Harmony 700 - Page 9

Yeah, using discrete codes takes care of this. Harmony came with discrete codes built in for my TV, but I had to manually activate them with its power options. If it doesn't have discrete codes for your TV, you may be able to find them as pronto codes over on remotecentral, and have Logitech add them to your device.

Just got the 700. I have a Harmony for the Xbox 360 so I have experience setting Harmony remotes. It is annoying that you can't re-arrange the activities on the LCD screen using the software. I did try doing it on the Harmony Members Web site, but no matter what I order I make it, the activities won't arrange the way I want them to. I thought it was alphabetical so I renamed the activities, but they are stuck in whatever order they were originally. I might just try deleting all the activities and start from scratch.

Other than that, it's a good remote so far.

Mine puts on the screen 2 activities which aren't assigned to the activities buttons, giving access to the most 'single-button-press' activities at once, 5 (3 hard buttons and 2 on-screen). Arrow key pushes are required to see to additional ones, eventually wrapping around to see the ones assigned to the physical activities buttons.

It would be interesting if it also had something to do with the order you originally add the activities.

Too bad it only shows 2 on the screen and not 4, since it has 4 buttons. It would also be nice if it let you arrange them (and devices!) exactly how you wanted though.

I was going to buy a Harmony One, because I was told that it has hard plastic buttons, that work better than the squishy rubber ones on my 510. However, since I don't really want a touch screen, and the 700 seems to have everything I need, I am rethinking this.

Are the 700 numbered buttons and others, hard plastic like the Harmony One? TIA for any responses.

I thought they were hard plastic from the pictures, but it turns out they aren't. They are fairly firm though, and press nicely.

msmisfit, here are some close-ups. The "OK" button actually is a hard plastic button. The rest are soft, but still quite firm.

They're nothing like the mushy 5xx buttons. All have great action in spite of being soft.

That's just what I wanted to hear! Thanks so much to you and Pixelman for the great pictures and his comments.

You've both helped me make up my mind, because I really don't need a new remote. It's just that it is so frustrating to have to key channel numbers over and over, because one button didn't depress hard enough. Otherwise, my 510 is great. Thanks again!

I've read about Icons for favorite channels that can be downloaded, but no instructions on how to install them on the remote. Where can I find that? They will show only under Favorites... right?

When I hooked up my 700, it shows A, B, C, and Favorites under Watch TV in the LCD window. On my 510, I had Page Up/Down there, which would be redundant on this remote. What do people usually find most useful there, with this remote? I know it depends on the individual's equipment/habits, but is there anything that's commonly used that is useful there?

Thanks for any responses...

Open the Logitech interface. Select: Activities tab. Select: Settings on TV icon. Select: Set Up Favorite Channels and add icons. Select: Next. Enter channel #. Enter a label for the channel. Select: Select Image. This should allow you to navigate to the folder where you have stored the icons and select the icon you want for each channel.

Cheers

Jim

I don't see anything about Icons in my interface. It didn't change much from my 510 interface [that I replaced with the 700 remote]. That's on the first page... is that where you mean?

I just got this, so I'll keep looking. Thanks for your response!

And especially for the excellent instructions!

Found the Icon settings/Favorites in the list of Settings for Watch TV. I was confused by Favorites being shown in the LCD window, which works as it did before. I think I see now, I have to re-enter the ones I want to have an icon.

I'm confused that it shows "Commands" as being in Position 1, on Page 1, but that is not what I see now on my remote. Is that because I haven't set up this feature yet? Thanks for your patience...

Each activity (with a device that changes channels) has a "Set up favorite channels" beside it. Inside that, you can pick an image whenever you enter the channel number. It's also that way on the members.harmonyremote.com site.

As far as what buttons to put on the LCD, I put the functions I use most on the first, second and last pages to minimize button presses. That covers a dozen functions, which is usually plenty. Least used functions would be in the middle pages. I try to keep notes the first few days I get a new device and document the most used functions then rearrange the buttons after I have some data. I also try to spacially mimic the original remote. For example, if a particular function is at the bottom right of the original remote, I'll put it at the bottom right of the LCD on a middle page. Frequency of use always trumps physical layout however. I also try to keep functions in logical groupings, like all the Pip functions for example. It can take weeks or months to get everything perfect.

It would seem that is the case. I added a new activity and it was placed first in the list.

