Harmony one help please

[panman40]

, was looking at the Harmony one remote, is this the most popular version?.

I have Panny G10 Plasma, Panny BD60 Blu-ray, Panny EX78 recorder and Sky HD Box at the moment, Will it be suitable for these?.

I would like to be able to Control each device individually without it switching other things on or off etc, is this possible ?.

Many thanks in advance for any help, I have never had an all in one remote before so know nothing about them .

Cheers.

[logiciel]

The One can control up to 15 Devices; the more recent 700 takes up to 6.
Harmonys can be used simply as substitutes for the original remotes, taken one a time, but that's not their intended mode of use.
They cost more than the type of universal remote that does no more than that, because they provide what are called Activities.
You make a number of these to include more than one device at a time and those devices have their power and input settings made automatically.
For instance a WatchSky Activity would, at the same time, have the channel and other buttons working the receiver and the volume and other buttons working the TV without having to change from one to the other.

[Palladio]

I've also got a few questions on the Harmony One and before I jump in and buy one would appreciate a bit of help -

What's the difference between activities and macros. I had an old Cambridge touch screen remote which i set up using macros so that it went through a series of commands and I can't get my head round the use of activities ?

Probably a stupid question but I assume I will need to keep all the equipment powered on (in stand by mode) before the remote will do it's business and what happens if one of the units in the chain is not powered up.

I'm really trying to find out how idiot proof it will be for the wife to use without me getting phone calls at work saying this or that won't come on or she can see the right picture but no sound etc.

[panman40]

Originally Posted by logiciel

The One can control up to 15 Devices; the more recent 700 takes up to 6.
Harmonys can be used simply as substitutes for the original remotes, taken one a time, but that's not their intended mode of use.
They cost more than the type of universal remote that does no more than that, because they provide what are called Activities.
You make a number of these to include more than one device at a time and those devices have their power and input settings made automatically.
For instance a WatchSky Activity would, at the same time, have the channel and other buttons working the receiver and the volume and other buttons working the TV without having to change from one to the other.

Thanks for that, Do you think i would be better off with something else? perhaps reccomend another maybe,

Failing that i wouldn't mind the Harmony but i wouldnt want it to switch off say a DVDR recording when i turn on sky or blu-ray etc !!.

Thanks.

[Broadsword]

Originally Posted by panman40

Thanks for that, Do you think i would be better off with something else? perhaps reccomend another maybe,

Failing that i wouldn't mind the Harmony but i wouldnt want it to switch off say a DVDR recording when i turn on sky or blu-ray etc !!.

Thanks.

You would just make an activity that does that. Its a one button solution, much much better than trying to work each device separate. It does what you tell it to do.

In that example for instance just tell the harmony to leave your DVDR player on all the time. You can then just manually turn it off.

In fact I think you can even tell it not to turn off that device when you move between activities but to switch it off when you hit the master off button.

Whichever solution suits you best.

[logiciel]

panman: the 520 as well as the 700 takes up to five or six devices so would be adequate for your system, but you might prefer the One for the touchscreen and various other features. As Broadsword says you can set your Activities the way you want them, to allow for various options such as that for the recordings.

Palladio: A "macro" is a number of commands that you send by the press of one button, and the One has an equivalent facility called Sequences. The commands would typically be to select an option from a menu.
Activities are the principle that runs all Harmonys, and what makes them more expensive than ordinary universal remotes. You can have as many as you like and you specify which devices each one is to control. For WatchTV you might have the TV to display video, a receiver to change channels, an amplifier to control sound. When you select it by touching its screen icon the devices are all automatically powered on unless they're already on from a previous Activity, and any that are on but are not needed this time are powered off, and any necessary input settings are automatically made. The hard buttons and screen buttons then control the appropriate devices - channel change on the receiver, volume control on the amplifier, and so on.

[Azzin]

If it helps, I've got a Harmony One + the kit in my sig and I wouldn't (couldn't!) be without it now.

