This appears to be the only seprarate thread for the HK TC30. As a former Harmony 880 owner, I was looking for a remote that was less cumbersome to use. The 880s buttons are flat and functions are often indistinguishable from one another by look or feel.

While I found the Harmony comfortable to hold, I often had to reposition the grip to allow me to get to the button functions that my hand would cover.

For me, the TC30 is more attractive, more comfortable to hold, and not one that I have to reposition to use the buttons. I don't know if HK improved the Logitech software that runs the remote, but it sure appears to work better than the 880.

Before getting rid of the 880, I used it and the TC30 side-by-side for a month. I concluded that the TC30 was superior. I liked the remote interface software better as well. It did not require me to use a browser to sign in, set up or make changes to my devices and activities. HK's support, whether it is its own or Logitech's, has always been helpful for the few times that I needed to speak to a live technician.

Any other TC30 users out there? What have been your experiences?

Good day,

I am a current H680 user looking to go color and am considering the H880 or TC30.

1) Curious to hear your opinion on the difference in clarity/readability between the TC30 display and that of the H880?

2) Does TC30 have motion sensor like the H880?

3) Do you miss not having dedicated PageUp\Down keys to assist in navigating TV onscreen Guides (Be it cable or Sat box)?

4) any other plus or mnuses between these 2 remotes you care to mention?

Thanks,

Claude H.

Hi ~ I have also my eye on the TC-30.

Is it confirmed it will not do PageUp/Page Down in e.g. TV Onscreen menu's? That would be a shame... That function is probably what I use my current remote the most for...

Do not forget that you can always map a pageup and pagedown key to a pair of buttons of your choosing along the LCD.

I too agree that dedicated would be better but once in an activity that requires a page up/down, it might not be too big a sacrifice to use a couple of the LCD buttons.

I just want to hear from others as well as charlz about their hands on thoughts and impressions of the TC30 and/or comparison with the H880.

For some reason, I suspect the build quality of the TC30 may feel and may even be better than the H880. Just an impression from afar.

Also curious to hear if the online configuration experience with HK's site is all that much different than that of Harmony's. If so, is it easier? Better or worse?

I hear that Harmony w/b releasing the 700 series sometime in July (other post herein had pictures of an EU Harmony 785 unit which has 6 not 8 buttons along the LCD.

Speaking of LCD is the TC30's the same or better than the H880? More easily readable for the over 40 set?


Thanks,

Claude H.

I have been keeping an eye on this remote since before it was released. I guessed this community would have been all over this unit but it still seems to get little notice even though it can be had online now for less 200.

Just about ready to purchase and am interested in hearing any feedback. I'll keep watching this thread.

Dan

I just received my TC30 and logged into the HK portal using my Harmony ID and all the settings came down to the TC30.

Now to play and see what I can imporve upon with the TC30.

Claude H.

I just ordered mine today so will be interested in your feedback Claude.

Regards,

Dan

I just received my HK TC30 from Abe's of Maine over the Internet. And after charging it for 12 hours I noticed that were lines going through the LCD screen and the pictures were distorted. I called Abe's and they gave me a RMA # so I sent it back via Express Mail. I am really curious to hear from other users of the TC30 to see if it is as easy to setup and use as they advertise. Also once it is setup how do you go about changing the displays to your likeness. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance. :cool:

I haven't seen a TC 30 in person yet. I own an 880 and like the shape of it but I prefer remotes with rubber buttons - from the pictures it looks like the tc30 has rubber buttons. Can you please let me know?

Are the buttons - glow-through buttons so that the markings become illuminated? I have a sony and mits remote that have semi-clear rubber buttons that glow and so the markings on them are very easy to read in the dark.

Thanks

I have been using my TC-30 for a couple of months now.

The regular buttons (play, pause, fast forward etc.) are made of rubber. Others are hard plastic (channel up/down, volume up/down, activity buttons). Nevertheless, everything is very intuitive and feels good. I absolutely LOVE mine (but, granted, I have never used any other programmable RC). Setup was a breeze. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the looks of it.

Thanks - can you tell me something? If the room is dark and the unit is lit, what sort of light assistance do you get to make the play or pause button more viewable (if any?)

The remote has a tilt sensor and all of the buttons are have soft back lighting. In a dark room once you move the remote the all of the buttons are visible including play and pause.

I like others in this forum ,I also like my TC-30. The only things I don't like about it is the organization issue with the LCD previously mentioned, and that the channel buttons are made of hard plastic. The channel buttons have to be pressed much harder the rubber buttons and there is an audible click each time they are pressed. This can be annoying if you do a lot of channel surfing like me :).

Love my TC-30. I did have to replace the original, as one of the soft keys stopped working. HK sent out another one right away, no questions asked. It has a very bright screen, the layout of the buttons are much better than other remotes, and it works great with all my equipment. I would much rather have this than the 880 anyday.

Can you rename activities on the main screen? For instance, instead of "Listen to the Bridge" can I rename that to "Listen to Squeezebox", or are you stuck with factory-named activities?

Can you rename activities on the main screen? For instance, instead of "Listen to the Bridge" can I rename that to "Listen to Squeezebox", or are you stuck with factory-named activities?

You can rename it anything you like, within reason. You wouldn't want a long name that would be truncated or hard to read. You can always drop the "Listen to" part.

You can rename it anything you like, within reason. You wouldn't want a long name that would be truncated or hard to read. You can always drop the "Listen to" part.
Great. I understand that name length is a factor, I just didn't know if the activity name itself was editable at all.

Great. I understand that name length is a factor, I just didn't know if the activity name itself was editable at all.

Yep, it is the same as with the other Harmony Remotes. After you have set up your devices, you attach them to activities. You can then go in and modify the names, buttons, delays, and set up mini-macro's. (Like turn on the sconce lights when you hit pause on your player). You can also change the names and buttons on the devices. All-in-all, a great way to run a complicated system. Some still prefer the more macro driven remotes, but for me, the TC-30 has done everything I needed it to do. It runs everything from my projector to my overhead lights dimmer. There are a few features not found on the TC-30 that are on the Harmony 880, like the media button, and the channel guide downloads. I don't use those anyhow, so it didn't impact my decision. You can also change the background on the main screen and the icons.

Can you enter TV channel favorites into the remote? It looks like the LCD screen may be able to accomodate that and if I were to guess it appears you can list eight favorites per lcd screen? Is that a correct guess? If so how many favorites can you load?

Has anyone compared the TC30 to the Harmony 720? (both of these units look very similar). If so, what were your findings?

Thanks...

I am a newbie to this forum. I just ugraded from the Harmony 880 to the HK TC30. Overall I think it's a better remote except for the missing Media Button. Is there any way to program it as a soft key from my 880 remote? I am using the settings from my 880 and Logitech's website. I can't even see the logos that I set up in the 880. Any advice would be great!

The TC30 doesn't have this feature.

I am a newbie to this forum. I just ugraded from the Harmony 880 to the HK TC30. Overall I think it's a better remote except for the missing Media Button. Is there any way to program it as a soft key from my 880 remote? I am using the settings from my 880 and Logitech's website. I can't even see the logos that I set up in the 880. Any advice would be great!


What does the Media button do? Also, can the remote do a page up/page down for scrolling through a cable TV guide?

What does the Media button do? Also, can the remote do a page up/page down for scrolling through a cable TV guide?

Anyone that is interested in the TV Cable guide is better off with one of the Harmony remotes, as there is not media button on the TC-30 and the support staff at HK told me that it was not available as a soft key either. I did complain about this, but I doubt it ever gets changed. I think the 880 has this feature, but you would want to check that thread to make sure.

Anyone that is interested in the TV Cable guide is better off with one of the Harmony remotes, as there is not media button on the TC-30 and the support staff at HK told me that it was not available as a soft key either.
Does the Harmony 720 have this feature?

I just returned the TC30 and kept my 880. Overall I think it is a better remote than the tc30. That's my 2 cents.

I just returned the TC30 and kept my 880. Overall I think it is a better remote than the tc30. That's my 2 cents.

It really depends on what you use the remote for. If you need the media functions, the 880 is a better solution. If you don't use those features, the TC-30 is a much better solution. It has an easier layout, a better LCD screen, and a much nicer feel to the buttons IMHO. But everyone has their own opinions, and Harmony has a remote to suite just about every style.

If you need the media functions, the 880 is a better solution.
What are the media functions? What do they do?

And does the Harmony 720 have these media functions?

What are the media functions? What do they do?

And does the Harmony 720 have these media functions?


Probably best to ask these questions in a Logitech/Harmony remote control thread, as you will get more answers from people that own them. In general, the media button is for favorite channels, program guides, etc. Not sure of all the details, as I don't use any of these features.

I might be confused on the Media guide button and the scrolling through Cable TV Guide. I have a Pioneer HD 4360. I use a CableCard (got rid of the bulky cable box) and the built in TV Guide. The TC-30 works flawless. I can scroll through the guide channel by channel, or by page down/up.

I am confused about the favorite channels issue. I understand there is no media button to take you directly to the favorite channels, however, can you get to a favorite channel section by cycling through Activities. Can you load the channel icons into the remote for use at that point. Thanks for the help.

Matt

I am confused about the favorite channels issue. I understand there is no media button to take you directly to the favorite channels, however, can you get to a favorite channel section by cycling through Activities. Can you load the channel icons into the remote for use at that point. Thanks for the help.

MattI'm interested in the same info. I've only seen a single post addressing this (last one in the below referenced thread), and according to that
user, the short answer is no.

I'd be interested to hear this confirmed or denied by another user.

remotecentral.com Harman Kardon TC30 thread (http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-harmony/thread.cgi?4028,1)

I've just received my TC30 tonight but ran into initial setup issues.

Remote is charged and plugged into the USB Port, remote screen shows USB connected. When I plugged the remote in initially the computer (Dell/XP) was unable to find drivers for the remote. I suspect this is why its not connecting during the logon process. All that comes on the CD are the packaged software files, nothing you can point the computer to in terms of drivers. How did everyone else get around this, is there a specific driver file I should be looking for, because having the computer look for it is not working.

Currently stuck waiting for tech support to respond. Love the look of it though.

I think I need the driver file for this remote. It is not on the computer nor can it be found when Windows attempts to install it. Its also not on the CD.

Is there anyone with the TC30 installed correctly on XP that can tell me under the device manager 1 - the driver name and 2 - could I get it emailed to me?

The support people I have been dealing with have been next to useless and will not email me any files or tell me the name of the driver files to look for.

pmturcotte,

I just installed the software that came on the CD and then restarted the PC. When the PC came up again I plugged the remote in. I then started the software that came with the remote.

I believe the drivers are packed into the install of the remote's programming software and are automatically installed when the software is installed. For the TC30 you have to use the supplied software to program the remote so you have no choice but to install it!!! With this remote you cannot use the logitech web software to program this remote...

I had no problem installing the TC30 software. I restarted, plugged in the machine, still nothing. The software works fine, comes up, lets me login etc. But it did not install the driver.

Can you look up the driver name and tell me what it is?

I've been looking for a good remote with LCD under $200 and I really though I was going to end up with the Harmony 880, but then I noticed the negative revues regarding the buttons and the charger. THEN I found the TC30, man I really like it! :D

1) All the pics. I've seen of the Harmony 880 show it has the time and battery level on the screen at all times, of all the pictures I've seen of the TC30 I've never seen one showing the battery level? That’s some thing I'd like, is it there on the TC30?

2) I'm a little intimidated from all the complex post I've read of you guys having to use the Harmon site and the Logitech site, and Fox something.... I'd like to some how use an activity as "Favorites", should I be at least a little intimidated on programming the TC30?? :(

Have any of you seen the Harmony 785?! :rolleyes:

Just got my TC30. I think this will be a great remote for me.
I had narrowed my choices to a peanut Harmony 676 or 680, then the 880, then went to the 520 and 720, then back the peanut 880 and finally the TC30. Heck anyone of these is better than what had, so I can't go wrong. The gripes about lack of Fav channels is irrelevant to me, since I never had that before. For me so far, the only weakness with this remote, is it's size. It is smaller than I expected. As a result the buttons are really packed in. I am accustomed to operating my remotes by feel. I'ts not easy with this one but I'm sure that will get better with practice.

