!!! :D

Larry

decktard

06-09-06, 03:25 PM

Ok... 2 more quick questions for you folks...

1) How long does the remote seem to last with average use (not while programming). Of course I'll toss it on the base, however; there will be nights where I forget to... how many days worth of sitting off the base will it take?

2) Mine kinda makes a sound like there is something small rattling around when I move it. It sounds like it is coming from the ir/usb side of the remote. My 2 best guesses are it is either a) the activity/help buttons making that sound or b) the sensor to tell if the remote has been moved. Do I have a remote with something broken in it or is this normal?

JayMan007

06-09-06, 04:02 PM

I have an 890 and get at least a week of use per charge. I will put it on the charger when I get to the last bar... which I have not seen turn red yet. I have no idea if the RF uses more or less battery though.

2) Mine doesn't make that sound... I'd contact Logitech and get a new one.

OldCodger73

06-09-06, 04:21 PM

Decktard, i get about a week on a charge. As with JayMan, I wait until it shows one bar. I'm guessing, since I normally put it the charger when I go to bed, but I think it takes about 2-hours to charge completely.

Regarding the noise, I think I read somewhere that that's the motion sensor that activates the screen when you pick it up or tilt it. You can always call Harmony to find out if the sound indicates a problem.

Shyzaboy

06-09-06, 04:37 PM

Regarding the noise, I think I read somewhere that that's the motion sensor that activates the screen when you pick it up or tilt it. You can always call Harmony to find out if the sound indicates a problem.

Mine makes that noise as well. I'm pretty sure that OldCodger is right. It's a level switch....

blazeblaze

06-09-06, 05:29 PM

Mine makes the same sound. I assumed that it was the motion/tilt sensor.

timn99

06-09-06, 06:29 PM

As mentioned above, that sound is indeed the tilt sensor. It's normal and documented by Harmony's FAQs page. Got mine from the Dell $109 deal and loving it.

I had to rearrange and add some inputs for my receiver, Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi. Is it always that far off?

anger

06-10-06, 02:35 PM

i got the sound too! o noes! I assumed the same tho, it was for the motion sensor :p

anger

06-10-06, 02:41 PM

Ok... 2 more quick questions for you folks...

1) How long does the remote seem to last with average use (not while programming). Of course I'll toss it on the base, however; there will be nights where I forget to... how many days worth of sitting off the base will it take?

It was off the charger for about 30 hours and one bar was down. so 2/3 full. I did updates and clicked a lot of buttons during that time

not to bad. I think it says in the documentation about 7 days

miked2023

06-10-06, 06:44 PM

timn99

06-10-06, 10:29 PM

My inputs for the receiver we're incomplete also. You have to adjust the inputs and add all inputs, with their correct order. Pick any input to start, and list them in the same order and exact naming convention.

I'm assuming your inputs are toggled using a single input button. You can also change the input delays to speed it up. Good luck.

trying to set mine up now - when it asks what input I use for DVD & TV it only goes up to Video 3 - Meanwhile I have 8 video inputs and the 2 HDMI inputs don't start until input 4 - how can I fix this? thanks.

OK, I figured that out - damn this thing is slow though - that's my next project....

Arutha_conDoin

06-11-06, 12:44 AM

It was off the charger for about 30 hours and one bar was down. so 2/3 full. I did updates and clicked a lot of buttons during that time

not to bad. I think it says in the documentation about 7 days
I think my battery must be bad. It doesn't seem to hold a charge for more then a few days. It also does not keep the time that well either. I'll set it, and then a day or so later it is no longer the correct day or time.

Has anyone had their remote lock up on them at all? My seems to freeze now and then. Only thing to do is to take out the battery and put it back in.

miked2023

06-11-06, 02:15 AM

any recommendations on delay times here? my panny has to scroll though like five inputs to make a change to dvd or tivo and it takes forever - any ideas? thanks.

anger

06-11-06, 08:50 AM

I think my battery must be bad. It doesn't seem to hold a charge for more then a few days. It also does not keep the time that well either. I'll set it, and then a day or so later it is no longer the correct day or time.

Has anyone had their remote lock up on them at all? My seems to freeze now and then. Only thing to do is to take out the battery and put it back in.

hmm ya i get better battery performance than that, no lock up's here, except when i accidentaly unplugged the USB cable during an update...

then again I have only had mine 6 days. You might try a new battery and just keep the reciept. If it does or doesnt fix the problem take the battery back. Then RMA either the remote or the battery which ever is defective.

Or if you got a buddy that has one, maybe he'd be willing to swap batterys for a day or 2 :) There are now 2 other guys here at work that has the same 880 as me, lol

anger

06-11-06, 08:52 AM

trying to set mine up now - when it asks what input I use for DVD & TV it only goes up to Video 3 - Meanwhile I have 8 video inputs and the 2 HDMI inputs don't start until input 4 - how can I fix this? thanks.

OK, I figured that out - damn this thing is slow though - that's my next project....

if you call logitech, they can add a profile for your television if all the inputs arent there to chose from.

ya pretty much the second thing i did was set all my delays to 0ms, which works great for everything. :)

timn99

06-11-06, 09:46 AM

Read the sticky post "Harmony Slow Response" above. For my Pioneer receiver, I have it set to 200ms input delay, and 2 repeats. Its much faster than originally which defaulted to over 500ms input delay. I might even lower my numbers just to tweak it a little more.

any recommendations on delay times here? my panny has to scroll though like five inputs to make a change to dvd or tivo and it takes forever - any ideas? thanks.

miked2023

06-11-06, 12:50 PM

geoWorm

06-11-06, 12:53 PM

OldCodger73

06-11-06, 04:25 PM

The battery compartment allows for the battery to float away from the contacts. Put some electrical tape or something on the bottom of the battery to make a tighter fit.

Cheers

Or use some small pieces of paper to act as a shim between the bottom of the battery and the battery compartment.

volki

06-11-06, 10:04 PM

Great forum! Just joined to share my experience and learn more...

I bought a Harmony 880 (from $109 DELL deal) and it was delivered few days ago. First, I had the "loose battery" problem, once I saw one "red bar" after an overnight charge. Yes, the base is OK, it is the battery and the charging pins in the housing. I put two layers of felt tape at the bottom of the battery and it works fine now....

Unfortunately, I also seem to have the "washed out" screen problem. Mainly the right top corner of the screen (down to half of the right side) is more "brighter" than the rest. It is very obvious if I am on a completely blue screen. I saw pictures in this thread showing an example of this problem, and mine looks the same. I know that some 880s have this problem and I will wait for a while to call in and get a replacement (to be sure that the new one is better), since this does not effect the functionality.

However, the battery life concerns me. The remote was on the cradle all night. Got 3 bars with no flashing in the morning. With some occasional use and no updating (or connection to the computer), now I have two bars after about 8 hours. Note that I removed the battery and put it back in to see if that would do anything to do screen problem (unfortuantely, nothing). Has anybody else experienced a similar battery problem?

Lastly the clock was wrong this afternoon (it was about 5 hours late). Does this have anything to do with the reboot? If not, can I blame the battery?

It is somewhat concerning that I have to put a piece of tape for battery to charge, have a "defective" LCD and a "possibly problematic" battery all during the first 3 days of ownersip of a remote with $250 MSRP. I like the remote and I am confident that Logitech will replace it when I call.... Just wanted to share.

Now back to more customization :)

timn99

06-11-06, 10:38 PM

1. When you're in "Adjust Inputs" under "More Options" for your receiver, there is a question that asks you to power off and back on, what input comes on......last input when turned off? This should take care of your problem. Also, did you make sure your input list is named exactly the same, and in same order.

2. Others can answer, as I don't have Tivo and not familiar with the button scheme.

Enjoy your 880, I sure am. Go out and get a Lutron Maestro IR dimmer, and incorporate it into your TV and DVD activities. Adds a really "cool" factor.

OK, things are going smoothly but I just have a couple more questions -

1. When I want to power up the system, it defaults to whatever video input it was last on. For example - If I come in and want to power up, I hit, Watch Tivo, but if the last thing I watech before was a dvd, it stays on that input - is there a way to fix this?

2. On Tivo, this first page screen (DTV HD version) has a several letter options on it (A,B,E) what are these? Meanwhile, the valuable aspect key gets pushed to page two.

thanks people!

czzer

06-12-06, 03:27 AM

OK, things are going smoothly but I just have a couple more questions -

1. When I want to power up the system, it defaults to whatever video input it was last on. For example - If I come in and want to power up, I hit, Watch Tivo, but if the last thing I watech before was a dvd, it stays on that input - is there a way to fix this?

2. On Tivo, this first page screen (DTV HD version) has a several letter options on it (A,B,E) what are these? Meanwhile, the valuable aspect key gets pushed to page two.

thanks people!

1. It sounds like you need to increase the Power On Delay for your TV(Device -> More options -> Adjust delays). It is sending the input select command before the TV is ready to receive it.

2. For the "Watch Tivo" activity, select "Customize", then "Change behaviour of buttons" you can add/change/delete commands here as required. LCD buttons are down the bottom of the page.

~Ohdee~

06-12-06, 12:33 PM

I’m just getting my Harmony 880 legs under me. So far I’m loving it. I haven’t done much tweaking. I’m in the, if it’s working don’t fix it group. I have a question regarding charging the battery. We’ll generally only use the remote in the evenings. I’ve notice that we only use one bar of power. At the end of the evening I’ve been putting the remote on it’s base and recharging the battery for the next days use. Will this hurt the battery? Should we be draining the battery before I recharge it?

Thanks.

Ohdee!

dirtydan

06-12-06, 01:05 PM

I don't think it hurts to put it on charger each night, but if you read Faqs, it is explained how you fix a battery that eventually gets a short life and needs charging more often then it used to in the past.

susandennis

06-12-06, 02:21 PM

My 880 is finally fairly happy controlling:

1. Phillips TV (32PT5441)
2. TiVo Series 1 (Sony)
3. TiVo Series 2 (TiVo)
4. Toshiba RS-TX20 (TiVo/DVD)
5. Floor fan

I have two questions:

Is there any way to assign 'start' buttons to an activity? I have activities for each of the three TiVos for TV watching. I would like, when the activity starts for the TiVo to be switched to the TiVo Central screen. Is that possible?

Anyone had any luck running a Sharp CV-P10LC portable A/C? Harmony does not know about it and is not so happy learning about it... apparently.

Thanks, Susan

xmltok

06-12-06, 02:55 PM

xmltok

06-12-06, 03:07 PM

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive wall light switch replacement that I can control with my 880? I'd also like to be able to turn on my bias light. Switched ac plug?

susandennis

06-12-06, 03:18 PM

There is, dig around in the customize activity, I think you have to run the setup wizard through again.

And, right you were! Thanks... I did run the setup and had to dig deep but I found it. One TiVo click is changing all the TiVos (instead of on the one assigned to that activity) to the TiVo Central page but I can live with that.

Thanks.

miked2023

06-13-06, 01:21 AM

1. It sounds like you need to increase the Power On Delay for your TV(Device -> More options -> Adjust delays). It is sending the input select command before the TV is ready to receive it.

2. For the "Watch Tivo" activity, select "Customize", then "Change behaviour of buttons" you can add/change/delete commands here as required. LCD buttons are down the bottom of the page.

Thank you very much - issue #1 solved --- I'm still a little confused with issue #2. How do you delete the buttons you don't use exactly? I went to the "Change behaviour of buttons" but it's like three pages of remote stuff that I found perplexing. Also, can you configure the main LCD screen to display your favorite buttons in any order you like?

thanks again - huge help for a Noob here.

miked2023

06-13-06, 02:11 AM

Firstly, select device mode for your DVD player and see if there are discrete commands listed for "Power on" and "Power Off". If there are(and they work...check them first), go to your home page and select "More options" for the DVD player, then "Adjust power settings". Tell it you have seperate commands for on and off, then set them as the discretes you found earlier.

