[busterbrown885]

I am about to have a Toshiba 46HM84 HDTV delivered and use the following equipment

Yamaha HTR 5250 AV Receiver

JVC XVN50 DVD player

Panasonic PV8662 VCR

High Def Cable Box (not yet delivered, no idea of make)


Will probably purchase a Tivo or similar player in several months.

In reading the forums the idea of pushing one button to play tv or movie etc has great appeal to me and would make it simple for my wife to use all the equipment when I am not available.


Which of the Harmony remotes would be best suited for my equipment?

 

[bfdtv]

The 680 works better with Tivo and ReplayTV, based on my experience. The 676 is probably a better match for some cable company DVRs, like the SA8000HD, which require extensive use of 'A' and 'B' buttons.


For the equipment you've listed above (no DVR), the Harmony 659 would probably be the best choice.


What cable company do you have? If your provider is Comcast and they use Motorola equipment, get the 680. If they use Scientific Atlanta equipment, go for the 676.

 

[DanP]

I disagree on the 659.....it has five fewer buttons and the transport buttons are not quite as robust for your DVD player (i.e., you have FF but not skip to the next scene). I'm struggling with the same question and am leaning toward the 676 over the 680. If I had a Tivo, I'd probably go with a 680. I guess I'm one of the few on the planet that doesn't yearn for Tivo.

 

[DaveInBerlinNJ]

New 659 owner here... I'm pretty sure you can skip chapters... just hit channel +/-. (haven't actually tried it yet)


Sanyo Z2-Momitsu v880-Motorola 6208 (PVR)-Onkyo s760-Sherwood receiver (bass shakers)-Lutron dimmers


659 handling them all no problem, so far.


I'd like the 676, with the transport controls up top, rather than the bottom. But the 659 was a good deal cheaper. I'm happy.


My impression of the 676 vs 680 was that they were very similar, with the 680 designed for controlling a HTPC.

 

[bfdtv]

Quote:

My impression of the 676 vs 680 was that they were very similar, with the 680 designed for controlling a HTPC.

This is the mistaken impression some people have.


Both the 676 and 680 are configured exactly the same way on the Harmony web site. The difference is in the location of the transport controls -- on the 680, those buttons are positioned more for regular DVR use (Media Center = PC DVR). The 680 also has buttons dedicated for DVR functions like Live and Rec'd TV that the 676 does not have. In contrast, the 676 has 'A' and 'B' buttons that are commonly used by some cable set-top boxes.


If you don't have near-term plans for a DVR, you should get the 659 or 676, not the 680.

http://home.comcast.net/~bklfowler/harmony680_hand.jpg

 

[DanP]

That's a great image bfd........ and if you go here:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/voom/CED...wHarmonyHR.JPG


you can see the 676 and 680 side by side. I spent alot of time looking at this image trying to decide which layout I like best. These remotes are basically the same.....only difference appears to be the labeling of the buttons.

 

[LeeG23]

Here's a question-


For those of you with the 676/680 - how do you input the '-' for OTA digital channels??


Lee

 

[FlashJordan]

I just set up the 680 on my HD TiVo and the ">>|" or Skip button functions as the "-" for channel input. Works great.

 

[pup]

I use the 676 w/ my HD DirecTiVo which I am happy with. It would be nice to have the dedicated Live and Rec'd buttons mapped to LiveTV and NowPlaying, but I just use the 676's LCD and Menu button respectively. I also prefer the location of the transport buttons on the 676.

Quote:

Originally posted by LeeG23 For those of you with the 676/680 - how do you input the '-' for OTA digital channels??

I mapped mine to the A button since there was a nice visual reminder of a "-" label right underneath it (as part of -Page+) and I wanted to map the actual "+" button to the familiarly located "Clear" function.

 

[jcg]

What buttons on the Harmony remote to the quick skip and 15 second rewind (on the ReplayTV) map to? What about the channel quide and the quide buttons?


John

Quote:

Originally posted by bfdtv The 680 works better with Tivo and ReplayTV, based on my experience. The 676 is probably a better match for some cable company DVRs, like the SA8000HD, which require extensive use of 'A' and 'B' buttons. For the equipment you've listed above (no DVR), the Harmony 659 would probably be the best choice. What cable company do you have? If your provider is Comcast and they use Motorola equipment, get the 680. If they use Scientific Atlanta equipment, go for the 676.

 

[AnthonyP]

don't forget that you can always change them

 

[busterbrown885]

I just checked with Suscom (cable company) they use Scientific Atlanta 3250HD as the current box. I understand that in the future they will be offering something different for those who want to rent Tivo or a similar product.

Not sure I understand why the 676 works better with Scientific Atlanta?


Thank you for the comments so far, I really appreciate it.

 

[bfdtv]

Quote:

What buttons on the Harmony remote to the quick skip and 15 second rewind (on the ReplayTV) map to? What about the channel quide and the quide buttons?

The Harmony 680 has buttons labeled "replay" and "skip." You would use those. It also has a "guide" button.

 

[snatch]

I love my 676. You can command just about any button to do whatever you need. Some day i'll have 1k for an HD Directivo, but that won't be this day.

 

[bohbot16]

Quote:

Originally posted by busterbrown885 Not sure I understand why the 676 works better with Scientific Atlanta?

The 676 has "A" and "B" buttons. The remotes that come with SA boxes have "A", "B", and "C" buttons that are used for many menu operations, particularly with their DVRs. You could map those buttons to something else on the 680, but having the physical buttons on the 676 is nice, especially when someone else it using it.

 

[Toeside]

These threads really have me wanting a 680 over my 688. In fact, I showed a co-worker/friend of mine the 680, and he found some really good prices online. When I bought my 688, it was before Logitech took over, and you had to buy from an authorized retailer to get warranty/support.


I just called the Harmony tech support line and they told me that there is no longer a restriction of Authorized retailers.


This is REALLY, REALLY good news!


Craig

 

[quentin]

Quote:

Originally posted by Toeside These threads really have me wanting a 680 over my 688. In fact, I showed a co-worker/friend of mine the 680, and he found some really good prices online. When I bought my 688, it was before Logitech took over, and you had to buy from an authorized retailer to get warranty/support. I just called the Harmony tech support line and they told me that there is no longer a restriction of Authorized retailers. This is REALLY, REALLY good news! Craig

That is awesome news, thanks for that information Toeside!


Quentin.