With regard to the software. Before I made my purchase, I took the test ride on Harmony's web site with the 880. Logged in, used the software and entered some of my HT devices. It was quick and easy. It is supposed to give you a feel for the setup software. My first thought was that it was too simple for the alleged power that you get in return. I didn't buy my TC30 out of fear of the Harmony software and CS, I bought it because I liked the 8 button LCD vs the 6 button on the 880 and 720.

Anyway, I bought the TC30, installed the setup disk, I was able to use my login Id and password from the Harmony test ride. The remote immediately updated and was ready for use. (About 15 minutes after unpacking from the box) This was based on the info I provided days earlier on the Harmony test ride. (This confirms that Harmony and HK use the same software and support). I proceeded instead to add my additional devices and activity settings. After about 2 hours, I was ready for the first test.

The setup could not select the correct input on my TV. Since this was on the weekend, I had to wait and call Customer Service from my work place on Monday, but of course, and as expected, the CSR informed me they could help me best if I were at home with my remote, computer and HT system. The CSR then offered to call me back at my convenience, to avoid the long distance wait on hold and to be sure that I speak with her. We arranged a 6am call to me (9am for her). She called at approximately 6:05 am. It took about 90 minutes on the phone with the CSR, but my remote is FULLY function able. It does everything it is supposed to.

The activity macros can be modified to do some cool things. For example, I added to “Watch DVD” at start up to eject the disk tray, so all I need to do is insert the disk, close and play. “Listen to XM”, (DirectTV XM satelite), I added to the END of the activity, to change the channel #, from the current music channel to 15.1.

I believe all the recommended remotes out there will perform the same. The differences come down to aesthetics, size and button layout.

My stuff: Mits 52" DLP TV, Denon 3802 Amp, Sony Amp ( for whole house speaks), Denon DVD, Sony DVD/CD Jukebox, Pioneer DVD Recorder, DirectTV HR10-250 Satelite receiver.

My Activities: Watch TV, Watch Denon DVD, Watch Sony DVD, Listen to XM, Listen to Radio, Listen to CD jukebox, Listen to Denon CD, Record DVD

I've been looking for a good remote with LCD under $200 and I really though I was going to end up with the Harmony 880, but then I noticed the negative revues regarding the buttons and the charger. THEN I found the TC30, man I really like it! :D

1) All the pics. I've seen of the Harmony 880 show it has the time and battery level on the screen at all times, of all the pictures I've seen of the TC30 I've never seen one showing the battery level? That’s some thing I'd like, is it there on the TC30?

2) I'm a little intimidated from all the complex post I've read of you guys having to use the Harmon site and the Logitech site, and Fox something.... I'd like to some how use an activity as "Favorites", should I be at least a little intimidated on programming the TC30?? :(

Have any of you seen the Harmony 785?! :rolleyes:


Yes, you can have the time on the TC30, and it does show battery level.

I am not sure the favorites is available on the TC-30. At least I have never used it on mine. Perhaps someone else can answer that part. The 880 does have some buttons that the TC-30 does not, like the MEDIA button.

Check out this link for a review (http://www.remotecentral.com/ureview/112.htm)

I just received my TC-30 and it is charging. Has anyone had this non tech issue? The LCD screen has a paper simulation of the screen. I attempted to remove it and it did what many other stickers like this has done. It tore and left paper and glue on the screen. How do I remove it without causing damage to the clear screen? It is not coming off without something that will soften the glue under the paper. I can't believe they package it this way.

The LCD screen has a paper simulation of the screen. I attempted to remove it and it did what many other stickers like this has done. It tore and left paper and glue on the screen. How do I remove it without causing damage to the clear screen? I can't believe they package it this way.
I used GoofOff. It worked very well, BUT be careful to avoid the rubber at the very top of the remote - The GoofOff will melt the rubber! A Q-tip would probably be your best bet.

I just received my TC-30 and it is charging. Has anyone had this non tech issue? The LCD screen has a paper simulation of the screen. I attempted to remove it and it did what many other stickers like this has done. It tore and left paper and glue on the screen. How do I remove it without causing damage to the clear screen? It is not coming off without something that will soften the glue under the paper. I can't believe they package it this way.Well, that wasn't very nice of them. Mine came with a static sticker over the LCD screen - like the "Your next oil change is due at" static stickers on the inside of your windshield. Peeled right off. Can't imagine why they'd use something with glue. FWIW, I LOVE my TC-30. I did extensive research prior to purchasing and decided the TC-30 was the one I liked best. It was a good choice. While I consider myself fairly tech saavy, I've never programmed a remote before and was somewhat skeptical that it would be as easy as claimed to set up. It was. But for a minor power on/off issue for a second Sony VCR among my devices (which was resolved with help from someone here at AVS forums), my setup took about an hour. Aside from it's great functionality, it is a thing of beauty as well. Very sleek looking.

For anyone who has the sticker problem on pretty much anything--WD 40 worked great on the glue and a little Windex cleaned it up. The TC 30 programed easily and everything works as promised and I too am very pleased with it. But there are 3 things I would like to add that are on my DishNetwork remote:
1. Change a button to DVR which is a shortcut to My Recordings or create a macro that would take me directly to my recordings.
2. Change a button or create an activity for page up and down.
3. Change a button for Live TV. Otherwise it takes several strokes to get rid of a menu.

I am not tech savy. When I was a child my left brain was frightened by an algebra problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Just to clear things up for me, currently there is no functionality to page up/down in a sat/cable program guide, correct? Therefore, I assume the only way to move around in a guide is by using directional arrow keys to go up/down through each program individually? Thanks for the clarification.

Dear all,

I'm considering the 880 and the TC30. One of my reservations about the 880 is some users' comment that the software is a "memory hog" and slows down the user's computer even when not in use. Is this also an issue with the TC30?

Thanks,
Chris

Dear all,

I'm considering the 880 and the TC30. One of my reservations about the 880 is some users' comment that the software is a "memory hog" and slows down the user's computer even when not in use. Is this also an issue with the TC30?

Thanks,
ChrisI've not experienced any issues on my PC as a result of the TC-30 software.

I got my TC30 the other day and opened it up last night. That frickin' paper stikcer has got to be one of the worst fubars in the history of packaging! Thanks for the WD-40 tip. I need to use the Windex tonight.

This remote is very sharp looking. I'll program it tonight or tomorrow.

Dear all,

I'm considering the 880 and the TC30. One of my reservations about the 880 is some users' comment that the software is a "memory hog" and slows down the user's computer even when not in use. Is this also an issue with the TC30?

Thanks,
Chris

Even if it is, you can always turn off the "Auto start" and only start it manually when required.

Sorry ... I don't have time to read the whole thread, but I just got my TC30 and have a few questions:

1) Is there any way to use the power button on the remote to control devices? Not a big deal, but I'd like to choose a device (I'm not so into activities, at least not yet) and then hit the power button, not use an item on the LCD.

2) Can you tell the remote to *not* turn on the backlight when you hit one of the buttons other than the LCD buttons (or glow, of course)? I really don't need the remote to glow on when I push play, or turn the volum up, know what I'm saying?

3) I have a Sharp LC-37D90U and it has a standard Sharp Aquos remote, should be pretty common. Quite a few of the buttons weren't working (e.g., direction down and favorite D), so I "learned" the commands using the web software, and it *still* didn't work. How is that even possible?

EDIT: There is another learning screen that lets you set the "raw" commands (whatever that is, I'm no IR expert) and that seemed to work. I'd still appreciate responses to my previous two questions though.

Thanks for the help ... sorry for the longwindedness.

Therefore, I assume the only way to move around in a guide is by using directional arrow keys to go up/down through each program individually? Thanks for the clarification.

It is an option, sure, but certainly not the only option. You can program any command into the remote software, and then apply that command to any remote or screen button. You have nearly unlimited options, you are only limited by convenience.

1. Change a button to DVR which is a shortcut to My Recordings or create a macro that would take me directly to my recordings.
2. Change a button or create an activity for page up and down.
3. Change a button for Live TV. Otherwise it takes several strokes to get rid of a menu.


1) Not following, sorry.
2) If the software didn't give you a page-up/page-down option by default, you can add your own command by "learning" it. On the web software, select device, and then play around with the "customize the device mode" option. You gotta look it over a bit, but it should be pretty straight forward.
3) I haven't seen a way to set up macros (although I just got the remote yesterday, it is likely that you can), which is what I think you're looking for. I think you can create generic activities which are more or less macros, right?

I understand there is no media button to take you directly to the favorite channels, however, can you get to a favorite channel section by cycling through Activities.

Umm ... you aren't scrolling through activities, but using one of the commands on the screen (h/k calls them "screen buttons"). Chances are if you have a favorite button on your OEM remote you'll get a favorite item on your screen buttons. That's what I had, although only A-C worked and not D (had to learn it custom).

Can you load the channel icons into the remote for use at that point. Thanks for the help.

Pretty sure you can't do this. You can upload a background image, and then some generic images for a "slideshow" (lame, I know), but you can't replace text descriptions with images, as far as I know.

Sorry ... I don't have time to read the whole thread, but I just got my TC30 and have a few questions:

1) Is there any way to use the power button on the remote to control devices? Not a big deal, but I'd like to choose a device (I'm not so into activities, at least not yet) and then hit the power button, not use an item on the LCD.

2) Can you tell the remote to *not* turn on the backlight when you hit one of the buttons other than the LCD buttons (or glow, of course)? I really don't need the remote to glow on when I push play, or turn the volum up, know what I'm saying?

3) I have a Sharp LC-37D90U and it has a standard Sharp Aquos remote, should be pretty common. Quite a few of the buttons weren't working (e.g., direction down and favorite D), so I "learned" the commands using the web software, and it *still* didn't work. How is that even possible?

EDIT: There is another learning screen that lets you set the "raw" commands (whatever that is, I'm no IR expert) and that seemed to work. I'd still appreciate responses to my previous two questions though.

Thanks for the help ... sorry for the longwindedness.

1) No...can't be done. Just get used to using activities and it won't be an issue. Once you do start using activities, you'll wonder how you ever did without them.

2) With a Harmony using the web interface, you select "my remote preferences", then "Settings". You can then change the glow setup to "All buttons", "LCD buttons only", or "None". Note the "Glow" button(if the TC30 has one??) will always activate the backlight, even if it's set to "None".
I would guess the TC30 options would be similar, but I don't know for sure.

1) No...can't be done.

Sucks, oh well, thanks.

2) With a Harmony using the web interface, you select "my remote preferences", then "Settings". You can then change the glow setup to "All buttons", "LCD buttons only", or "None".

I was actually excited when I read this but I just checked on the h/k setup site and there is no such option. The closest thing I have is "glow timing" and there is no "0 seconds" option. If it is possible with harmony it is possible with h/k, so how do we make this happen? Do they just need to update their web software?

i noticed hk sells the tc 30 re-manufactured on ebay. has anyone bought one of these units?

they seem to have high quality refurb. products and unusual that they all carry full orig. factory warranty. i think buying direct is also a plus in case there is problem and you need to send back for repair or get service. price is considerably cheaper than $299 retail or $159 at other online stores.

i noticed hk sells the tc 30 re-manufactured on ebay. has anyone bought one of these units?

they seem to have high quality refurb. products and unusual that they all carry full orig. factory warranty. i think buying direct is also a plus in case there is problem and you need to send back for repair or get service. price is considerably cheaper than $299 retail or $159 at other online stores.I bought one from them on Ebay...I honestly beleive it is brand new...I like it. :)

Question...I have 2 setup's in the activity they are watch tv and watch tv2....watch tv controls my tv, dish 622 now my tv2 controls my tv, dish and yamaha receiver. When I pick tv2 sound still comes from the tv...is there a way to set up this remote to mute the tv when I choose tv2 being that I use the receiver for sound. Thanks.

Question...I have 2 setup's in the activity they are watch tv and watch tv2....watch tv controls my tv, dish 622 now my tv2 controls my tv, dish and yamaha receiver. When I pick tv2 sound still comes from the tv...is there a way to set up this remote to mute the tv when I choose tv2 being that I use the receiver for sound. Thanks.
I have this kind of setup, with "Watch TV" and "TV with Surround" activities.

Under the customize activities I added the "Toggle Speakers" command for the Sony TV to one of the activities, and I have it happen at start-up and at shut-down. Since my kids still sometimes use the regular remotes and the Sony only has a toggle instead of discrete "Speakers On" and "Speakers Off" commands, I also mapped one of the soft-buttons to speaker toggle also so I can turn them on/off if needed.

