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Harman Kardon TC30

post #1 of 290
4/27/06 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 
This appears to be the only seprarate thread for the HK TC30. As a former Harmony 880 owner, I was looking for a remote that was less cumbersome to use. The 880s buttons are flat and functions are often indistinguishable from one another by look or feel.

While I found the Harmony comfortable to hold, I often had to reposition the grip to allow me to get to the button functions that my hand would cover.

For me, the TC30 is more attractive, more comfortable to hold, and not one that I have to reposition to use the buttons. I don't know if HK improved the Logitech software that runs the remote, but it sure appears to work better than the 880.

Before getting rid of the 880, I used it and the TC30 side-by-side for a month. I concluded that the TC30 was superior. I liked the remote interface software better as well. It did not require me to use a browser to sign in, set up or make changes to my devices and activities. HK's support, whether it is its own or Logitech's, has always been helpful for the few times that I needed to speak to a live technician.

Any other TC30 users out there? What have been your experiences?
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post #2 of 290
4/29/06 at 4:34am
Good day,

I am a current H680 user looking to go color and am considering the H880 or TC30.

1) Curious to hear your opinion on the difference in clarity/readability between the TC30 display and that of the H880?

2) Does TC30 have motion sensor like the H880?

3) Do you miss not having dedicated PageUp\\Down keys to assist in navigating TV onscreen Guides (Be it cable or Sat box)?

4) any other plus or mnuses between these 2 remotes you care to mention?

Thanks,

Claude H.
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post #3 of 290
5/4/06 at 10:53am
Hi ~ I have also my eye on the TC-30.

Is it confirmed it will not do PageUp/Page Down in e.g. TV Onscreen menu's? That would be a shame... That function is probably what I use my current remote the most for...
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post #4 of 290
5/4/06 at 2:12pm
Do not forget that you can always map a pageup and pagedown key to a pair of buttons of your choosing along the LCD.

I too agree that dedicated would be better but once in an activity that requires a page up/down, it might not be too big a sacrifice to use a couple of the LCD buttons.

I just want to hear from others as well as charlz about their hands on thoughts and impressions of the TC30 and/or comparison with the H880.

For some reason, I suspect the build quality of the TC30 may feel and may even be better than the H880. Just an impression from afar.

Also curious to hear if the online configuration experience with HK's site is all that much different than that of Harmony's. If so, is it easier? Better or worse?

I hear that Harmony w/b releasing the 700 series sometime in July (other post herein had pictures of an EU Harmony 785 unit which has 6 not 8 buttons along the LCD.

Speaking of LCD is the TC30's the same or better than the H880? More easily readable for the over 40 set?


Thanks,

Claude H.
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post #5 of 290
5/10/06 at 7:36am
I have been keeping an eye on this remote since before it was released. I guessed this community would have been all over this unit but it still seems to get little notice even though it can be had online now for less 200.

Just about ready to purchase and am interested in hearing any feedback. I'll keep watching this thread.

Dan
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post #6 of 290
5/24/06 at 2:23pm
I just received my TC30 and logged into the HK portal using my Harmony ID and all the settings came down to the TC30.

Now to play and see what I can imporve upon with the TC30.

Claude H.
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post #7 of 290
5/24/06 at 3:22pm
I just ordered mine today so will be interested in your feedback Claude.

Regards,

Dan
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post #8 of 290
7/5/06 at 12:38pm
I just received my HK TC30 from Abe's of Maine over the Internet. And after charging it for 12 hours I noticed that were lines going through the LCD screen and the pictures were distorted. I called Abe's and they gave me a RMA # so I sent it back via Express Mail. I am really curious to hear from other users of the TC30 to see if it is as easy to setup and use as they advertise. Also once it is setup how do you go about changing the displays to your likeness. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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post #9 of 290
7/25/06 at 2:18pm
I haven't seen a TC 30 in person yet. I own an 880 and like the shape of it but I prefer remotes with rubber buttons - from the pictures it looks like the tc30 has rubber buttons. Can you please let me know?

Are the buttons - glow-through buttons so that the markings become illuminated? I have a sony and mits remote that have semi-clear rubber buttons that glow and so the markings on them are very easy to read in the dark.

Thanks
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post #10 of 290
7/27/06 at 10:45am
I have been using my TC-30 for a couple of months now.

The regular buttons (play, pause, fast forward etc.) are made of rubber. Others are hard plastic (channel up/down, volume up/down, activity buttons). Nevertheless, everything is very intuitive and feels good. I absolutely LOVE mine (but, granted, I have never used any other programmable RC). Setup was a breeze. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the looks of it.
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post #11 of 290
7/27/06 at 10:58am
Thanks - can you tell me something? If the room is dark and the unit is lit, what sort of light assistance do you get to make the play or pause button more viewable (if any?)
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post #12 of 290
8/1/06 at 1:44pm
The remote has a tilt sensor and all of the buttons are have soft back lighting. In a dark room once you move the remote the all of the buttons are visible including play and pause.

I like others in this forum ,I also like my TC-30. The only things I don't like about it is the organization issue with the LCD previously mentioned, and that the channel buttons are made of hard plastic. The channel buttons have to be pressed much harder the rubber buttons and there is an audible click each time they are pressed. This can be annoying if you do a lot of channel surfing like me .
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post #13 of 290
8/5/06 at 8:14pm
Love my TC-30. I did have to replace the original, as one of the soft keys stopped working. HK sent out another one right away, no questions asked. It has a very bright screen, the layout of the buttons are much better than other remotes, and it works great with all my equipment. I would much rather have this than the 880 anyday.
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post #14 of 290
8/8/06 at 5:44am
Can you rename activities on the main screen? For instance, instead of "Listen to the Bridge" can I rename that to "Listen to Squeezebox", or are you stuck with factory-named activities?
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post #15 of 290
8/8/06 at 6:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alderash View Post

Can you rename activities on the main screen? For instance, instead of "Listen to the Bridge" can I rename that to "Listen to Squeezebox", or are you stuck with factory-named activities?

