Harmony 520 - Page 3

I just got off the phone with logitech. I was able to order a 520 by phone with my credit card, they said it will ship on Thursday.

Every time I have gone online to reprogram the 520, after completely finishing the update process, the main screen still indicates that my settings have changed and it asks me if I want to "update". Makes me think that something didn't take hold from the update I just did, but when I check, everything is same as it was.

It seems like just entering the website is enough to make the software think you made a change.

Can anyone provide feedback on the feel of the buttons.

Are they too small?
Too close together?
Hard plastic or rubbery?

Just general feeling of how it feels in your hand. I'll likely be buying online so I won't get to look at one first.

Also, I noticed the 520 does not have a "media" button that most of the other models have. What was the media button for and is the omission something to worry about?

Thanks

After playing with the 520 for a few days here's what I think.

-fewer buttons than others

-buttons feel "squishy"-not a lot of feedback

-no "Media" button (or function). This is a big one for me as I have a 400 dvd changer and would like to program in my disc titles. The setup has a screen for entering media titles, but Logitech support informed me it is a bug and that screen is going to be removed from the setup.

Overall I do like the remote, but the media list function is something I really want. If you don't need that, this is a great remote for the money.

I think I will return my 520 for the 688.

Oh, and SMP01, the buttons are a little too close together (not a big deal) but the rubbery, squishy buttons are kind of a pain (usually takes a couple presses)


-Ty

personally, I like the squishy buttons better than the hard ones (channel up/dn, etc)... the hard ones make a clicking noise that is a bit irritating at times. the squishy ones are silent. I changed the channel up /dn functions to the the * & e buttons at the bottom. Its a better feel for me in my hands for channel surfing and , like I said, no clicking noise. What I don't understand is why they change the remote for the USA..the Euro version has additional row of buttons at the bottom that would be nice for dedicated A B C buttons.

amen...somebody import these from europe...

oh, and i'm surprised remote manufacturers haven't started adding these buttons yet since the vast majority of digital cable systems are using them now (for better or for worse)

520 owners -
I'm looking for a remote for my new system and the $100 price point of this 520 with the stated functionality looks like a pretty good buy. I especially like the Harmony style of Activity based buttons. I've never had a harmony before so I'm curious about how extensive the online programming tool can be. For example lets say my activity is to watch a dvd which would need this: mute tv volume, change tv mode to cinema, power on receiver, select receiver dvd input, power on dvd player, play dvd

can all of that be stringed into one button press with this remote?

Elo, go online yourself and create a Harmony profile with your current equipment and find out how fine tuned you can get. It is very informative to do this prior to a purchase. This is what I did and it sealed the deal.

Good luck.

Hmm, the Harmony test drive doesn't have the 520 as an option to use, while using one of the other remotes it doesn't look like you can add something like changing the video mode from game to cinema into your desired activity. Are harmony owners able to do this? I tried logging in through the regular app but it doesn't let me past the connecting to remote stage.

It's still impressive nonetheless, I will have to give it consideration. I really do like the look of the 520 and it's ability to change inputs.

Yes, the Harmony can do this. You can add whatever commands you like to the begining or end of an activity.

You can also program in any necessary command "delays". It has speed settings for 4 different areas. I had to program in a longer delay for input selection since it takes my tv so long to boot up. Before doing that I had trouble getting the right input upon startup.

Thanks for the comments czzer and gvc. I think I'm going to go with the 520 now as it looks to be able to do everything I need and is reasonable is $100. Plus I think it looks pretty good for a remote...now I know I shouldn't base my remote decision on looks but this guy(gal?) is going to be sitting on the coffee table all the time so that is a pretty big factor. Thanks again!

I was in the market for a good universal remote shortly after the Harmony 520 came out.
I was attracted by the sleek look of the 520. The 520 is a new look and shape for the Harmony line, and no doubt the design was influenced by the Logitech folks. [As some of you may know, Logitech acquired the company that makes the Harmony remotes a while ago.]

So I called a few WalMarts in my area looking for the 520, and sure enough these people never heard if it, for all I know they might have had them right in front of their faces and not know it.
Rather than wait, I gave in and purchased the 520 at Walmart.com for $99 plus tax & shipping.