I would imagine that almost all TVs should have a similar speaker command you could use. Hopefully you have discrete commands so you can just put the TV in the mode you want at the beginning of each activity.

Quick Review after a few weeks of using the TC-30

I've never had a Harmony remote before, so here goes. This remote is very slick looking and also feels pretty good. Setup for me was a piece of cake, but I am a computer and gadget geek so keep that in mind, too. I'm the guy you would ask to get your VCR to quit blinking "12:00" if you had that problem, and I'm also the guy you would ask to come over and help wire up your stereo. :) The software installed fine out of the box on my XP-Home computer, and entering my components and setting up my activities was fun.

I would say if you are geeky and enjoy this kind of thing it is a breeze, and if you aren't geeky and you hate this kind of stuff it is still very doable but it could certainly be a pain.

I've mapped some additional functions to the soft-keys, like TV speaker toggle and subwoofer level control, and so far I've been able to get everything I've wanted into easy reach on the remote. Almost all of my TV, DVR, DVD, and Xbox360 remotes main funtions that I use most were defaulted into play for the appropriate activities, and in places that make semantic sense, so I am very happy with all of that.

All in all this is a very nice setup that was pretty easy to set up, fairly easy to customize, and so far works well.

What I don't like, however, are the hard "clicky" keys. For whatever reason, each of the ten thousand different remotes I had to shuffle before all felt right, but the clicky keys here aren't that great to me. I guess that's the tradeoff, though. One remote that controls everything but doesn't feel so great, or laying in the middle of 20 remotes like a guy if Vegas who just won a bunch of money and went up to his room and dumped it all on the bed and jumped in with it.

At $140 delivered, I'll be keeping it for a while. And the good news is that my wife can watch TV or a DVD upstairs now when I'm not home. :)

Any TC30 owner figure out how to setup a favorites list or at least program specific channel numbers into the screen buttons ?

I’ve been reading a lot about the various harmony remotes lately, and am waffling between the 720, 550, and the tc 30. While all the comments and advice shared on the various threads here and at remote central have been great, one thing that I haven’t come across is an actual description of how these things work. My presumption is when you pick up your remote, you hit the activities button, the screen shows activities, and you pick one, such as watch pvr. Then I assume that after the remote turns everything on and adjusts inputs, etc. to the proper settings, the buttons on the remote control the logical devices – the transport keys control the pvr, the volume and channel keys control the tv, or the amp, etc. I also assume that you can hit devices if needed and control a specific device. I also assume that whenever you select an activity or device, the lcd buttons take on certain functions specific to the activity or device that aren’t available through the hard keys.

Now, assuming my assumptions are correct ( and I trust someone will correct me if I am wrong about any of them,) I have a couple of questions that relate specifically to the tc 30.

1. Can I choose which activities appear in the lcd window and the order in which they appear?

2. Can I pick what device commands appear in the lcd window when I activate an activity, and is there any limitation to what commands I can put in there or the number of them, and again, the order of them, assuming there might be more than one page of them?

3. Ditto for when I activate a device?

4. Can I mix activities and commands in the lcd screen for a specific activity, for example, when I choose the activity watch satellite, can I have page up and down buttons in the lcd screen along with an activity such as watch dvr?

Thanks in advance for the input.

Fran

Any TC30 owner figure out how to setup a favorites list or at least program specific channel numbers into the screen buttons ?

Yes it's very easy!

This is what I did to get a BBC1 button on my TC30 to control my SKY box:

In 'Devices', Set-up another 2 satillite boxes exactly the same as the one you already have. (so now you have 3 satillite boxes in total)

In 'activities - watch TV', add the extra 2 sat boxes.

Then

in 'change the behavior of the buttoms' set up an LCD button to do this...

Name an LCD button 'BBC1' (this is channel 101 on my SKY box)
satillite1 send code '1'
satillite2 send code '0'
satillite3 send code '1'

That's it!

now when you press BBC1 it will send 1 then 0 then 1....cool daddy-o.

I've set up 3 fav channels.
The ony bad part of this (boo hiss....) is that the LCD buttons appear to be limited to only 15 commands. This means if your channels are 3 digits long you can only get 5 fav channels on the LCD. Anyhow it's still very handy.

Thanks xcspeed, I'll give that a try.

Response for Fran

YES For items 1, 2 and 3
NO to Item 4,you can have "activities" shown on the LCD or "devices", but not both.
Honestly, I have not thought about that long enough to know for sure.

Terry

Just got the tc30. Used it all weekend and love it. Added page+/- to the lcd screen and we were on our way.

Now looking into some of the X10 equipment for control of the Christmas lights, and wall switches.

I've had my TC30 for a few weeks but find myself not using it. Just not really into it ... anyone want to buy mine? I've only charged it a single time ... probably still has a bar or 2 remaining.

Should be simple to clear the items ... I have all original materials but no box. PM me if you're interested ...

I am looking for a remote. are you selling

1. Can I choose which activities appear in the lcd window and the order in which they appear?

2. Can I pick what device commands appear in the lcd window when I activate an activity, and is there any limitation to what commands I can put in there or the number of them, and again, the order of them, assuming there might be more than one page of them?

3. Ditto for when I activate a device?

4. Can I mix activities and commands in the lcd screen for a specific activity, for example, when I choose the activity watch satellite, can I have page up and down buttons in the lcd screen along with an activity such as watch dvr?

Thanks in advance for the input.

Fran

1.yes
2.yes, I don't know about any limitations, but I do know my tv has 5 - 6 pages (8 commands per page) of soft commands
3.yes
4. I don't believe there is straightforward way of doing this; you might need to create some "logical device" similar to satellite and add commands (macros) simulating activities; but, first, this is unlikely scenario, because macros, usually, have commands from the same device, and, second, this is so convoluted and tedious way that it looses its usefulness.

Hey everybody, I received my TC30 last tuesday but ran into a little bit of a snag. The software CD which came with it was warped, either from the cold or just how it was packed. It was so warped that it couldn't even spin in my computers disk tray. I called the online vendor who I ordered the remote from that day and they sadi they would send me another copy of the CD. Needless to say, it still hasn't arrived yet and from my dealings with online vendors who knows when it will. Is there anyway to download the software over the internet so I don't have to sit here with a beautiful yet useless remote for another week? It shouldn't be that big of a deal, as its just software, but Harman Kardon has nothing on there website. I even tried downloading the Logitech Harmony software from their website since they are so similar, but the software couldn't recognize the remote. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everybody, I received my TC30 last tuesday but ran into a little bit of a snag. The software CD which came with it was warped, either from the cold or just how it was packed. It was so warped that it couldn't even spin in my computers disk tray. I called the online vendor who I ordered the remote from that day and they sadi they would send me another copy of the CD. Needless to say, it still hasn't arrived yet and from my dealings with online vendors who knows when it will. Is there anyway to download the software over the internet so I don't have to sit here with a beautiful yet useless remote for another week? It shouldn't be that big of a deal, as its just software, but Harman Kardon has nothing on there website. I even tried downloading the Logitech Harmony software from their website since they are so similar, but the software couldn't recognize the remote. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Try this:
http://images.harmonyremote.com/EasyZapper/Downloads/HarmanKardon/HK_TC30_5_1_4_88.exe

Try this:
http://images.harmonyremote.com/EasyZapper/Downloads/HarmanKardon/HK_TC30_5_1_4_88.exe
Thanks alot. I got it loaded and its having trouble connecting to the internet, so I'll have to mess with that but thanks for the link.

Thanks alot. I got it loaded and its having trouble connecting to the internet, so I'll have to mess with that but thanks for the link.

You could have a bad unit, as I haven't had any difficulties connecting to the internet with this version of software. Make sure you load the software before ever connecting the remote to your computer. You may have to uninstall any previous version (though that may not be the case for you). You may also have a bad cable, hard to say. What errors are you getting? Does the display on the remote say that it is connected to the computer via USB?

Just got my TC30 and have it charging. I have to say that the paper heavily glued onto the LCD is the most idiotic thing I've ever seen. It was so bad that I almost returned the remote. It took me 20 mins to get it all off and I felt like I might break the screen or scratch it. Until they change that, I'll never buy another from HK.

I am replacing a Harmony 550. I log in with my Harmony userid and it takes me to the harmony login page and forces me to log in again. I can log in, but it won't communicate with my TC30. I could save a lot of time by using my current configuration. Any suggestions?

I must have gotten my TC-30 when they were still using the plastic static cover, as mine just peeled off with no glue on it. That is pretty stupid to use glue on a display and I hope they fix that in the future.

As for the login, unless there is a way you can change your device assigned to your screen name, I don't think the TC-30 will communicate. You best bet would be to call Harmony's support and see if they can change it for you on that end. Might save you some time. Other than that, you will have to go back through the wizard, which might be shorter than holding on the phone line.

Just got my TC30 and have it charging. I have to say that the paper heavily glued onto the LCD is the most idiotic thing I've ever seen. It was so bad that I almost returned the remote. It took me 20 mins to get it all off and I felt like I might break the screen or scratch it. Until they change that, I'll never buy another from HK.

I am replacing a Harmony 550. I log in with my Harmony userid and it takes me to the harmony login page and forces me to log in again. I can log in, but it won't communicate with my TC30. I could save a lot of time by using my current configuration. Any suggestions?

I got my first TC30 on Nov 27 and second on Dec 4 and both had plastic static cover. Go figure.

When I login with my 670 id there is "Remote Settings" tab. This tab has "My Remote" button. After you click it you get two options: Change (remote) and "Create New Account". Tip on the right says:

"If you want to replace the remote with a new one that will control the same devices, click Change to convert your account.
If you don't want to replace the remote, but want to add a separate remote to control a new set of devices, click the Create New Account.If you want to replace the remote with a new one that will control the same devices, click Change to convert your account.
If you don't want to replace the remote, but want to add a separate remote to control a new set of devices, click the Create New Account."

I could not test it because I'm not at home right now.

This tab is not available is you run HK's version of software.

This is what I found under FAQ:

"What steps do I need to take if I am upgrading my remote to a newer model?

If you upgraded to a newer model of remote and want to transfer the configuration on your old remote to your new remote, you will need to first ensure that you are using the latest version of remote control software. You will then need to convert your account to the newer model then update your new remote with your account configuration.

To upgrade, please do the following:

1. Ensure you are using the latest version of remote control software.
1. Login to your remote control account.
2. Click the Downloads button at the top of your home page.
3. Click theSoftware button.
4. Ensure you receive the following message: "You have the latest version of the remote software."
5. If you do not have the latest version of remote control software, please upgrade to the latest version.


2. Convert your account to your newer model of remote
1. Click the Remote Settings tab on the home page.
2. Click the My Remote button.
3. Click Change.
4. Click Done once the connectivity check is complete


3. Update your account configuration on your new remote.
1. Click the Update Remote button on your home page."

:eeg: Just got my TC30 and have it charging. I have to say that the paper heavily glued onto the LCD is the most idiotic thing I've ever seen. It was so bad that I almost returned the remote. It took me 20 mins to get it all off and I felt like I might break the screen or scratch it. Until they change that, I'll never buy another from HK.

I am replacing a Harmony 550. I log in with my Harmony userid and it takes me to the harmony login page and forces me to log in again. I can log in, but it won't communicate with my TC30. I could save a lot of time by using my current configuration. Any suggestions?

I to had a remote with glue on it , But my wife the nurse told me to use a alcohol whip and my finger nail to remove the glue, well give one up for the medical profession it worked like a charm its clean Enough for the baby to use :eek:

I'm officially selling my TC30. See my ad here:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/ele/249668988.html

Will ship for free to anyone not in the Seattle area. Make me an offer if you're interested.

Does this remote have any charging issues like the Harmony 880 (which I own and is causing me problems)? I may be willing to invest in this remote if I knew there weren't charging issues. Plus it appears that the shape may better using with only one hand.

Does this remote have any charging issues like the Harmony 880 (which I own and is causing me problems)? I may be willing to invest in this remote if I knew there weren't charging issues. Plus it appears that the shape may better using with only one hand.

What sort of "charging issues" are you referring to? I've had my TC30 for a week or two now and haven't had any problems with it. I have the charger base up on the fireplace mantle and have no problem placing the remote in the cradle securely and having it remain there. If you have it on a coffee table or something it could become dislodged if bumped since the fit in the cradle isn't extremely tight and secure, if that's what you mean.

