Harmony 1000 (3.5 inch screen)

I'm getting one as soon as it comes out. Maybe someone can clear something up fro me. All the remotes (Harmony) I own are IR, so this will be my first RF. What does that mean for me exactly? Will I need that extender thing? My devices are in line of sight, 10' in front of me. Will they all work with the remote? I'd love not to have to aim the remote. Hell, I might go ahead and get an RF light dimmer unit too. Just want to make sure I understand everything concerning RF.

I just wanted to give you guys a quick overview of RF. It's best to think of it like the cordless phones that most people already have in their house. A cordless phone communicates to a base which is wired to the phone line in your house. The base is an essential piece of equipment and the phone handset would be useless without it. Like this analogy an RF remote requires a base in order to work. Your equipment will still be controlled via IR signals but in this scenario it will be the base that's sending the line of sight IR commands and the flow will be as follows:

1. You press a button on the Logitech Harmony 1000
2. An RF command is sent throughout the house, through walls & floors to the optional wireless extender
3. The wireless extender sends the IR signal to the equipment that's in it's line of site. So, if you're equipment is in a cabinet the wireless extender must be as well (or at least it's IR emitters must be)

Other important notes...
Just like your cordless phone only communicates with its base (and not your neighbors phone) the H1000 RF signal only communicates with the wireless extender. It will not control other RF devices like lights, or DTV receivers, etc unless you have other equipment that allows it to do so... that's a whole other can of worms

The H1000 will still send IR signals like every other Harmony remote. That's why the wireless extender is optional. If your equipment is in line of sight you do not NEED RF. However, the advantages of a stable RF config are that you can enjoy seamless multiroom integration and you don't need to worry about moving the remote while it's executing a long macro like powering on all your equipment.

Ahhhh, much thanks for explaining how RF works. So, basically, I'll need the $150 or some extender. Now, my equipment is in a cabinet, maybe 1" or 2" clearance between the devices and the glass door. Where would this extender be located typically? There wouldn't be much room inside the cabinet.

Nice to know I can get this and use it from day one until I get the extender. Just didn't anticipate a $700 price tag.

Just wondering if the RF Remotes like the 1000 or 890 have discreete RF codes that you could program for lights, etc? If sounds like the RF portion of the Logitech is simply for communication with the RF extender. Are there not RF remotes that do discreete commands?

The extender also comes with wired emitters, which can be attached to the IR receiver of your devices if there is no room in front of them for the "blaster".

I would be surprised if the 1000 didn't come with the extender in the box...the 890 comes with it included so I assume the 1000 would be the same.

As for the "discrete RF codes for lights etc" question, I suggest reading remoteshoppe's reply more carefully. You CANNOT control RF devices directly. This is the case for ALL RF universal remotes. They can only control IR devices via their extender.

The only exceptions to this are that Harmonys will supposedly directly control RF devices that use the Z-Wave protocol. However, I don't think it has been implemented yet...should be in a future firmware upgrade. Also, very few devices(yet) use the Z-Wave protocol. You might find it hard to find one compatible...I wouldn't count on your lights being one of them.

Some people have been able to directly control X10 stuff using UK model Prontos, although I think it's classed as a "hack" and isn't easy to do, orvery reliable. Also, it only works for UK Prontos with UK X10.

czzer- Logitech is selling the extender separately for $149

As for light control, there are plenty of Z-Wave options here- http://www.smarthome.com/prodindex.asp?catid=50

Well that's good news...it seems to be taking off then.

Now we need to know if Logitech has got it working yet? I haven't heard of anyone using an 890 with Z-Wave yet..it would be great if someone could confirm it actually works??

The Logitech 890 and 1000 and Monster AVL300 remotes will natively support Z-Wave and rumors have it that we should see that implementation with software released in the very near future. X10 Lights may be controlled via IR with any remote and the IR543 or 543AH receiver. These receivers take the IR commands from your remote and convert them to the PLC for X10.

Kid red. The receiver can be mounted any where you find room. Even behind one of your other components. You would then have IR emitters come coming out of the receiver. These can be emitters that plug directly into the IR input of some components or they can be little bulbs that stick right over the IR window of other components. The drawback of the Logitech system from what I can see is that it only has 4 output ports for these emitters which may not be enough for more complex set-ups.

Andy- All RF remotes are specific to the transmitter (in this case, the remote) and receiver (the wireless extender). Logitech is the first to expand this with their adaptation of the Z-Wave technology which is a wireless mesh network (similar to Wifi on PCs and laptops in your home) but if you're lights are not Z-Wave you may need something else or you may be SOL.

I just posted some more info about RF at http://www.remoteshoppe.com/index.php?itemid=267

remoteshoppe,

Thanks for the info. You've saved me some money and frustration. I guess z-wave products is where its at for RF.

It may be. The reviews aren't quite out on the Z-Wave devices yet.

Sure, you just need to use IR switches. Lutron and a few others have IR systems available. I recently set up an 880 (IR Only) to control his system and lighting environment.

remoteshoppe- Thanks for all of the info. You mentioned that the Harmony only includes 4 outputs, so I have a few questions. Do those IR emitters (4) come with the extender from Harmony? If you have more than 4 devices, what do you do? Buy another $150 extender?

As for the lights, as long as they are Z-Wave you don't need any extender, etc, correct? It's like wifi?

The 4 outputs on the extender have dual-headed emitters that effectively give you control of up to 8 components. More than that would require an additional extender. Z-Wave components should be able to be directly controlled by the remote.

I'm reserving final judgment until I see a production model, but I'm was not that impressed with the 1000 at CEDIA, since it lacks true custom graphic capability. It really is a touchscreen 890, with no additional programming capabilities. Personally, I'd just go with an 890 at a much lower price.

I'm not sure if Harmony includes the IR emitters or not. If they don't I recommend using Xantech emitters. Xantech does make IR emitters that split from one mini jack connection to two separate emitters (http://www.xantech.com/products/p_folder/p_284m.htm) so this will let you control up two 8 components but limits the way you assign the IR ports. The Logitech box is also an IR blaster so if you can put it someplace that has line of sight to your equipment you can control as many components as you need.


The Logitech Receiver is all you would need. You can learn more about Z-Wave at http://www.zen-sys.com/

MikeSRC- Other than custom graphics, what is your opinion of the 1000? The 890 is an RF version of my current remote, 676. I kinda like the idea of a big touch screen, and it's not a $1000+ like pronto, maratnz, nevo, etc.

remoteshoppe- thanks for the tips. 8 components is enough I think. For now.

I am also interested in the 1000, however after seeing this picture (http://www.gizmodo.com/assets/resour...armony1000.jpg) it looks pretty small to me. Maybe the picture is misleading... Hummm

That oes look small. Actually, tho, as a first touch screen, I think the size is acceptable. I don't know how big I'd want it.

I'm really torn between this one and the Philips one that is also coming out. Of course this one doesn't have a big price tag like the Philips one does, but they both look so good!!

IMO... No comparison. Sometimes it's as simple as "you get what you pay for."

remoteshoppe- But considering it's $500 remote, you don't think it has value? I understand a $1000 would obviously be better, but the value for me wouldn't be there as I don't have an automated home or home house audio, or security, or 10+ devices, etc.

As far as the price, and features of the Harmony 1000, are there any other comparable remotes worth looking at?

See, that's what's attractive about the 1000, I can do it myself. I have 2 Harmony remotes and got my dad one, so I've done 3 remotes and feel confident in being able to program it.