Official Logitech Harmony 900 thread - Page 3

I have to commend randy on his hard work on these...he generated 3 samples for us during the beta test...there wasn't any real agreement on which design we liked best...he then created a 4th design for himself (initially) and everyone fell in love with it...he ended up making that the final design...

it's hard enough to keep up with all the icon requests, but consider the work/design process when creating a new icon design to match the theme(s) of the new remotes...

they do look sharp on the remote screen, albeit smaller. do keep in mind i made these to be double the logitech-recommended resolution so they do appear biggish on the web page (like i do with most of my icons to push as much detail into them as possible). they do still retain much of their clarity when on the remote though.

hard to make sure that all the information is in both places...
just in case I posted something there that I didn't here...be sure to check out the thread on the 900 on logitech's forums

I'm so disappointed that you can't create sequences. Its a puzzling exclusion for a remote that would seem to be an upgrade path for current Harmony One owners. Its also disappointing that you cannot sync more than one 900 to a single RF hub. I suppose if the blaster is strong enough, you could just stack the multiple RF hubs to hit your components. Since this product took so long to arrive, I went ahead and installed a hard wired IR distribution system. Even though I didn't need RF anymore, I was still going to get a couple of these remotes for the higher res screen and the color action buttons ... but without sequences, I sadly have to pass.

That's cold! Icons are ready but no remotes!

Seriously, thanks again Randy for the icons.

sequences are essentially a must for two types of users from what I can tell
1. those with IR controllable lighting
2. those who frrequently use closed captions or 'teletext' (something in Europe)

I've found that generally other than that, it's a rare need for sequences

sure, I turn game mode on and off for my 360 activity...but it's just as easy (and even more automated) to include it as additional commands for when the activity starts (turning it on) and ends (turning it back off). All remotes can add actions to the start/end of an activity.

i share your frustration about sequences. i can't fathom why they would remove a robust feature like that from the 900 and 1100. as wanna has posted i have worked around many of my old sequence commands with 'startup sequences' or commands tacked onto the activitiies' startup commands.
regarding the ir blasters, they are suprisingly powerful. i have one miniblaster subtly placed on the shelf at the foot of my blu-ray player with my dvr stacked atop that. the one miniblaster is powerful enough to control both with ease.
i reserved one for placement just below my xbox360's ir window and now, finally, have complete control of that device too.

you got it.
hope all's well with you too.
,r

I'll add a third:

3. Those who own devices which lack discrete codes for certain functions. Especially functions that are used multiple times during the same Activity.

Just one example, My Pioneer Kuros lack discrete codes for Aspect Ratio. So if I want to toggle between 'Dot by Dot' mode for 16:9 HD programming and 'Stretch' mode for 4:3 upconverted SD programming (SD on an HD channel). With my Harmony One sequence, I can create soft buttons called 'Stretch' and 'Unstretch'. This eliminates all confusion with the rest of the family (which is the main reason I pay for these remotes).

The sad fact is that Harmony has removed functionality that has been available for at least 15 years on $20 radio shack remotes (even without JP1). In my opinion, that's unacceptable for a $400 remote in 2009.

good point
I'm used to using my HD dvr that has it's own aspect feature

I guess now it makes sense why they would not support "soft key" icons for the RGBY buttons with the 900 having assigned hard keys for those functions.

While I do not have a need (currently) for the RF and "blaster" functionality, being able to do that at some point is attractive.

But, the loss of sequences is an absolute deal breaker as I have gotten so spoiled by this on the H1 with the ability to switch multiple device settings with one key is too much to give up.....

And, keeping Randy from offering us cool activity icons is just shear torture

Okay, I'm going back to the H1 thread now....

You can have colored icon images on the LCD screen even though there are the physical colored buttons. I don't see why you would want to, but you can...

Sorry, my reference was in regards to the H1. While some devices (like DTV STBs, for example) allowed colored icons for these buttons, could not find a way to do this for a Oppo BDP-83.... (And, maybe there is a way but I got used to "Blue" for the name of the soft key...).

yeah, sadly the colored icons are only available for certain device/activity types, not yet including BR players...hopefully that will change

new info...official launch date is September 4th...amazon will have stock at that point supposedly and big box stores like best buy should have them a week or so later (has to get shipped to the stores)

Is there any explanation about *why* they removed the sequence support?

This seems even more assinine than when they made it impossible for the "Green" button on my remote to work as the Windows Media Center green button (you know, the selling feature for that remote) .

we were told something during the 1100 beta test...but our NDA binds us not to talk about non public information for 3 years

Ouch, I'm in a similar situation for this remote...

I was all but sold on it until I read this thread about the sequences being deleted (glad I did read this thread before committing though).

So from what I gather from you Wannabe Actuary is that this feature is most likely not going to be added back for the 900 which, like mentioned previously, made the remote alot more user friendly especially for family members or any one else non-tech savy. Yes, it took a little while to program and a little bit of trial and error to set the sequences to do what you wanted them to do, but once that was finished the remote was a thing of beauty to control.

Ahh well, no choice but to move on. Still, I hate that this had to happen to kill my hopes for the 900 for my setup.

we pushed and pushed but didn't get much information on if well see them back on the 900 or other future remotes

so as far as future plans I'm in the dark just like you, but I'm not holding my breath

Ok, well we'll have to wait and keep our fingers crossed.

By the way, thanks abunch for taking the time out to answer all our questions and sharing your info.

no problem, for me, it's one of the joys of being in the beta test (other than helping get the problems of the remote corrected)

for anyone upset about sequences, please see this petition
http://forums.logitech.com/logitech/...hread.id=34758

I got a question for you two Randy's

How good is that RF signal... It says 100ft on the logitech site - is there a guess how much a wall would reduce this with? My HT equipment is on the other side of two drywalls with 60 inches and insulation between the drywalls.

This remote would allow me not to run IR controllers if it works. Just wondering if I should wait or it probably won't work

This combined with the PS3 adapter is going to be sweet if it works

i've been able to control my system from another room, about 30' away thru a wall (also two sheets of drywall)

The RF is good. I can blast mine through two walls and it controls my devices. I was testing only and that is not my normal setup but it did control things.

I was also able to go at least 30 feet away through two walls of sheetrock

my two bed / two bath condo isn't that big...any farther and I would be testing outside
that said, everywhere in my condo the remote works

That was 1) Quick answers and 2) What I wanted to hear which makes them good answers (jk)

Thanks guys -- getting this at Best Buy. I hope people understand that a release date of 4th / 5th (can't remember) plus one week = start of the football season. So this thing will get programmed RIGHT AWAY

Thanks

What's the story on direct wireless control for home automation stuff?

I understand they have switched horses to something called ZigBee. Has anyone used or tried lighting controllers or other home automation products based on this standard?

S.

never heard of zigbee...never heard it mentioned during beta testing for the remote

there is, and will not be, z-wave support on the 900.

Huh?
(BTW, thanks for starting the petition on logitech's site. Signed it.)