[cpc6128]

I was all set to order a Harmony One until I started reading the contentious debates regarding it's lack of coloured hard buttons.
I don't like the idea of using the touch screen for the buttons as I really want something which is as close as possible in feel to the Sky HD remote (which I find to be excellently usable). I've read that some people assign the colour buttons to other hard buttons on the Harmony One - is this really a decent solution or just an awkward workaround?

This has made me look further afield and I came across the Nevo Q50 which looks great. I realise it is massively more advanced than the Harmony One but it has more hard buttons (that seem to be laid out better) so I was wondering how anyone who has used both would compare the two, purely ergonomically (and particularly with respect to operating Sky HD)?

[moony1234]

Sorry bit off topic but does the fact that its over 6 times more expensive than the One, purely for some coloured buttons, not put you off??

[quantumAV]

The Q50 is a great bit of kit for the right environment and does deal very well with the coloured buttons as you assign them to the four hard buttons directly under the screen and label the area in the screen just above the buttons appropriately.

However the Harmony's are easier to use and set-up if you only have a few bits of kit and want to do fairly standard things. The Q50 comes into its own when you have complexity and want flexibility to do things that the Harmony's cannot do. The build quality and feel is much better and you are getting something of substance.

You lose the 'Smart State' functionality of the Harmony's in knowing which of your equipment is on or off at any time. Activities are replaced by Macros instead.

For operating as the Sky control it is perfect.

[logiciel]

A One with the colour commands Customised to hard buttons is "as close as possible in feel to the Sky HD remote" - I go further and find that it is better.
All the navigation controls are grouped together, adjacent to each other - colours, volume, channel, left/right/down/up/select - quite the reverse of awkward.

[CH_Peter]

When I used the One with Sky, I actually found it better, because Guide could be programmed to go the the usual Sky guide, but straight to favourites, resulting in a customised guide available with one press (one of my chief issues with Sky was not being able to delete unwanted channels). I then used "Menu" to being up the planner with one button press (on Sky, it was 2).

Rarely do you actually need to press a colour, and most commonly that's the red button. I has that coded to the spare down arrow, green to up (and did same on the Humax boxes, too). Blue and yellow I kept on the screen (so rarely used).

[cpc6128]

Originally Posted by moony1234

Sorry bit off topic but does the fact that its over 6 times more expensive than the One, purely for some coloured buttons, not put you off??

Yes, it certainly does put me off! But a US one (imported) can be had for around half the cost of a UK model (at the expense of Z-Wave support). That is still more than I want to spend, really, but - as a universal remote control is something that I would use a huge amount, virtually on a daily basis - I would certainly consider it as an option.

Originally Posted by QuantumUK

The Q50 is a great bit of kit for the right environment and does deal very well with the coloured buttons as you assign them to the four hard buttons directly under the screen and label the area in the screen just above the buttons appropriately.

However the Harmony's are easier to use and set-up if you only have a few bits of kit and want to do fairly standard things. The Q50 comes into its own when you have complexity and want flexibility to do things that the Harmony's cannot do. The build quality and feel is much better and you are getting something of substance.

You lose the 'Smart State' functionality of the Harmony's in knowing which of your equipment is on or off at any time. Activities are replaced by Macros instead.

For operating as the Sky control it is perfect.

Thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by logiciel

A One with the colour commands Customised to hard buttons is "as close as possible in feel to the Sky HD remote" - I go further and find that it is better.
All the navigation controls are grouped together, adjacent to each other - colours, volume, channel, left/right/down/up/select - quite the reverse of awkward.

Originally Posted by CH_Peter

When I used the One with Sky, I actually found it better, because Guide could be programmed to go the the usual Sky guide, but straight to favourites, resulting in a customised guide available with one press (one of my chief issues with Sky was not being able to delete unwanted channels). I then used "Menu" to being up the planner with one button press (on Sky, it was 2).

Rarely do you actually need to press a colour, and most commonly that's the red button. I has that coded to the spare down arrow, green to up (and did same on the Humax boxes, too). Blue and yellow I kept on the screen (so rarely used).

Thanks for the feedback guys. You have definately allayed my chief doubt about the One.

[logiciel]

Just to back up CH_Peter the Harmony Sequences - several commands on one button press - are a big advantage, especially with Sky.
You'll find other examples in the fixed Tips thread here.
I too used the spare up/down toggle button for green and yellow.
The two buttons beside that were Customised away from their original functions for red and blue.

[daveh48]

Originally Posted by cpc6128

Yes, it certainly does put me off! But a US one (imported) can be had for around half the cost of a UK model

Just watch out for Customs and VAT etc if you're buying in from the US.

Although some companies will mark the item as a "Gift" that doesn't mean it's treated as one. A friend bought a piece of kit and ended up paying more than what it was on sale for in the UK.

[ryart]

Originally Posted by QuantumUK

You lose the 'Smart State' functionality of the Harmony's in knowing which of your equipment is on or off at any time. Activities are replaced by Macros instead.

The Q50m is a great remote; bought mine from QuantumUK. Mine is programmed as activities (with the option of going to device control from any page). It is possible to programme it, by making use of pages, so that at any one time the remote (assuming the IR or Z waves work correctly) "knows" what equipment is on so that switching from, say, TV to projector means keeping the appropriate equipment switched on and switching off equipment that will not be needed for the new activity.

Although apologies if "smart state" is something else .

I have two Harmony remotes and whilst I accept that the Nevo is horrifically more expensive, I have found that it is worth the extra for controlling my setup.

[logiciel]

That IS what Harmony Smart State Technology is, and the description of your Activities could have been written exactly the same for any Harmony down to the £35 510/515.

[ryart]

Originally Posted by logiciel

That IS what Harmony Smart State Technology is, and the description of your Activities could have been written exactly the same for any Harmony down to the £35 510/515.

Ah, good; so I wasn't barking up the wrong tree, it's a year or two since I last used my Harmonies. There is of course much more to a Nevo, including being able to custom design touch screens and buttons with a layout that suits the particular user rather than some generic user. The balance between touch screen and hard buttons, and layout of hard buttons is the best I have come across.

If a Harmony does all that you require and don't require the extra customisability than it is an excellent choice and great value for money. But for some it is not versatile enough. All in IMHO and IME of course . Unfortunately versatility does take a great deal more time to set-up.

[logiciel]

You're right of course, and you get what you pay for.