Just thought I would let all of you know my experiences as one of the first beta testers for this unit. I am not an audiophile but do like technology and am quite impressed with this device.
Configuring Upon receiving it, I was able to config it relatively easily in under half an hour. Not too bad for the first go around. It has become dramatically easier since then. To the point of the relative layperson being able to do so out of the box quickly I'm told. A little bit of tweaking was needed to set up button delay times but that was not a big deal and from what I understand, this has been improved as well. Setting up the channels is easy as well. I live in Toronto and you simply select the cable company and level of package you have during the initial setup step-through.
Ease of use Using the scroll wheel on the side to select desired operation (i.e. Watch DVD, Watch TV. Etc.) , once you have selected your choice, you simply click the wheel and all of your components are systematically switched on to the appropriate settings (i.e. TV on, TV input set to S-Video, Receiver ON, Receiver set to DVD, DVD on, etc). Now our baby sitters can watch DVD’s without the 15 minute tutorial on how to run my system, at the end of which, the usually decide to just watch TV. Occasionally, a command may be missed (something blocking a IR receiver like a person or foot) and the SmartState system gets out of sync. Not a big deal as you hit the HELP button and it steps you through a series of questions and corrects the problem. I don’t click through channels anymore, much to the delight of my wife. THIS IS FANTASTIC. I simply look at the display screen on the device to view the current programs on by name (i.e. Seinfeld, Friends, NFL football ,etc) and click the wheel to select desired program. You can directly access specific channels if you want but I haven’t yet in a month and a half of using the Harmony. If there is nothing on the listings, I shut off the T.V. and don’t waste time. The remote looks very simple as compared with ohter remotes on the market but that is its appeal to me. I can do everything that I need with out having to squint at minute buttons on my behemoth of a universal remote I had before.
Updating To update the TV listings and any changes you might want to make. (display names, start channel for TV, etc) I simply plug it into the USB cable and I am automatically taken to the website to sign in to update the device. This process takes about 5 minutes at the most. The progress bar would freeze during the process when I first got the product but with new rev of the software, that have has been fixed.
Overall A very intuitive product that does what it says it will do. It has certainly simplified my viewing and listening experiences.
