Logitech Harmony remotes and HTPC's

That is a perfect remote for you.

I use the H900 because my AV equipment is in an enclosure with solid doors and I need RF. The 900 doesn't support macros like the One does but I can program them with my H880 and teach them to the H900.

Programing the Harmony remote for HTPC use is in assassin's guide. Best $25 you'll ever spend on your HTPC.

I use the harmony one in conjunction with an IR repeater system. Works very well for my needs.

Well... I have a Harmony 650 controlling the HTPC in the master bedroom. But, the IR is picked up by my server which then relays the commands to the HTPC! So yeah... a harmony will work fine with a supported receiver. I'm using a USB-UIRT and EventGhost.

Any Harmony remote will work with Media Center. You'll need a compatible IR receiver to interface between the remote and the PC. The HP Media Center remote receiver is a great receiver and can be found on ebay with or without the remote. Otherwise, any generic WMC IR remote receiver will work.

I think you can get by programming a Harmony remote without needing a paid guide. They are wizard based. Just use the Windows Media Center SE device and you'll have plenty of commands to choose from. http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-Remotes-Programming/Expanded-control-for-Windows-Media-Center-now-available-in-our/td-p/374844

you can use a Harmony remote plus an IR Receiver. I do, it's awesome. 1 button press and turns on the TV and sets the input, turns on my receiver and sets the input, turns on my HTPC and launches WMC.

if your HTPC case doesn't come with a IR Receiver, you can buy a cheapy windows remote like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880101007 and throw away the remote and just use the receiver.

when i set mine up, it was all plug and play.

Will any IR receiver from any cheap remote will work?

I've seen the HP one recommended several times. Is it more sensitive than the ones that come come with the cheap remotes?

I do have a Harmony but would like an MCE remote as a backup since they seem pretty inexpensive. IOW why not get the cheap remote & receiver for the price of the HP receiver alone.

My $9 (on shell shocker with even additional code applied) Rosewill IR receiver works great with the RF to IR blaster that came with my H900. It also works great with the remote that came with it from across the room. It looks good and so does the remote although it is in an enclosure and the remote is in a box with the batteries removed.

This might help with your remote issue. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1318737/remote-control-faq-buyer-s-guide-and-programming-thread

Take a look at the Ovation OHMS system and its OAR/ORCA remote control. No programming and it just works.

As useful as touch-based controls are, your response is both off topic and fails to address the inquiry at all.

The IR receiver should be RC6 or MCE compatible

yes...provided you do it right.

The Harmony remotes aren't magic wands. If you can do something with a regular remote then the Harmony should be able to do it as well. If you can figure out how to "surf your hard drive" using a standard remote then you are set. The Harmony isn't going to allow anything special that can't be done with other remotes. More than likely the Harmony remote has the IR codes already in their online database. Worst case is you would need to learn the codes. The extended set of WMC commands are already in their database.

In general, I like to use a universal IR remote for the same tasks as I would with a stand-alone DVR, in other words, power, source selection, volume, channels, simple cursor navigation and transport controls (play, rec, skip, etc.). Beyond that, it's much easier to use a wireless keyboard/mouse or smartphone/tablet remote app IMO. Although some MCE remotes have basic mouse functionality, I find it very slow and awkward to use in practice. It's fine in a pinch and works fine on any universal, including harmony, but if that was my only navigation tool, I'd go insane.

Although harmony is easy to set up and is very popular, nearly any universal remote can handle MCE tasks just as well. I personally find harmony's capabilities extremely limited and their failure rate after a few years of heavy use to be high. So I use other remote brands.

Now that Uverse is history along with their equipment and I'll be using my HTPC w/ HDHR Prime to tune Charter combined with the fact that I rarely use my Blu-ray player anymore, I could really get by with the Denon AVR-2312ci programmable remote, which is a pretty good universal remote, but I would have to teach it a few MCE commands.