I have it set up fairly simply for the following "Activities"....

• Watch TV (SKY HD).
• XBOX 360.
• PS3.
• Wii.
• iPod.

So for example (and assuming everything is off), I just press "Watch TV" and the projector comes on, the Sky HD box comes on and the Onkyo amp comes on and switches over to the Sky audio input.

If I then press "XBOX 360", then the XBOX comes on, the Sky box goes off and the amp again switches over to the relevant audio input.

The only difference is with the PS3 and the Wii as they are not IR, so the amp switches over and any other device (eg XBOX or Sky Box) switches off and I have to manually turn on the PS3 using the PS3 remote or the Wii using the button on the front (no big deal).

The only other thing I have is an iPod input which basically only turns the amp on. The dock is connected to the amp so I then just start playing music through the speakers.

HTH.

[Edit] - If you've got Sky HD and have the new EPG, it's also possible to program a sequence of button presses and assign them to a button to watch ITVHD.

So you just hit the button and let the remote do the rest.

[panman40]

Thanks Guys for all your help, looks like a clever bit of kit, I hope i will be able to set one up .

[logiciel]

They ARE clever - and simple to set up.
Give the manufacturer's name and the model number of each Device.
Decide what types of Activities you want and which Devices are to be in them.
Specify for each Activity which Device is to do which part of it - display the picture, control the volume, change the channels, play the DVD or the BluRay, play the game, and what inputs any of them might need to be set to.
That's it.

[John7]

In addition to all the helpful advice above, the One also allows access to individual devices. When a particular device is selected, the One's buttons are set up to mimic the individual devices native remote control

.......if that gibberish makes any sense!

[panman40]

Originally Posted by John7

In addition to all the helpful advice above, the One also allows access to individual devices. When a particular device is selected, the One's buttons are set up to mimic the individual devices native remote control

.......if that gibberish makes any sense!

Great, i think thats the kind of thing i would want to do to start off with.Thanks.

[Palladio]

Originally Posted by John7

In addition to all the helpful advice above, the One also allows access to individual devices. When a particular device is selected, the One's buttons are set up to mimic the individual devices native remote control

.......if that gibberish makes any sense!

Have to agree with Panman40 there. Sounds like a good way to start things off and then get to grips with the activities.

Just need to keep an eye out for the next deal.....

[logiciel]

Harmonys are MEANT to do all their controlling through Activities. They're what make them more pricey than ordinary universal remotes, and they're the only reason for choosing them over the ordinary kind. You CAN use them the other way but that's throwing away both your money, and the facility to make your viewing and listening a whole lot easier.
Setting up Activities is a matter of deciding which devices you want to control at the same time, without all that flipping from one to the other, then answering three or four questions about which device is to do what. The process isn't something that needs grips to get into - it's as simple as setting up the devices in the first place.

[Broadsword]

Originally Posted by panman40

Great, i think thats the kind of thing i would want to do to start off with.Thanks.

Originally Posted by Palladio

Have to agree with Panman40 there. Sounds like a good way to start things off and then get to grips with the activities.

Just need to keep an eye out for the next deal.....

Don't.

Setup up activities from the off. If you don't you will never get to grips with it. It is more complicated trying to setup the devices than it is to setup the activities because you would then have to worry about power buttons, volume buttons and input selection, all of which the harmony just does.

If you want to use device mode, save yourself £50 and buy a one for all.

[panman40]

Originally Posted by Broadsword

Don't.

Setup up activities from the off. If you don't you will never get to grips with it. It is more complicated trying to setup the devices than it is to setup the activities because you would then have to worry about power buttons, volume buttons and input selection, all of which the harmony just does.

If you want to use device mode, save yourself £50 and buy a one for all.

Mmm!,
Perhaps i maybe better off with something like a Philips SRU8008 which can do up to 8 devices and is currently £35 .
Does anyone have any knowledge of this remote ? it scores 10/10 from user reviews !.

Thanks.