So far I am very pleased with it. I agree some of the buttons could be spaced farther apart and have better 'feedback' when pushed. This is especially true of the number buttons.

Question: What are the A, B, C buttons supposed to do?
(They show up in the LCD display).

Well i got my harmony 525 today (european 520).

I noticed that in box it says 15 devices when harmony website says 12 Well after basic setup it seems to work just fine. it looks great. Remote is not so good to use with 1 hand (too long?). I am quite happy anyways with it. Atleast website software is quite good - bit much wizards with questions (yes i am sure i want to setup this manually) - (didnt use much that pc based one).

i picked up the 520 today...f'n sweet! my sony 5 cd/dvd changer didnt have the ability to select discs 1-5 manually..had to disc skip thru them - finally selecting the disc i want. controlling Westy37, sony reciever, sony cd/dvd changer, and motorola HD box - flawlessly. even programmed it to go thru a series of steps to fix an issue with the motorola unit when it crops up...press a button and bunch of BS is darn near instantly done...bringing the motorola back to life (cable company said they are having major issues with the model they are issuing and are working to resolve it). programming it was a breeze and dare i say fun?

Ok, I purchased my Harmony 520 from Target online for the MSRP of $99. My general summary is the remote is fantastic. Specifics are as follows:

1) The online database is about as comprehensive as could be imagined. They had the code for my Panasonic DVD A120 (circa 1999), Marantz SR7000 reveicer (circa 2001), my Nakamichi MB-8 (circa 2000?), my Panny 8UK (circa Aug 2005) and my Moto DCT6412 Series III cablebox/HD DVR (circa last month). All worked very well. However, you will need to tweak to meet your specific needs.

2) The installation software is a little clumsy. When it was downloading updates into the remote from the desktop software , I would often get the "blue screen of death". It doesn't make much sense considering the computer otherwise operates perfectly. However, a work around was easy - I simply downloaded the update from the website. They do a nice intergration between the web and the computer software (BTW, you need to have installed the software to be able to update the remote from the website).

3) Macros - great. Easy to promgram.

4) Adjustments - blows. Completely blows. The software make it so very difficult to find the tools to make the adjustments (I am not talking about assigning different buttons, I am talking about adjusting macros and manually entering IR codes). You will muddle through this, it's just frustrating at times. NOTE: IF YOU THINK YOU CAN AVOID THIS BY GETTING A DIFFERENT LOGITECH MODEL, THINK AGAIN. They all use the same software, so you will encounter this problem with all models.

OVERALL: Great, would buy it again in an instant. True test came in the form of a thumbs up from the wife who hated the old universal remote. Overall rating 8.75/10

I bought the 520 yesterday from Wal-Mart, $99, last one left.

I was skeptical at first, with the stuff I am using, I thought it wouldn't pick up on some of it, it did!

Initial setup was simple and easy. Picked my components, and it found them, even my Roku Soundbridge Music Streamer, I was sold at that point.

Setting up activities was a pain, but I got the hang of it. It kept adding in components to the activities without asking me. For example, for play digital music, I wanted it to turn my TV off, turn the Roku on, turn the Halo P3 on to AUX. It did some of that, but instead of turning off my TV, it changed the source to Video 4 and turned my DVD player on. I couldnt find a way to change it, so I deleted the activity and added it again, this time it worked fine.

I was also surprised to find that it has the XBOX 360 remote codes in the database already. I tought I would setup a "play game" activity for when the 360 arrives. When I went to set it up, it asked which console, so I put in 360, and it found it, input the codes in the remote and everything, I thought that was cool.

I really like this remote. The internet interface is a little hard to use, but you get used to it. It can be customized a good bit, so I am glad about that, and it has just about EVERY device in its database, its really nice.

$100 well spent, this thing is replacing 5 remotes for me with full functionality (add in a nice design and backlit buttons, its perfect for the simple user).

What website can you go to lookup and see if the Harmony 520 has the codes for your equipment? I just got DirecTv, and have a D11 receiver and also an R10 DVR, and I want to be sure it works with those. I would like to get several remotes if they work well, one for the family room, and one for the bedroom setup. Thanks for any info you can provide.