If there are no discrete power commands you could set the Power on command as the "Play" command. This works as a kind of discrete for most players.

Alternatively, when you put a disk in the player, press the "Power" button on the player instead of the close button. This will at least put it back in synch with the remote.

I'm having this same issue and am a little confused by the above advice. What are discrete commands? To be clear what I want to do - I like to get up and turn on the dvd player, put in a dvd, and then switch to WATCH DVD. Unfortunately, this turns the dvd off when it's already on. I'd still like it to turn off though when I'm done with everything. Thank you.

czzer

06-13-06, 04:31 AM

Thank you very much - issue #1 solved --- I'm still a little confused with issue #2. How do you delete the buttons you don't use exactly? I went to the "Change behaviour of buttons" but it's like three pages of remote stuff that I found perplexing. Also, can you configure the main LCD screen to display your favorite buttons in any order you like?

thanks again - huge help for a Noob here.

On the "Change behaviour of buttons" page you should have 2 sections. The top section is for the "Hard" buttons on the remote...buttons like "PLay", "menu" etc.
The bottom section is for the LCD "soft" buttons. These are the commands that are listed in the LCD for the given activity. The first column is the label that appears on the LCD screen, and the remaining columns are the functions that are assigned to that label/button. These functions are grouped by the device the command is to be sent to. Note you can have one button send commands to multiple devices.

To delete an LCD button, just delete its label in the first column.

You can re-order the LCD commands just by re-typing the labels in the order you want, and selecting the appropriate commands from the drop-down menus. Note that commands will always be grouped by device, so you can't reorder exactly as you want...hopefully Logitech will change this in the future.

For your second question, a discrete is a command that only does the action intended. ie a discrete "Power On" command will turn the device on if it is off, but will have no effect if the device is already on.

In your case look through the device mode commands for something like "PowerOn" and "PowerOff" (as opposed to "PowerToggle"). If these commands exist(and work properly) you can tell the remote to send these commands with the "Power Options" setup.

If you don't have discrete power commands, you can sometimes make up your own discretes by assigning "Play" as the power on command, and "Play" followed by "PowerToggle" as the power off command. This depends on your DVD player...only way to find out is to try.

Failing this, your best bet is to press the power button on the DVD player after you have loaded the disk, so the player is off when you press the "Watch DVD" button.

eaadams

06-13-06, 08:39 PM

miked2023

06-13-06, 10:47 PM

On the "Change behaviour of buttons" page you should have 2 sections. The top section is for the "Hard" buttons on the remote...buttons like "PLay", "menu" etc.
The bottom section is for the LCD "soft" buttons. These are the commands that are listed in the LCD for the given activity. The first column is the label that appears on the LCD screen, and the remaining columns are the functions that are assigned to that label/button. These functions are grouped by the device the command is to be sent to. Note you can have one button send commands to multiple devices.

To delete an LCD button, just delete its label in the first column.

You can re-order the LCD commands just by re-typing the labels in the order you want, and selecting the appropriate commands from the drop-down menus. Note that commands will always be grouped by device, so you can't reorder exactly as you want...hopefully Logitech will change this in the future.

For your second question, a discrete is a command that only does the action intended. ie a discrete "Power On" command will turn the device on if it is off, but will have no effect if the device is already on.

In your case look through the device mode commands for something like "PowerOn" and "PowerOff" (as opposed to "PowerToggle"). If these commands exist(and work properly) you can tell the remote to send these commands with the "Power Options" setup.

If you don't have discrete power commands, you can sometimes make up your own discretes by assigning "Play" as the power on command, and "Play" followed by "PowerToggle" as the power off command. This depends on your DVD player...only way to find out is to try.

Failing this, your best bet is to press the power button on the DVD player after you have loaded the disk, so the player is off when you press the "Watch DVD" button.

czzer - if you're ever in LA I owe you a few beers for sure. I didn't see any discrete commands for my DVD player (Oppo971H) and since the power button on my DVD remote does not turn on my player - I assume option two won't work. I guess I'll live with it and do as you suggested with option #3

As far as removing buttons - thank you for explaining - I get it - but of course there's as hitch - when I'm watching Tivo - live tv, etc - it's a whole different set of buttons on the LCD display vs. when I go into the actual satellite device. Unfortunately, when I login to the device mode in logitech for the Tivo, it goes to the device buttons, not the default buttons that show up when I'm watching live TV. I don't know how to find them, therefore, can't change them. Do I need to setup a separate watch TV activity? thanks again for you detailed responses.

huberjgl

06-13-06, 11:23 PM

Does anyone have a DirecTIVO hooked up with the 880? How did you set it up? I have a philips DSR-6000 and a Samsung SIR-S4040R.

As it is now I have them set up as satalite recievers with TIVO commands. But I have to block the IR with something on one reciever to avoid controlling both at the same time. Any recomendations?

You'll need the original remotes, and change the remote address's on each unit.
The default is "0" which is the universal TiVo remote code,
change one of them to "1" and the other to "2".
The owners manual tells you how to do this, can't remember where, but it's towards the back I think.

Then you'll need to set the code in the 880,
do a search on the Harmony page for setting a TiVo remote code,
it'll have you aim each original remote at the end of the 880 and push 3 buttons to set each code.

I have mine controlling 3 different TiVo's independently, a standalone, a DirecTV R10 and a DirecTV HR10-250.

Jerry

czzer

06-13-06, 11:47 PM

czzer - if you're ever in LA I owe you a few beers for sure. I didn't see any discrete commands for my DVD player (Oppo971H) and since the power button on my DVD remote does not turn on my player - I assume option two won't work. I guess I'll live with it and do as you suggested with option #3

As far as removing buttons - thank you for explaining - I get it - but of course there's as hitch - when I'm watching Tivo - live tv, etc - it's a whole different set of buttons on the LCD display vs. when I go into the actual satellite device. Unfortunately, when I login to the device mode in logitech for the Tivo, it goes to the device buttons, not the default buttons that show up when I'm watching live TV. I don't know how to find them, therefore, can't change them. Do I need to setup a separate watch TV activity? thanks again for you detailed responses.

As you have discovered, the device mode button assignments are completely different to activity mode assignments. To change device mode assignments select "More options" for the device on your home page, then "Customize device buttons"

However, you shouldn't need to use device mode, except on very rare occasions where you need access to some rarely used command.

You should set up as many activities as you need to cover every situation you can think of. ie in your case you could have a "Watch Tivo" activity as well as a "Watch Satellite" activity. Just set up the second activity as a "Watch TV" type activity and the website will call it "Watch TV2". You can then rename both activities form the link on the "More options" page for each activity.

You can then set up the custom buttons differently on each of the activities(although some commands might get "copied" to the new activity....you can't do much about this at the moment unfortunately).

eaadams

06-14-06, 12:27 AM

they show up this way:
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
They need a WYSIWYG for the LCD...

And if any one is left blank everything moves up. So if you put in:
1 2
3 4
5 6
_ 8

Then what you really get is
1 2
3 4
5 6
8

Also I think it forces you to stay in an order of components.
For example if I have a Satalite box, TV and Reciever, I have to stay in bunches like that. So you have to go
1 2 [sat]
3 [sat] 4 [TV]
5 6 [TV]
7 8 [reciever]

I can not go
1 [TV] 2[sat]
3[TV] 4[reciever]
5[sat] 6[reciever]
7 8 [sat]

tivoboy

06-14-06, 08:45 AM

As for remote codes on Tivos, I think only HARMONY can set this up for you. Once you get the two tivos setup with differant remotes codes, then give them a call.

mallu2u

06-16-06, 12:10 PM

Has anyone looked at 720 as well? Curious how it stands against 880.

Ladd

06-16-06, 01:04 PM

Has anyone looked at 720 as well? Curious how it stands against 880.
I just purchased a 720 a few days ago and it seems very nice. It is my first Harmony remote, however, so I can't offer any "compare and contrast" opinions of it vs the 880.

There is a recently-formed Harmony 720 discussion thread here btw ...

richh

06-16-06, 01:11 PM

Interesting post, as I just purchased an 880 from Dell.com, and the display on mine looks washed out as well. The best way to describe it is that it reminds me of an old CRT monitor that had burn in. A background that I think is supposed to be one shade of blue looks faded in the corners. In addition, occasisonally I see vertical and horizontal banding. I first noticed this right after I charged it up. I called Logitech support and they said I should finish the installation and setup and see if a firmware upgrade fixes the problem. I went through the procedure and it looks the same (the firmware that came with it was the latest). I really have not seen any other 880's in person to compare it with, but I know my color display on my cell phone looks a lot shaper and more defined. I guess I'll call Logitech back and see what they say.

I just wanted to update anyone that has an 880 and has issues with the LCD screen being washed out and white smears or blotches on it.

They sent me a new one last week and the screen is perfect. Absolutely no fading and the contrast on the screen is much better. The blue on the top is a deep blue, not a faded blue like my last remote. Also, channel logos and the activity graphics are much easier to see. It's almost like the earlier remote had the contrast set way too high and it was "blooming" because the whites were so high and it washed everything out.

Bryan

Chuck_IV

06-16-06, 01:27 PM

Interesting post, as I just purchased an 880 from Dell.com, and the display on mine looks washed out as well. The best way to describe it is that it reminds me of an old CRT monitor that had burn in. A background that I think is supposed to be one shade of blue looks faded in the corners. In addition, occasisonally I see vertical and horizontal banding. I first noticed this right after I charged it up. I called Logitech support and they said I should finish the installation and setup and see if a firmware upgrade fixes the problem. I went through the procedure and it looks the same (the firmware that came with it was the latest). I really have not seen any other 880's in person to compare it with, but I know my color display on my cell phone looks a lot shaper and more defined. I guess I'll call Logitech back and see what they say.

I recently tried an 880 out and mine looked the same as you described. However, what was strange was, when the "USB Connected" screen showed, when updating the remote, that looked just fine, no fading at all. The only time I saw the fading was during normal operation.

I ended up returning the remote(for other reasons, not the screen) but if I had kept it, I would definitely have been calling Logitech for a fix.

xmltok

06-16-06, 02:21 PM

Interesting post, as I just purchased an 880 from Dell.com, and the display on mine looks washed out as well. The best way to describe it is that it reminds me of an old CRT monitor that had burn in. A background that I think is supposed to be one shade of blue looks faded in the corners. In addition, occasisonally I see vertical and horizontal banding. I first noticed this right after I charged it up. I called Logitech support and they said I should finish the installation and setup and see if a firmware upgrade fixes the problem. I went through the procedure and it looks the same (the firmware that came with it was the latest). I really have not seen any other 880's in person to compare it with, but I know my color display on my cell phone looks a lot shaper and more defined. I guess I'll call Logitech back and see what they say.

Call up logitech and ask for a replacement. I just did this with both of my remotes and the new screens are flawless. In addition, the battery fits tightly in its place. They DHL'd me the new remotes, it took about 4 days. I am to USPS the old remotes back to them.

mallu2u

06-16-06, 05:20 PM

Bought another remote from Dell but I realized I do not need it. If anyone needs 880, just PM me. Around $150. Or else I shall send it back.

rob316

06-16-06, 07:05 PM

I have been having problems with my 880 remote

1- Kept losing the time on the remote

2- Slight crack on display that just got bigger and bigger

3- Unable to seat Remote into Cradle properly.

I called Logitech expecting to fight to get the remote replaced (I bought the remote from an Ebay store) but WOW the customer rep was great and said they have been experiencing problems with remote cradles and LCD cracking. They took my info and said they would transfer my incident to RMA dept, I said great now I know I am not getting the remote replaced. Lone and behold I received a phone call from Logitech's RMA dept they gave me no problem and stated that they are sending me a new remote no questions asked. I love Logitech great company.

