I have owned a Home Theater Master MX-500 for some three years now and have been quite satisfied but I find the center "touch pad" is now wearing out a little. This was the ONE design feature I always hated about it this remote - very poor design and usability in my opinion. I hope the 880's navigation pad and enter button aren't built on a single toggle!!!

I've been thinking of a replacement and I'm not sure the MX-500 is still in production and have been thinking about the Harmony 880. I've read numerous reviews and it seems to be on many "Best of" lists and has won some awards as well.

I'm looking for some personal takes. Any one familiar with the MX-500 and how it would compare? There is so much on the plus side for the 880 that I can see that I won't belabor it.

On the (possible) negative:
1) the recharging feature seems a sticky point for some people.

2) Some of the hard buttons are awfully small - particularly the activity buttons - any real problems for users?

3) Can one set up "macros" or comparable "activities" to switch "between" components, i.e. swtiching from watching TIVO TV to watching a DVD? Also, to power up the whole system and power down after finishing an activity?

4) Confirming - this is a programmable AND learning remote, correct? I found that with the MX-500 I had to end up "learning" the majority of the functions of my components as programming only programmed "some" of the functions and often to the wrong button or to an non-intuitive button. I corrected by using the learning function - time consuming but worth it in the long run. Can the 880 do this?

A lot of questions, but whatever feedback from someone in the know with time on their hands could offer would be appreciated!

Thanks!

I agree with the center touch pad on the MX-500. Hated it. Loved the rest of it, for the most part.


Have a look at my post a bit further down on this page for my perspective.


No issues here. I just dock it at night. Have also run for a couple of days without issues. I suppose if you forget to dock it might be a pain.


The buttons are a bit finicky. MX-500 is better in this respect. I'm getting used to it, but it's not ideal. That said. the MX-500 was also a bit larger and more ungainly.

The web interface basically sets up activities for you based on your devices. It's pretty easy to get the basic activities up and running. Powering up and down components is handled with activities, as well as a universal "off" button that turns everything off (except those devices you have defined as "always on").

Primarily a programming remote (via activities) but you can also change the function of buttons and learn commands. I haven't tried any learning myself, as I am able to do everything through the web-based UI so far.

I went with this remote primarily because of its ability to control my DVD changer by selecting specific DVD tiles on the display (which is pretty darn cool). But, in general, I am happy with the move up (sideways?) from the MX-500. It will require an investment of time, but I think you will find that it is a bit more flexible than the MX-500.

As I noted, you can check out my previous post for more detail.

And to be more specific - yes, you can switch between activities without going to OFF first and it handles everything just the same (power, inputs, etc.). You go from OFF to activity to activity until you're done and hit OFF again.

If you are still interested in the 500 I have a 700 that is 99.5% new used it a bit, but at time I had a Pronto
Msg me if interested

I went from an MX-700 to an H688 and am not the least bit sorry.

Thanks for the input. I read your previous post Mackenson and was interested to see that you're a DVD Profiler user as well. Great program, eh! I've been using it for some years now as my DVD collection has grown to just about 1000 titles.

I used to be a Laserdisc nut from 1991 until 1999 when I switched over. I had built my own MS Access database in the late 1990s to track my collection, but DVD Pro is such a neat alternative.

I would hope having more learning capabilities and customization is something Logitech should REALLY consider in the future. The upgradable database might prove conducive to this. That is one thing I really appreciated in the MX-500. Though it could take time, I could really set it up that way I wanted it, not just settle for a series of "programmed activities" from a template. I'm nonetheless impressed and may purchase it.

One last question, the only other remote that interested me and that appeared rather cool was the touch screen entry, the "Kameleon 8" from One-for-ALL. What's the consensus here?

The Harmony can learn commands as well as an MX-500, maybe even better. With the Harmony you can learn commands in "raw" mode which can be an advantage with some screwy commands that other remotes have problems with.

I think you'll find it is also more customizeable than your MX-500. The activities are very flexible in their setup, and a lot more powerful than a simple "macro". IMO you would need to look at an MX-800 or above as an equivalent to any Harmony.

I wouldn't touch a Kameleon. They aren't in the same league as Harmony or URC.