I am purchasing a universal remote for my home theater (JVC HDTV, Pioneer AVR, Motorola/Comcast HD-DVR STB, Samsung DVD player) and I have a question about Harmony remotes.

I've gathered that you change from a primarily device-centric model to an activity-centric one with these remotes, and I'd like to understand exactly what that means. If I walk into the room in the morning and select "Watch DVR" or something, I assume it powers on the devices I need (TV, AVR, STB) and select the proper inputs. If, however, I was watching a DVD, and then selected the same "Watch DVR" activity, does it remember that the TV is already on because it was showing the DVD. I assume that it must, as this is the only thing that makes sense. Is this memory about the current device states reliable (does it ever "forget" that something is already on)?

Now let's say I'm watching cable and decide to watch a movie, so I select "Watch DVD". My STB is not needed to watch a movie, so will the remote try to power it off? What if it's recording a show and I don't want the STB to power off (yes, the STB puts up a warning and doesn't actually power down, but I still don't want even the warning to come up)? Is there a way to get around this, or to have the STB always on for every activity?

Thanks,
JJ

If, however, I was watching a DVD, and then selected the same "Watch DVR" activity, does it remember that the TV is already on because it was showing the DVD. I assume that it must, as this is the only thing that makes sense. Is this memory about the current device states reliable (does it ever "forget" that something is already on)?
- It will remember the state of each device. So if your TV is already on and is needed for the new Activity, it will not send the Power On command again. I’ve never had the Harmony forget which devices it has on, but it’s possible that a device might miss a Power On or Power Off command if you move the remote before all the commands are sent out. You would need to use the Help button to get everything back in sync.

Now let's say I'm watching cable and decide to watch a movie, so I select "Watch DVD". My STB is not needed to watch a movie, so will the remote try to power it off? What if it's recording a show and I don't want the STB to power off (yes, the STB puts up a warning and doesn't actually power down, but I still don't want even the warning to come up)? Is there a way to get around this, or to have the STB always on for every activity?
- You can customize the power settings for each Activity to leave unused devices on or off. For example, on my Play CD activity, I set the Harmony to leave unused devices on. So when I went from Watch TV to Play CD, it didn’t turn my TV off. The OFF button will still turn off all devices at the end. I’m not sure what STB you have, but most recorders simply turn off the video output when turned off. They are always “On” in order to record.

You can also just go into the Device profile and say that the STB doesn't have any on or off buttons, so it would always stay on.

Thanks for the answers; that's what I was hoping for. And, believe it or not (seems silly, I know) but the Motorola 3416 does actually have to be ON to be recording.

Wow, the more I read about these Moto DVRs, the more I appreciate my SA8300HD. I have mine set up so that it never powers my box on or off, so it just stays on all the time. Something else to think about too. All of my equipment, except the DVR, has discrete power codes, so instead of the remote sending a "toggle" type command, it send's a "power on" command to turn it on, and a "power off" command to turn it off. You may want to do a little bit of searching around to see if your equipment supports those. The discrete commands aren't on any of my OEM remotes (except my AVR) but they were in the Harmony database. Granted, I don't worry about the Harmony forgetting the status of my equipment, but I'm a little skeptical about everything, so this a pleasant assurance.

Edit: Actually, my A/V switch does not have discrete power codes and when I'm switching activities that use it, the Harmony does not turn it off. Now, I am currently having problems with it switching properly, and once I get that issue fixed (probably just a timing thing) that my change, but I have faith in the Harmony.

When you set up activities on the Harmony remotes, you tell it which devices you want on or off. As a default, the wizard will ask you if you want devices not used in the activity turned off. You can always change it to leave a device on for a specific activity.