Rob

volki

06-16-06, 07:26 PM

My previous experiences have been great with Logitech support. They replaced my diNovo multimedia BT set (5 year warranty), as well as a BT headset, without any hassle. If there is something not functioning right, they go ahead and give you a new one, which is the way it is supposed to be....

I am also in the same boat with you guys in terms of washed out screen and cradle. I am just going to wait for the "real test drive" of the remote; in-laws will be here soon for a month :)

Then, I'll contact Logitech......

sharding

06-17-06, 12:45 PM

Also I think it forces you to stay in an order of components.
For example if I have a Satalite box, TV and Reciever, I have to stay in bunches like that.

Argh!!! I wish I had read that before I fought with it for the last half hour trying to figure out why the heck it wouldn't take the ordering I'm trying to give it. It would be nice if they at least gave you a warning message to let you know that it had to change the order you specified....

susandennis

06-18-06, 01:02 PM

As for remote codes on Tivos, I think only HARMONY can set this up for you. Once you get the two tivos setup with differant remotes codes, then give them a call.

As it turns out 'giving them a call' is a very frustrating experience. After waiting 20 minutes while the the tech looked up the information (repeadedly asking me the same questions over and over again), the answer is:

You have to program EACH TiVo remote in comand by comand in RAW mode.

It's along and tedious process that is making me very cranky. But, it does appear to be working.

czzer

06-18-06, 07:34 PM

As it turns out 'giving them a call' is a very frustrating experience. After waiting 20 minutes while the the tech looked up the information (repeadedly asking me the same questions over and over again), the answer is:

You have to program EACH TiVo remote in comand by comand in RAW mode.

It's along and tedious process that is making me very cranky. But, it does appear to be working.

You shouldn't need to do that.

For the second(ie non standard IR code) Tivo, select "Confirm IR commands" from the Device -> More options menu. It will ask you to press a few buttons on the original remote to confirm the codeset it is using.

susandennis

06-18-06, 08:10 PM

You shouldn't need to do that.

For the second(ie non standard IR code) Tivo, select "Confirm IR commands" from the Device -> More options menu. It will ask you to press a few buttons on the original remote to confirm the codeset it is using.

That's an interesting idea. Wonder why Harmony didn't know about it? They also - in a later call - said that you could not raw code more than one remote (this was when I did raw code it and got each button action twice - no channel 5 but 55 was easy!).

Finally, I gave up and created a generic PVR with no manufacturer and no model number and built it all from scratch. It took forever but it works.

JLINES45@COMCAST

06-18-06, 08:57 PM

I've had the 880 for a few months now and I love it. It handles everything without a single problem. I have the Panny Plasmsa 50U Denon 3806 Reciever HR10-250 Tivo Panasonic 85 DVD and Infinitys 1100 and the 880 handles all of it without any problems. It's a great remote and easy to set up.

czzer

06-18-06, 10:57 PM

That's an interesting idea. Wonder why Harmony didn't know about it? They also - in a later call - said that you could not raw code more than one remote (this was when I did raw code it and got each button action twice - no channel 5 but 55 was easy!).

Finally, I gave up and created a generic PVR with no manufacturer and no model number and built it all from scratch. It took forever but it works.

I think that the Harmony brand has grown very quickly since the Logitech takeover, and therefore their tech support department has had to grow very quickly too. When you first call them the "tier 1" people you speak to are possibly quite new to the company and don't know everything they probably should. If you get to speak to a "tier 2" rep they have usually been around a bit longer and know quite a bit more.

ilrosewood

06-19-06, 03:14 AM

Has there been any headway in getting some program to update the harmony that isn't logitech's? I ask because as I wait hopelessly for my replacement, they say they have blacklisted my remote since I refuse to pay to ship it back to them. I still don't have the replacement remote and I'm afraid that while I am still tweaking I am going to not be able to update my remote anymore.

stepmback

06-19-06, 09:41 AM

dirtydan

06-19-06, 11:45 AM

I imagine many of use use our AV reciver to control volume all the time. How can I ALWAYS have the remote, no mater what device I am using control the volume. I know I can learn the button, but sometimes I pick up remote and have no activity selected, I would like for it to even function then. Is there a way to setup buttons to be hard coded? Also i would ideally like to have other buttons function this way such as channel, mute, etc even without pressing any activity item.

Please help.

You can set all that up online. I have 2 sets of Activities for watching tv, one turns on a/v ,plasma, and Dish, other does not turn on a/v, therfore the vol on tv is controlled when I don't care about surround sound, news, etc. If I want the a/v on at this point, all I do is hit the second "Watch Tv" activity button.

Codeman

06-19-06, 12:17 PM

I imagine many of use use our AV reciver to control volume all the time. How can I ALWAYS have the remote, no mater what device I am using control the volume. I know I can learn the button, but sometimes I pick up remote and have no activity selected, I would like for it to even function then. Is there a way to setup buttons to be hard coded? Also i would ideally like to have other buttons function this way such as channel, mute, etc even without pressing any activity item.

Please help.

In each of your activities, simply specify that you use the receiver to control the volume. If you want the volume button to map to your receiver when in a device mode OTHER than your receiver, you'll need to "learn" the volume up/down buttons for your receiver and manually assign them to the volume buttons under the other device modes. The same is true for channel, mute, etc.

You can't do this once for all cases, though. It has to be done for each activity and for each device.

Jake04Goat

06-19-06, 12:21 PM

Seems like "stepmback" is asking the same thing I did in another thread. I want my 550 to always (and without having to choose an activity) use the receiver to control volume.

Say I want to "Watch TV" and I have the remote turn on the cable box, TV, receiver and set my inputs accordingly. I already have that activity use my receiver to control the volume. But, say I want to turn on closed captioning or fiddle with the picture settings on the TV. I choose the TV device and change what I want. Now, I want to go back and change channels on the cable box so I choose the cable box device. If I want to change the volume now, the remote defaults back to changing the volume using the cable box.

If I "Watch a DVD" it initially gives volume control to the receiver. If I need to adjust something on the TV, then change back to the DVD "device" I have no control of volume. I want to set my DVD player, VCR, cable box, and DVD recorder to always-always-always use the receiver for volume. And without having to run the activities again.

Jake04Goat

06-19-06, 12:24 PM

If you want the volume button to map to your receiver when in a device mode OTHER than your receiver, you'll need to "learn" the volume up/down buttons for your receiver and manually assign them to the volume buttons under the other device modes. The same is true for channel, mute, etc.

You can't do this once for all cases, though. It has to be done for each activity and for each device.

This sounds like what I need to do. Manually learn the codes for the receiver volume to the volume buttons for all devices. So when I select a device after running an activity, it uses the receiver's volume codes instead of whatever device I've selected. Clear as mud. :)

czzer

06-19-06, 10:31 PM

If you use the remote as intended(ie always in activity mode) then you won't have a problem. If you MUST select device mode for some obscure command, then when you are done fiddling just press the "Device" button twice. This will take you back to the activity you were in previously.

In other words, don't change back to the DVD or cable box DEVICE, change back to the "Watch DVD" or "Watch TV" ACTIVITY.

ilrosewood

06-20-06, 07:51 AM

when you are done fiddling just press the "Device" button twice. This will take you back to the activity you were in previously.

Dandy. I may start using activities now!

Juppers

06-20-06, 10:31 PM

Grimdeath

06-20-06, 11:04 PM

czzer

06-20-06, 11:25 PM

The only I have an issue with activities vs. devices is my X10 stuff. When I use it as an activity, it decides to resend the TV input command when switching back to the viewing activity, even though the TV state never changed. As a device, it just works better with the current firmware. Too bad there is no way to reorder devices that I have found. Would love to have that on the first of the device pages, it is just out of my control to do so.

If you are in the "Watch TV" activity and you need to adjust your lighting, you could add the lighting commands to your "Watch TV" activity. This will obviously have no affect on TV inputs.

If you don't want to do this, you could select the "X10" DEVICE(rather than a lighting activity), make your adjustments, then press the "Device" button twice to return to the "Watch TV" activity. This way will also not send any TV input commands.

As for the device order, that is determined by the devices being used in the current activity. ie devices in use are listed first. So in your case it sounds like the X10 device is not part of your "Watch TV" activity. If you add the X10 device to the activity(even if you don't use any of it's commands) then it should be listed on the first page of devices(at least that's how it works with my 659).

Arutha_conDoin

06-20-06, 11:53 PM

Juppers

06-21-06, 01:07 AM

If you are in the "Watch TV" activity and you need to adjust your lighting, you could add the lighting commands to your "Watch TV" activity. This will obviously have no affect on TV inputs.

If you don't want to do this, you could select the "X10" DEVICE(rather than a lighting activity), make your adjustments, then press the "Device" button twice to return to the "Watch TV" activity. This way will also not send any TV input commands.

As for the device order, that is determined by the devices being used in the current activity. ie devices in use are listed first. So in your case it sounds like the X10 device is not part of your "Watch TV" activity. If you add the X10 device to the activity(even if you don't use any of it's commands) then it should be listed on the first page of devices(at least that's how it works with my 659).

Good idea with the add it to the activity. It should work for most activities I think, would just be on a sub page soft menu. The device way just seems smarter to me though, cause I wouldn't have to add it to every activity, plus make dummy buttons to keep the layout for the lighting the same for every activity.

On the 880, the device order seems to be governed by random chance. It isn't based on the devices used in the activity, nor is it based on the order in which deviced were added or edited.

czzer

06-21-06, 08:27 AM

I wonder when Logitech will have the HD-DVD HD-A1 Player in their devices? I tried adding a Toshiba DVD player and it sort of works, but I do not get all the custom buttons for it. Has anyone found something that works better or can give me a model number to try?

Logitech will have it in their database when a user(such as yourself) adds it. The database is populated by end users, which is the reason it is so comprehensive(and sometimes incorrect if someone does a poor job).

I suggest learning all the commands yourself. It doesn't take long.

dfetzer

06-21-06, 05:25 PM

Tybee

06-21-06, 05:52 PM

I'm really interested in getting the 880. Is there any compelling reason to get the 890 other than the RF? I don't have anything currently that would work with RF, nor are any of my IR devices significantly obstructed, so it seems silly to pay half again as much for something from which I would get little or no use.

dfetzer: Ouch. Has she eaten anything like this before or was this out of the blue? My dog chewed all sorts of things when he was a puppy (most notably, clean through a GameCube controller cable -- WHILE I WAS PLAYING), but quit about three years ago (he's four now).

LDBecker

06-21-06, 06:08 PM

my dog destroyed it...only had the thing for 2 weeks and she pulled it off the couch and completely mangled the thing...luckily the xrays only showed small pieces that she was able to pass.

Otherwise a great remote...just keep it away from your dog. 300 for emergency room visit, decent price from ecost for the remote, programming the remote and being left with 8 formerly used remotes after it gets destroyed by your dog = priceless!

Maybe if you plug your dog into the USB port of your pc, you can get him to bark correctly to change devices and activities?

Sorry... at least you'll be able to replace the thing and still have all the programming in tact on your account. Good luck to you and your dog...

Larry

dfetzer

06-21-06, 06:18 PM

Larry - yeah, my wife and i made the same jokes about squeezing her stomach and getting the tv to turn off...it is funny only after everything passed..

Ty...shes been kind of on a tear lately - she tore apart a couple books, but she probably learned it from my other dog that likes to eat undies...I would prefer undies over electronics, but maybe she's a gadget hound - lol

In all seriousness, I dug this remote. I have the Sony brick (RM-1000??) in the basement and I really like the macro building ability. this was a simpler setup, but the macro recording isn't as great - i know you can tune it to do what you want, but not to a 't'. I'll probably end up getting another, but prob shoot for the 890 with rf instead of IR. I had buyer's remorse for future proofing once I got this knowing that my future home will have everything set up in a media closet of some sort.

