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Harmony 550 Official Thread. For all info and FAQs

post #1 of 355
8/20/08 at 7:07pm
Thread Starter 
I just ordered the 550 and there isn't a dedicated thread for the 550-- just a bunch of scattered posts.

This would be a good place to discuss anything and everything about the 550:

Tips
Tricks
FAQs
Discounts and Deals

Anything about the 550.

I should be receiving mine tomorrow. Anyone have any tips for getting started with this remote out of the box?


Harmony 550 page at Logitech:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/re...s/376&cl=us,en
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post #2 of 355
8/24/08 at 12:25pm
Today only I believe Amazon has the 550 for $49, free shipping of course. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...entratingsc-20
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post #3 of 355
8/24/08 at 6:36pm
Thanks. Picked up one.

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post #4 of 355
8/24/08 at 6:49pm
I've got one and we're happy with it overall...does what I need...turns HT set-up on/off...adjusts volume..channel...all the basics I need...I don't really mess with any other stuff on the remote.
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post #5 of 355
8/25/08 at 7:43am
Thread Starter 
It wasn't hard at all to set up. I was unsure about how I would like "Activities", but I do. I kept things pretty simple though.

Does anyone have any info on how long the batteries last in this (on average). I know it will depend a lot on the use of the back light.

I noticed the LCD seems to stay on all the time. Is this normal? I figured it would at least turn off when all the components are off.
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post #6 of 355
8/25/08 at 12:07pm
Good catch, I just placed one on order. I almost want to buy two.
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post #7 of 355
8/25/08 at 1:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by keebler87 View Post

Today only I believe Amazon has the 550 for $49, free shipping of course. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...entratingsc-20

Got one coming!
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post #8 of 355
8/25/08 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vader View Post

It wasn't hard at all to set up. I was unsure about how I would like "Activities", but I do. I kept things pretty simple though.

Does anyone have any info on how long the batteries last in this (on average). I know it will depend a lot on the use of the back light.

I noticed the LCD seems to stay on all the time. Is this normal? I figured it would at least turn off when all the components are off.

I think I read some where you can adjust the back lite time. And batteries last a few months
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post #9 of 355
8/25/08 at 4:04pm
I've had a 550 for about 3 months now (after breaking a 676) - got mine from Amazon at the $49 price (it comes back around every so often).

From a functionality standpoint, the 550 works just fine - just like all the Harmony remotes. But I really don't like the feel of the buttons on the 550. They are hard to press and just don't have a good tactile feel. In addition, I'm not crazy about the placement of the buttons compared to the other Harmony remotes - they're a bit cramped, and I often need to look at the buttons to see which one I want or to verify I'm not about to hit a "Launch Missiles at Kremlin" button. (For instance, lately I've found myself mistakenly hitting the forward 30 seconds button rather than the jump back 8 seconds button.)

If you use the remote as much as I do (I'm constantly making volume adjustments and fast-forwarding through commercials and content), you might consider steering to another remote. But if you're price-sensitive and you just want a remote that can do the basic functions, the 550 works just fine. On the battery life issue, after three months I haven't had to replace the batteries at all yet, and like I said, I'm a heavy user, so it's pretty darn good on that front.
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post #10 of 355
8/26/08 at 3:43am
I have a question for the seasoned 550 users. Can I customize the off button? When I press the off button I want it to turn everything off except the DVR. My DVR stays on 24/7 so, How would I program an activity that uses the DVR? The remote would never need to power on or shut off the DVR.
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post #11 of 355
8/26/08 at 6:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by juggy4805 View Post

I have a question for the seasoned 550 users. Can I customize the off button? When I press the off button I want it to turn everything off except the DVR. My DVR stays on 24/7 so, How would I program an activity that uses the DVR? The remote would never need to power on or shut off the DVR.

This pertains to all Harmony models, not just the 550. You cannot customize the Off button, it is a special activity. What you need to do is change your power settings for the DVR. It is best to do it to the Device, and not Activities.

In the Harmony software: Devices > DVR > Settings > Adjust power settings, Next. You can either select "I want to leave this device on all the time", or "There are no power buttons on my current remote for my.....". Finish the setup and save it.

Don't forget to update your remote after making the change.
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post #12 of 355
8/26/08 at 7:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyBeatnik View Post

This pertains to all Harmony models, not just the 550. You cannot customize the Off button, it is a special activity. What you need to do is change your power settings for the DVR. It is best to do it to the Device, and not Activities.

In the Harmony software: Devices > DVR > Settings > Adjust power settings, Next. You can either select "I want to leave this device on all the time", or "There are no power buttons on my current remote for my.....". Finish the setup and save it.

Don't forget to update your remote after making the change.

Great, i guess my problem has already been solved.
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post #13 of 355
8/27/08 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


I think I read some where you can adjust the back lite time.

