Questions about Logitech Harmony One/885

[Eddy5]

Hi, I've got a Philips Pronto RU940, which I'm pretty pleased with, although I have to say I don't really get on with touch screens. Sometimes it doesn't respond (That's a function of me rather than the screen as I have the same issue with PC trackpads) and I would prefer to have the tactile interface of real buttons.
The units I'm looking to control include
Panny Plasma TV
Yamaha surround amp
Humax Foxsat-HDR
XBox 360 (Occasionaly)
The Logitech Harmonys seem to be held in high regard, and the Harmony One and 885 are around £90 at Amazon at the moment. However I can't play with the software on the PC without a Harmony connected and there seem to be no manuals on the Logitech website.
So can any one advise me on a few things:
1) Can you program direct IR codes to the Harmony (The hex codes)? I use this on the Pronto to directly access an input my Panny TV.
2) How sophisticated are the macros? The macros I have at the moment either repeat a key press several times (To turn the Panny TV on), or have user-defined pauses between key presses to allow something to turn on before doing something else.
3) 885 or Harmony One?

[clockworks]

1) No, you can't input hex codes. You can teach them to the Harmony using the Pronto. I think that Logitech can also add Pronto hex codes for you - the setup is web-based, so they can alter your configuration.

2) No macros as such, but you can have a sequence of 5 IR commands assigned to one button. You can adjust the inter-key, power on and inter-device delays, but only per-device. That is, each device can have different settings. You can't put different delays into sequences.

[Eddy5]

Hmmm, interesting, thanks.
Oooh found an 885 manual on the AVForums (THese are great forums)
Harmony 885 Manual
and here's one for the One
Harmony One Manual

[Goooner]

Originally Posted by Eddy5

2) How sophisticated are the macros? The macros I have at the moment either repeat a key press several times (To turn the Panny TV on), or have user-defined pauses between key presses to allow something to turn on before doing something else.

Harmony tech support can add a duration command to enable turning on the Panny TV. I'm pretty sure you can add pauses, if not actual pauses then certainly dummy commands which would do the same.

[logiciel]

1> As per clockworks, plus you probably won't need to as the database is very extensive, and Logi have ways of dealing with awkward Panny issues!
2> The examples you give don't need sequences - their actions are covered by the basic principle of Harmonys - which is to do all the powering on and off, all the input settings, and other actions, automatically to your specification in each case - all within any number of Activities.

[D-an-W]

I have taught my 885 several 5 button press sequences (and one 7) from the original remotes. These can be combined with the sequence ability to give some pretty complex commands.

[Eddy5]

I got a Harmony One. Have to say I'm very impressed. The Activities idea is so simple, yet works so well. Nice remote to use and very easy to setup. Once I'd gone through it and added a few tweaks here and there it was done. So much simpler than the Pronto. Thanks for all the replies.

[logiciel]

That was quick! Great to hear it proved a good decision.

[Greenfence]

Eddy - what made you choose the Harmony One over the Harmony 885? List price of the 885 is £170 compared to £13O for the Harmony One which would suggest that the 885 is the better-specified remote. Has anybody experienced both for a direct comparison?

[Eddy5]

Originally Posted by Greenfence

Eddy - what made you choose the Harmony One over the Harmony 885? List price of the 885 is £170 compared to £13O for the Harmony One which would suggest that the 885 is the better-specified remote. Has anybody experienced both for a direct comparison?

The 885 is an older device if my research was right, and there'd been several user reviews I read about the quality feel of the remote not being that high. There were also comments about there being no gaps between the buttons causing some mis-presses. Finally I preferred the look and layout of the One. Really pleased with it, very nice bit of kit.