Now, here's where it gets weird. The new activity I added was a test for another configuration of controlling the Apple TV. I called it "Test Apple TV." There was an existing activity called "Use Apple TV" which I renamed "Apple TV (Old)." Then I renamed "Test Apple TV" to "Use Apple TV." After syncing the remote, "Apple TV (Old)" was first on the list, and the new "Use Apple TV" was where the old one was! I thought it might be because it was using the same name as the old activity. I renamed the new "Use Apple TV" to "Watch Apple TV" and it went back to first on the list.

In other words, there doesn't seem to be any logic to the order of these activities. Has Logitech ever updated the firmware and software to make the proper way of ordering activities possible?

Did you try this link?
http://members.harmonyremote.com/Eas...rActivities%2F

For anyone interested....

Harmony 700 is great ($109 from Amazon). Just set up Next Generation Remote Extender and 6-Eye Emitter ($41 and $27 from Amazon). I also have a 55" 6300 Series 1080p LED HDTV, Samsung HW-C560S, and Samsung BD-C6500 Blu-ray.

Here are just some random thoughts:

TV is great, awesome, sharp, bright, etc...!
AV Receiver's sound is ok. iPod interface already broke.
My Blue-ray player sucks. Slow load, never know if it's gonna load when I insert a DVD, lack of customization of built-in apps sucks. Pandora is awesome and only built-in app I use. No explicit On and Off command, just a Power Toggle which is not good for programming activity with Harmony 700.

As far as Harmony 700 and Next Generation...
Everything works great together. Still not sure about recharging Next Gen battery while inside Harmony remote.. I should know in a month because I just connected it today.

I wish more actual Activity Buttons on remote, instead of 3 plus addtional ones to scroll through on display.

4 color-coded programmable buttons are great... need more for random stuff.

I wish ALL buttons were backlit, not just ones below display.

I wish there was a larger All Off button.

Selecting buttons below Play button, i.e. Pause and any numerics are a little awkward due to shape of remote.

Logitech's online programming/update very slow.

Wish clock was on remote display.

Im pretty savvy technology and programming-wise, but programming not very intuitive. But you get used to it.

Auto-Light when grabbing remote is neat.

Volume and Channel buttons feel good and pretty responsive.

Due to limitation of my setup, can't determine through programming whether my crappy Blue-ray player is on or off due to Power Toggle. This is my biggest compaint! Overall, Harmony 700 and Next Generation RF IR extender setup really rocks!

Hope this helps anybody

I think you have not figured out the Harmony style of programming yet! Dealing with Power Toggle is usually THE reason why people use Harmony remotes. Harmony has power state tracking. It always knows a device is ON or OFF in an activity. Just make sure you're using Activities, not Devices mode to control the devices.

I used the Harmony program [on my pc] for the 510, to replace it with the 700. I didn't realize that program would not update, and now I have a remote with settings, that are not shown in my account I use through this program.

Also, For some unknown reason I cannot access the Logitech forums anymore, it won't accept my un/pw, so I desperately need some advice here. [I tried 3 browsers yesterday.]

I tried the members site yesterday, and it immediately gave me a message that said they had detected I need an update? Before I went any further and made a bigger mess, I thought I should ask here, what will happen... if I proceed at that site? With the mess I've made, I didn't want to risk it.

Right now I can use the remote with only one device that can't be programmed/used correctly. I don't want to turn this 700 into a brick, and have nothing I can access. I've given the 510 to a friend.

I hope I have made some sense. I've certainly learned about not taking shortcuts. I should have set up a new account for the 700 and done everything from scratch.

Any advice... from this point on? Did I tell you I'm a senior citizen, so be kind?

Members site works fine. Just ignore the bogus update message. I use it constantly and have never had a problem. Bricking your remote is very unlikely.

I have problems with the logitech forums too. I've had to create 3 new accounts in the past couple of years. Just make a new one.

Doing a replace in the software only brings over devices and activities. You lose all your custom button mappings and sequences. So you still have about as much work to do as if you had started from scratch. But you do get all the devices from your 510, even if you had more than the 700 will support (i.e., the 700 only does 6 devices, but if you replace from a 510 with 10 devices, you get all 10 on your 700).

Good luck.

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I won't be able to get back to this project for a few days, but I have a few more questions before I do. Hope you will still be around.