LDBecker

06-21-06, 06:37 PM

Juppers

06-21-06, 07:09 PM

For this reason, and several noise-related ones, I prefer cats...

As far as macros, I don't know what you'd need that for. I have a Sony XBR960 tube tv, Pioneer Elite 79AVI DVD player, a Dish 622 HD sat receiver, and a Pioneer Elite 59txi receiver, and I got them all working together, routing audio through the receiver and video ALL through a Monoprice HDMI switcher. I had to get some help from Harmony's advanced customer service to get some timing issues worked out, but the 880 does all I'd need it to do.

Good luck with your 890... maybe feed Ty a little more. Now that I think about it, the 880/890 IS kind of shaped like a bone... You may be in trouble here...

Larry

Why someone would need macros? Maybe they have certain sound fields, picture controls, room lighting, etc that go with different program types. It is possible to do all this with an activity, but that can become a big waste of activities if you have lets say 3 to 5 modes ber activity. A simple 4 activity remote with 5 macro like modes, becomes 20 activities. Or with macros, 4 activities with 5 macro buttons. Get it?

Tybee

06-21-06, 07:43 PM

Ty...shes been kind of on a tear lately - she tore apart a couple books, but she probably learned it from my other dog that likes to eat undies...I would prefer undies over electronics, but maybe she's a gadget hound - lol

Watch out for that. My friend's sister's dog was in the habit of tearing up underwear. One day he just stopped eating and moaned and moaned. They took him to the vet and discovered several elastic bands from the underwear lodged in his intestines. They had caused them to get knotted up, which required expensive surgery to fix. Since then, they bought a hamper.

Incidentally, my handle is my dog's name...lol

I've been using a Sony AV-2100 for about five years, but have become disenchanted with it of late. The Harmony 880 is the first (affordable) remote to pique my interest.

timn99

06-21-06, 10:01 PM

czzer

06-22-06, 12:50 AM

Codeman

06-22-06, 09:15 AM

1. Can you change the order in which devices are turned on accordingly?

2. How can you add a delay between power on of devices (eq. I want to turn on my projector, wait 10 seconds, turn on my receiver)?

1. Yes, but it's done indirectly by changing the Power On delay times. In general, those devices with the longest Power On delays are the last to be turned on, while those with the shortest are started first.

2. Under each device, look for "more options", then select "Adjust the delays (speed settings)". You'll want to change the "Power On Delay", which adds a delay between that device being powered on and the next one. I think the online FAQ has a description of how each delay type is used.

czzer

06-22-06, 05:22 PM

1. Yes, but it's done indirectly by changing the Power On delay times. In general, those devices with the longest Power On delays are the last to be turned on, while those with the shortest are started first.

2. Under each device, look for "more options", then select "Adjust the delays (speed settings)". You'll want to change the "Power On Delay", which adds a delay between that device being powered on and the next one. I think the online FAQ has a description of how each delay type is used.

1. Unfortunately it doesn't always work this way.

2. Power On Delay only affects the time from when a device is powered on until the same device is sent subsequent commands. It doesn't affect the delay between powering on different devices.

Tech support are the only people who can make both these changes reliably. They have access to features not available to us end users.

Codeman

06-22-06, 10:04 PM

1. Unfortunately it doesn't always work this way.

2. Power On Delay only affects the time from when a device is powered on until the same device is sent subsequent commands. It doesn't affect the delay between powering on different devices.

Tech support are the only people who can make both these changes reliably. They have access to features not available to us end users.

Just because it doesn't always work is no reason for him to not give it a try. It might just work for timn99. Who cares if it doesn't work in all cases, if it helps timn99, then it really doesn't matter if it doesn't work in a setup that he doesn't care about, does it? Sheez...

dirtydan

06-22-06, 10:28 PM

CZZER,Your right, I tried a delay on my tv because it boots up kinda slow, all that did was make me wait to send any remote signal to the tv, all the other componenets turn on right away. I might just call tech support to get it right.

jaggy

06-23-06, 06:41 PM

Several people have posted that they have a mysterious "A" & "B" on their custom Activities page.

My Watch PVR Activity only deals with my TV (HP6580n) and my PVR (MOXI) - I'm using the TV's speakers.

I have the mysterious "B" (no "A"), which doesn't seem to do anything, and also a Clear function for my PVR Activity, plus 3 other commands. The weird thing is that when I go to the Customize > "Change or add buttons for this Activity: Watch PVR" on the Logitech site, only the 3 other commands are even listed - not the "B" or the Clear.

Anyone know how to get rid of the "B" and/or why the Clear command isn't even listed?

xmltok

06-23-06, 06:58 PM

I have an "A" that does the dish network receivers version of aspect changes.

FYI, Logitech has released a version of the software that works on Intel Macs finally.

miked2023

06-23-06, 09:54 PM

I was one of them. needless to say they made a somewhat complicated thing very confusing! Even weirder, they disappeared! I don't know why or how, but I made a few adjustments on the 880 one day and they were gone. Go figure - I just hope they don't come back! :D

Several people have posted that they have a mysterious "A" & "B" on their custom Activities page.

My Watch PVR Activity only deals with my TV (HP6580n) and my PVR (MOXI) - I'm using the TV's speakers.

I have the mysterious "B" (no "A"), which doesn't seem to do anything, and also a Clear function for my PVR Activity, plus 3 other commands. The weird thing is that when I go to the Customize > "Change or add buttons for this Activity: Watch PVR" on the Logitech site, only the 3 other commands are even listed - not the "B" or the Clear.

Anyone know how to get rid of the "B" and/or why the Clear command isn't even listed?

RangersFan

06-23-06, 11:51 PM

how do I totally reset my remote and settings in the harmony program, as if it were new?

czzer

06-24-06, 01:02 AM

You could delete all the devices and activities, but it may be easier to just create a new login.

RangersFan

06-24-06, 10:51 PM

Anyone else having trouble trying to get Rewind to work with the SA 8300HD PVR? I've tried to get it to learn the command from the original controler and it still doesn't work. This is absolutely annoying, considering that REW is one of the most common buttons used on a PVR. Any help getting this function to work correctly would be greatly appreciated.

Also any way to reorder the order of the devices on the device menu? I was able to reorder the activities menu, but cannot find an option anywhere to re-order the devices.

Codeman

06-25-06, 10:37 AM

...
Also any way to reorder the order of the devices on the device menu? I was able to reorder the activities menu, but cannot find an option anywhere to re-order the devices.

Tech support might be able to, but I don't think users can.

Scott Smith

06-25-06, 11:15 AM

Scott Smith

06-25-06, 11:33 AM

Guys I'm stumped on this one..

My 880 has worked flawless for about 6 months now with the following equipment.

Denon 3806 AVR
Denon 1920 DVD
Denon DCM-380 CD

Dish vip622 Sat Box
SA 8300HD Cable DVR
Mitsubishi 52628 TV

I moved my equipment to a closet this weekend and did a hard wired IR repeater system with a emitter on each peice of equipment.

Here's the head scratching problem. Every thing works fine but the 1920 DVD.
I will not respond to any command from the 880. However the OEM remote as well as the 3806 remote works with every command.
If I go to the closet the 880 will operate the DVD with no problems.
I went back to the Harmony and taught it each individual command from the origional remote to no avail.

Bottom line the Harmony is not working through the repeater but works fine without the repeater.
Only thing I can come up with is maybe a timing issue. Only thing I havent tried is raw codes.
Any suggestion would be appreciated.

miked2023

06-25-06, 02:06 PM

AV Land

06-25-06, 08:07 PM

Anyone else having trouble trying to get Rewind to work with the SA 8300HD PVR? I've tried to get it to learn the command from the original controler and it still doesn't work. This is absolutely annoying, considering that REW is one of the most common buttons used on a PVR. Any help getting this function to work correctly would be greatly appreciated.

No problem here with the SA 8300HD PVR. The rewind button was mapped automatically to the REW button on the remote and works OK...

huberjgl

06-25-06, 09:23 PM

This may have been addressed but is there a way to prioritize the order of options when watching DVD or Tivo, etc on the LCD screen? For example, my ASPECT button goes on to page 2 but I'd really like it to be on page one and switch it for something else - I've tried a moving things around but aspect always comes up on page two regardless. thanks.

Only way I've found is to remove things I don't really use on a regular basis, and it moved ASPECT up to page 1.

TiVo for instance, I really only cared about LIVE TV, THUMBS, SLOMO and ASPECT (for the TV), so they are the only ones there in that activity.

If I need any other buttons, I'll go to that particular DEVICE for them, as I left them as is.

Jerry

RangersFan

06-26-06, 12:45 AM

thanks for the replies guys, spent an hour or so tweaking all sorts of different options and trying different stuff. Perhaps the REW button is broken? I hope not, anyways I'll give customer support a ring tomorrow.

Brandonw27858

06-26-06, 01:00 AM

If I am trying to set this remote up for the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD cable bx, do I have to select it under both set top box and PVR when selecting my devices?

Scott Smith

06-26-06, 01:05 AM

If I am trying to set this remote up for the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD cable bx, do I have to select it under both set top box and PVR when selecting my devices?

No,

Add a device,
Pick channel decoder,
Digital Set top box,
Select Scientific Atlanta as the manufacturer,
Type in 8300HD and your done.

Brandonw27858

06-26-06, 01:07 AM

I mean if I am setting the remote up for the very first time. Do I only select that I have a set top box or do I select both set top box and PVR?

Scott Smith

06-26-06, 01:14 AM

I don't understand what you are asking.
Are you building an activity or are you creating your devices?

List your equipment and how each peice is hooked up.

Brandonw27858

06-26-06, 01:16 AM

ok sorry i was so vague. This is the first time I have plugged my remote into my computer for setup of devices. I just wasn't sure if I needed to add the 8300HD as a set top box alone or as a set top box and a PVR as it does both. Thanks, sorry again.

blazeblaze

06-26-06, 01:19 AM

I think you will just set it up as a single "device", and the Harmony site will figure out what "activities" you can do with it.

Brandonw27858

06-26-06, 01:25 AM

so just list it under set top box and nothig else. Thanks!!

Scott Smith

06-26-06, 01:28 AM

Do as I said above to build the device.
When you create an activity (Watch TV) it will ask you what you use to control volume, what you use to change channels ect.

There are some tips and tricks for the 8300HD

After you build the device click on more options and change power settings to leave on all the time.

Then go into the menu of the 8300HD and create a wake timer for 5:00 AM.

The 8300 has an auto shut down between 2 and 5 AM the creates problems.

To get to the menu of the 8300 push the settings button twice on the 8300 remote.

Brandonw27858

06-26-06, 01:44 AM

I turn my box off all the time and have had any probs yet(knock on wood).

To get to the menu of the 8300 push the settings button twice on the 8300 remote.

Did you mean on the 880?

Scott Smith

06-26-06, 02:26 AM

I turn my box off all the time and have had any probs yet(knock on wood).

To get to the menu of the 8300 push the settings button twice on the 8300 remote.

Did you mean on the 880?

No the 8300 remote. The 880 doesnt do well at turning on the 8300 when it's powered down. The 8300 remote sometimes takes multiple attempts to turn it on.
Been there done that and have a whole box of T shirts.

RangersFan

06-26-06, 05:30 AM

So yea I solved the whole REW issue I was having. Apparently the function was working correctly all along it was just that I wasn't pushing the button hard enough. However I am still not satisfied. Apparently to get the REW function to work I have to push the REW button very hard, like i'm about to break the damn thing to get it to respond. If I press it like every other button, i get nothing even when the button clicks like the rest of the buttons. Shouldn't I be able to depress it normally like the other buttons, just where u press it down and clicks? No, I gotta push the damn thing down hard, where it will break in a few months i'm sure. What you guys think, should I exchange it? Gonna be a pain in the ass bought it from some amazon.com seller.

pospower

06-26-06, 08:34 AM

RangersFan

06-26-06, 08:41 AM

mschiff

06-26-06, 09:31 AM

No the 8300 remote. The 880 doesnt do well at turning on the 8300 when it's powered down. The 8300 remote sometimes takes multiple attempts to turn it on.
Been there done that and have a whole box of T shirts.

