Logitech Harmony Elite alternatives?

coliander

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Now that Logitech has officially announced the discontinuation of their Harmony range, can anybody suggest an alternative that might prove to be a better long-term option?
I wouldn't particularly mind going back to a multiple controller setup (I find the Harmony Elite to be a bit sluggish and temperamental), but I'm currently using an HDFury Vertex², and the Harmony has been a godsend in regards to integrating it into my current setup.
 
My 2 Logitech remotes are still going strong (at the moment). However, iI've decided to back this Sofabaton X1.
It's 50% off and free delivery for the next 48 hours. Less than £70 so decided it was worth a punt, although delivery is not until November but at least they've delivered a previous generation.


Looks interesting
 
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I have the U1 I don't think anyone has the X1 yet do they?
According to their timeline in the link, they seem to be suggesting that they have shipped some beta units, so I thought that was what you referring to.
The X1 appears to be a completely different proposition to the U1, but it would be interesting to get your insight and an overview.
 
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Looks promising, tempted to throw £70 pounds at it. The prices used Harmony Elites are going for worth a punt I think..........
 
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I’m looking forward to seeing people’s thoughts on these on release
 
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In truth there are a few more on the horizon that handle Home Assistant stuff too(which I’m obviously abig fan of). Quite a bit more money but will be good to see how they pan out too
 
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Looks promising, tempted to throw £70 pounds at it. The prices used Harmony Elites are going for worth a punt I think..........

The issue I have is logitech remotes is online database, not off line? So once they take servers off line you're left with a brick.

If the software was truly off line it wouldn't matter, just learn codes and configure.
 
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The issue I have is logitech remotes is online database, not off line? So once they take servers off line you're left with a brick.

If the software was truly off line it wouldn't matter, just learn codes and configure.
I’ll worry about it when it happens, not jumping ship until I’m forced to by either the servers going off line or hardware failure. Whichever happens first!
 
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I’ll worry about it when it happens, not jumping ship until I’m forced to by either the servers going off line or hardware failure. Whichever happens first!
I guess it will be more of an issue down the line when offline and a new device needs adding......ill be changing my lounge tv in the next year and possibly the amp...then I should be good for another 7-10
 
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In any event I guess that the online logitech programme will still be around to allow learning new kit from original remotes even after they stop updating the database
 
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this looks pretty good but a bit pricey for my liking considering i can do most of it from a tablet /phone already for free
 
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this looks pretty good but a bit pricey for my liking considering i can do most of it from a tablet /phone already for free
Mmm, not quite sure how Jouster, without opening numerous apps and pressing numerous buttons in succession, unless you have a TV and a single source plugged into it directly? I know you used to be a massive advocate for the Harmony which was far more expensive, so what’s changed?
I have an OLED, Projector, motorised screen, AVR and numerous sources including Nvidia Shield, Virgin Media box, UHD Blu Ray player. One press of an activity button on my Harmony remote, for example, turns off my OLED, turns on the projector, lowers my motorised screen, powers on the AVR and sets it to the correct source, plus opens the Nvidia shield with a macro straight into Kodi.
To the best of my knowledge, the only way of doing that on a phone/tablet is with software like Control4 which is considerably more expensive than a universal remote.

Using a phone or tablet to individually control all my equipment would be a complete nightmare and unusable for my wife and kids.
 
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this looks pretty good but a bit pricey for my liking considering i can do most of it from a tablet /phone already for free
App control sucks as above my URC 850 does the above things app doesn't and have to flip between apps..nah.rubbish

Fully touch screen remotes are rubbish also..split hard button with screen is the best
 
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Mmm, not quite sure how Jouster, without opening numerous apps and pressing numerous buttons in succession, unless you have a TV and a single source plugged into it directly? I know you used to be a massive advocate for the Harmony which was far more expensive, so what’s changed?
I have an OLED, Projector, motorised screen, AVR and numerous sources including Nvidia Shield, Virgin Media box, UHD Blu Ray player. One press of an activity button on my Harmony remote, for example, turns off my OLED, turns on the projector, lowers my motorised screen, powers on the AVR and sets it to the correct source, plus opens the Nvidia shield with a macro straight into Kodi.
To the best of my knowledge, the only way of doing that on a phone/tablet is with software like Control4 which is considerably more expensive than a universal remote.

Using a phone or tablet to individually control all my equipment would be a complete nightmare and unusable for my wife and kids.
Home Assistant....just like the system it uses itself to perform some of the tasks...Obviously it might need some tinkering, but lots of it can be done but does require a Home Assisatnt setup which many might not have or even know how to setup...its certainly not for all

And yes, Im a fan and still use my Elite...although not as much.....but I only paid £140 for mine on Black Friday a few years back (well my second one, I got the first one for free for a product review)

If something like this ever sold on Amazon I'm sure it would see discounts at some point but not likely get down as cheap as the price I paid
 
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Home Assistant....just like the system it uses itself to perform some of the tasks...Obviously it might need some tinkering, but lots of it can be done but does require a Home Assisatnt setup which many might not have or even know how to setup...its certainly not for all

And yes, Im a fan and still use my Elite...although not as much.....but I only paid £140 for mine on Black Friday a few years back (well my second one, I got the first one for free for a product review)

If something like this ever sold on Amazon I'm sure it would see discounts at some point but not likely get down as cheap as the price I paid
Ah. I’m not familiar with Home Assistant. I consider myself pretty proficient with programming, so will have a look at this 👍
 
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I like the look of that YIO and saw a couple of Youtube vids on it. That's too expensive to me to consider backing when it may be garbage though.

I only paid about £160 for my Elite. If it's ~£300 to back now, then it's going to retail for ~£500.

Not a chance.
 
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Any updates on this thread? How have people found the U1? Any news on other new alternatives to the harmony?
 
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The Sofabaton X1 is due very soon, apparently, they've started shipping for backers.

I haven't heard anything yet about mine though. It should be an improvement over the older U1.

Everything else that's available now or on the horizon seems to be vastly more expensive. Even more so than the Harmony Elite at full price.
 
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Any updates on this thread? How have people found the U1? Any news on other new alternatives to the harmony?
I've decided to go for a Fire TV Cube when they next drop in price....it has IR blasting and is an upgrade to the fire stick I have now, so looks two birds with one stone.
 
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The Sofabaton X1 is due very soon, apparently, they've started shipping for backers.

I haven't heard anything yet about mine though. It should be an improvement over the older U1.

Everything else that's available now or on the horizon seems to be vastly more expensive. Even more so than the Harmony Elite at full price.
How much is it?
 
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How much is it?
From memory the Kickstart backer price I paid was about £70 (don't think that included VAT) and they said it was half price or some such. My guess is ballpark £140- £160 in UK.
 
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The Sofabaton X1 app for Android is available and the iOS one due in a day or two.
Sofabaton are saying retail release on Amazon delayed until March.
 
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