Logitech Harmony 880 LCD Remote Control
- Type: Universal
- Broadcasting Type: IR
- Devices Controlled: 15
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Great universal remote
Pros
Built-in rechargable battery, tilt-sensor wake, high-res color LCD
Cons
Button placement reduces no-sight usability, no hard "list" button for recorded shows
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Still a great remote even considering the button placement issues.
I've owned and used a Harmony 680 for over a year now and have loved it. It was dropped a few times, a couple pieces of the casing have broken off, but it's continued to work. But it was time to move it to our secondary TV system and replace it with something newer. Enter the 880.
PROS
* Includes a rechargable battery. HUGE benefit over my 680.
* Includes a tilt-sensor which auto-activates the LCD. This is soooo much better than having to find the "glow" button to light up the remote as on my 680.
* Has a full-color LCD. Though I personally find the color part fairly useless I enjoy the brighter, more contrasty LCD on the 880 over the 680. You can also upload graphics to use on some screens such as your favorties, etc. Just look online and you can find channel icon packs that include the logos for all the common stations.
* Looks professional in appearance.
* Has dimples on buttons to help orientate your fingers, useful since the buttons are all similar and in close proximity.
* Migrated my current Harmony 680 configuration to my new 880 without any issues. I just told it I now have an 880, updated the remote, and was up and running.
* Harmony tech support is outstanding. Easy to reach, short hold times, they always solve any configuration issues I have and seem extremely knowledgable about their products. Very refreshing. I *STRONGLY* suggest anyone having configuration or performance issues to simply phone their support. They can modify configs on their end and all you'll have to do is plug-in and update the remote. It's like a conceirge service for your remote. They're outstanding!
CONS
* Will indicate battery is charging when in base station even if no battery is physically installed in the remote. Should display "no battery" or something similar.
* Battery door is EXTREMELY difficult to open. I had to use both hands and extreme pressure. No offense to the ladies but I'm doubtful my wife or Mom could open the battery door.
* Came with NO INSTRUCTIONS on how to properly setup the hardware, it goes straight to installing the softare and configuring the remote. STEP 1) Remove all items from packaging STEP 2) Install battery STEP 3) Charge battery overnight by placing remove in base station STEP 4) So and and so on. I've never seen a product not include SOME sort of printed instructions.
* You cannot have a single user profile with multiple remotes in the same profile. You're forced to setup multiple profiles for each remote, each requiring it's own unique email address and login. I'm not saying this is a significant issue but it's annoying I can't have a single site login and manage all my remotes in the same account. I'm sure it's smart enough to know which remote I'm updating.
* Power cable for the base/recharging station is about 12" too short. I can barely place my base on top of my entertainment center which is where I keep my remotes. I have to keep it at the back right instead of front center due to cord length.
* Doesn't have a hard button for "list" to instantly open the list of recorded shows on my DirecTV Tivo like my 680 does. But it was easy enough to set one of the LCD soft buttons to do that.
* I find the play/stop/forward/backward buttons to be placed too far down the remote for comfortable access. It should be closer to the up/down/select ring in the center of the remote like on the 680.
* Beyond the intial activity you are required to specifically press the Activities button to locate the list of activities again. This isn't critical but I find it much less user friendly than the hard activity buttons found on the 680.
PROS
* Includes a rechargable battery. HUGE benefit over my 680.
* Includes a tilt-sensor which auto-activates the LCD. This is soooo much better than having to find the "glow" button to light up the remote as on my 680.
* Has a full-color LCD. Though I personally find the color part fairly useless I enjoy the brighter, more contrasty LCD on the 880 over the 680. You can also upload graphics to use on some screens such as your favorties, etc. Just look online and you can find channel icon packs that include the logos for all the common stations.
* Looks professional in appearance.
* Has dimples on buttons to help orientate your fingers, useful since the buttons are all similar and in close proximity.
* Migrated my current Harmony 680 configuration to my new 880 without any issues. I just told it I now have an 880, updated the remote, and was up and running.
* Harmony tech support is outstanding. Easy to reach, short hold times, they always solve any configuration issues I have and seem extremely knowledgable about their products. Very refreshing. I *STRONGLY* suggest anyone having configuration or performance issues to simply phone their support. They can modify configs on their end and all you'll have to do is plug-in and update the remote. It's like a conceirge service for your remote. They're outstanding!
CONS
* Will indicate battery is charging when in base station even if no battery is physically installed in the remote. Should display "no battery" or something similar.
* Battery door is EXTREMELY difficult to open. I had to use both hands and extreme pressure. No offense to the ladies but I'm doubtful my wife or Mom could open the battery door.
* Came with NO INSTRUCTIONS on how to properly setup the hardware, it goes straight to installing the softare and configuring the remote. STEP 1) Remove all items from packaging STEP 2) Install battery STEP 3) Charge battery overnight by placing remove in base station STEP 4) So and and so on. I've never seen a product not include SOME sort of printed instructions.
* You cannot have a single user profile with multiple remotes in the same profile. You're forced to setup multiple profiles for each remote, each requiring it's own unique email address and login. I'm not saying this is a significant issue but it's annoying I can't have a single site login and manage all my remotes in the same account. I'm sure it's smart enough to know which remote I'm updating.
* Power cable for the base/recharging station is about 12" too short. I can barely place my base on top of my entertainment center which is where I keep my remotes. I have to keep it at the back right instead of front center due to cord length.
* Doesn't have a hard button for "list" to instantly open the list of recorded shows on my DirecTV Tivo like my 680 does. But it was easy enough to set one of the LCD soft buttons to do that.
* I find the play/stop/forward/backward buttons to be placed too far down the remote for comfortable access. It should be closer to the up/down/select ring in the center of the remote like on the 680.
* Beyond the intial activity you are required to specifically press the Activities button to locate the list of activities again. This isn't critical but I find it much less user friendly than the hard activity buttons found on the 680.
