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New Logitech Harmony Touch - Page 3

post #61 of 364
10/3/12 at 9:06am
... that gives me an idea. You could create a dummy device and learn any functions you want to the 10 numbers and Enter. Then use combinations of those as a favorite channel, hence you have a sequence. You could even make your own custom icon for it.
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post #62 of 364
10/3/12 at 9:52am
yes to sequences:
http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Harmony-Remotes/New-Harmony-Touch-wont-connect-to-Logitech-for-programming/m-p/896502#M72278
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post #63 of 364
10/3/12 at 10:21am
I currently use a Harmony One and a Harmony 900 with RF and love them, as well as older and lower ended models that did well. Before getting the One and 900, I had a 1000 that was a disaster. It worked, but using a touchscreen for almost all actions just wasn't for me. This looks like a better compromise but I'd still rather have often used actions via hard buttons on the remote and not going through screens to find it, so I think I'll skip this one.
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post #64 of 364
10/3/12 at 11:13am
Just got some fantastic news from Logitech. Not only does the Touch have sequences, but they're now 10 steps instead of 5. This puts harmony back on the map for me and probably many others. I'll even tolerate the awkward transport button layout.

Kudos to Logitech for getting back on track.

EDIT: I see squareeyes beat me to the punch. Anyway, I think this kind of news is worth repeating biggrin.gif

But being a skeptic, I'd like to see some confirmation from some actual users before I pull the trigger on one of these.
Edited by mdavej - 10/3/12 at 11:22am
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post #65 of 364
10/3/12 at 11:28am
Hmmm, I have the 880 which has served me well but I've been thinking about upgrading. Programming it to do what I wanted was a challenging trial and error period because that was before I found this forum and the available help. I've always used the software (v7.7?) for programming and not MyHarmony. Does anyone know if the software will be able to transfer the settings to the new Harmony Touch because the thought of learning how to reprogram is something that I don't relish frown.gif
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post #66 of 364
10/3/12 at 1:33pm
Now that I've read some reviews on the new Harmony it seems that the idea of touch screen is not appealing to a lot of people because one, you have to look at the screen and not just "feel" the buttons for functionality and two, it's too easy to initiate commands by just brushing the screen, having it fall on the couch face down, or slide off of the arm rest across the face. Not having a touch screen I don't know if any of those complaints are valid or not. Guess we'll just have to wait and see once it's out in the wild.
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post #67 of 364
10/3/12 at 1:47pm
If it's like many other touch screens, it requires skin to work, much like an iPhone. So brushing accidentally is a problem, but dropping is not. At least once a week I accidentally perform some function on my touch screen remote, but I've learned to live with it because it does everything else so well. The difference is most of the important stuff on mine is still on physical buttons, unlike the Touch, where functions like Skip, which I use hundreds of times a day, is not. So even if you memorize where you put it on the touch screen, feeling your way to the right spot won't work. So you have to glance down at the remote, interrupting your TV viewing quite often. Of course you can adapt, but I prefer not to since physical buttons work so well.

Would some of the owners in this thread please confirm?
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post #68 of 364
10/3/12 at 3:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdavej View Post

If it's like many other touch screens, it requires skin to work, much like an iPhone. So brushing accidentally is a problem, but dropping is not. At least once a week I accidentally perform some function on my touch screen remote, but I've learned to live with it because it does everything else so well. The difference is most of the important stuff on mine is still on physical buttons, unlike the Touch, where functions like Skip, which I use hundreds of times a day, is not. So even if you memorize where you put it on the touch screen, feeling your way to the right spot won't work. So you have to glance down at the remote, interrupting your TV viewing quite often. Of course you can adapt, but I prefer not to since physical buttons work so well.
Would some of the owners in this thread please confirm?

That's why I like my 880 so much. It's all tactile with only a little color screen to show which buttons to push. I'd like to get a new Harmony before my 880 bites it entirely but now I'm not sure frown.gif
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post #69 of 364
10/3/12 at 3:35pm
They put on top navigation playback buttons, but forgot about Next, Previous buttons smile.gif putting only rewind buttons.
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post #70 of 364
10/3/12 at 5:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdavej View Post

Just got some fantastic news from Logitech. Not only does the Touch have sequences, but they're now 10 steps instead of 5. This puts harmony back on the map for me and probably many others. I'll even tolerate the awkward transport button layout.
Kudos to Logitech for getting back on track.
EDIT: I see squareeyes beat me to the punch. Anyway, I think this kind of news is worth repeating biggrin.gif
But being a skeptic, I'd like to see some confirmation from some actual users before I pull the trigger on one of these.

