I love the styling of the Nevo SL but can't justify purchase based on "beauty". Will I get the same performance from the Harmony 720? Just upgraded my theatre system with a Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player Dmp-bd10a. I absolutely hate the remote control that comes with the Blu-ray player. I need simplicity and ease of programming since I'm not tech savvy but do appreciate the HD experience. Here is my system:


Sony KDL-40XBR2 40"
Scientific Atlantic Explorer 8300HD
Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi Receiver
Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player Dmp-bd10a (upgraded from Oppo 971H)

The room itself is quite nice with 3 Holtkotter halogen dimmable lamps, an Ethan Allen LCD tv stand with backboard, and 2 Scandinavian leather recliners, so it would be nice if the remote can control the lighting on these lamps and not be too ugly for "display" purposes. I can't justify a purchase based on styling alone. I will probably never need to control more than these 4 components plus lighting (a bonus but not mandatory)

I do have a second home theatre system controlling a plasma 50" with a 2 year old Pioneer receiver that would benefit from a better remote (the 890?) but I'm not sure I can get 2 systems controlled from a single universal remote?

The Harmony 720 gets you a lot of bang for your buck (at $150 from Costco.com including S+H) and looks good too (subjective judgment, obviously). As far as lighting is concerned, the the 720 is IR only, so to control lighting, you will need to find solutions that work with IR.

- The 890 is RF so might avoid a few hoops to jump through (for the lighting).
- You need to decide between the peanut shape and the more contemporary 720 shape.
- The button layout is also different.
- The 890 has 8 LCD "soft" buttons per "page", the 720 has 6 per "page" or "screen".

If you have already used advanced universal remotes, you may find that certain button macros you liked previously will not work with the Harmony remotes since the software "makes" the macros for you. You cannot really make your own complex operations. If you have not used advanced universal remotes before, the Harmony remotes will probably exceed your expectations. They will almost certainly work with any device you own (Harmony maintains a 175,000-device database to match remotes to devices) but for two rooms, it might be simpler to just get one for each room rather than try to set up one for both. Other members that have tried to do this might be able to share their experiences.

If you cannot decide, the 720 is much cheaper, so try that first, and give it back if you are not 100% satisfied!