best remote for the missis to use!?

[darkmavis]

hello all, ive now got my cinema room set up (panny ae500pj, sky box, hdmi dvd player/upscaler,plastation and pc plugged into it) as you guys know, now i have a raft of controllers, for 4 diffrent sources!! the missis just takes one look at it and gives up in defeat. so i need to get 1 remote to rule them all! but heres the bind, it has to be easy as pie to use or the missus will just turn her nose up at it any ideas/help guys? thanks in advance!

[hornydragon]

My advice is look at the harmony range all will do what you need but depending on what you want to spend or othe features dictates the model

[darkmavis]

well, as long as it can contrall all the remotes,and turn up the sound on the sterio (all stuff goes thru it) that would be fine, dont need anything extra, itll just confuse the wife!

[Rizza]

I was in the same situation as you and got the Harmony 525 (the cheapest of the lot for about £38) and it works like magic. Imagine switching all your devices on and off with a single button, if I want to watch DVD, I press 'watch DVD' on the remote and it..

Turns off the sky + box
Turns on DVD player
Changes TV video source to DVD (AV6)
Switches the amp to the DVD source and changes the pro logic mode to movies.

If I select 'Play PS2' it turns off the DVD player and sets eveything up to the PS2 as above, and also changes the amp to Pro Logic sports mode since I only ever play spors games.

Wanna go into sky + planner?? just single touch of a button on the harmony, none of that 2-3 step button sequence nonsense.

In a nutshell, it's very programmable and all the above is just an example of how I've configured mine, it does a lot more and can control more than 1 TV. However it takes time and patience to setup, but once done it's brilliant.

Rizza

Oh yeah, and my wife loves it now although she was a bit sceptical initially becos she saw it as another male gadget to confuse, but it really does simplify things.

[dj_johnnyg]

I use one of those "One-For-All" Electro-luminescent things.

It's OK, but drinks batteries. Would like to get a new remote, but can't justify spending money on one at the moment, and can't be arsed to teach another remote, nor the missus how to use it.

She can use the remote easily enough.

[darkmavis]

that sounds top rizza! lookin that up now!

[Crustyloafer]

I would also put in a recommendation for the NevoSL, it really is very flexible and very easy to program.

[darkmavis]

that looks ace!! looks darned expensive too! :S)

[Crustyloafer]

Originally Posted by darkmavis

that looks ace!! looks darned expensive too! :S)

You get what you pay for. My experience as a retailer who has used and sold all models in the Harmony range is that they are complete rubbish. Once you have used a Philips Pronto Pro, Marantz RC range or NevoSL you will wonder what all the fuss is about with the crappy Harmony remotes. Yes these are expensive remotes but they do have a huge amount of flexibility and can be confidured to operate in whichever way you want them to.

[Rizza]

Harmony remotes complete rubbish??? Maybe I'm biaised, but check out what others think here.

Make up your own mind, I can only say it does the job for me.

Rizza

[czzer]

Pronto better than a Harmony???

Ha...yeah, right!

I wouldn't use a Pronto if you paid me!

[clockworks]

As an ex-Pronto user (£700 Marantz RC9200), I have to say that I prefer my Harmony 885. Sure, the Pronto can do more, but it's a pain to program and use.

My hope is that Logitech will introduce a model that's a cross between the 895 and the Nevo. I'd pay £300-£400 for that.

[shahedz]

having owned a marantz, a prefer the Harmony in everyway, its just so much easier to use

[Messiah]

Have to agree, that having used Prontos of all types (890, 950, TSU7000, iPronto) I got hold of an 885 yesterday and have to say that it is definitely easier and more intuitive to use.

I know I will miss the programming flexibility of the ProntoPro (but I still have the iPronto to play with), and the build quality as the Harmony's are very cheap and plasticky, but in day to day use I would choose the Harmony every time.

[sjpeckmore]

Originally Posted by Crustyloafer

You get what you pay for. My experience as a retailer who has used and sold all models in the Harmony range is that they are complete rubbish. Once you have used a Philips Pronto Pro, Marantz RC range or NevoSL you will wonder what all the fuss is about with the crappy Harmony remotes. Yes these are expensive remotes but they do have a huge amount of flexibility and can be confidured to operate in whichever way you want them to.

Whilst I typically think that its "horses for courses" I wouldn't go as far as to call one or the other rubbish, no matter which you prefer. There are pro's and con's to both - the Prontos, et al, are very customisable, but require a significant time investment to get right and are very expensive. The Harmony range are more affordable and easier to program but, whilst still very customisable, can't compete with the Prontos, et al, on customisation features.

But you have to weigh up what matters to you. For me I just wanted a remote that could control all of my equipment and do so with ease. I wanted customisation so I could define what command each button does, and I love the LCD screen on the Harmony 885 which allows me to put up commands that don't suit buttons. Sure, I could do more with a Pronto, but I wasn't that fussed about being able to resize buttons, skin the interface, etc. And as good as macros are, I haven't found the need for a single macro so far - the closest would be having everything turn on and off, which the Harmony does through 'Activities' (and stunningly well, remembering the states of all your equipment, something I think would be exceptionally hard to program into a Pronto).

Further, whilst they look good, I cannot stand touch screen remotes. I've posted about this on another thread, so I'll just quote myself:

Originally Posted by sjpeckmore

Sure, touch screen remotes look slick and have a certain 'wow' factor, but once you overcome this I find them 'inconvenient' to use. Having to look at the remote every time I want to press a button is unacceptable, but with a hard button remote you can 'feel' you way around the keys (ideal for use in a dark room), and learn where the keys are. You also get much more tactile feedback from a hard button remote. The only main advantage I see a touchscreen remote having is the infinite amount of customisation they provide.

Obviously it will seem that I am biased here because I have a Harmony 885, but it's more a case of having done my research before purchasing the remote that was right for me. I went over reviews, forum posts and (many) articles on all the remotes to try and get a feel for what would suit me best, and even tried demo-ing them in stores or friends houses if I could. Ultimately I settled on the Harmony 885 and have been very very happy with it ever since.

Originally Posted by sjpeckmore

The 885 for me represents the best of both worlds as it is a superb hard button remote with a colour screen atop that provides both 'wow' factor and a degree of customisation (not huge amounts, but just enough to make the remote feel my own).