Can I, somehow, do closed caption with one unused button? My Comast remote takes 10 commands (Power>menu>Down Arrow 5 times>Ok/Select>Menu>Power.
I know there's 5 commands per sequence but is there a way? Even two or three commands would be better than what I have now.
Thankyou, Wally

Great remote; doesn't play well with others.

I purchased the Harmony 700 a few weeks ago, and I generally like the device itself. I worked through a few issues with setup, but overall, it's a very good device and works well for all of my components.

What I failed to realize is that Activities are not Macros, because the Harmony 700 also tries to remember the state of components. That's OK if the 700 is literally the only Remote in the room. I really want to have two or more working remotes in my living room (I planned to buy two 700s.)

For example, if I press "All Off", then the 700 does not transmit anything in response to any key after that, because it assumes the components are turned off.

If someone turns on the system with another remote, or uses buttons on the components, then I can't use the 700 until I press "Watch TV", which promptly toggles power on all components that do not have discreet on/off codes. Yes, I can use the Device mode, or use the Help assistant to get the components back in sync, but that's not something I can train guests to do.

I currently have it set up to ignore power management for common Activities, and then have other Activities for "turn on" and "turn off" functions. It works, but it's too easy for someone other than me to get the system into an unusable state.

I contacted Logitech Support and they replied: it's working as designed.

If you literally want one remote in your viewing room, the 700 is very good and should be able to do everything you need. Now that I know more about Activities, I don't think this is the right remote for me, or anyone who wants to have more than one working remote in the room.

I may be missing something obvious - feel free to point that out. I obviously didn't do enough research and wish I had known more about Activity-based remotes before buying this unit. I have now returned the unit and plan to buy something that isn't Activity-based, so that I can buy two or more.

That is the point of a Universal remote .. in my household anyhow. The way the Activities behave is the point of the Harmony concept of operating home theater systems.

All my individual component remotes are put away without batteries in them.

Well, as I thought, I should have left it alone. It's not bricked, but after going to the online 700 account, and "updating", it wiped out the commands that I did have under "Devices"... to control my DVDR/VCR combo.

Do you have any idea what is likely to happen if I just delete the DVDR under devices and start over? There were more commands for menus, etc., with the 510, that are just not there with the 700 now.

How can you operate a device that has 5 functions [TV, DVD play & record, VCR play & record], without having a Top or Main Menu?

Best advice to proceed? I was going to e-mail Logitech, but the number inside my remote, doesn't agree with what they are looking for. So I've tabled that for now.

Any advice will be appreciated from anyone.

Like I said, you lose all customizations when replacing a remote. You have to go into "customize" in all your activities (and devices if you want) and map all the functions you want to the proper buttons. The default button assignment are usually terrible. It takes me many, many hours to do this with every harmony (having done a few for myself and several more for family and friends). In any case, there is no reason to start from scratch now. Just continue on. There are no shortcuts I'm sorry to say.

If you can convince logitech to do all that for you, it would be great.

I'm not sure I am making myself clear. The commands are not there to add... where they were before. Even under the 700 device mode. Now, they are not anywhere I can add them. I was able to customize it with the 510, but I am not with this one... because the commands aren't there.

Clear as mud? I can't customize this, the only choice is delete and start over, and I was wondering if that might work? That it might pick up all the commands from my DVDR correctly, so they could be added to the activities, as it did before?

I've never encountered anything like this. Something is indeed amiss. I would make a new account and start fresh. Just to make sure we're on the same page, when you go to customize buttons and open the drop down list of commands, the ones in question do not appear in the list, only a small subset of them, correct?

Exactly... and before I messed with the 700 online today, my remote had some of the *other needed* commands loaded on the remote, but they did not show in the program setup as available in activities... only under devices.

Now, since I updated software today... those commands disappeared under devices too.

Something strange is happening with Harmony DB update today. I was fine-tuning my buttons in the last few hours (on and off). One or two of my soft buttons on an activity disappeared. I'm sure that I did not remove or modify them.

I bit the bullet and deleted my non-functioning device and all related activities (3), and re-installed.

Found I did have *different* options under this new setup, and although the main buttons [Menu/Info/Guide/Exit], didn't work, I now have a list of commands I can work with.

I have hopes I can make this workable. At least I have some choices now.

The only way to get what you want is to set up remotes such that one is slave to the primary.