Yeah, I've adjusted that. I was more concerned about the LCD being "on" all the time. But I imagine it's kind of like a watch. That LCD is on all the time and the battery lasts a while.
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post #14 of 355
8/30/08 at 3:05pm
I had the same concern when I bought my previous Harmony (a 628), but the LCD being on all of the time couldn't have had much more than a negligible effect on battery life.
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post #15 of 355
8/30/08 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bananfish View Post

...From a functionality standpoint, the 550 works just fine - just like all the Harmony remotes. But I really don't like the feel of the buttons on the 550. They are hard to press and just don't have a good tactile feel. In addition, I'm not crazy about the placement of the buttons compared to the other Harmony remotes - they're a bit cramped, and I often need to look at the buttons to see which one I want or to verify I'm not about to hit a "Launch Missiles at Kremlin" button. (For instance, lately I've found myself mistakenly hitting the forward 30 seconds button rather than the jump back 8 seconds button.)...

Button placement is much better than on my Harmony 628, which had the play, pause, rewind, and fast forward buttons separated enough that I could never go from one to the other without looking closely. So far I find the 550 is very easy to move from one of these primary buttons to another without looking. I'm not sure why you are having trouble with the forward and back buttons, but you probably have a faster button-pushing style than me. I let my finger graze from the play button over the forward to get to the back.
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post #16 of 355
8/30/08 at 3:21pm
PCRichard.com also has the Harmony 550 for 49.97 with free shipping at this writing. Go here.
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post #17 of 355
9/3/08 at 12:05pm
Looking at logitech support site, there are many users complaining that the 550 is slow. That is, a delay between button press and operation taking place. One poster said that channel surfing is near impossible. Another said his wife uses the remote to turn on the setup, then grabs the cable remote to change channels.

Does anyone here have these problems?

Edit: Link: http://forums.logitech.com/logitech/...thread.id=3086

(PS: I have seen the sticky. On the Logitech thread, people say they have tried altering the delay settings.)
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post #18 of 355
9/3/08 at 12:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by caa100 View Post

Looking at logitech support site, there are many users complaining that the 550 is slow. That is, a delay between button press and operation taking place. One poster said that channel surfing is near impossible. Another said his wife uses the remote to turn on the setup, then grabs the cable remote to change channels.

Does anyone here have these problems?

Edit: Link: http://forums.logitech.com/logitech/...thread.id=3086

I haven't set up mine yet, but from playing with my inlaws' 550, which controls thier HD DTV box, Yamaha receiver, and JVC LCoS television, I would say that there may be a tiny bit of delay from button press to actual action taking place. More concerning to me is the feel of the buttons (sometimes can be difficult to get proper feedback from a button press), combined with the layout.

That being said, I still felt it was worth the purchase.
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post #19 of 355
9/3/08 at 2:14pm
I am willing to bet that people complaining about the remote have not tried to change the correct delays (inter key delay if you are doing stuff like changing channels) or changing the number of repeats. Most devices default to 3 repeats (the remote sends the same command 4 times to make sure the device understands it). By lowering the numbe of repeats to 0 or 1 the remote will respond much quicker. I have found almost all of my devices work fine with 0 repeats.
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post #20 of 355
9/3/08 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


One poster said that channel surfing is near impossible. Another said his wife uses the remote to turn on the setup, then grabs the cable remote to change channels.

I haven't changed any of the setting on my 550 (delays, repeats, etc) and mine is just fine for surfing. I don't notice any difference between the 550 and the original cable box remote. No delay whatsoever.
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post #21 of 355
9/3/08 at 9:22pm
Quick question, folks (although I bet it pertains to all Logitech remotes);

When my remote has issues performing an activity (for example, lots of times the TV doesn't like to turn on when we start the Watch TV command) does the remote save whatever fixes it has performed to avoid the issues in the future? I'm going to double check the power settings for the device in the setup, but I'm almost positive it isn't set to always-on.

I thought I'd only have to perform the Help function once, but it seems like we have to run through the litany every time the TV needs to be turned on.
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post #22 of 355
9/4/08 at 10:21am
I just got mine and haven't noticed any delay. I will pay a little closer attention.
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post #23 of 355
9/4/08 at 1:47pm
The Help button does not change any programming. All it does is send out any discreet power or input codes as soon as you hit it, then it asks you about the state of your devices to try to get everything back in sync. If you have to keep using the help screen every time you start an activity you need to make adjustments to your remote.

For your situation you should go into the Harmony software and find the TV device. Then click on troubleshoot. The software will then ask you a few questions about your problem. You would pick the "TV is not turning on or off the way it should." It will then ask you to adjust one of your delays (the inter-device delay to be exact). Increase that number by quite a bit and see if it helps. If it does you can then leave it as is, or go back in and start slowly lowering it again until it stops working and then bump it back up.
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post #24 of 355
9/7/08 at 11:46am
well, after getting mine setup, I'm pretty happy with the responsiveness. the only problem that I have to report is that I CANNOT get the "OK" button to send the correct command "X" or "ENTER" command to control my Nyko Blu-Wave IR device.

