Do you have or plan to have spare Logitech Harmony remote for the time yours fails? (Poll)

Are you getting a spare Harmony remote to sit in your drawer ready when current one fails?

  • I am considering it

    Votes: 16 24.2%
  • I am getting one

    Votes: 3 4.5%
  • I already have a spare ready

    Votes: 29 43.9%
  • No

    Votes: 9 13.6%
  • I have not thought about it yet

    Votes: 6 9.1%
  • I have a spare but don't think I'd use it anyway

    Votes: 3 4.5%

  • Total voters
    66
Hmm the Sofabaton X1 actually looks like it might fit the bill.

Only available via Kickstarter I think right now though and not available till November.

Looks really really promising though, bluetooth AND a hub with extenders!

 
The Neeo was about the same price as an Elite but is much better looking.


$260 for the SR260, $330 for one with a recharging station.
$600+ for a Neeo.

For a site moderator, at least on this topic, you're completely obtuse and unhelpful.
 
Old-fashioned they may be but for quick access to common functions they really are the best solution.

Especially in pitch black room when your muscle memory kicks in rather than fiddling with multiple screens of options...
 
I guess "I have a spare but don't think I'd use it anyway". It's probably not worth creating an option for that. :)

Poll option added :). Enjoy ;)
 
$260 for the SR260, $330 for one with a recharging station.
$600+ for a Neeo.

For a site moderator, at least on this topic, you're completely obtuse and unhelpful.
Mine complete with base and extenders was way below that.
If a one line report of my own experience is obtuse and unhelpful - so be it.

Everything is done on screens these days.
If you want buttons you get those too with Neeos.
 
If a one line report of my own experience is obtuse and unhelpful - so be it.

It's not just one post, it's a continuing attitude over this topic.

Mine complete with base and extenders was way below that.

And yet when I try to find it it's £600+ . You got it for a bargain, great for you, but it's still £600 for anyone else. Unless, you can actually tell us where to get it cheap, which you've never done. Just told us it doesn't cost that much as you paid less for it.

We also don't know if it will work and is now programmable by the user anymore since Control4 bought it.
 
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I have 2 spares, and 2 in use (665s in different rooms).
I ditched (sold) Harmony Hub as it could not control much of my Philips TV, and none of my Philips sound bar!
 
For “continuing attitude” substitute “occasional one line personal opinion”
I know free speech is as dead as a dodo these days, but please!

I’ve had it a while - before Control4 - and can’t recall what it cost or who it was from.
The price - new - was a lot less than that though.

Programming hasn’t changed.
 
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So?:);)
 
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Hmm, super interested in that Kick Starter link, price ain't bad
 
There is another great looking option flagged by @Conrad which is hopefully coming to fruition sometime in not too distant future.

YIO – Remote

I like that they are clear about what for the hub will be needed and that the cloud will not be needed (the remote itself actually blasts IR not the base only like it seems to be the case with Sofabaton for example).
 
Thanks.
It’s the best looking remote so far.
 
I like the look of that but it seems to commit a cardinal sin which a lot of media players remotes do in my book.

No "Stop" Button.
 
Bottom right?
 
Bottom right?

That's a power button?

Bottom row seems to be

Mute, RWD, Play/Pause, FFWD and Off/On.

Stop would be a square.

It's also a really bad position for a Power button, too easy to hit by mistake.
 
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Everything is done on screens these days.

And as users we are worse off for it.

Mobile phones are a terrible replacement for a remote with buttons. Buttons have a massive advantage a screen will never have - tactile feedback. I don't need to look at my Elite to change the volume or control what's going on with the OSM. Screens are absolutely HORRIBLE for any task where I have to be looking at the screen at the same time (i.e. almost every task). If I want to increase the volume on the phone app I have to unlock the phone, make sure I'm in the right app, if not launch it, get to the right screen with the volume controls on it, make sure I'm looking at the remote so I don't mispress then wait for it to turn down. That's horrible. Instead I can just pick up the Elite without even looking at it, find the buttons through touch and do what I want instantly.

I use the Harmony app extensively on my phone when I have to (forgetting to change the remote mainly) and it only take a tiny drift from LRUD to hit select in the middle and you're off on another menu. Either that or I'm constantly looking up, counting the number of clicks I need, looking down to make sure I don't misclick the screen, looking up again...you get the idea.

The Elite was fantastic as it had the best of both worlds - tactile buttons and a screen.
 
You could be right about that SB - we’ll have to wait and see.

The Neeo is my current remote for just that - the balance of hard and screen buttons.
 
I just picked up spare Elite (at moderately reasonable price point).

It works, it does what I need, not only the programming is easy but also if my current one fails I do not have to program the spare at all. I just re-upload my existing settings to a spare one.

Some other options looks interesting, there is no doubt about it but I will let them mature first (and read some real life experiences)
 
As more similar but potentially inferior universal smart remotes come to fruition, I wonder whether Logitech will look back and think it made a mistake. Can't see it reconsidering, mind you.

I like the look of that but it seems to commit a cardinal sin which a lot of media players remotes do in my book.

No "Stop" Button.
Funny, I'd never thought of it until your post but I actually can't remember the last time I used a stop button. I always use back-up or exit on my Elite. Not sure stop's ever been pressed.
 
If you use Kodi, and use the back button, the file still plays but with an OSD overlay on the screen.

It really needs a stop button or you have to push 3 buttons to STOP by getting an OSD, move it and then confirm you want to stop.

It's just a peeve of mine, there's probably a way around it, but a STOP button is simple and seems to be missing on many media streamer remotes, such as the Nvidia Shield.
 
The Neeo was about the same price as an Elite but is much better looking.
The programming was as rapid as any Harmony.

Its dozen or so plus another dozen clearly on the screen are adequate.

The new sleek look was a factor in attracting me to the new SofaBaton.
The old one is distinctly old-fashioned in appearance.
Physical buttons are a bit old-fashioned these days.

I would disagree with that statement as sitting in a darkened room it doesn't take long for fingers to know where each and every button is without looking and without waking a bright screen to then hopefully not have pressed the wrong part of said screen first, or disturbing everyone else that was enjoying the movie in the darkened room.

After selling all my Harmony remotes I settled for Broadlink, a One for all remote and voice control via Alexa and haven't missed Harmony at all.

Edit: Made this reply while still reading on Page1, so didn't see all the replies above.
 
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If you use Kodi, and use the back button, the file still plays but with an OSD overlay on the screen.

It really needs a stop button or you have to push 3 buttons to STOP by getting an OSD, move it and then confirm you want to stop.

It's just a peeve of mine, there's probably a way around it, but a STOP button is simple and seems to be missing on many media streamer remotes, such as the Nvidia Shield.

On my One for All remote I have a STOP button and also the OK round button in the middle of the scroll acts as a pause, which might be the case for the YIO remote shown above.

remote.jpg


The YIO does look nice, but I always have that voice in my head that says 'Want to sell it, then stick LED's and colour images on it and it'll sell' which came from a training day at a major car manufacturer and is imo very true.
 

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