As far as the shape and feel, I like it. It is fairly long, so some functions aren't exactly what I would call reachable with only one hand. But the most oft used functions are (can be). Using the number keys is not a one-handed operation. The upper-most LCD functions may also be slightly out of reach for you, but you can place those to your liking, putting the most oft-used functions at the bottom half of the screen layout. The remote is great for one-handed operation of transport functions, vol/chan functions, and menu/guide navigation.

The remote has a tilt sensor and all of the buttons are have soft back lighting. In a dark room once you move the remote the all of the buttons are visible including play and pause.

I like others in this forum ,I also like my TC-30. The only things I don't like about it is the organization issue with the LCD previously mentioned, and that the channel buttons are made of hard plastic. The channel buttons have to be pressed much harder the rubber buttons and there is an audible click each time they are pressed. This can be annoying if you do a lot of channel surfing like me :).

My 880 is probably on it's last legs so I got the 720 and returned it due to the buttong clicking issues. I'm looking at the TC 30 but now someone mentions hard buttons with clicking noises again. :(

I was playing with my setups this week. Using my original component remotes side by side with my TC30 and noticed a significant difference in speed. The TC30 is much slower, for example, to adjust the volume up and down and navigating through the menus.
Have any of you experimented with the speed settings ? Any advice ?
Thanks

I was playing with my setups this week. Using my original component remotes side by side with my TC30 and noticed a significant difference in speed. The TC30 is much slower, for example, to adjust the volume up and down and navigating through the menus.
Have any of you experimented with the speed settings ? Any advice ?
Thanks

Select device in question, select "Adjust the delays(speed settings)" and play with them.

I was playing with my setups this week. Using my original component remotes side by side with my TC30 and noticed a significant difference in speed. The TC30 is much slower, for example, to adjust the volume up and down and navigating through the menus.
Have any of you experimented with the speed settings ? Any advice ?
Thanks

Two things you can do:

1) First go into the Device options page for the device in question in the TC30 config software (Adjust the delays) and set the inter-key delay to 0. Update the remote and see what difference that made. If you're still noticing a delay, go to step 2...

2) Go into the Device options page for the device in question and go into Troubleshoot. On the first screen, select "Show me more problems" and click Next. On the second screen, select "<device> doesn't appear to receive every command correctly" and click Next. On the third screen, select "The device responds too much to some commands (for example, volume up increases the volume too quickly)" and click Next. Now you're on a screen that allows you adjust the length of the IR signal being sent (I think that's what this does). Try setting the this to 3 or 4. Update the remote and test it out. You may have to come back to this and try several different values before you get it just right, but this should do what you want.

My 880 is probably on it's last legs so I got the 720 and returned it due to the buttong clicking issues. I'm looking at the TC 30 but now someone mentions hard buttons with clicking noises again. :(

Since both remotes look the same, I'm guessing that they are using the same noisy switches. When I find a better remote I will most likely replace this remote. The clicking is very annoying when channel surfing.

Hi,
A question on the TC30? Does it support using 2 different DVD players? How would you choose which one is being used so that the pause/stop buttons are for the correct player? I have two different dvd players I use depending on what type of dvd I am watching.
Thanks in advance,
Joe H

Hi,
A question on the TC30? Does it support using 2 different DVD players? How would you choose which one is being used so that the pause/stop buttons are for the correct player? I have two different dvd players I use depending on what type of dvd I am watching.
Thanks in advance,
Joe H

Hi,
A question on the TC30? Does it support using 2 different DVD players? How would you choose which one is being used so that the pause/stop buttons are for the correct player? I have two different dvd players I use depending on what type of dvd I am watching.
Thanks in advance,
Joe H


You would have 2 "Activities"; Watch DVD1 and Watch DVD2 (or whatever you wanted to call them). Depending on the one you select, the keys on the TC 30 will send out the IR codes for that player. Of course the dvd players must not use the same IR codes, so using the same model would not work. As long as there is no overlap in codes, the dvd players should function correctly with the TC-30. I do it just fine with my Oppo and RCA HD DVD player.

From what I've read, ptsenter has the Harmony 670 and the TC-30. How do you compare them? I know about the color LCD, but how about real functionality? About the same? I've read on Cnet that the 670 has some buttons that lead you to "picture" adjustments on Display. I'm between the H670, H720 and TC-30, so any help will be appreciated.

Thanks.

From what I've read, ptsenter has the Harmony 670 and the TC-30. How do you compare them? I know about the color LCD, but how about real functionality? About the same? I've read on Cnet that the 670 has some buttons that lead you to "picture" adjustments on Display. I'm between the H670, H720 and TC-30, so any help will be appreciated.

As far as functionality is concerned they are the same. Even if some remote does not have a hard button it's function accessible through soft button.

I prefer TC30 and the main reason is not color screen, but it has 8 soft buttons, rechargeable and has a tilt censor, so remote glows as soon as you pick it up. Even color screen can be useful as you can select background to be able to adjust readability.

Of course the dvd players must not use the same IR codes, so using the same model would not work
I'd like to clarify something over here.
Some dvd players, or A/V devices for that matter, support more than one code sets. If you have such devices you can assign one as DVD1 with code set 1 and the other one as DVD2 with code set 2. And then as bakpakva said.
I was pleasantly surprise that Harmony has two code sets for my Sony dvd recorder out of three.

I'd like to clarify something over here.
Some dvd players, or A/V devices for that matter, support more than one code sets. If you have such devices you can assign one as DVD1 with code set 1 and the other one as DVD2 with code set 2. And then as bakpakva said.
I was pleasantly surprise that Harmony has two code sets for my Sony dvd recorder out of three.

I didn't know that! Sounds like a fantastic feature to have if you have two of the same model.

As far as functionality is concerned they are the same. Even if some remote does not have a hard button it's function accessible through soft button.

I prefer TC30 and the main reason is not color screen, but it has 8 soft buttons, rechargeable and has a tilt censor, so remote glows as soon as you pick it up. Even color screen can be useful as you can select background to be able to adjust readability.

Well, thanks a lot. If yo can clarify one more thing, I would be grateful. It seems the Logitechs are a bit more functional for cable TV -set-top boxes, (concerning channels, favorites and all). Is that right? Is it possible to assign to screen buttons the "page up/page down" function the Harmony 720 has on hard buttons (I'm new to Universal Remotes, and couldn't understand this point)? Thanks.

Well, thanks a lot. If yo can clarify one more thing, I would be grateful. It seems the Logitechs are a bit more functional for cable TV -set-top boxes, (concerning channels, favorites and all). Is that right? Is it possible to assign to screen buttons the "page up/page down" function the Harmony 720 has on hard buttons (I'm new to Universal Remotes, and couldn't understand this point)? Thanks.
First, the easy one - page up/down: you definitely can assign them to soft buttons as well as any button from original remote. Even better: in most cases you don't need to assign them explicitly, they will be there already. Even more: you can rearrange soft buttons any way you like to make these buttons easier accessible for you.
Now, favorites. Not all Logitechs support them. If remote has Media button it support them.
On other side you can find some hacks (tricks not supported officially) how to put favorites on 720 and TC30 somewhere on this forum. I never tried them, never been interested.

I didn't know that! Sounds like a fantastic feature to have if you have two of the same model.
That's the idea.
But, as always, flexibility is also a source of some confusion. Let's say a device has a default code set A in Harmony database. One has the device set to be controlled by set B. He/she becomes confused immediately, as I was. :confused: Well, at least, I had an excuse: I didn't test it right away and needed to use it in two weeks for the first time. :o As some go into troubleshooting mode and find the second set in the database or reassign code set in the device, others :mad: jump to the Web and start bashing Logitech in 100 places.

I just got a TC30, set it up, or so I thought. How do I go back and add a device?
I forgot to enter that I have DirecTV.

PLEASE HELP

Login, devices, "add a device" above all devices.

First, the easy one - page up/down: you definitely can assign them to soft buttons as well as any button from original remote. Even better: in most cases you don't need to assign them explicitly, they will be there already. Even more: you can rearrange soft buttons any way you like to make these buttons easier accessible for you.
Now, favorites. Not all Logitechs support them. If remote has Media button it support them.
On other side you can find some hacks (tricks not supported officially) how to put favorites on 720 and TC30 somewhere on this forum. I never tried them, never been interested.

After posting at least 3 questions in other threads, yours were the first replies I've got!

I thanked you beforehand in my question, but to make it sure: thanks for the help.

I thanked you beforehand in my question, but to make it sure: thanks for the help.
You're very welcome, I accepted your first Thanks beforehand too. :D

I just received my TC30 and am having trouble with the installation process. The installation disc has 2 files to which to work with: autorun.inf and setup.exe.

I'm on a mac so setup.exe is of no use to me. Upon searching, I found out that the .inf file can be opened on a mac using OsiriX. I found and downloaded OsiriX but now can't get autorun.inf to open.

I know this question probably is more suited for the computer portion of this forum but since there may be a few mac users out there that have installed the HK TC30, I thought it would hurt.

Any suggestions?

BTW, mine also came with the sticker glued to the screen. Ridiculous.

Thanks in advance.

-Angel

Hi, folks. Just received my TC-30, to replace a Harmony 520. I'm curious about one small difference. I can easily tell when the 520 is busy sending commands, and receive immediate feedback when I have pressed a button, because it has a blue LED surrounding the Activities button which lights while it is actually transmitting. The TC-30 appears to have a blue lens around Activities, but it never lights up. Does yours? Perhaps mine is defective in that regard.

BTW, for those asking how to change remote type in your online account when moving from Harmony to HK--after much fiddling, I couldn't find a way to do it. The Harmony and HK use different drivers, and one does not recognize the USB device type of the other. Also tried using both of the built-in browsers, and going to the web address directly in Firefox (so I could use hugbug's incredibly useful plug-in; search for it, as avsforum won't let me post a link yet) and ran into browser vs. driver incompatibilities as well. So now I'm attempting to duplicate my setup, which is very time-consuming. The web interface gets very annoying and tedious after a while.

Hi, folks. Just received my TC-30, to replace a Harmony 520. I'm curious about one small difference. I can easily tell when the 520 is busy sending commands, and receive immediate feedback when I have pressed a button, because it has a blue LED surrounding the Activities button which lights while it is actually transmitting. The TC-30 appears to have a blue lens around Activities, but it never lights up. Does yours? Perhaps mine is defective in that regard.

BTW, for those asking how to change remote type in your online account when moving from Harmony to HK--after much fiddling, I couldn't find a way to do it. The Harmony and HK use different drivers, and one does not recognize the USB device type of the other. Also tried using both of the built-in browsers, and going to the web address directly in Firefox (so I could use hugbug's incredibly useful plug-in; search for it, as avsforum won't let me post a link yet) and ran into browser vs. driver incompatibilities as well. So now I'm attempting to duplicate my setup, which is very time-consuming. The web interface gets very annoying and tedious after a while.
Feedback - TC30 has an icon on LCD to the left of charging status - 3-bar battery, which lights up when you send commands. It's not that noticeable as 520's, but it's not that distractible.

I don't use any browser, only software for HK V5 5.3.2. With this software I can login into my HK account as well as Harmony 670. The only nuance - I have to enter id and password twice while switching between TC30 and 670. The first time it switches only background between Harman Kardon and Logitech Harmony, the second - actually lets me in. Title is always the same, but GUI is unique for each case.
I don't believe drivers are different. There are two new devices: "HID-compliant device" which does not require any driver at all, the second - "USB Human Interface Device" which uses generic HID and HID-USB drivers.

I just received my TC30 and am having trouble with the installation process. The installation disc has 2 files to which to work with: autorun.inf and setup.exe.

I'm on a mac so setup.exe is of no use to me. Upon searching, I found out that the .inf file can be opened on a mac using OsiriX. I found and downloaded OsiriX but now can't get autorun.inf to open.

I know this question probably is more suited for the computer portion of this forum but since there may be a few mac users out there that have installed the HK TC30, I thought it would hurt.

-Angel

Angel, I was in the same boat as you. The Mac software just doesn't seem to be on the CD as far as I can tell. What you need to do is log on to your account at www.mactc30.com or create an account there if you don't have one yet. Once you're logged in click on "support" and scroll down the support page until you see the software download link. Install the software (obviously) and you should be good to go.

Personally, I've found the whole programming experience to be VERY tedious and somewhat maddening. Good luck!

