Your first paragraph is partially correct in that some of the activities are poorly named/labelled and they are device-dependent, however all activities use the correct devices and there are many work arounds and tricks to obtain the functionality you want. There is not much help out there in the way of a user manual, but forum's like this one provide invaluable information. The actual Harmony forum is also a very good resource as it is monitored by their tech support.
As for the 'listen to music' activity. It didn't take me long to find out how to get favorites on there. I don't have the software open in front of me, but I believe it was through 'play music' -> with the source being the satellite/cable. Again you are correct in that you are then stuck with the activity label as an ugly satellite icon with a single music note. I also would like to have that icon actually look like the 'listen to radio' activity icon. Recently there was a post on the Harmony forum where tech support asked the members what graphical icons they would like to see on the remote (like the colored cable box/xbox 360 buttons). I posted a response requesting the ability to choose any activity icon I want for my activities so I could actually make 'listen to radio' look like a radio. I hope to see them implement those changes in the next update.
Regarding the appleTV activity. I have seen posts on, I believe, the AVS forum where a user mentioned that their Harmony controlled their AppleTV perfectly. It may be beneficial to you to create individual posts with appropriate subject headers for each specific issue with which you need help. That way other users can home right in on those specific issues. I usually post on this and the two other forums and have answers within hours.
After I finished programming my H1's remote settings to my liking I discovered new ways to tweak it to add even more functionality through sequences and to increase response time by adjusting different delays. Again, there are many posts I've read from other members that talk about those adjustments based on their specific devices.
,R
On March 13, 2008 at 10:13, Ken Gillett said...
Thanks for the info. But I am still unsure about the different
basic activities. In reality, an activity is simply a
collection of devices and buttons that correspond to selected
actions from those devices. The activity should be 'defined'
by its devices. However, the Harmony seems to have different
activity 'templates' that control the functionality (and
icon) of that activity independently of any devices that
are used. So an activity based on 'Watch TV' can have
favorite channels, but one based on 'Listen to Music'
(e.g. the radio) cannot. If you pick the wrong 'template'
when you first create the activity and it doesn't provide
what you need, you cannot later change it. You have to
delete it and start from scratch based on a different
'template'.
The available templates are defined by the device.
I think I'm right about the above, please correct me if
I'm wrong. The trouble is that these relationships are
pre-set by Logitech and can be wrong. e.g. I have an Apple
TV and no matter what you do this uses the 'Media Centre
PC' as its 'template' which means that the setup program
thinks it is a display device and it is NOT. It is only
a source, but every other watching activity asks if I
want to use the Apple TV as the display. I now also find
that I cannot set favorite channels for a listen to the
radio activity. Could I instead pick a Watch TV activity,
but use the radio device that I want? But now I'd have
an inappropriate icon on the screen for that activity:-(
Is there any way round these limitations? Is it written
down anywhere what 'templates' provide what functionality
(and icon) and allow what options?