I've been using a 659 with the 8300HD for a year or so, and am now using an 880. I always turn it off when not watching TV, and have NEVER had a problem with the Harmony remote (either one) turning it on at any time of the day or night (unless the batteries in the remote are low).

-- Martin

FLBoy

06-26-06, 11:14 AM

OK I went out and bought the Harmony 880 remote can anyone help me with setting up the TV inputs. I can't seem to get it to know which input is for the TV and Which is for DVD and which is for the computer. It just defaults to the last one used. I remember someone mentioning descrete codes for each input. Where can I find those and how do I program it thanks in advance. Jay

Can't say what's happening with your specific TV, but my Sony SXRD set would not recognize the Harmony's input code after turn on. I had to increase the turn on delay setting from the default value of 5000 msec to 6000 msec to allow enough time for the TV to recognize the input code.

To do this, I went to my Harmony home page, clicked on Troubleshoot, and selected the item that matched my problem. That took me to a screen where I could change the turn on delay (time to warm up).

By the way, if your TV can understand discrete codes, I think the 880 will automatically assign discrete codes for input and power control. You don't have to tell it to.

sharding

06-26-06, 12:19 PM

So yea I solved the whole REW issue I was having. Apparently the function was working correctly all along it was just that I was pushing the button hard enough. However I am still not satisfied. Apparently to get the REW function to work I have to push the REW button very hard, like i'm about to break the damn thing to get it to respond.

Mine is like that on some buttons too. There are a few buttons we have to press really hard to make them work. I've been considering returning it, but it seems to be getting better. I dunno if the keys just need to be broken in or what.

Is this a normal issue?

mschiff

06-26-06, 12:49 PM

There are no buttons that are difficult to push on either the 880 that I have at home, or the 890 at work. Sounds like it is a problem with the unit.

-- Martin

AV Land

06-26-06, 08:13 PM

So yea I solved the whole REW issue I was having. Apparently the function was working correctly all along it was just that I wasn't pushing the button hard enough. However I am still not satisfied. Apparently to get the REW function to work I have to push the REW button very hard, like i'm about to break the damn thing to get it to respond. If I press it like every other button, i get nothing even when the button clicks like the rest of the buttons.

I had the same problem with the PAUSE button but after a few weeks of fighting with it it started working normally. There must be some kind of residue on the contacts that gets wiped out after multiple use. So try pressing it multiple times for a few minutes and see if that makes a difference, otherwise you might have a defective unit.

vgs86

06-26-06, 11:12 PM

Does anybody have problem with keeping time? After couple of months, it had lost over 30 minutes. Is this normal?

- Vikas

RangersFan

06-27-06, 08:49 AM

damn it, now apparently when I want to control the volume on my tv, I have to press vol + each time to move it up incrementally instead of holding it down, like I was able to before. weird, i wonder if it had anything to with dropping the remote shortly before I noticed this glitch. hmm, holding vol + to increase volume works fine with my surround sound receiver. dunno why it stopped working when controlling the tv's volume. holding vol - is working fine.

AV Land

06-27-06, 07:50 PM

Does anybody have problem with keeping time? After couple of months, it had lost over 30 minutes. Is this normal?

- Vikas

Mine lost about 5 minutes over 1.5 month. But with all the time displays in front of me (STB, DVD, VCR) I never bothered changing it.

huberjgl

06-28-06, 12:19 AM

Does anybody have problem with keeping time? After couple of months, it had lost over 30 minutes. Is this normal?
Mine lost about 5 minutes over 1.5 month. But with all the time displays in front of me (STB, DVD, VCR) I never bothered changing it.

It's got a clock on it?

JK

I never noticed the clock until someone posted a while ago about it losing time.

Jerry

quickplace1

06-28-06, 12:20 AM

Has anyone set up the 880 with the 42" Westinghouse? I am trying to figure out how to get the inputs correct for each activity. The problem I am having is the original Westy remote doesn't have one input button to toggle thru or a specific one for each. It is a combo. So for instance, my HDMI input (for my 8300 dvr) is actually accessed from the Westy remote by choosing the DVI input button 3 times. It goes from DVI 1 to DVI 2 then to HDMI. When I set up the activity I have to tell it DVI input button so it powers everything up and then i have to switch to the TV Device and toggle from DVI 1 to 2 to HDMI.
Thanks!

Scott Smith

06-28-06, 12:36 AM

When there is a button for each input that is called Descrete inputs meaning there is a seperate command for each input.
Yours is a toggle meaning you have to toggle through each input to get to the correct one.

There should be a way for the Harmony to handle that. The wizzard ushally knows this already and asks you a series of questions to work through that.
Maybe you just clicked through or maybe it never asked.
In the device list click on troubleshoot for your TV and then select "Tv Never goes to the correct input" and see what you find.

mshaheen

06-28-06, 08:32 AM

When I am in an activity (e.g. WatchPVR), I would like one of my soft buttons to perform a series of steps. Is this possible? For instance, when in WatchPVR, I'd like to hit one button that would take me to a menu on my PVR that would normally require me to hit the menu button, then choose DVR Schedule, then Scheduled recordings. But I don't want to create a seperate activity for this, I just want it available when I am in WatchPVR mode.

tokerblue

06-28-06, 10:03 AM

When I am in an activity (e.g. WatchPVR), I would like one of my soft buttons to perform a series of steps.
- You're looking for a macro, which the Harmony line doesn't support. The only "macro" that the Harmony remotes support is the actual Activity "macro".

RangersFan

06-28-06, 12:49 PM

meh, gonna exchange mine, had it with all these different annoyances, like unresponsive buttons unless u press hard, dissapearing features after updating the remote, and the worst of the all, the stupid vol+ not being able to hold it down anymore

tivoboy

06-28-06, 02:21 PM

you must have just a bad one. I had to exchange one for a new one with a better battery connection, but the second one has been completly trouble free, fast response, etc.

tcat

06-28-06, 02:43 PM

Thinking about buying this remote. Can the panel icons be rearranged (and/or deleted)? Can you have two "Watch TV" buttons (one for wife without AVR, and one for me with AVR), or do you have to "Watch TV" and turn on the AVR button?

mschiff

06-28-06, 03:22 PM

Tom,

Yes, the virtual buttons on the panel can be rearranged and/or deleted. You can also have multiple pages of them. You could have as many WatchTV buttons as you like, all with different setups (i.e. Watch TIVO, Watch Cable, Watch Antenna, Watch with AV, Watch without AV, etc.).

-- Martin

tcat

06-28-06, 03:52 PM

Thanks! Very cool, just orderd mine from Hi-Def. 42PX60U+SA8300+XR57+E80H all-in-one, can't wait!

BigChiefSmokem

06-28-06, 08:37 PM

Edited://

I figured it out

oprd

07-02-06, 11:52 AM

Just got my 880 yesterday and am having verification issues after trying to upload. I am using software v.5.2 and firmware v.4.0. I confirmed the connection and my PC recognizes the remote. The error message reads, "The configuration was not successfully verified from the Harmony."

Any suggestions?

blazeblaze

07-02-06, 02:46 PM

The error message reads, "The configuration was not successfully verified from the Harmony."

Any suggestions?

You may want to try plugging the cable directly into your computer (even trying different ports...like the rear ports versus front ports on your computer). Some people have reported issues when using USB hubs. I personally haven't had this issue though.

epie

07-02-06, 03:52 PM

czzer

07-02-06, 10:49 PM

Codeman

07-03-06, 08:21 AM

czzer

07-03-06, 09:36 AM

oprd

07-03-06, 10:42 AM

You may want to try plugging the cable directly into your computer (even trying different ports...like the rear ports versus front ports on your computer). Some people have reported issues when using USB hubs. I personally haven't had this issue though.

Thanks for the tip BlazeBlaze but it did not work. I spent over an hour on the support line this morning, reinstalled the 5.2.0 software, shut all AV software off, loaded firmware 4.0.13, and took the battery out of the remote. I think I am going to have to take this thing back.

Tech support said they exhausted all issues and said it must be my cable ISP's security settings, try using another computer. That isn't really an option.

Codeman

07-03-06, 10:46 AM

They can in fact be re-ordered by simply typing them in the order you want(at least they can on my 659). But as I said above, you shouldn't be using device mode to access these commonly used functions.

I'm with epie on this. I would like to move one of my page 2 devices to show up on the first page. Activities aren't the best place for some functions to be. That's why device mode is available to start with. I rarely need to go into my avr's setup menu, so I don't want it on multiple activity menus, cluttering things up. Which leaves the avr device as the perfect, single place to put it.

I finally took the time to contact Tech Support on this. At least for the 880, re-order devices isn't possible. The tech person I spoke with said they use a default order, but she didn't know what it is. She said it isn't the order in which devices are created, nor do the device names have any impact on the order. She did put a request into their system asking for the ability to re-order devices. Without knowing their source code and data structures, I can't say for certain, but this should be a relatively easy thing for them to provide, assuming enough folks ask for it.

Codeman

07-03-06, 10:50 AM

Thanks for the tip BlazeBlaze but it did not work. I spent over an hour on the support line this morning, reinstalled the 5.2.0 software, shut all AV software off, loaded firmware 4.0.13, and took the battery out of the remote. I think I am going to have to take this thing back.

Tech support said they exhausted all issues and said it must be my cable ISP's security settings, try using another computer. That isn't really an option.

Before you take it back, have you tried bypassing the 5.2.0 software and going directly to the website and doing the setup/download from there? That could bypass the issues your having. You have to have the software install on your computer to do the update, but I much prefer using the website for configuation and downloading the file.

epie

07-03-06, 01:53 PM

I'm with epie on this. I would like to move one of my page 2 devices to show up on the first page. Activities aren't the best place for some functions to be. That's why device mode is available to start with. I rarely need to go into my avr's setup menu, so I don't want it on multiple activity menus, cluttering things up. Which leaves the avr device as the perfect, single place to put it.

I finally took the time to contact Tech Support on this. At least for the 880, re-order devices isn't possible. The tech person I spoke with said they use a default order, but she didn't know what it is. She said it isn't the order in which devices are created, nor do the device names have any impact on the order. She did put a request into their system asking for the ability to re-order devices. Without knowing their source code and data structures, I can't say for certain, but this should be a relatively easy thing for them to provide, assuming enough folks ask for it.

Hey Codeman,

I concur your findings as well. I am actually a little surprised that this can';t be customized as it seems like it is just re-ordering and that is it. Would be nice if they had an interface that allowed you to specifically assign buttons to menus 1 through whatever.

On a related note, I was told that I can add buttons to the activity screen for PVR but even then the reorderingn might be somewhat arbitrary because some codes on the activity menu are not able to be modifed. I'll have to experiment. Once again, surprised a bit by the lack of flexibility here.

epie

07-03-06, 01:59 PM

Before you take it back, have you tried bypassing the 5.2.0 software and going directly to the website and doing the setup/download from there? That could bypass the issues your having. You have to have the software install on your computer to do the update, but I much prefer using the website for configuation and downloading the file.

Wow! This must be deja vu day. I have also had a lot of problems with 5.2 after an initial install of 4.4 which worked fine. I have been working with tech support but so far can't find the problem. I asked if it was ok to go through the web instead of launching 5.2 directly from desktop and they said it is fine but 5.2 had a lot more features. Doesn't do me any good if I keep having problems though. I thin kI am going to stick with the web interface and I'll report back after I adjust my menu settings. Seems like this there might be some incompatibilites with 5.2 that aren't obvious to most PC users.

blazeblaze

07-03-06, 02:07 PM

I haven't really noticed any features that aren't available in the web interface versus the v5.2 software. It seemed like the web interface was much more responsive when transitioning between pages...and I think it may have even downloaded the config a little faster than the software did.

mschiff

07-03-06, 02:22 PM

IMHO, version 5.2 is a big step backwards. In trying to make the software easier to use for the average user, they've made it buggy and more difficult for those that have used the previous version.