RenoDavid, after spending the better part of a day trying to get this done, I finally succeeded in a matter of minutes following your instructions.

Thanks a great deal. :)

-Angel

Angel, I was in the same boat as you. The Mac software just doesn't seem to be on the CD as far as I can tell. What you need to do is log on to your account at www.mactc30.com or create an account there if you don't have one yet. Once you're logged in click on "support" and scroll down the support page until you see the software download link. Install the software (obviously) and you should be good to go.

Personally, I've found the whole programming experience to be VERY tedious and somewhat maddening. Good luck!

Just received the TC30 and it is charging...so far I have done nothing except spend 20 minutes getting the sticker off the display.

Who puts a sticker on the most important part of a device like this? Who wants to risk scratching their screen before they even turn the thing on??

Not an "oil change removable sticker". I mean a freakin' permanent sticker with industrial stickum.

Sure I was aware of this fubar since I read this forum ahead of time, but that doesn't make the marketing design guy who did it any less of any idiot!

Carefully scrape the top layer off with fingernail and/or thumbnail, then use GooGone with Qtips to loosen the adhesive. Don't get the liquids on any buttons! Wipe it off with a clean cloth, repeat as necessary.

Carefully follow up with Windex on a paper towel.

Just received the TC30 and it is charging...so far I have done nothing except spend 20 minutes getting the sticker off the display.

Who puts a sticker on the most important part of a device like this? Who wants to risk scratching their screen before they even turn the thing on??

Not an "oil change removable sticker". I mean a freakin' permanent sticker with industrial stickum.

Sure I was aware of this fubar since I read this forum ahead of time, but that doesn't make the marketing design guy who did it any less of any idiot!

Carefully scrape the top layer off with fingernail and/or thumbnail, then use GooGone with Qtips to loosen the adhesive. Don't get the liquids on any buttons! Wipe it off with a clean cloth, repeat as necessary.

Carefully follow up with Windex on a paper towel.The folks at HK must be having a difficult time getting the directive to STOP doing such an idiotic thing to the manufacturer in who knows what country. I feel very lucky that mine was a static sticker not a glued on sticker. I feel your pain on this.

My TC30 has taken to rebooting itself once or twice a day when I set it back in the cradle after use. Any idea why or how to remedy that?

I received my TC30 5 days ago and have mixed reviews of it at this time. On one hand, it seems fairly powerful, feature packed and 'if' set up right will do what its designed to do. Ergonomically it seems fairly well designed, has a good feel, but some of the buttons are too small for big hands. The soft key buttons are too close together for non-visual pressing, making them a bit clumsy to use.

What has me wondering if this device will make a permanent home in my house, is the difficulty of programming the thing. I should first say that I am a techie, an older techie, but make a living programming things. What confounds me is that the maze of pages and questions and bizarre locations of the setup dialogs - intended to make it easy for the techno lame, just makes it tedious and difficult for those that understand logic and just want to see the list of options, commands and get on with it. To be specific (and fair), most of the commands are visible, such as the commands that can be added on to selecting an 'Activity'. But what I can't seem to get to is those commands that it has already decided on, especially the commands for turning the devices on and off. As far as I can tell, they are invisible to me and controlled by some question I answered several days ago. For you developer types - the problem is that I can't get to the source code! That leaves me with activities that turn off devices when I want them on. Leaves them off when I want to turn them on. The TC30 has the 'Help' feature that will ask you a series of questions and 're-synch' the power toggles, but having to use that every time is a pain. I have emailed their tech support 4 or 5 times and they have tried to help, but I really have not gotten any good answers from them. I've had to program additional 'On' commands in the Activities additional commands list to ensure the device is on when the subsequent commands are sent. I've also been baffled by what the TC30 power button is supposed to do when an activity is selected. Should it turn everything off? I get varied somewhat random behavior from using it.

To summarize, I am not sure I will keep this - as it is not ready to be introduced to my tech adverse wife.

Recommendation - if you just want to do basic stuff and are not fussy about the details, this remote may be for you. If you want to really fine tune your system, you might want to look elsewhere.


Doug

Oh, I forgot. I got one of those horrible stickers over the screen. May the idiot that chose that material be sentenced to removing and cleaning several million of those.

I just got mine also. Same sticker thing on the LCD. Freaking idiotic moronic move. I used rubbing alcohol to get it off.

It took me about two hours to get it real to close to what I want. My problem is that the battery won't fully charge. I know it's resting ok on the cradle, the speaker horn thing flashes on when I place it on the cradle, it's been on there for hours yet it won't go past 2 bars. Anyone else having this issue?

I just got mine also. Same sticker thing on the LCD. Freaking idiotic moronic move. I used rubbing alcohol to get it off.

It took me about two hours to get it real to close to what I want. My problem is that the battery won't fully charge. I know it's resting ok on the cradle, the speaker horn thing flashes on when I place it on the cradle, it's been on there for hours yet it won't go past 2 bars. Anyone else having this issue?


Mine too seems to have an issue charging above 2 bars. I take it off the dock and it's immediately at 2 bars, but seems to hold charge.

I was going to update the software, to 5.1.4 I get some question about mozilla and firefox, anyone know what this is about. When I tell it to download it my computer can't seem to do it.

Thanks in advance.

had the same issue with the charge immediately going to 2 bars. i ran the battery down to where the remote wouldn't work then charged overnight. did this twice and now it stays at 3 bars. i read it was common for lithium batteries charge indicators to get out of sync. read this tip on the ipod site.

so far happy with the remote. only problem was organizing the lcd buttons. the software keeps moving them around. example i want the aspect button to be in the same place for tv and the dvd so i can do it by feel.

I called tech support regarding the charging and bar issues. He told me it was a software glitch and Harmony was working on a fix. Supposedly even if the remote shows 2 bars, it's really fully charged.

Good thread! I want to tag along and pick one of these up in the future.

I have been having this remote for about one week. I like it a lot, except the following same issues other people also ran into:

1. Stupid permanent sticker. Can't believe they put this on this 200-dollar device. I was furious until I used a wet towel to remove it.

2. Not secure in its charging dock.

3. Initially only two bars fully charged. but it went away after two charging cycles. Now it is 3 bars.

4. Still trying to figure out how to go back to "Watch TV" mode after selecting cablebox to do some cablebox-specific button operations. And too lazy to check its online manual. Yeah a paper manual would certainly help. I paid a lot of money for this and a manual is not too much to ask for.

I have two VCR's set up on my HK TC-30 - both are Sony, one is an SVHS and the other is a SuperBetamax. The functions on the TC-30 work just fine. Now I've added my older Sony branded TiVo to the mix. I added it to the device list and chose the "PVR" description and want to add an activity for it. Each time I attempt to do so, the first question I am asked is what device do I use to watch recorded video? I hesitate to go beyond this question for fear that I will mess up the functionality of the previously described Sony VCR's. Does anyone else have VCR's and a PVR set up on their TC-30? If I just go ahead and answer the question I am being asked and find out that HK's software is taking me in a direction I don't care to go, can I just cancel the process and retain the remote's settings as they currently are?

I just received my TC30 and am having trouble with the installation process. The installation disc has 2 files to which to work with: autorun.inf and setup.exe.

I'm on a mac so setup.exe is of no use to me. Upon searching, I found out that the .inf file can be opened on a mac using OsiriX. I found and downloaded OsiriX but now can't get autorun.inf to open.

I know this question probably is more suited for the computer portion of this forum but since there may be a few mac users out there that have installed the HK TC30, I thought it would hurt.

Any suggestions?

BTW, mine also came with the sticker glued to the screen. Ridiculous.

Thanks in advance.

-Angel

Sounds like you already got the install figured out, but just an FYI - the autorun.inf file is just basically an auto-loading program that triggers another file when you put the disc in the drive. It'll usually point towards another file like the setup.exe file.

4. Still trying to figure out how to go back to "Watch TV" mode after selecting cablebox to do some cablebox-specific button operations. And too lazy to check its online manual. Yeah a paper manual would certainly help. I paid a lot of money for this and a manual is not too much to ask for.

Just press the "Device" button twice.

I have two VCR's set up on my HK TC-30 - both are Sony, one is an SVHS and the other is a SuperBetamax. The functions on the TC-30 work just fine. Now I've added my older Sony branded TiVo to the mix. I added it to the device list and chose the "PVR" description and want to add an activity for it. Each time I attempt to do so, the first question I am asked is what device do I use to watch recorded video? I hesitate to go beyond this question for fear that I will mess up the functionality of the previously described Sony VCR's. Does anyone else have VCR's and a PVR set up on their TC-30? If I just go ahead and answer the question I am being asked and find out that HK's software is taking me in a direction I don't care to go, can I just cancel the process and retain the remote's settings as they currently are?

The second activity won't affect the functionality of the first. You will just end up with 2 different "Watch PVR" activities, which you can rename to whatever you want.

I have been looking at getting my first universal remote for a few weeks now.

Just about made on my mind on the TC 30 but have one concern.

I will be using the free TV guide listings.

Is there a way to assign the missing media button functions to a soft key or does the online configurator 'know' the TC 30 does not have the button so it does not provide that button's options?

tia

Thank you CZZER. I apologize for the delay in saying that but I just noticed your response today. For whatever reason, I didn't receive an e-mail notification. Thanks again - I'll give this a try.

I have been looking at getting my first universal remote for a few weeks now.

Just about made on my mind on the TC 30 but have one concern.

I will be using the free TV guide listings.

Is there a way to assign the missing media button functions to a soft key or does the online configurator 'know' the TC 30 does not have the button so it does not provide that button's options?

tia
No, there is no way to assign any button as "media button", but check this

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=779512

Thx, good to know.

Just to be clear, there is a way with the TC 30 to navigate TV Guide? Left, right, up and down (assuming I add up and down to soft keys) or can I use the joy stick to do this?

tia

Yes, directional commands will be assigned to hard keys (buttons around OK).

Thanks, I'm am going to give this one a shot :)

Where are you guys buying yours?

The display on my TC30 won't stop "glowing" on its own. I can manually turn it off by pressing "glow", but it is supposed to shut off automatically after X seconds. Anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it?

Where are you guys buying yours?

Amazon

5 left at half retail

Amazon

5 left at half retail


lol...on amazon right now...this tc30...the cheapest u can get is $215...thx but no thx.

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-TC-30-Activity-Based/dp/B000BQSFQ4/sr=8-1/qid=1171950912/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-5355639-4197210?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

i remember it cost about $149 on amazon last week.


anyway...i got this baby for about $98 including ship on ebay with the $15 promotional. i will see how this baby do once i get it....but i cant wait.

Well as soon as I bought mine the seller changed and the price went up to $300 :(

i remember it cost about $149 on amazon last week.



Yep, thats what I just got it for

i got my TC30 tonight. first thing i noticed was that mine came with a sticker super glued to the screen. after about 10 min i had half of it scratch off and tons of glue residue all over the surface of the remote. getting ready to throw it to the wall my girlfriend took it and worked on it for 40 min. she managed to get most of the gunk off. once we got past that hurdle i put in the battery only to discover that the remote wouldnt boot up. i would get a testing screen followed by B.2A86 "safe mode" message. we hit google for the next hour and a half and couldnt get an answer. loaded up the software on the pc and it would detect the remote when i would plug it in but would fail to recognize it when updating the activities and devices. we read on a harmony post that some of their remotes would go into safe mode and might be remedied by a firmware upgrade. @ the HK website it said my model had the most current firmware but i upgraded anyway. after applying the upgrade and a few minutes of a testing screen the damn thing finally booted up! hopefully the features on this thing will make it worth the 3 hrs we lost tonight. 1 question, do you guys think this remote will work with a media center pc?

To the question above: - yes.
Also, it's usually a good idea to let it charge over night before doing anything else; and it's in a manual, quick guide, common sense.

qvc website was selling this remote for about $140 total w/ shipping and tax last week. now it is all sold out.

this remote must be the hot item of the week!!!

Well as soon as I bought mine the seller changed and the price went up to $300 :(

so were u able to get it for the cheaper price of $149 or u got to pay the $300?

$149, got lucky I guess

There were 6 listed at that price, but as soon as I placed my order the seller changed from Ace to Vanns.

The display on my TC30 won't stop "glowing" on its own. I can manually turn it off by pressing "glow", but it is supposed to shut off automatically after X seconds. Anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it?