Would someone please list some examples of how one would use sequences? I do not see the appeal of using a sequence.
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post #71 of 364
10/3/12 at 5:54pm
If you ever press more than a couple of buttons to do anything at all, you need sequences (macros). For example, on my DVR I have to press 11 buttons to toggle closed captions. On my universal remote (not harmony) I put the whole sequence on a single button. This is a standard feature on nearly every universal remote ever made, except recent harmony models.

Logitech dropped sequences for a couple of years, removing them from the 900, 1100 and any remote that used the new myharmony.com site for configuration. So getting them back is huge. Lack of sequences is the only reason I don't use harmony remotes. But I happen to really like them in most other respects, so now I can buy them again.
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post #72 of 364
10/3/12 at 6:59pm
When the Touch showed up on Logitech's site, the 700 and One were still there and the One's price was dropped. Now I notice neither the 700 nor the One are there anymore.
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post #73 of 364
10/3/12 at 9:30pm
Now listed on Amazon.
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post #74 of 364
10/4/12 at 7:14am
There are quite a few YouTube videos popping up if you want to see it in action.
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post #75 of 364
10/4/12 at 8:05am
Hmm... seeing it in action, I see a few things I'm not too crazy about. They generally seem to waste most of the space on that huge screen. First, each activity choice takes up the whole screen, so you have to swipe through the list to find the one you want rather than having a pick point for every activity on one screen. Also once you're in an activity, you only have 4 custom buttons per page, 2 of which call up the number pad and a gesture screen. So you really only get 2 additional functions at the very bottom of the screen. So, to use the missing Skip buttons, for example, you must reach for them.

Cool concept, and a decent first attempt, but still too impractical for serious use IMO.
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post #76 of 364
10/4/12 at 8:39am
I'm not sure I'd like it for everyday use; my H1 is perfect for that. But for WOW factor with a theater, it might be what a guy needs cool.gif
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post #77 of 364
10/4/12 at 1:13pm
More reports are coming in. 10 step sequences are confirmed, plus configurable delays between each step. Very nice. We finally have a real universal remote on our hands. Awkward layout, but with decent macro capability nonetheless.
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post #78 of 364
10/4/12 at 4:52pm
I might get one but i suspect it may end up sharing the fate of the Harmony One
i recently acquired, because there is only one good one-hand tactile Harmony
remote, you guessed right:



$130 NIB ebay or amazon for a product released in 2003, not bad eh?

I have 10 of these, most i got $10-25 broken, by now i know how to pop them open and
interchange anything, even soldered the mini-USB board on. The other day the girls spilled
juice inside one, no problemo, opened, washed everything, wiped board with alcohol, like new
again. No chargers and batteries that go bad, batteries last easily 6 months with daily use.

I am 6'4" but still Harmony One needed two hands to operate.

I can see how the media buttons on top will make this remote more functional, ie one-handed
operable for browsing on Roku 2 or any similar device in the post-cable/sat-co era.
Edited by bobpaule - 10/4/12 at 5:08pm
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post #79 of 364
10/5/12 at 3:02am
so i was up in the air about this remote, 250's a lot for something that doesn't seem as appealing as the one. But then i remember i had a 50% off voucher from logitech for a previously damaged harmony remote and bam, scored me a touch for 130. at that price its totally worth it
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post #80 of 364
10/5/12 at 6:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobpaule View Post

I might get one but i suspect it may end up sharing the fate of the Harmony One
i recently acquired, because there is only one good one-hand tactile Harmony
remote, you guessed right:

$130 NIB ebay or amazon for a product released in 2003, not bad eh?
I have 10 of these, most i got $10-25 broken, by now i know how to pop them open and
interchange anything, even soldered the mini-USB board on. The other day the girls spilled
juice inside one, no problemo, opened, washed everything, wiped board with alcohol, like new
again. No chargers and batteries that go bad, batteries last easily 6 months with daily use.
I am 6'4" but still Harmony One needed two hands to operate.
I can see how the media buttons on top will make this remote more functional, ie one-handed
operable for browsing on Roku 2 or any similar device in the post-cable/sat-co era.