-- Martin

epie

07-03-06, 02:52 PM

Seems like a few of us would make a good case study for Logitech :) Hopefully they will respond with a better version. I know I have been voicing my complaints.

Codeman

07-03-06, 06:19 PM

... Seems like this there might be some incompatibilites with 5.2 that aren't obvious to most PC users.

It's true with any of the 5.x versions. When they wrote the first 5.x release, they switched to a different development environment. I'll spare you the minutiae, but the bottom line is they're now using a programming language that has far more best-practice contraints regarding internet-based communications than the old language did. When switching programming tools, a learning curve is always involved. If you aren't using a firewall on your computer, then the problem may be that the 5.2 code is doing something that your ISP sees as incorrect and possibly dangerous. Most ISP don't block well-formed code that follows accepted standards. I suspect, if this is the problem, Logitech will get it figured out at some point. It could literally be as simple as the difference between a 0 (zero) and an O (capital letter). Those types of things are easy to have happen, easy to fix, yet can be incredibly difficult to find. Given some time, their programmers will probably work things out. At least they've maintained availablity of the website.

I've stayed with 5.02 on my computer to do tha actual loading, but I save each update to my changes from the website as a .EZHex file (Harmony's format). That way, I can re-load a configuation from my computer just by double-clicking the file, regardless of whether the website is up or down, slow or fast.

MoG

07-03-06, 06:43 PM

been using my 880 for a few months now and i generally like it.

i've gotten response time with my 8300HD DVR close to as fast as it is with the OEM remote, so I'm satisfied.

just connected it to my computer for the first time in a while today and saw the v5 upgrade. i didn't even realize there was a desktop component until reading this thread! did everything on the web like usual...

what did i do?
wanted too add control for the 6 user profiles available on my HS51A projector... didn't see them in the 880's database for the device so I had the 880 learn them.

what didn't i do?
reorder the commands on the device page.

Is there a way I can make the 6 new commands I taught the 880 shows up on the first page when I select the projector?

also, is there a reliable way to always get back to the activities screen from a device?

hitting the main activity button, such as "watch tv" isn't good as the 880 reissues all the "watch tv" commands, which with my lighting control, makes the lights go down and up. (I turn off all the lights then slightly light up the rear lights when starting to watch tv.)

thanks!

MoG

07-03-06, 06:46 PM

am I crazy for holding out hope that logitech will soon (2006) completely redo the Harmony site with AJAX/Web2.0/XMLHttpRequest technology?

check out www.gliffy.com for just one example.

they could introduce a new configuration method that shows the actual pages and lets you drag, rename, etc and then sync your changes to the remote. so many possibilities really...

Codeman

07-03-06, 07:04 PM

...
also, is there a reliable way to always get back to the activities screen from a device?

hitting the main activity button, such as "watch tv" isn't good as the 880 reissues all the "watch tv" commands, which with my lighting control, makes the lights go down and up. (I turn off all the lights then slightly light up the rear lights when starting to watch tv.)

thanks!

Just press the Device button (labelled Device) again. Or, press the Activities button twice. Either way will get you back to your current Activity.

Activities can be re-ordering using the website (button right above your list of Activities) and probably via the software as well.

MoG, I hope they get the client-side software working better before even think about switching the website. At least it's stable and I'd really dislike both interfaces being flaky at the same time.

Carl Newman

07-03-06, 10:51 PM

mschiff, epie, codeman, et. al. --

I got my 880 the 1st part of June - and used 5.2 during the initial setup. After a few days, my IE6 started acting flakey - wouldn't open links or opened 2 or 3 windows of same link. Then boot-up started taking longer -- and longer.

When it took 10 minutes & hung, took action. Used the repair function of XP (works, but scarey!). Cleared up boot problem (although network hosed & IE6 still flakey). Next day was the last straw -- one click in IE6 opened 42 instances of same page before 3 fingered salute stopped it.

Decided it had to be software related. Uninstalled version 5.2 (last new software) & found IE6 corrupt. Quicker to load beta IE7 so I did. Browser & machine has been working fine ever since.

Finished up configuring the 880 with the web site. Won't be using 5.2 even though I can't prove it caused the problem. Not willing to take the chance.

mschiff

07-04-06, 12:33 AM

Seems like a few of us would make a good case study for Logitech :) Hopefully they will respond with a better version. I know I have been voicing my complaints.

Epie,

I spoke to one of their second tier support reps and he told me that they are working on a new version that will work with both the 890 and all the others. Right now there is a separate version for the 890, and one for all the others.

They are aware of the issues.

-- Martin

mschiff

07-04-06, 12:38 AM

Carl,

I seriously doubt whether 5.2 had anything to do with the corruption of your IE installation. I have 5.2 installed on this machine, and 6.0 at work, and neither have affected IE at all.

-- Martin

czzer

07-04-06, 03:11 AM

I'm with epie on this. I would like to move one of my page 2 devices to show up on the first page. Activities aren't the best place for some functions to be. That's why device mode is available to start with. I rarely need to go into my avr's setup menu, so I don't want it on multiple activity menus, cluttering things up. Which leaves the avr device as the perfect, single place to put it.

I finally took the time to contact Tech Support on this. At least for the 880, re-order devices isn't possible. The tech person I spoke with said they use a default order, but she didn't know what it is. She said it isn't the order in which devices are created, nor do the device names have any impact on the order. She did put a request into their system asking for the ability to re-order devices. Without knowing their source code and data structures, I can't say for certain, but this should be a relatively easy thing for them to provide, assuming enough folks ask for it.

We are talking about two different things.

I agree it is NOT possible to change the order devices are listed in when you press the "Device" button. On my 659 the device list is dynamically ordered, with the devices in use in the current activity listed first. It sounds like the 880 might be different in this.

However, the original question that was asked was wether the order of COMMANDS within a device could be changed. This can be changed by re-typing as required(at least they can be on my 659).

oprd

07-04-06, 11:14 AM

Yeah Codeman, I tried doing it from the website also and got the same error message. I even opened up the EZHex file and saw several questionable lines of code. The support folks weren't willing to upload it and have their programmers look at it. It seems odd that they say is it a security issue but my PC "connects" to the remote. It pukes when it gets to the verification stage of the update (after it says it uploads).

Codeman

07-04-06, 12:36 PM

Hello,

I just got my Harmony 880 a few weeks ago and have been working with tech supppot a bit to set this up. I also have a LVM-42w2 from Westinghouse and they helped set up the toggle for the different inputs which fall under a single button. Works fine.

My question is that is there a way to reorder the device menus. For example, I am noticing that my "On Demand" button and "My DVR" button are buried on pages 3 and 4 of the device menus. Can I move these to the front menu of the device? How?

Thanks!

epie, if you're talking about wanting to re-order the items within a single device's menu, and not the main device menu itself, here's now (assuming you're using the website):

Click the "More Options" link under the device whose menu you want to change.

Then, click the "Customize the Device Mode for this..." link.

Now, scroll down to the Custom Button Label section and re-order away. It can be a bit tedious, so I recommend printing, or otherwise saving, a copy of the settings before you start. In case you need to add a button assignment back that you've removed or overwritten.

Yeah Codeman, I tried doing it from the website also and got the same error message. I even opened up the EZHex file and saw several questionable lines of code. The support folks weren't willing to upload it and have their programmers look at it. It seems odd that they say is it a security issue but my PC "connects" to the remote. It pukes when it gets to the verification stage of the update (after it says it uploads).

oprd, I'm a bit confused. The so-called "upload" step doesn't transfer anything to your computer. It's actually uploading your remote's setup information to a component on their server which then runs a verification process. If that's where the problem is happening, then neither your computer nor the link to your computer has anything to do with it. But, that should also mean that you can't get a file downloaded. The "upload" and "verification" steps should have to complete successfully before the data can be sent to your computer - unless they have a bug. Having said that, I have seen problems on their end that resulted in dropped button assignments once I downloaded the file. In both cases where that happened, I called tech support and they eventually fixed it. Most recently, there was a bug on the website that prevented "Favorite Channels" from showing up under an activity if that activity's name included the word "Record". "Rec" or "Rcrd" were fine, but "Record" wasn't. It only took them a day or two to have that fixed. It's not the same type of problem your having, but it does show both that they do have bugs and that they do fix them, once they understand them. The understanding part, usually requires a med/senior-level support person and/or the programmers themselves, which I'll address in a moment.

Can you describe, in detail, the steps that are occurring? Maybe I can help you figure out exactly where the problem is occurring, and that knowledge may help you when talking to tech support.

Regarding the load of files being a security issue, I suspect you were talking with a low-level support person. The email addresses for such folks may not allow attachments, in general, to be received, depending on the corporate security policies they have in place. If you've still got your incident number, call back and ask to speak to a higher level technician. Eventually, you should be able to get in touch with someone who can receive your file and take a look at it. I have absolutely nothing against tier 1 support personnel - they provide a valuable service in many cases to both the customer and the company. There is, however, a tendency among them to not tell you that other people above them have more abilities. I've run into this not only with tech support for computer-related things, but in other industries as well. I suspect, in many cases, it's simply because the entry-level support folks simply don't know what the med/senior-level folks are allowed to do. Of course, it may be in their interest as well, if their performance is measured by closed calls vs calls passed up the chain. I'm speaking in general terms, by the way. I have no specific knowledge as to how Logitech does this stuff, other than the fact that they do have a multi-tier support structure in place. I'm just trying to explain why you may have been told that. So, call 'em back. It's in your interest to figure out exactly what the problem is, and it's in Logitech's interest as well. You just need to get in touch with someone who sees that and can act on it. That almost always requires speaking with a mid/senior support person.

miked2023

07-04-06, 04:12 PM

Does anybody have problem with keeping time? After couple of months, it had lost over 30 minutes. Is this normal?

- Vikas

mine has lost an hour in the last 3 weeks. :mad:

Flyhigh

07-05-06, 02:00 AM

I came across this thread Click Here (http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-harmony/thread.cgi?4182) in which the author came up with an extension to firefox to improve the usability of the website through firefox. It allows you to more easily re-order custom buttons on activities and devices among other things but moving selected actions up or down by arrows instead of retyping your entire functions. I haven't used it yet and am one of the cautious ones about using an un-signed extension but it seems like a very helpful mod. What do you guys think?

czzer

07-05-06, 03:16 AM

I use it...it works well. It still groups activity commands by device though. That is a limitation you can't get around(yet).

Ladd

07-05-06, 09:55 AM

I came across this thread Click Here (http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-harmony/thread.cgi?4182) in which the author came up with an extension to firefox to improve the usability of the website through firefox.I downloaded FireFox about a month ago just to use this extension. Definitely makes like easier.

1soupmeister

07-05-06, 02:17 PM

I have the 880 with a new Panny TH50-PX60U. The configuration it sets up for this TV is totally different than the remote the set came with. It gives PIP options and a whole bunch of other stuff that is irrelevant. Does anyone know how to get it to configure to the proper remote settings?

epie

07-05-06, 02:56 PM

epie, if you're talking about wanting to re-order the items within a single device's menu, and not the main device menu itself, here's now (assuming you're using the website):

Click the "More Options" link under the device whose menu you want to change.

Then, click the "Customize the Device Mode for this..." link.

Now, scroll down to the Custom Button Label section and re-order away. It can be a bit tedious, so I recommend printing, or otherwise saving, a copy of the settings before you start. In case you need to add a button assignment back that you've removed or overwritten.