Mine did that too. It also would not keep the correct time. HK sent me a new one in exchange for the first one, and everything works great now.

I purchased a TC-30 about 30 days ago and have it all programmed for my setup. However I just can't get motivated to replace my other remote. I also can't get motivated to sell it on eBay either. I saw a couple posts from people looking for an inexpensive source. I may be interested in selling it cheap to a fellow forum member since it's just sitting on the shelf. If anyone is interested please send me a PM. It is like brand new with all original packaging. Please don't post replies in this thread. Send PMs only. I don't want to clutter this thread. Thanks.

Jay

Note to moderator. If this post is inappropriate please delete it.

Mine did that too. It also would not keep the correct time. HK sent me a new one in exchange for the first one, and everything works great now.

Thanks. Mine can't keep time either. Good to hear I'm not alone. I'm in contact with HK support, but they are not very responsive. Sooner or later I'll get this sorted out.

I must have gotten my TC-30 when they were still using the plastic static cover, as mine just peeled off with no glue on it. That is pretty stupid to use glue on a display and I hope they fix that in the future.


Not yet, just got mine today, still has the super glued sticker on it :(

Any easy way to clean up the mess of codes in the TC 30 database?

Started with my tv, am 8 year old Panny tube. It was in the database and I updated the remote.

Now I have 8 pages of commands in the remote. Problem is my tv just ain't that fancy. Most of the commands are for things my tv does not have.

Plus some of the commands are duplicated and triplicated under different names.

Back in the software it looks like the only way to clean these out is to blank each field which will take some time. Why are there no check boxes next to each command with a 'clear field' button at the end?

Is there any other way to do this?

tia

The display on my TC30 won't stop "glowing" on its own. I can manually turn it off by pressing "glow", but it is supposed to shut off automatically after X seconds. Anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it?

mine did the same thing. light wouldn't go out automatically. got quick response from hk to replace it under warranty. while getting the numbers off the remote for hk i had to remove battery. i noticed later the light was working correctly. i haven't returned the remote and am seeing if the problem is really gone.

I am slowing cleaning up the commands for my remote.

Tonight I was working on my DVD recorder activity.

I updated the remote.

After the update I notice 3 new soft buttons under the listen to radio activity. I did not add these.

If other users are updating the database is that supposed to affect my remote when I do an update?

Just checked online, the 3 new soft buttons where not there, updated remote, now they are gone.

weird

ok just got this device this morning. no scratches on the lcd.

i have been charging this unit for almost 1 1/2 hours...and it is still 1 bar...is this normal?

I just let mine go over night the first time

quick question...if u plug this unit to the usb of ur pc...does it also charge the remote?

Ok just finish programming this remote and I must say this remote is SWEET!

I'm still trying to figure which button to map "page down", "page up", "next day", and "prev day" on the remote hard key. I know u can use one of those LCD button for it. But I would rather use one of those hard button on the remote like "menu", "prev", but obviously those button is being use for other function that. Any suggestion any1?

Ref. the "super glue"...have any of you tried (or heard of) Goo Gone. Usually that just melts the glue away - but does not do any damage - certainly less than brute force scraping!

Sometimes you have to peel the surface layer of the label off to help the Goo Gone to penetrate or work from the edges in. Or hit the label with a hair dryer just a bit to warm up the glue and try to peel. Then Goo Gone the residual glue. It's available about everywhere -supermarkets, drug stores, home stores.

I used q-tips and rubbing alcohol to get the goo off

Does anyone using a TC30 have issues with controlling Sharp LCD's? I have a Sharp 37 LCD which I am controlling with the TC30. More often than not, the TC30 is unable to switch the channel settings (EXT) when moving between my SKY box and my DVD. I then have to go through the whole help menu to get it to change to the right channel. Is this a Sharp specific problem and if so does anyone know where I can get Sharp codes for the TC30?
Thanks in advance.

Yes, I'm also having the same problem. When ever I go between "watching tv", "watching dvd", "watching pvr"...it doesn't alway turn on the correct device on or doesn't switch to the correct inputs and I have to go to help menu all the time to fix it.

This is getting annoying and any1 else is experincing the same problem? And how do u fix it?

ps: I alway leave my cable box turn on all the time. So I don't know if it is related to my current problem?

try the troubleshooting in the hk program. some devices have a delay time from when they can receive a new command after receiving a prior real or false command for another device. for example my hitachi plasma is set for 22 seconds to be able to change inputs from a cold start. set at 20 seconds it is hit or miss.

My TV's input names do not match HK's input names exactly. For example, HK does not list HDMI1 as an option, but it does offer SAT/DBS.

In the activity setup to change inputs, I have it select an input, (one that works 100% of the time) and then it selects next or previous, depending on where it falls.

For me to select the TV's hdmi1, the sequence selects ANT2 then next. Because hdmi1 follows ant1 on my TV's list of available inputs.

Does that make sense ?

having this remote for about 1 week...so far so good.

but there is something strange...when i go into the settings "change the behaviors of the button"...

on the first page it go to the standard buttons:

button device assignment
mute receiver mute
...
page up
down tv directional down
right etc etc.

my point is the tc30 remote has a directional up, down, left, right button...yet on the left column...i dont see a button for up....wtf is going on? is this a bug or something?

On my Harmony setup page, "Page up" is actually direction up...I guess someone screwed up the labels, but it still works the same so no big deal.

On my Harmony setup page, "Page up" is actually direction up...I guess someone screwed up the labels, but it still works the same so no big deal.


ok thanx...im gonna try it out tonite to see if it work by assigning "Page up" as "directional up" and see if i can move up on my tv menu.

another problem i like to bring up...i have an activity called "watch tv" which suppose to power on my tv, cable box and switch to the source "video."

anyway...i alway leave my cable box on. so when i click on "watch tv" it doesnt power on my tv... i have to use help menu all the time to turn it on. i already went into the harman kardon config to troubleshoot and change the delay time anywhere from 200 - 5000 ms. it still didnt work.

so i troubleshoot the problem further. i turn of the cable box this time...and press "watch tv" still didnt work...cable box and tv didnt turn on.

but listen to this...once i have tv and cable box on...and press the "power on/off" small round button all the way at the top left corner of the remote...it turns off my tv and cable box. then when i press "watch tv" it turns on my tv and cable box and it works!!!

so wtf? is that another bug or what?

By using the "All Off" button, your remote now knows that everything is off, and consequentlly knows what to turn on with each activity button.

By using the "All Off" button, your remote now knows that everything is off, and consequentlly knows what to turn on with each activity button.

which bring me to this...if i leave my cable box on all the time. and how do i configure the properties for "watch tv" so when i press it..it will turn on my tv w/o me going into help menu. i know u can map on/off button which i already did. but it is getting annoying when u want to press "watch tv" it should turn on the tv like it suppose to.

one more thing....i made a separate thread already and nobody seems to know the answer. here it goes.

there is a button on my tv remote that does "aspect." for those that dont know what is aspect..it is the mode where u change from "fill" to 'standard" or vice versa on ur tv screen. well tc30 also has this button map..but it wasn't working for my tv. so i went into the learn mapping button function...point my tv remote to the tc30...it said it couln't learn it and i need to contact tech support so they can do it for me? do u think this will work or it is a waste of time?

i hate calling them especially it aint a 1-800 toll free number in the usa...plus i was on hold for like 20 minutes last time and have to be home with the remote and with all my equipments.

which bring me to this...if i leave my cable box on all the time. and how do i configure the properties for "watch tv" so when i press it..it will turn on my tv w/o me going into help menu. i know u can map on/off button which i already did. but it is getting annoying when u want to press "watch tv" it should turn on the tv like it suppose to.

What are you doing to leave the cable box on all the time? You should go to "Power options" for the cable box device and set it to "This device has no power buttons".

Then make sure you ONLY use activities to turn things on, and ONLY use the OFF button to turn the system off, and it should all work.

which bring me to this...if i leave my cable box on all the time. and how do i configure the properties for "watch tv" so when i press it..it will turn on my tv w/o me going into help menu. i know u can map on/off button which i already did. but it is getting annoying when u want to press "watch tv" it should turn on the tv like it suppose to.On the device screen for your cable box select "adjust power settings" then "I want to leave this device on all the time". This works fine with my Tivo which I keep powered on all the time. Also if you devices support discrete on/off make you you make the appropriate selection in the same section. This should fix all your power on/off problems.

Jay

thx czzer and jerndl...it finally works after changing the setting to alway leave cable box on all the time. when i changed this setting it...it didnt work in the beginning...only after i turn on my tv...then use the small power button on the tc30 remote to turn off the tv and leave the cable box on...then when i press the activity "watch tv" it turn on my tv.

i wonder if the tc30 "remember" what i press on before cuz if i turn off the tv with my regular tv remote and i press "watch tv" on my tc30...it wont know to turn on my tv. only if i turn the tv off my my tc30 remote power button...then next time i press "watch tv" it knows to turn it on. as matter of fact now, if the tv is on already, and i press "watch tv"...it turns the tv off.

does any1 understand what im saying? is this a glitch or a bug?

...
there is a button on my tv remote that does "aspect." for those that dont know what is aspect..it is the mode where u change from "fill" to 'standard" or vice versa on ur tv screen. well tc30 also has this button map..but it wasn't working for my tv. so i went into the learn mapping button function...point my tv remote to the tc30...it said it couln't learn it and i need to contact tech support so they can do it for me? do u think this will work or it is a waste of time?

i hate calling them especially it aint a 1-800 toll free number in the usa...plus i was on hold for like 20 minutes last time and have to be home with the remote and with all my equipments.


any1 know why my tc30 can't learn the "aspect" command from my tv remote and that i need to contact tech support in order to do it?

i wonder if the tc30 "remember" what i press on before cuz if i turn off the tv with my regular tv remote and i press "watch tv" on my tc30...it wont know to turn on my tv. only if i turn the tv off my my tc30 remote power button...then next time i press "watch tv" it knows to turn it on. as matter of fact now, if the tv is on already, and i press "watch tv"...it turns the tv off.

does any1 understand what im saying? is this a glitch or a bug?It is not a glitch or a bug. If your TV supports discrete power on/off then you should definitely tell the HK software. Then it will always work regardless of the previous state. Keep in mind that many devices support discrete on/off even though the original remote does not. If your TV definitely does not have discrete on/off then you are always going to have some trouble. You can minimize your trouble by always using actvities and always using the HK remote to turn your stuff on/off. BTW I don't have any idea why you can't learn the aspect key. I would call tech support. They are not that bad. Good luck.

Jay

It is not a glitch or a bug. If your TV supports discrete power on/off then you should definitely tell the HK software. Then it will always work regardless of the previous state. Keep in mind that many devices support discrete on/off even though the original remote does not. If your TV definitely does not have discrete on/off then you are always going to have some trouble. You can minimize your trouble by always using actvities and always using the HK remote to turn your stuff on/off. BTW I don't have any idea why you can't learn the aspect key. I would call tech support. They are not that bad. Good luck.

Jay

i have a pretty brand new tv..a westhinghouse w3 37" 1080p hdtv which i bought in april of 2006. here are the specs:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Westinghouse_LVM_37w3_LCD_flat_panel_display_37/4507-6482_7-31948531.html?tag=sub

so how do i know if this tv accep discrete power or not? if yes, how would i set it up in the HK software?

My TC 30 doesn't seem to remember when I use device mode to turn something on or off. It's a toggle right now, not discrete.

I then tried putting a power toggle in my activity soft keys, same results :(

Is this the way it should be?

tia

My TC 30 doesn't seem to remember when I use device mode to turn something on or off. It's a toggle right now, not discrete.

I then tried putting a power toggle in my activity soft keys, same results :(

Is this the way it should be?

tia

Yes...that's the way it should be. Use Activities to turn things on and off and all will be well.

Woo hoo, just updated remote and it kept blank soft keys. I don't think it used to do this. Much better.

How can you learn a discrete on / off if the remote does not have it?

tia

For clarification, how do you use activities to turn off a device without using the master off button at the top of the remote?

I have my setting to leave devices on because I often flip back and forth between a dvr that's recording, a live tv show, a dvd movie and or my 360.

If the device doesn't support it, you can't. Sometimes all the codes that a device can use aren't on the remote, but if it doesn't support the command, you're forced to find work arounds.

so how do i know if this tv accep discrete power or not? if yes, how would i set it up in the HK software?In the device section go to adjust power settings. Tell it there is one button for on and and a different button for off. Then tell it "I don't have the original remote, but I know the commands that are used". Then pick "Power On" from the drop down. Then pick "Power Off" from the drop down". Update your remote and test for discrete on/off. If it doesn't work your TV probably doesn't support it.