Haha, you sound like me (except for the 6'4" part!)

I have owned most of the various harmony's over the past, including 2 H1's and my favorite is by far the peanut
shaped models. I prefer the 620/670's and always end up going back to them.

That said...Im a sucker for new remotes and will probably give the touch a whirl......
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post #81 of 364
10/5/12 at 2:41pm
Those of you who have checked this out, does the actual IR command generation seem any better? I have a Harmony One, and have found the response of the remote to be sluggish at best, even after tweaking the settings (repeats, interkey/inter-device delays). The remote's been great from a functionality perspective, but how slow it is compared to my device's stock remotes is really frustrating. I thought it was just me, but I searched around on Logitech's site and there's a thread in the hundreds of pages of people complaining about the same thing, so I guess I'm not alone.

I don't like the design as much as my One, but I'd consider it if they fixed their sluggish software.

Or maybe I should look into that Philips posted earlier?
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post #82 of 364
10/8/12 at 9:54pm
I was thinking about upgrading my trusty MX-500 to the new Harmony Touch. Read a review on Amazon that you can't select equipment directly, that you have to go through the Activity list? Can anyone confirm or deny that? Can you really not select say a custom label for "Oppo" and have the buttons remapped automatically? Do you have to select "Watch a movie" or something similar instead? That's a deal breaker if true.
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post #83 of 364
10/9/12 at 7:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by x43x View Post

I was thinking about upgrading my trusty MX-500 to the new Harmony Touch. Read a review on Amazon that you can't select equipment directly, that you have to go through the Activity list? Can anyone confirm or deny that? Can you really not select say a custom label for "Oppo" and have the buttons remapped auto
matically? Do you have to select "Watch a movie" or something similar instead? That's a deal breaker if true.

Device mode is reached on the Home page prior to selecting an activity. If in an activity you touch the home button to return to the Home screen. In device mode all hard buttons are mapped to their function while the other functions are available on the toch screen. A nice feature is you can quickly scroll to the deired function.
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post #84 of 364
10/9/12 at 7:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dlm10541 View Post

Device mode is reached on the Home page prior to selecting an activity. If in an activity you touch the home button to return to the Home screen. In device mode all hard buttons are mapped to their function while the other functions are available on the toch screen. A nice feature is you can quickly scroll to the deired function.

So similar to my H1, then. cool.gif
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post #85 of 364
10/9/12 at 9:20am
Sounds like the reviewer didn't read the manual too well then. Thanks!
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post #86 of 364
10/9/12 at 11:46am
Quick question because I've never owned a Logitech. Can the volume button be mapped so when I'm controlling the blu-ray player, I can raise or lower the volume on the processor?
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post #87 of 364
10/9/12 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by x43x View Post

Quick question because I've never owned a Logitech. Can the volume button be mapped so when I'm controlling the blu-ray player, I can raise or lower the volume on the processor?

I don't know about this particular remote since I use the logitech software and not the myharmony site BUT you can map any button to any device just so long as each device is listed in the activity. With my Harmony one I have the Volume control the Soundbar, the channels on the cable box and the up/down arrows the volume on the TV for those late nights that I don't want surround sound.
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post #88 of 364
10/9/12 at 1:31pm
Yikes- I was all excited for this remote and then found out it is not RF capable. What a let down.....
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post #89 of 364
10/9/12 at 1:36pm
The key with harmony is you have to use activities to get volume punch through and mix devices in your key mapping. You can't do it in device mode without awkward workarounds. A lot of people coming from device based remotes like the MX-500 expect flexibility in harmony device mode that just isn't there. Activities are very flexible, but devices are not. So if you are staunchly opposed to using activities (some people are), then harmony isn't for you. But harmony works great if you use it as it was designed to be used.

The Touch is essentially the same as all other harmonys before it except that they removed a lot of hard buttons and put them on the screen. Basic functionality is going to be the same.
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post #90 of 364
10/9/12 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmmccall View Post

Yikes- I was all excited for this remote and then found out it is not RF capable. What a let down.....
This is essentially a replacement for the One, which isn't RF either. I would expect the 900's successor to have RF and a higher price tag.
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