Electronic Harmony

A few days ago, I received a new Onkyo receiver and speaker system, which is something I’ve been wanting for a long time now (even longer than a new TV). Having 5.1 surround sound is fantastic, both for movies and music.

Unfortunately, it also introduces yet another remote onto my already cluttered coffee table. That makes four remotes: Cable, television (the only button I use is to switch the picture size, but I use it fairly often), HTPC, and now audio. Not only does this add general clutter to the area, but having to switch between remotes so often is a pain. Not to mention it’s quite confusing to my wife (not that she can’t understand it – she just doesn’t want to, and I don’t blame her!)

This is where a universal remote would fit in perfectly. Of course, they’ve been around forever, but have been limited by the fact that their list of support devices is usually small. So instead, I’ve begun looking at the Logitech Harmony series of remotes, specifically the Harmony 520. Besides from looking great (a LCD screen on a remote? Yes please), it also sounds like they work very well.

Some of the benefits include 100,000 supported devices, a web programming interface, and macros. For instance, if I sit down and want to watch a movie on my computer, I have to 1) Turn on my TV 2) Turn on my HTPC, bring up the Movies menu 3) Turn on the receiver and switch to HTPC input 4) Dim the lights (well, maybe some day when I finally understand home automation). The Harmony would let me press one button to do all of this for me, instead of switching between four remotes.

I have looked at these for awhile, but my biggest problem was spending nearly $200 on … a remote control. It turns out though that you can get the 520 model for around $55 on eBay, and the super-duper 800 series refurbished on Amazon for $100. Not too bad. I do hope though that this is one of the last items I’ll need to buy for my home theater for awhile.