Thanks for the help. I will try this. I have also had problems trying to sign-up for the "support forums" (not really a big deal thanks to this AVS thread :) ) and when I tried to e-mail Harmony a question I got the IE page not found error when I tried to submit. I guess all of Logitech's money is going into phone support. Lucky for them otherwise their products would not be doing so well.

tokerblue

07-05-06, 03:11 PM

1soupmeister: I have the 880 with a new Panny TH50-PX60U. The configuration it sets up for this TV is totally different than the remote the set came with. It gives PIP options and a whole bunch of other stuff that is irrelevant. Does anyone know how to get it to configure to the proper remote settings?
- In some cases, the Harmony database lists generic codes for the devices. This happens when a manufacturer has similar codes that may be applicable to more than one device in a line. If you see a command you don't want or is not applicable to your model, you can delete it.

Stryker412

07-05-06, 08:03 PM

Does anyone know what the button is for a SA 8300 that will let me get to the settings menu? I know how to do it on the Comcast remote, but anyone know what that button is called in the harmony software?

It's the button if you hit it twice brings you to the settings menu. I like to switch between HDMI audio and DD 5.1.

ronbo1011

07-05-06, 08:18 PM

Stryker412

07-05-06, 08:31 PM

Geez I'm sorry. I thought it was menu2 or something. Sorry for that.

joe221

07-05-06, 10:00 PM

steveklein

07-06-06, 07:27 PM

I have a question...

Is there a way to have the LCD screen on the remote display my favorite channels, as customized by the remote, by clicking "Fav" on the Watch TV options?

Right now, when I click Fav, it says there are no favorite channels listed (it's sending that command to my digital cable box... when my favorites are on my remote... not on my digital cable box!)

I have to click Media to display the channels on the remote, when I'd rather just click "Fav" from the Watch TV menu. Any way around this?

ALSO, I'm using software 4.4.0 or something. I've heard that software 5.0.2 is better and offers me more customization options. I can't seem to find a way to upgrade. How do I do this?

Last question... I'm trying to set up my XM radio with my remote. How do I add favorite XM channels in the same vain as favorite TV channels? When I am setting up the options, there is a set up favorite channels for my TV setup, but not for my XM radio setup. Any way to do this?

tokerblue

07-06-06, 11:38 PM

I have to click Media to display the channels on the remote, when I'd rather just click "Fav" from the Watch TV menu. Any way around this?
- Unfortunately, you have to press the Media button to display favorite stations. You can't remap the button.

Norgoth

07-07-06, 01:39 PM

Question: I was using the 688 and it basically worked fine. It handled changing the inputs on my Sharp Aquos LCD to work with whatever activity I wanted just fine. It was a little slow in changing inputs but still worked. I then bought a 880 to replace the 688. I was not sure how to get the Harmony website to realize I had a new remote, so I hit connectivity and then the website showed the connection to my 880, I then hit update remote and downloaded what I had programed on my 688 to the 880. The input changing function does not work with the 880. I then fiddled around with different changes and as best as I can ascertain, royally screwed up everything.

Did I initially make a mistake by simply updating the remote and downloading the setup I had used for the 688? How would I go about rectifying that? Is there a way to clear out the whole program and start from scratch? It seems that might be my best alternative at this point.

tcat

07-07-06, 02:18 PM

joe221

07-07-06, 02:31 PM

joe221

07-07-06, 02:33 PM

Just got my 880. Put it on the charger and that connection sure seems flakey. Has to be on there "just right". Can't just set it down, I have to push on it and wiggle it a little, then the screen lights up. I think I may prefer the older model with batteries, I would think (4) batteries would last 2 or 3 years, my existing remotes last at least a year with 2 batteries. Will get it programmed tonight to see if it starts acting better.

Not with a bright color screen. You might want to call Harmony and have them ship you and updated model. Does your screen fade on the edges? Or if it's really new just return it and buy from a different source.

Codeman

07-07-06, 02:34 PM

lowbar

07-07-06, 02:35 PM

Did I initially make a mistake by simply updating the remote and downloading the setup I had used for the 688? How would I go about rectifying that? Is there a way to clear out the whole program and start from scratch? It seems that might be my best alternative at this point.

I would suggest deleting all devices and activities and starting over. As the remotes have different capabilites simply updating the new remote with the program for the old one probably wasn't the best route to take. It's an easy fix though.

lowbar

tcat

07-07-06, 02:37 PM

My bad... I heard something rattling in the box, the battery! Now, with the battery installed, it seems to act normally. Without the battery, it would light up and the battery icon was acting like it was charging... should give you an message like "install the battery you idiot!"

tcat

07-07-06, 10:52 PM

I am programming the custom buttons for "Watch TV". I'll have at least 2 pages of them (SA-8300 and Plasma), but I would like the Aspect Button for the TV to be on the first page. Everytime I save it sends that button to the end (page 2). The note at the web site says it will "group" buttons together, moving all the "TV" buttons to the end. Is there a way to rearrange them once transferred to the remote? I see no way of getting an "Aspect" button to page one, other than using something like the main "E" button....

czzer

07-08-06, 12:21 AM

The only workaround would be to learn the "Aspect" command to the device who's commands are first on the LCD.

Juppers

07-08-06, 01:16 AM

I've never had a problem with the custom buttons, I just delete all of whatever is already there and put in what I want in the order I want.

Norgoth

07-08-06, 08:29 AM

Thanks for the replies all. I am going to remove all devices and activities and first try to start over. It is good to keep fresh on how to do it anyhow. I will post my results.

Norgoth

07-08-06, 09:50 AM

Mispost, sorry

Crazytrekker

07-08-06, 11:13 AM

I'm having a horrific time getting my Harmony 885 to interact properly with my Panasonic TX-28PK25 television.

I have two major problems:

1. In order to turn the set on/off I must press the power toggle button on the TV remote for 2-3 seconds. A single press just isn't enough. In order for the Harmony to do this I've had to number of repeats to 3 but this results in the volume control flying up and down when I change the TV volume. Setting the number of repeats to 1 fixes the volume thing but the TV no longer turns on and off. Is there a way of making both the on/off function AND the volume work properly?

2. I have the following channels on my set:
a) Tuner
b) AV1
c) AV2
d) AV2S
e) AV3
f) AV3S

In order to switch from Tuner to AV I have to press a button called "TV/VIDEO". Once the AV mode is engaged I press red for AV1, green for AV2(S) and yellow for AV3(S). How the heck do I set this up for the Harmony? It either wants me to select that I choose the channels directly (which I don't because I have to toggle the "TV/VIDEO" button first or that I toggle between AV channels (which I don't because once AV is engaged I can select the AV inputs directly).

I've tried to set things up the best I can but the DVD doesn't go to AV1 properly, the satellite doesn't go to AV2. It's a complete mess. The best I managed was for the satellite to call up AV2S which is black and white!!

The annoying thing is that when I first set this up on Wednesday everything seemed to be okay but after tweaking the settings for the DVD/CD/VHS etc activities the TV no longer appears to work.

Please help!!

John

tcat

07-08-06, 11:35 AM

That doesn't seem to work on mine. If I add the Aspect in the TV column (2nd column), hit save, then go back and look at it (or look at the remote after uploaded), the "Aspect" moves to "last" custom button. Your "whatever you want" must all be in the STB column. I ended up just using the "E" (enter) button, since I don't need it for anything else.

Now I have a "turn on" conflict. My XR57 and E80H recorder seem to have a conflict. Working on that today.

I've never had a problem with the custom buttons, I just delete all of whatever is already there and put in what I want in the order I want.

Norgoth

07-08-06, 01:35 PM

I just want to say that Logitech phone support is great. I could not get my remote to cycle through inputs automatically on my Sharp LCD. Tech support moved me to Level 2 and the tech person was nice and knowledgeable. At the end of the session, he walked me through the changes he made so that I could replicate it myself if I made changes. It is that kind of support that makes me a loyal customer.

tcat

07-08-06, 04:00 PM

I have a Panny XR57. Trying to teach the 880 to recognize the "SFC Music", "SFC Movie" and "SFC Off" buttons. They don't show up on the 880 "list". I trained the buttons, but when pressed I get "Remote 1" showing up on the AVR (on all 3 buttons). The 880 did recognize an "SFC" button, but doesn't seem to toggle through the "Movies" effects, and does not have an "Off".

Suggestions?

Otherwise, once you figure out how to set all the buttons, this thing is looking very promissing!
_________

OK, found my problem. I had the AVR remote set as "Remote 2", because I was having conflicts with my DVD Recorder. The 880 seemed to recognize most of the buttons anyway, but not the 3 in question. I reset the AVR remote to "Remote 1", and after retraining the 880, seems to work fine now.

Every now and then when I am "Listening to CD" (TV off), when I hit "Off", CD and AVR shut off, but TV turns on.... but not always. Think I'll live with it, pretty easy to go to TV and Power off... you'd think the Harmony software would be smart enough to know if there were any ON-OFF conflicts.

tcat

07-08-06, 11:38 PM

Does anybody have problem with keeping time? After couple of months, it had lost over 30 minutes. Is this normal?

- Vikas

I lose an hour each time I connect and download... My computer is right, time zone correct... I can set remote time, then I connect and it moves back an hour. Looks like a software glitch to me.

Grimdeath

07-09-06, 08:13 AM

I lose an hour each time I connect and download... My computer is right, time zone correct... I can set remote time, then I connect and it moves back an hour. Looks like a software glitch to me.

Timezone AND DST need to be the same of the PC and remote.

Jediphish

07-09-06, 10:04 AM

Flyhigh

07-09-06, 10:47 AM

In my new house, I'm going to have all my source component in a cabinet out of infrared's reach - Does the harmony use Radio Frequency signals and I/R repeaters, or is "line of sight" still required for the Harmony remotes (the 880)? Thanks!

The 880 does line of sight IR only. The 890 is what you would need. The 890 comes with the IR repeater (RF extender) that receives RF from the 890 remote. The RF extender in itself looks like half of a computer mouse. Its powerful enough to place up to 16 feet from your target sources and the curvature of it allows for maximum coverage. I have a 6 shelf equipment rack with the extender placed on the 3rd shelf from the bottom. It sends the signal perfectly and every time to that shelf and the 3 shelves above it, as well as my projector hanging on the ceiling about 12 feet away. If that doesn't work out for you, the unit comes with 5 IR repeaters that plug into the extender and then you could place those in front of the IR inputs of your equipment. Hi Def Lifestyles (go throught the power buy forum on this site) offers the 890 for less then you'll pay for the 880 at Best Buy/Circuit City.

NathanC

07-09-06, 01:51 PM

Does anyone know how i can get my 880 to scroll through stuff on my MCE PC? I used to be able to have a long list of songs, and hold down the 'down' button and it would scroll fine, however i updated the remote for some new equipment i got and now it won't do it anymore. I have to push 'down' over and over again and it's pretty annoying. I have it assigned to my PC's 'direction down' function, and when i hold the button down the little icon on the 880 stays showing indicating that it's repeatedly sending the signal, what am i missing here?

Edit: I just tried it with the regular MCE remote, something i should have done long ago, and it doesn't work either, so it's something with the computer. Sorry, 880, i never meant to doubt you.

Edit II: It works fine with the TV off. Apparently the amount of IR my plasma emits is enough to disable commands being repeated to the remote. Amazing. It works fine with TV viewing, though, but i guess the blue of the Media Center is light enough to send alot of IR. Odd.

Jediphish

07-09-06, 05:55 PM

Thanks FlyHigh for the reply and the info about the power buy.

la9ers

07-10-06, 03:38 AM

I'm looking for a good price on the harmony 880. Does any one have a coupon or knows any good deal for a new harmony880? Please let me know......thanks

dtrusty

07-10-06, 01:29 PM

Hi All, Does anyone else have the experience that the repeat rate with the 880 is very slow? When watching tivo and navigating down the show listings it takes about 1 second to move from one item to the next.

