"subject" remote is the Harmony 1000 mentioned in the subject of the thread.

Just remember that you always want to be in an activity as this gives you access to all of the commands for all of the active devices. Map any commands that you use often to the activity buttons. Device mode simulates picking up the OEM remote control for that device and is only used for rarely used commands not worth adding to the activity buttons and for troubleshooting.

Also - make sure the power and input settings for your devices are correct. That's how the activity knows how to turn the devices on and off and how to select the right input.