Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote FTMFW!

Recently we decided that it was time that we retire our 27″ CRT television and upgrade to something more “modern”.    So after a few weeks of shopping for the best deals we now have a new 50″ Plasma, DVD player, Dolby 5.1 Surround with AM and FM, as well as the DirecTV receiver to control.

I knew right away that living with two women it would be all but impossible to teach them how to swap inputs, enable surround sound, etc.    I was also disappointed that my DirecTV remote would not control my Surround/Stereo or DVD player.  I had setup Harmony remotes for clients before and knew the macro feature was exactly what I needed.

So I began my search to determine the model that was correct for me.   Upon seeing that many of the Harmony remotes were priced between $100 and $300 I was slightly unhappy as this was out of my budget.    I got lucky and found the Harmony 520 from RadioShack (apparently they are blowing out stock because they will no longer carry logitech) for a steal of a price (under $50).

Right out of the box this is an impressive remote.   It feels like a very solid piece that fits in your hand very well.   The buttons are not cheap and depress nicely.  The entire remote has a blue back light which matches my components that all have blue lights perfectly.  It really feels like a very quality piece.

Setup for a Harmony is a breeze.  There is no entering multiple codes for each device, you simply load the supplied software onto your computer, enter the model number of each device (which can be found on the back of the device or on the manual), and then download the program to your Harmony via the supplied USB cable.   Thats It!

My favorite feature of the Harmony is the macro feature.    You can setup “activities” which are lists of commands.    For example I setup an activity called “Watch DirecTV”, and when that button is pressed the harmony sends out the following signals:    All devices off - Surround Sound on - Surround Sound Aux Input - Surround Sound Aux Input  - TV On - TV Input 2 - DirecTV receiver on.     You may notice that the surround sound is set to change inputs twice, I have a unique system that requires the AUX button to be pushed two times and the Harmony handles it with no issues.   If i wanted to I could get more advanced, I could even have the DirecTV turn on with the TV guide open on a specific channel.

Overall, I am amazed with this device - I should have picked one up years ago!  If you are looking for one or for specs here is the link to amazon with more information.   http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Advanced-Universal-Remote/dp/B000BDG3HU