Juppers

07-10-06, 01:33 PM

The 880 is horribly slow for lots of things. By my testing, it is about 5 times less responsive than the original remote. It just queues commands and works through them eventually.

tcat

07-10-06, 01:48 PM

I find it as fast or faster than my other remotes. You need to have "Inter-key Delay" set to 100ms or zero. I have most of mine set to zero. It still isn't "instant", but I can click 10 times (as fast as I can push) scrolling down a guide, and it will take about 2 seconds to hit the 10th line.

The only problem I have occationally is after watching a DVD (SA8300, XR57, DVD, 42PX60u, all ON), I hit the off button, and the AVR will sometimes stay on. Not sure if I need to increase or decrease one of the other delay settings.

dtrusty

07-10-06, 01:52 PM

Where is it that I would set the Inter-key delay?

I find it as fast or faster than my other remotes. You need to have "Inter-key Delay" set to 100ms or zero. I have most of mine set to zero. It still isn't "instant", but I can click 10 times (as fast as I can push) scrolling down a guide, and it will take about 2 seconds to hit the 10th line.

The only problem I have occationally is after watching a DVD (SA8300, XR57, DVD, 42PX60u, all ON), I hit the off button, and the AVR will sometimes stay on. Not sure if I need to increase or decrease one of the other delay settings.

tcat

07-10-06, 02:07 PM

See the 1st sticky post here, all kinds of info. When you log in, hit "more options", then in the components on left, hit "more options" of what you want to change, the hit "change delays". You can do this for each item.

tokerblue

07-10-06, 02:23 PM

Where is it that I would set the Inter-key delay?
- There's a sticky at the top of this forum entitled "Harmony Slow Response?".

Crazytrekker

07-10-06, 03:56 PM

I wonder if I could ask to quick questions about the 885:

1. Does anybody else use a Panasonic TX28PK25 television set? If so, what delay settings do you use? I'm finding that the Harmony's ability to turn the set on/off and to switch to AV2 mode is hit and miss at best. I have mine set pretty slow at the moment, any suggestions?

2. Does anybody else use a Denon AVR-3805 receiver? If so, how the heck do you get the Harmony to recognise the tape (or more specifically the "CDR/Tape") command? Whenever I select "Tape" or "Tape 1" the Harmony switches to "V.Aux" mode. I've tried Logitech's database and I've tried teaching it the command from my Denon remote but it still goes to "V.Aux".

Thanks!

John

bart2brett

07-10-06, 09:10 PM

Isn't there any offline stand alone software for configuring the 880? It seems that while tweaking the setup it would be beneficial to be able to do it locally on my PC. Then upload it to the web site.

bart2brett

07-10-06, 09:26 PM

The "OFF" button on my 880 doesn't do anything. I called support and they told me to upgrade the firmware to 4.0 (although I already had 4.0), but this did nothing. Any thoughts?

czzer

07-10-06, 10:00 PM

There is no stand-alone software.

The OFF button only works in ACTIVITY mode. Are you using ACTIVITY or DEVICE mode?

bart2brett

07-11-06, 08:29 AM

The OFF button only works in ACTIVITY mode. Are you using ACTIVITY or DEVICE mode?

I'm in activity mode

bart2brett

07-11-06, 08:56 AM

bart2brett

07-11-06, 09:37 AM

I want to add a device that doesn't seem to be on the list of device types. I have a Panasonic DMR-ES45VS combo DVD recorder and VCR. I don't know if I should use the "DVD/VCR" type, the "DVD Recorder" type, or one of each? Any ideas?

jsmiddleton4

07-11-06, 09:39 AM

bart,

There is a place that allows you to send "additional" commands after the main command.

You may also have to setup a ghost devices so you can send a 2 on the first "real" device, a 4 on the ghost and a 3 on the third ghost.

joe221

07-11-06, 12:02 PM

I have another question. The Logitech site says this about the 880 "Optimized for complicated HDTV and PVR systems". My problem is that over the air (OTA) HD digital television is capable of receiving more than one channel per frequency (and it almost always does). This means that (for example) my local PBS channel (24) also broadcasts 24-1, 24-2, 24-3 & 24-4. How can I set these up in my favorites on the 880?

Add each channel as 24-1 24-2 etc etc. But I'd first set up a seperate activity for OTA Viewing. This way it won't confuse the cable box and give you more favorites.

Codeman

07-11-06, 12:03 PM

I have another question. The Logitech site says this about the 880 "Optimized for complicated HDTV and PVR systems". My problem is that over the air (OTA) HD digital television is capable of receiving more than one channel per frequency (and it almost always does). This means that (for example) my local PBS channel (24) also broadcasts 24-1, 24-2, 24-3 & 24-4. How can I set these up in my favorites on the 880?

Have you tried using a decimal point - 24.1, 24.2, 24.3, & 24.4? I use my TV's favorite settings for OTA, so I haven't done this myself. I did, however, just confirm that the website will accept and save decimal channel assignments under my TV"s favorite settings, so it should work for you.

joe221

07-11-06, 12:04 PM

I'm in activity mode

It may be defective, get it replaced if you find no solution.

joe221

07-11-06, 12:06 PM

Have you tried using a decimal point - 24.1, 24.2, 24.3, & 24.4? I use my TV's favorite settings for OTA, so I haven't done this myself. I did, however, just confirm that the website will accept and save decimal channel assignments under my TV"s favorite settings, so it should work for you.

Yes, I assumed a TV that uses - but Sony uses . so it's what ever your TV uses for the seperator.

Codeman

07-11-06, 12:24 PM

Yes, I assumed a TV that uses - but Sony uses . so it's what ever your TV uses for the seperator.

Since the Harmony 880 has a "." button, IMO, it just makes sense to use that. Besides, except for looking the command up in a custom button assignment, the symbol that the TV uses doesn't matter - it's the IR signal that's represented by that symbol that's important.

Besides, I think he'll understand either way. We just happen to be posting at the same time. Your post wasn't there when I started to make mine.

Clepto

07-11-06, 12:42 PM

Juppers

07-11-06, 01:24 PM

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/rebates/A0466823.pdf

If you have spent $100 or more on a home electronic device at Dell in the last 6 weeks, here is a $30 rebate to go along with the 880.

joe221

07-11-06, 02:48 PM

The "OFF" button on my 880 doesn't do anything. I called support and they told me to upgrade the firmware to 4.0 (although I already had 4.0), but this did nothing. Any thoughts?

My "Off" button has stoped working! I just updated my remote this morning and just tried to turn off my TV. It may have something to do with the updated software! It's no longer an isolated problem, I'm confirmation.
Will others do an update using the new software and test this out!
:eek:

Juppers

07-11-06, 02:56 PM

My Off button has become unfriendly after I did an update last night. It did eventually work though.

blazeblaze

07-11-06, 04:05 PM

My Off button has become unfriendly after I did an update last night. It did eventually work though.

Same thing happened to me yesterday. I updated again a few hours later in the evening, and it seemed to work fine.

MN Dan

07-11-06, 07:33 PM

I have a 520 and the I had the same problem with the off button after an update last night. I need a new remote for my bar room system, is the 880 special from dell a good deal and is the 880 a big step up from my 520? I was thinking about getting a cheap universal remote for downstairs so the wife and kids dont' have to use 3-4 remotes but my consider the 880 from dell.

RangersFan

07-11-06, 08:53 PM

returned my malfunctioning 880, and got the cheaper 676 and couldn't be happier. has all the same features for half the price. and is definitely more comfortable with it's layout.

geoWorm

07-12-06, 02:26 AM

My "Off" button has stoped working! I just updated my remote this morning and just tried to turn off my TV. It may have something to do with the updated software! It's no longer an isolated problem, I'm confirmation.
Will others do an update using the new software and test this out!
:eek:

My off button works, turns off all the equip 90% of the time. Sometimes I don't aim it in the correct direction to get the double power toggle to reflect to the projector. I use to be able to press HELP and answer the questions and get the projector to turn off. Now when I press HELP, it says Nothing To Do. :(

I did add a device recently, I wonder if I set something incorrectly?

joe221

07-12-06, 09:53 AM

My off button works, turns off all the equip 90% of the time. Sometimes I don't aim it in the correct direction to get the double power toggle to reflect to the projector. I use to be able to press HELP and answer the questions and get the projector to turn off. Now when I press HELP, it says Nothing To Do. :(

I did add a device recently, I wonder if I set something incorrectly?

I don't think it was you. If I push the off button 3 times it finally works. THAT'S illogical based on how the Harmony works!

Heywood

07-12-06, 03:22 PM

try to Set up your remote to use the descrete POWER off comand, rather than the power toggle. I had a similar proble and it helps.

Also may want to review the Delay settings because when powering off a bunch of components, you need to keep the remote pointed at the system for longer than you may think.

John 61

07-12-06, 03:25 PM

Dell has the 880 for $119 off and free shipping (comes to $130 before taxes). It's realted to the 10 Days of Deals at Dell.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/sna.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~topic=dod

I just got off the phone with Dell and they said the price was never discounted from the 249 other than the 30 rebait. If anyone was able to take advantage of this great deal can you please PM me your order # and the sales rep at Dell said she would match the price. Can anybody help a friend looking for a great deal on the Harmony 880 ??? Thanks in advance

joe221

07-12-06, 03:35 PM

I just got off the phone with Dell and they said the price was never discounted from the 249 other than the 30 rebait. If anyone was able to take advantage of this great deal can you please PM me your order # and the sales rep at Dell said she would match the price. Can anybody help a friend looking for a great deal on the Harmony 880 ??? Thanks in advance

Go to Slick Deals (http://www.slickdeals.net) and follow the instructions linked to the deal. Not a phone deal.

Scott Smith

07-12-06, 04:23 PM

I went to Dell.com and did a search for Harmony and was able to add it to a cart for 130.00.

Wow something funny is going on because now the one I added to my cart shows 249.00

I will tell you this: 130.00 is below my dealer cost!

joe221

07-12-06, 08:59 PM

Scott Smith

07-12-06, 10:53 PM

Do you buy more than Dell? "Columns"

I understand where your comming from but when Dell is selling an item for almost 20% below what dealer cost is there is something wrong with that picture.

JBaumgart

07-12-06, 10:55 PM

I bought a second 880 from Dell in June and paid $129 with free shipping. Still waiting for my $20 rebate check so my total net cost will be $109 plus $9.04 tax = $118.04. That's less than what I paid for a 659 2 1/2 years ago.

tcat

07-12-06, 11:54 PM

SA8300, Pan. 42PX60U, Pan. XR-57, Pan. E80H DVD/recorder

Most of the hard buttons are per database, except I have tv aspect programmed to the "+" key while watching TV. The more you use it, the better it gets! I also chose "Large" keys in the set-up menu, which makes the Activity screen look better (IMO), the icons appear at the left and text at the right, and you can use either hard button (L or R) to activate each activity. Thought it would be interesting to see how custom buttons are being used, here's mine (I'm sure they change):

WATCH TV
PVR List - LIVE
A - C
B - TV Menu (trained)
FAV - TvVideo (trained)
---
PIP - Pip Move
pip ch Up - Pip Swap
pip ch DWN - STB aspect (SA8300 # key)
POWER - avr POWER (trained)

WATCH DVD
HDD - DVD
Power - Input SEL
avr DVD - avr DVR
sfc MOVIES - sfc OFF
---
SUB - Effect Up
Effect DWN - Level

LISTEN to CD
avr DVD - avr DVR
sfc Music - sfc OFF
SUB - Effect UP
Effect DWN - Level

RECORD VIDEO
HDD - DVD
Power - Input SEL
Display - REC mode
avr DVD - avr DVR
---
sfc Movies - sfc OFF