Jay

For clarification, how do you use activities to turn off a device without using the master off button at the top of the remote?

I have my setting to leave devices on because I often flip back and forth between a dvr that's recording, a live tv show, a dvd movie and or my 360.

The master OFF button is used to turn off all devices that are being used in current activity(unless they have been set to remain on).

Otherwise, by default, unused devices are switched off when leaving an activity.

How have you set it to "leave devices on"?...ie have you set the devices as "Do not turn off", or the Activities to "Leave unused devices ON"? The second option would allow you to switch between activities(dvr, live tv, XBox) without things turning on and off, but the OFF button will still turn everything off at the end of the night.

i believe jay has summarized the power on power off issue pretty well. it depends on whether your equipment has the ability to receive those discrete power commands. my hitachi plasma only has power toggle on its remote but the hk database includes discrete power on power off commands. except for my cable box the rest of my equipment is hk which has discrete power commands (linked together with hard wiring). only my motorola cable box is power toggle only so i leave it on all the time to keep everything in sync.

the only way to switch activities and leave some of the prior equipment still running is to manually do it with the device button or to have a separate activity setup for it

Any idea how to get a softkey to perform more than one thing at a time?

When I try to "learn" in raw it says to wait 1 second between button pushes. But after the second button push it exits. :(

The odd thing is that in the database is a softkey that does the equivalent of 4 buttons pushes on my tv remote, so either it is possible and I am doing it wrong or it was possible in the past but no longer.

tia

In the device section go to adjust power settings. Tell it there is one button for on and and a different button for off. Then tell it "I don't have the original remote, but I know the commands that are used". Then pick "Power On" from the drop down. Then pick "Power Off" from the drop down". Update your remote and test for discrete on/off. If it doesn't work your TV probably doesn't support it.

Jay


yup change to those setting for my tv on the hk software. and try to turn on/off tv with "watch tv" still didnt work...what now?

and on my other problem with the "aspect" button..here is what it said when i tried to learn the "aspect" button from my tv remote:

"Your Monitor needs a specialized setup.

Please call customer service to change the set of commands it uses."

so my question has any1 ever encounter this message before? and how is customer service gonna change the set of command it uses? are they gonna log into my hk online account and do something?

nevermind..i figure out how to solve my "aspect" button...it finally work.

the problem was i was trying to verify infrared instead of learning infrared. when it was trying to verify "guide and aspect" buttons...my tv remote didnt have guide button...but when i go into learn infrared..it finally works.

i found another problem...on my tv i have component 1 and component 2 and dvi 1 and dvi 2. now on the my tv remote it only has 1 button to switch to component. so for example if i want to go to component 2...i have to press the component button twice.

well how do i program that on my tc30? cuz i have my dvr connected on component 2 and my samsung hd tuner on component. and everytime i switch between "watch dvr" to "watch hdtv" it doesnt switch between each inputs if both device are already on. for example...let say im watcing my dvr..then press "watch hdtv" to power on the samsung hd tuner..it will switch to component 1...but when i press "watch dvr" to try to switch back to component 2 to watch something on my dvr..it wont allow me to do it even when i use the help button.

could it be that my tv remote only has 1 component button to toggle between component 1 and component 2? if so how do i resolve it? thx in advance.

mine did the same thing. light wouldn't go out automatically. got quick response from hk to replace it under warranty. while getting the numbers off the remote for hk i had to remove battery. i noticed later the light was working correctly. i haven't returned the remote and am seeing if the problem is really gone.

im having this issue as well...

this is my last question for tc30...can you program this remote (of course facing the devices) to turn on my samsung hdtv tuner box at a particular time and then tune to a particular channel on the samsung box, and then after the program is done...turn off the samsung box?

is this possible or maybe we'll have this feature in 5 year from now?

^^^ i guess not...lol...i guess this question seems to stump everyone.

i thinks i found my answer..if this remote can do macros..i can program it to do whateva the hell i wanna.

thx to no one here i was able to find my answer by myself. sometime when u need things to get done..u just have to do it urself...lol

I got this remote and it had some problems, i tried to exchange it for a new one at B&H and they said it is now discontinued. Anyone know about this? Are they out of the remote business or is a new one coming out?

I got this remote and it had some problems, i tried to exchange it for a new one at B&H and they said it is now discontinued. Anyone know about this? Are they out of the remote business or is a new one coming out?Harman Kardon has it on their website as a current product. But Amazon, pricegrabber and ebay each has only 1 - 2 offers. Apparently, TC30 is in very limited supply. Harman Kardon never was a big in a remote control business. Time to time they had one model as a standalone product. Why don't you contact them for an exchange?

Harmon Kardon confirmed this is no longer available.

"Hi Chris,
Unfortunately, we no longer offer this item. Sorry about that."

Great...i paid $18 to look at a remote that didnt work for 2 days (shipping from and back)...

Odd that it is still listed on the HK site:

LINK (http://www.harmankardon.com/category.aspx?cat=ABR&Region=USA&Country=US&Language=ENG)

Finding them new on the net for 300, glad I got mine new for 150 a few months back :)

Has anyone found a way to put channels into the soft keys?

Even when I try to learn in 'raw' mode, after the first button press the learning exits.

tia

Anyone tried to use another learning remote to send multiple commands to the TC30?

For example, use the Sony RMVL600 ($25), teach it to go to channel 109-112 with one button, then send that to a softkey on the TC30.

Will that work?

Gotta come up with a solution for all these digital channels, feels like I am dialing long distance every time I want to change channels.

Doesn't help that the number pad on the TC30 was made infant size fingers.

tia

Some Harmonies have a media button, which helps to accomplish that, but not TC30.
This is the way I've done it:

- for each channel of interest I defined a new activity, let's say "Watch TV on 109". It looks like regular "Watch TV", but at the beginning I added to send commands "1", "0", "9", "Enter" to TV. Since the remote remembers states of all equipment - on/off, input - it switches from activity to activity smoothly - it switches only channel.

Thx pt, will give it a try

Well that works but not quite what I am after.

What I want is when I am in the DVR activity (using it as my digital tuner) that I have a bunch of channels in the softkeys.

I think I will try using another learning remote to teach the TC30.

I made a mistake: send 1-0-9-enter to your digital box, not TV.

Well I got a Sony RM-VL600.

Taught it a macro, 81-34 which worked fine.

Then I tried to use that macro button on the Sony to teach the TC30.

All it learned was 8, looks like the TC30 stops learning after the first signal is sent.

bummer

My hard disk had to be re-formated and I somehow lost my TC-30 software CD. Is there anywhere I can download a new copy?

My hard disk had to be re-formated and I somehow lost my TC-30 software CD. Is there anywhere I can download a new copy?

I am uploading it to my server right now. I just need to make a few more posts before the avsforum will allow me to post the link.
;)


edit: Here you go.

http://www.vq35de.com/Software/HarmonKardon/HC_TC30_Setup.exe

I appreciate your help in providing the software. I was surprised that i couldn't get it from the Harmon Kardon website.

I appreciate your help in providing the software. I was surprised that i couldn't get it from the Harmon Kardon website.


You're welcome. But after I uploaded the CD version, I found that someone else had previously posted a link to the software from HC.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9130293&&#post9130293

I can't find this remote anywhere for less than $250 except possibly Ebay (3 items). Anyone have any luck getting it for a decent price recently? Am I better off to just go with a Harmony 880?

I was lucky and got mine for $150.

I choose it because I wanted the 8 soft keys and was not a fan of the peanut shape.

However, now that I have had it for months, the uber-small keypad is a royal PITA.

Everything else is great, hardware wise that is.

If Logitech gets their act together and gets the macros back I will probably switch to one of the 800's, just because of the keypad.

I was lucky and got mine for $150.

I choose it because I wanted the 8 soft keys and was not a fan of the peanut shape.

However, now that I have had it for months, the uber-small keypad is a royal PITA.

Everything else is great, hardware wise that is.

If Logitech gets their act together and gets the macros back I will probably switch to one of the 800's, just because of the keypad.

i was able to get it for $98 from ebay with the $15 paypal spring promotion. ebay is ur best bet for this remote.

I too am wondering where I can find this.

EDIT = Answer found earlier in thread about discontinued product news.

I too am wondering where I can find this.

EDIT = Answer found earlier in thread about discontinued product news.
The closest thing technically and physically is the Harmony 720, currently $120 at Costco stores (after a $50 instant rebate). The Harmony 880 is identical technically, but very different physically (currently $136 on amazon.com).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=681453

Old thread and discontinued product, I know, but I just bought one of these used online (waiting on delivery) & had some programming questions for anyone familiar with the software:

- Does the HK software allow you to re-order the activities once they are set up, like the Harmony softare does?

- Does the HK software support Logitech's recent addition of macros (I'd like to set up sequences on a couple buttons)?

- I ordered the non-US versions of the remote, with the extra red-green-yellow-blue buttons at the bottom; does anyone know if these buttons are fully configurable as well?

Thanks...

Old thread and discontinued product, I know, but I just bought one of these used online (waiting on delivery) & had some programming questions for anyone familiar with the software:

- Does the HK software allow you to re-order the activities once they are set up, like the Harmony softare does?

- Does the HK software support Logitech's recent addition of macros (I'd like to set up sequences on a couple buttons)?

- I ordered the non-US versions of the remote, with the extra red-green-yellow-blue buttons at the bottom; does anyone know if these buttons are fully configurable as well?

Thanks...
- Yes.

- Last time I checked, which was immediately after Logitech re-introduced sequences, no. But most of them can be emulated with sequences attached to hooks: beginning and end of an activity.

- Have no idea, never seen such version, but my (educated) guess is Yes.

It's really a pity this remote died. Surely if Harmony can sell the 880 on amazon.com for $130 h/k could have continued to sell this remote for $150 (MSRP on the Harmony models is typically almost double amazon prices, similar to the pricing differences observed on the popular URC models).

I don't understand why h/k can just give up on this since they still supply the TC30 as part of the AVR745 receiver.

It's really a pity this remote died. Surely if Harmony can sell the 880 on amazon.com for $130 h/k could have continued to sell this remote for $150 (MSRP on the Harmony models is typically almost double amazon prices, similar to the pricing differences observed on the popular URC models).

I don't understand why h/k can just give up on this since they still supply the TC30 as part of the AVR745 receiver.

I agree... It's the only Harmony option with 8 softkeys for those of us who prefer the straight form factor to the "peanut" shape. I think Logitech should include the model in their software updates, even if they don't fully support it...

Shame about the macro support... I was hoping to set up a couple custom buttons with functions that require 2 or 3 steps. Anyone know any workarounds? Seems I remember hearing of some people capturing multiple button pushes in raw mode...

- Last time I checked, which was immediately after Logitech re-introduced sequences, no. But most of them can be emulated with sequences attached to hooks: beginning and end of an activity.


Yes. You can now add sequences/macros. At least via the mac version of the site.

Yes. You can now add sequences/macros. At least via the mac version of the site.How?

Make sure you have the latest software and firmware. There called sequences.
Check this out.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=98010

Make sure you have the latest software and firmware. There called sequences.
Check this out.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=98010

Thanks, did not realize it's so deep into menus and dialog boxes (didn't need to update software and/or firmware - courtesy of server-based software).

i bought a 745 refurb off ebay and it came with the tc30, but a completely bent out of shape software cd! i know the software has been linked on here, multiple times, but im a poor college student running os x on a macbook. and i can't afford a copy of windows to dual boot, and definitely cant do windows AND parallels desktop or something similar at this point in time after buying the laptop and the 745. plus i don't want to have an extra hdd partition and an installation of windows just to install the software for this damn remote.

so can someone show me where i can download the os x harman kardon tc3 software?

i will call them and ask for another (properly packaged) cd tomorrow morning, but i already had to wait a week before using the remote at all because i had to call them and get them to send me a charging base, which wasn't included at all. wtf??? great products, just take some time and care in the delivery process.

ok sorry about the double post, but i just found out how to download the software for my mac: mactc30.com

that is also where you program the remote (its all done online) and i must say this website BLOWS. yes, in capitals. it is very slow to respond (intermittently, so it has the capability to be fast), which usually means VERY frequent timeouts. for some reason, it stops responding for me altogether in a certain browser, and only works again up to 5 min later. the only saving grace is that the website saves what you change to its online profile as you change it... only the remote needs to be updated for any effect in real life.

ive worked around this by literally cycling between safari and opera, and in opera i identify it as opera/firefox/IE. don't ask me why this is the case, this is just what i know has been working. if they would work out the kinks in this system, it wouldnt be half bad for such a powerful device... but the kinks are there, and they are major.