It's maddening, considering the software recognizes that I've remapped the button in the software, but regardless of my efforts, the "OK" button simply remains in its default "Select" functionality. When selected from the screen on the remote, the "X" function works just fine.

I've tried:
1) Updated my software
2) Updating my firmware
3) Removing and re-adding the Blu-Wave device
4) Learning the "X" or "Enter" button command from the original IR remote
... and ...
5) Remapping another function to the "OK" button (to "triangle" --- which results in the "OK" button working as the "triangle" button should!)

So, my 550 simply REFUSES to accept the "ENTER" or "X" command being mapped to the "OK" button. Has anyone seen this, who is willing to offer some help in resolving this issue? TIA!

EDIT: As an additional test, I just tried leaving the "OK" mapped as "triangle", but then letting the remote learn a new code for "triangle" by teaching it the "X" button command from the original remote. "OK" button then reverted to default "Select" functionality, despite the programming and what the software says. Something is screwy here --- why won't the "OK" button send an "X" or "Enter" command for this device? "OK" works fine for every other device I use.

Additional detail --- "X" and "Enter" work perfectly from the original remote.
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post #25 of 355
9/10/08 at 8:37pm
I just wanted to confirm that, when I press the power button, there is no way for me to turn off both the TV and my Tivo HD?

If I understand it correctly, I would have to manually set the Tivo to standby?
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post #26 of 355
9/11/08 at 6:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by anachronous_one View Post

well, after getting mine setup, I'm pretty happy with the responsiveness. the only problem that I have to report is that I CANNOT get the "OK" button to send the correct command "X" or "ENTER" command to control my Nyko Blu-Wave IR device.

It's maddening, considering the software recognizes that I've remapped the button in the software, but regardless of my efforts, the "OK" button simply remains in its default "Select" functionality. When selected from the screen on the remote, the "X" function works just fine.

I've tried:
1) Updated my software
2) Updating my firmware
3) Removing and re-adding the Blu-Wave device
4) Learning the "X" or "Enter" button command from the original IR remote
... and ...
5) Remapping another function to the "OK" button (to "triangle" --- which results in the "OK" button working as the "triangle" button should!)

So, my 550 simply REFUSES to accept the "ENTER" or "X" command being mapped to the "OK" button. Has anyone seen this, who is willing to offer some help in resolving this issue? TIA!

EDIT: As an additional test, I just tried leaving the "OK" mapped as "triangle", but then letting the remote learn a new code for "triangle" by teaching it the "X" button command from the original remote. "OK" button then reverted to default "Select" functionality, despite the programming and what the software says. Something is screwy here --- why won't the "OK" button send an "X" or "Enter" command for this device? "OK" works fine for every other device I use.

Additional detail --- "X" and "Enter" work perfectly from the original remote.

Are you changing the button mapping for both the device and the activity? Many people forget to change both.
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post #27 of 355
9/11/08 at 6:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beerstalker View Post

Are you changing the button mapping for both the device and the activity? Many people forget to change both.

Beer, yes, actually I had updated the device mapping under the activity as well. I'm happy to report, however, that after coming up empty on my own, I submitted a trouble ticket to Logitech via the Harmony software, and within 18 hours they had sent a resolution e-mail stating that they had "changed the way my remote interacts with the device".

I was incredulous when I read this, but reluctantly resynched my 550 and took another crack at it --- SUCCESS!
It now works!
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post #28 of 355
9/20/08 at 9:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JOLiu View Post

I just wanted to confirm that, when I press the power button, there is no way for me to turn off both the TV and my Tivo HD?

If I understand it correctly, I would have to manually set the Tivo to standby?

Most Tivo owners don't put their units in standby, so it's not a default action. I don't see a "standby" command in the Harmony software for the Tivo HD, but there is a "power toggle" command that worked to put the Tivo in standby when I tried it. (There is also a "power off" command, but it didn't put the Tivo directly into standby.)

You should be able to add the power toggle command to your Tivo activity to be activated when you turn off the activity. If that works, you might also have to add it to the activity startup.
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post #29 of 355
9/24/08 at 7:25am
Hey guys,

I'm using a 550 and recently changed my tv from a Toshiba rptv to an LG (42LG50). When I got the LG I replaced the TV device and got everything working perfectly with the 550. I had a problem with the LG tv and exchanged it for a new one, and now my 550 doesn't work properly with it. The problem I'm having, is that it never goes to the correct input on startup. I have adjusted the power on delay for the tv from the default of 1500ms to 3000ms and it still doesn't work. This doesn't make any sense to me seeing as how it's the exact same tv. Could two different set's of the same model be different in terms of their power on and inter-device delays?

Anybody have any advice?

Thanks.
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post #30 of 355
9/27/08 at 8:44am
Hi,

I'm thinking about getting a Harmony 550. I looked at the Logitech web site, but I could not find the manual online. Does anyone have a link to a web site with the manual for the 550? Thanks,

Gregg
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