The logitech harmony website. It allows you to create an ID and "test drive" it by inputting your equipment and tailoring the activities.

Found the info I was looking for for my DVR R10 and receiver D11-500. Pretty neat. It says it will also control my ceiling fan !!!

I just got the Harmony 520- I actually had a Harmony 659 and decided to change it because of the sleek looks of the 520. They're both are pretty similar and believe me, anything is better than having several remotes cluttering up the place!
I am disappointed by some things on the 520 though. The 2 most used buttons on probably any remote- the Volume and the Channel up/down.....the 659 model is better than the 520. On the 520 they are smooth, slim and hard to find in the dark...and the worst thing is they have a horrible 'click' to them. In addition they are hard to press and will give you sore fingers.
On the plus side, the 520 is very cool looking whereas the 659 looks like a $20 remote. I also like on the 520 you can turn the backlighting on and off. On the 659 remote the light would only stay on a few seconds before turning off again- often before you had finished what you were trying to do.
To conclude, I like the 520 except for the horrible clicking and hard to press buttons- I'd advise anyone thinking of buying to try to test drive one first. The 520 is also a different shape that the 659 which is a 'peanut' shape- and more ergonomic than the 520.

I acquired the Harmony 520 about a week ago. I did not notice the 'key click' issue until mentioned in hsinnott's comments, above. I like feeling a subtle click, so for me it's not an issue. I guess, like any new device, it takes some time to become acquainted with its personality & logic.

Once I decided to accept the discipline of the 520's programming instructions plus some trial and error, I found fitting the various devices into 'activities' to be quite easy. I was also surprised to discover that the device data base contained the key configuration for my 1986 Onkyo SV-7M.

All in all, I give the 520 a '5 star' rating as it really works great for me. If I discover any problems down the way, I'll let you know.

Enjoy...

I can't say I'm as happy as most seem to be, I actually like my old One-for-All better, but the buttons always quit working on those things after a while. Its taken a lot of trial and error to get it to do exactly what I want. The buttons controlling the LCD screen are hard to use and the activities will work one time but not the next.

I do like the fact that eventually I got it to do everything that I wanted it to do.

I agree about the clicking.. if you do a lot of channel surfing it can be pretty annoying at times. Thats why I programmed the * and # soft buttons to handle the channel up/down commands. I also programmed the hard channel buttons to the page up/down dvr command.

As per my post yesterday, the Harmony 520 has horrible buttons for Volume and Channel up/down.....you'll definetely have to program other buttons for these functions- in addition to being hard to press and causing CTD's, the volume button in particular seems very unresponsive.
Sorry for negative feedback- like I said before, its a helluva lot better than having to fumble thru 3-4 remotes in the dark- but personally, having owned a Harmony 659 before, and tested other Harmony remotes, I think you owe it to yourself to decide carefully which Harmony you opt for.
Oher negatives include the new software which can be trickier than the old software. Also, anyone familiar with the Sony PSP and the smudge problem caused by the high gloss finish on the unit will encounter the same problem with the 520- its highly polished black surfaces are terribly prone to fingerprints and smudges.

Can somebody email me a copy of the manual, I am having trouble accessing it online. I am trying to see if it meets my needs as I may buy it for my inlaws as a gift.

I know there are only 4 lcd buttons, but are there multiple screens (like the Universal Remote Control MX series) i.e. the 4 lcd buttons can be each programmed for multiple functions.

Thanks

Just bought the 520's cousin, Harmony for Xbox 360, from BestBuy. It looks a lot like 520 with all silver face plate and one row of extra buttons in the middle and one row of extra buttons on the bottom. Hopefully it will worth the extra $30 over 520 for 8 extra buttons because I don't have a XBox 360

Yes but is it worth $55 more than the 520?

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...at=Accessories

Besides for $50 more than the 360 you can get an 880.

I'm sure some one will sell this one for cheaper than MSRP. It is not fair to compare MSRP to sell price or internet price.

FYI, I don't like 880 at all.

Still testing this one out. I'm not sure I'll keep it.