I`m currently trying to get my tc30 to control my motorised projector screen.
But i need the remote to send a stop signal after 45 seconds. I`ve sett the activity up so that the remote sends four 10 sec delays and on 5 sec delay before sending the stop command. But nothing happens. Any tips?
Pekken

Is it possible to import an opening screen that does not have those annoying icons?

Do you TC30 owners store your remote in the cradle overnight whether it needs the charge or not ?

Do you TC30 owners store your remote in the cradle overnight whether it needs the charge or not ?

of course!!! why not?

I ask because I don't know what is best for the longevity of the battery. Are we training the battery to expect a recharge every night, and if we forget to return it to the cradle, the battery will die.

longevity for battery is to keep charging every nite.

Yes, I do. I've owned mine for nearly a couple of years now and have been placing it in the charger after each use. Actually, because I don't use my system daily, it can sit in the cradle for days.

Is there anywhere I can download the software for the TC-30? I have a new computer and cannot find my disk. I looked everywhere on the Harman-Kardon site and couldn't find anything and they are extremely slow in responding to my emails

Is there anywhere I can download the software for the TC-30? I have a new computer and cannot find my disk. I looked everywhere on the Harman-Kardon site and couldn't find anything and they are extremely slow in responding to my emails

Bad news. HK pulled the plug on TC 30 support some time ago so that means no tech support or worst yet no software. I recently replaced my TC 30 with a Logitech Harmony 670 and so far it is going the job better than I expected.

Sorry,
louisp

By pulling the plug do you mean that I cannot even go online and reprogram it anymore even if I did have the software?

By pulling the plug do you mean that I cannot even go online and reprogram it anymore even if I did have the software?

Unfortunately that is correct. I tried in vein to locate and download the software. I would recommend that you call HK's customer support. At one time they sent me a replacement copy of the disk.

Good Luck,

By pulling the plug do you mean that I cannot even go online and reprogram it anymore even if I did have the software?
Send me your real e-mail address with private message and I'll send you installation executable - I haven't found a way to send an attachment by AVS mail.
And don't worry - if you have an installed software you'll be able to program and re-program your remote at will.

Send me your real e-mail address with private message and I'll send you installation executable - I haven't found a way to send an attachment by AVS mail.
And don't worry - if you have an installed software you'll be able to program and re-program your remote at will.I would agree - I also recently purchased a new computer. I installed my original software, plugged in my TC-30 and was online re-programming the remote in no time.

That is great news for all TC30 owners. Since the keys on my TC30 were out (guide, #5, #2) the HK stunt was the straw that broke the camels back.

One suggestion. It might also be very helpful for you to post all of your information on the Harmony section of RemoteCentral.com.

Best of Luck,
49Merc

Since there is no mac version of TC30 software, I was using http://www.mactc30.com. I haven't needed to adjust the remote software in a few months. I just got dish network installed and wanted to add device/activity to the remote. I went to http://www.mactc30.com and it does not respond. Did the website go down and nobody cared? WTF.

The http://www.mactc30.com site is dead. I have no way to program my remote now. I can use the Harmony software and configure the remote but the USB drivers must be different because I cannot get it to communicate with the remote.

My work laptop is a PC running windows xp. I installed the TC30 software on it and it does not work either. It communicates with the remote and then displays "Cannot display content" or something like that. This is so frustrating. I paid good money for my AVR 745. The TC30 is the primary remote control for this receiver.

The http://www.mactc30.com site is dead. I have no way to program my remote now. I can use the Harmony software and configure the remote but the USB drivers must be different because I cannot get it to communicate with the remote.

My work laptop is a PC running windows xp. I installed the TC30 software on it and it does not work either. It communicates with the remote and then displays "Cannot display content" or something like that. This is so frustrating. I paid good money for my AVR 745. The TC30 is the primary remote control for this receiver.

You may want to check out "remotecentral.com". My TC30 is dead due to the lack of software support. Sorry for the bad news.

You may want to check out "remotecentral.com". My TC30 is dead due to the lack of software support. Sorry for the bad news.

Dead!!! It is a nice remote. How long have you had it? Shouldn't H/K support it for a reasonable amount of time - if you can't configure it then it is broken and should be fixed by H/K. I wonder if I can get it swapped by H/K for a regular Harmony remote that works!!

Dead!!! It is a nice remote. How long have you had it? Shouldn't H/K support it for a reasonable amount of time - if you can't configure it then it is broken and should be fixed by H/K. I wonder if I can get it swapped by H/K for a regular Harmony remote that works!!

The TC30 is no longer produced nor sold as an active product likewise HK no longer supports the remote. Yes, it was a great remote. I purchased mine about 3 or 4 years ago. Nor will it do any good to call Harmony. Harmony will just tell you that it was a HK remote. If yours is new I would suggest getting a refund from the seller. The lesson I learned from this mess is not to purchase a custom branded piece of electronics.

The TC30 is no longer produced nor sold as an active product likewise HK no longer supports the remote. Yes, it was a great remote. I purchased mine about 3 or 4 years ago. Nor will it do any good to call Harmony. Harmony will just tell you that it was a HK remote. If yours is new I would suggest getting a refund from the seller. The lesson I learned from this mess is not to purchase a custom branded piece of electronics.

H/K still bundles the TC30 with their flagship receiver AVR 745 which they sell even today. So, they may not be selling it standalone but it is still bundled with the AVR 745 which is a $3000 MSRP receiver. That is how I got mine. They better support is for some more time or I have a nice receiver with a dead remote!!

H/K still bundles the TC30 with their flagship receiver AVR 745 which they sell even today. So, they may not be selling it standalone but it is still bundled with the AVR 745 which is a $3000 MSRP receiver. That is how I got mine. They better support is for some more time or I have a nice receiver with a dead remote!!

Boy does that suck. After my HK 635 died and my retailer stopped selling HK I switched over to a Denon 987. Yes, I recall the 745 bundle but nevertheless HK uncermemiously dumped the TC30. I believe you have a good argument for HK. If you haven't already I would suggest you call and lodge a protest with HK. You can also send an email directly to HK support via Harmankardon.com.

Just as an FYI, I politely argued my point about the TC30 with HK in three seperate phone calls but all to no avail. That's way I finally threw in the towel, as it were. But in your case, you definetly have a valid argument. I'm going to do a bit of research and will get back to you via this thread.

49Merc

Boy does that suck. After my HK 635 died and my retailer stopped selling HK I switched over to a Denon 987. Yes, I recall the 745 bundle but nevertheless HK uncermemiously dumped the TC30. I believe you have a good argument for HK. If you haven't already I would suggest you call and lodge a protest with HK. You can also send an email directly to HK support via Harmankardon.com.

Just as an FYI, I politely argued my point about the TC30 with HK in three seperate phone calls but all to no avail. That's way I finally threw in the towel, as it were. But in your case, you definetly have a valid argument. I'm going to do a bit of research and will get back to you via this thread.

49Merc

I have already sent H/K a support request. One of the support person said they are looking into it and possibly resurrecting the mactc30.com website. But I have not been given any timeframe. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Hurray http://www.mactc30.com now works again. I haven't verified if it actually lets me program my TC30 or not yet. I will do that tonight and report back. Kudos to H/K for taking care of this quickly. I reported the problem only 2 days ago.

bommai you are my hero. i have been reading your posts for months, and i actually purchased a refurb 745 back in september, if you remember.

i just got a new tv and i came back here to see if there was anything new, only to find out that you resurrected the website for me :)

bommai you are my hero. i have been reading your posts for months, and i actually purchased a refurb 745 back in september, if you remember.

i just got a new tv and i came back here to see if there was anything new, only to find out that you resurrected the website for me :)

You are welcome. I am glad I got the right ears at H/K. I wanted to add that I successfully used the website to program my TC30 to include Dish Network VIP-722 to my system. Now all is well.

Does the date go further than the year 2009?// I guess it'll depend on new firmware.... Now time/date settings go no further than 31/12 (or 12/31) 2009.....

What is the latest firmware for the TC30? I think mine says 4.20 or something like that.

mine is also 4.2. i'm trying to program my samsung 4069fx into it, and it refuses to update now. when i disconnect, all it says is "use the remote software to update settings."

i update settings over and over again, but it doesn't seem to work :(

there are a couple things i think could be wrong:

i'm using firefox in os x. should i try safari? i can't remember what browser i was using before i upgraded to leopard in late october.

what does your usb cable look like? i know they should technically be the same, but maybe not using the original cable is hurting me somehow...

i really love this remote and i want it to work again!! :(

I don't think I ever got my TC30 to work on my Mac (with Tiger or Leopard). I can change the settings, but I just cannot update the remote. The USB connection does not work. I don't think it is the cable because I can use the same cable to update it with my Windows XP laptop from work. However, the Windows TC30 software that came with it does not allow me to update the remote either. It always fails and says "Unable to display content" or something like that. I use the http://www.mactc30.com on the PC to make it work. I love the remote too, but the software experience should be a lot better.

Hello,

When I program my TC30 remote I use the same software of my Harmony 880. When I give my user for my TC30 the harmony redirect my on the HK database...I never use the CD come with my TC-30 and I allways user the Harmony program and everything work's great....The TC-30 database is supported by Logitech anyway ;)

hello

I need help please:) I have tc30 but ilost my cd instalation:/ Could You help me? Where i find download site with software? or who send me software ? my mail : stecko21@yahoo.co.uk

thank You very much for help

hello

I need help please:) I have tc30 but ilost my cd instalation:/ Could You help me? Where i find download site with software? or who send me software ? my mail : stecko21@yahoo.co.uk

thank You very much for help

Unless someone else can state otherwise the TC30 is no longer supported nor is the software available. I was forced to abandon my TC30 due to this non-support from Harman Kardon and now own a pure Logitech Harmony. I learned a hard and expensive lesson with the TC30, stay away from private branded electronics.

Sorry,
Louis

hello

I need help please:) I have tc30 but ilost my cd instalation:/ Could You help me? Where i find download site with software? or who send me software ? my mail : stecko21@yahoo.co.uk

thank You very much for help

I have both a TC30 and regular harmony 880 remotes. Each of the remotes has a separate login name associated. When I installed the regular software for the harmony 880 and login using the name I setup for the TC30 the screen changes and looks just like the TC30 software.

Might want to give it a try and see if the regular harmony software works for you.

I have both a TC30 and regular harmony 880 remotes. Each of the remotes has a separate login name associated. When I installed the regular software for the harmony 880 and login using the name I setup for the TC30 the screen changes and looks just like the TC30 software.

Might want to give it a try and see if the regular harmony software works for you.

I hope it works for him. Just once the Harmony software worked for me but that was long before the TC30 was abandoned by HK.

hello

I need help please:) I have tc30 but ilost my cd instalation:/ Could You help me? Where i find download site with software? or who send me software ? my mail : stecko21@yahoo.co.uk

thank You very much for help

I just remembered something, you may want to search on Remotecentral.com. At one time there were a number of possible solutions although none of them worked for me. When searching at Remote Central use all iterations - TC30, TC-30, TC 30, Harman Kardon, HK.

Good Luck

Post 68 has the link for the HK30 software. Here it is again. Notice that after you load it, you should check for the latest version and it will update. Sorry but I don't have the direct link to the newest software.

http://images.harmonyremote.com/EasyZapper/Downloads/HarmanKardon/HK_TC30_5_1_4_88.exe

thank You very much guys:)

i have one more question: how switch off this remote? This is automaticly switch off?? :)

thank You very much guys:)

i have one more question: how switch off this remote? This is automaticly switch off?? :)

It goes to sleep on its own when you don't move it.

I have been using the TC-30 for two years with no problem. Today I tried to add new devices and change activities, but when I click "Activities" on the software, I get a "Unable to display content". "Devices", "troubleshooting"work fine. It also took out some activities I had on my remote...

Can anybody help, please? The remote is almost useless as it is. Thanks so much.