You can rename it anything you like, within reason. You wouldn't want a long name that would be truncated or hard to read. You can always drop the "Listen to" part.
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post #16 of 290
8/8/06 at 6:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bakpakva View Post

You can rename it anything you like, within reason. You wouldn't want a long name that would be truncated or hard to read. You can always drop the "Listen to" part.

Great. I understand that name length is a factor, I just didn't know if the activity name itself was editable at all.
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post #17 of 290
8/8/06 at 7:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alderash View Post

Great. I understand that name length is a factor, I just didn't know if the activity name itself was editable at all.

Yep, it is the same as with the other Harmony Remotes. After you have set up your devices, you attach them to activities. You can then go in and modify the names, buttons, delays, and set up mini-macro's. (Like turn on the sconce lights when you hit pause on your player). You can also change the names and buttons on the devices. All-in-all, a great way to run a complicated system. Some still prefer the more macro driven remotes, but for me, the TC-30 has done everything I needed it to do. It runs everything from my projector to my overhead lights dimmer. There are a few features not found on the TC-30 that are on the Harmony 880, like the media button, and the channel guide downloads. I don't use those anyhow, so it didn't impact my decision. You can also change the background on the main screen and the icons.
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post #18 of 290
8/9/06 at 3:32pm
Can you enter TV channel favorites into the remote? It looks like the LCD screen may be able to accomodate that and if I were to guess it appears you can list eight favorites per lcd screen? Is that a correct guess? If so how many favorites can you load?
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post #19 of 290
8/10/06 at 10:05am
Has anyone compared the TC30 to the Harmony 720? (both of these units look very similar). If so, what were your findings?

Thanks...
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post #20 of 290
8/15/06 at 8:29pm
I am a newbie to this forum. I just ugraded from the Harmony 880 to the HK TC30. Overall I think it's a better remote except for the missing Media Button. Is there any way to program it as a soft key from my 880 remote? I am using the settings from my 880 and Logitech's website. I can't even see the logos that I set up in the 880. Any advice would be great!
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post #21 of 290
8/15/06 at 9:27pm
The TC30 doesn't have this feature.
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post #22 of 290
8/16/06 at 7:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by packagingpro View Post

I am a newbie to this forum. I just ugraded from the Harmony 880 to the HK TC30. Overall I think it's a better remote except for the missing Media Button. Is there any way to program it as a soft key from my 880 remote? I am using the settings from my 880 and Logitech's website. I can't even see the logos that I set up in the 880. Any advice would be great!


What does the Media button do? Also, can the remote do a page up/page down for scrolling through a cable TV guide?
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post #23 of 290
8/16/06 at 7:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wjr View Post

What does the Media button do? Also, can the remote do a page up/page down for scrolling through a cable TV guide?

Anyone that is interested in the TV Cable guide is better off with one of the Harmony remotes, as there is not media button on the TC-30 and the support staff at HK told me that it was not available as a soft key either. I did complain about this, but I doubt it ever gets changed. I think the 880 has this feature, but you would want to check that thread to make sure.
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post #24 of 290
8/16/06 at 6:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bakpakva View Post

Anyone that is interested in the TV Cable guide is better off with one of the Harmony remotes, as there is not media button on the TC-30 and the support staff at HK told me that it was not available as a soft key either.

Does the Harmony 720 have this feature?
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post #25 of 290
8/17/06 at 5:09pm
I just returned the TC30 and kept my 880. Overall I think it is a better remote than the tc30. That's my 2 cents.
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post #26 of 290
8/17/06 at 6:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by packagingpro View Post

I just returned the TC30 and kept my 880. Overall I think it is a better remote than the tc30. That's my 2 cents.

It really depends on what you use the remote for. If you need the media functions, the 880 is a better solution. If you don't use those features, the TC-30 is a much better solution. It has an easier layout, a better LCD screen, and a much nicer feel to the buttons IMHO. But everyone has their own opinions, and Harmony has a remote to suite just about every style.
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post #27 of 290
8/18/06 at 6:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bakpakva View Post

If you need the media functions, the 880 is a better solution.

What are the media functions? What do they do?

And does the Harmony 720 have these media functions?
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post #28 of 290
8/18/06 at 6:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoundsGood View Post

What are the media functions? What do they do?

And does the Harmony 720 have these media functions?


Probably best to ask these questions in a Logitech/Harmony remote control thread, as you will get more answers from people that own them. In general, the media button is for favorite channels, program guides, etc. Not sure of all the details, as I don't use any of these features.
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post #29 of 290
8/18/06 at 9:09am
I might be confused on the Media guide button and the scrolling through Cable TV Guide. I have a Pioneer HD 4360. I use a CableCard (got rid of the bulky cable box) and the built in TV Guide. The TC-30 works flawless. I can scroll through the guide channel by channel, or by page down/up.
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post #30 of 290
8/23/06 at 1:51pm
I am confused about the favorite channels issue. I understand there is no media button to take you directly to the favorite channels, however, can you get to a favorite channel section by cycling through Activities. Can you load the channel icons into the remote for use at that point. Thanks for the help.

Matt
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