will i be disappointed?

macros are important

learning codes is important

thank you.

Harmony one is a learning remote - no issues there. Why do you need macros? Harmony remotes will turn devices on and off and select inputs automatically without user macros. And you can use macros at the beginning or end of an activity (to turn closed captioning off and on e.g.). You can also define macros up to 5 commands long for use in an activity. What you can't do (easily at least) is assign more than 5 commands to a single button in the middle of an activity. The good news is you rarely ever need to do that.

So why do you need macros?

My devices: plasma,recv,TiVo,HTPC,xbox,ps3

I set up macros to turn on tv,reciever, slect inputs... Which u said I could do with "activities" but sometimes I set delays up to 6 sec between actions. Can the H1 handle delays like that?

I use allot of discrete codes. Does the H1 deal with these well? Some I copy the hex code.

Thank you

Discrete codes are easier but not required - that's one of the harmony benefits - it will work without discrete codes thanks to Smart State.

Harmony has configurable delays at the device level (how long to wait after powering on the device, how long to wait in between commands, how long to wait after selecting an input, etc.). Support has the ability to add specific delays if needed but that's usually not required.

Basically you tell the harmony how your devices work (how to select inputs, how to control the power, the length of various delays) and when you choose an activity containing that device it figures out how to accomplish it dynamically.

i dont mean to discredit the above advise (akirby knows his harmonies!), as i do recommend harmonies to users looking for a decent universal on a budget. but IMO your simple answer is YES, you will be disappointed in the lack of customization compared to what you're accustomed to with pronto pro. i bought a harmony one and returned it for just that reason, and i have dealt with Nevo Studio and URC's MX-980 editor, which may be even less flexable than pronto pro!

JMO.

i will say, harmonies SW is pretty cool in its overall ease of use. and as mentioned by akirby, it does a great job of dealing with toggle commands for inputs when you lack discretes etc, due to its "smart state" technology. this also allows for other cool applicaitons that normally would require complicated variables being programmed with other SW.

So your coming from a TSU-9400/9600/9800 to a Harmony One...?

Disappointed...? ...well I guess that depends on what you're expecting. To date, there isn't another remote manufacturer that makes comparible handheld product (feature wise) to the ProntoPro series. (we'll exclude Crestron and AMX...huge $$$$)

I suggest posting this same question in the ProntoPro forum, and see the responses you'll get.

The One, and every other Harmony offering uses macros (technical term) when switching activities. Harmony calls them sequences, but they're exactly, and do, the same thing. Except with Harmony you don't have the same flexibility as you would with a remote using a programming editor. However you do get the bonus of not needing to do the macro programming yourself. Philips does produce the TSU-9200 which accomplishes the same thing via programming wizard.

Discretes are always better. Use them if you got em. Not needing them isn't a benefit of the Harmony line. They have a built in programmed feature that guides you through checking your components, if something gets out of sync. This same thing can be done with any remote using an editor that allows page flips. Such as the ProntoPro series from Philips. Of course...depending on your equipment, the Prontos can operate via RS-232 which does not miss codes, and even better, allows the system to query status of your equipment and repeat if necessary.

Again, will you be diappointed...? depends on what you're expecting.

(this is why I'm still here)

I'm expecting it to, with the push of a button, switch everything on that needs to be on and change it to the correct intputs. after which I expect it to leave the remote on the device I need to operate my given activity. I expect it to work flawlessly everytime .

My pronto still works. It's been working great for 5-6 years. I want to replace ot because im weary of the size and lack of hard buttons

So I can beam all the descrete codes the H1. Will it use them? Or will this smart state override them?

Thanks for the great responses.

BlouZbee,

I am a longstanding owner of a Pronto and a recent owner of a Harmony. Both are, in my opinion, brilliant remotes in their respective classes.

Before discussing whether you would be disappointed, a question: why would you want to migrate from the Pronto to the Harmony given that there is nothing that a Harmony does that the Pronto cannot?

I think that there are two main downsides with the Harmony but whether or not these matter to you depends on EXACTLY what you want to use it for.

The first downside is flexibility. On the Pronto, you can have whatever buttons you want wherever you want with whatever page links that you want. On the Harmony, however, a lot of this is decided for you by the wizard-based interface. Similarly, on the Pronto you can have whatever delays you want whereever you want but with the Harmony there are predetermined types of delay. Read Daniel's review of the Harmony 1000 at [Link: remotecentral.com] to get a feel about all this.

The second downside is what I will call 'nerdiness'. Smokinghot mentioned one type of thing that the Pronto can do that the Harmony cannot (feedback via RS-232). Another is javascript, which is central to many people's use of the Pronto.

Finally, an example which falls between flexibility and nerdiness: on my Pronto, I am continually fiddling with the details, adding bits of sophistication, moving things around, etc. On my Harmony, however, I don't do this at all because, in my opinion, it is designed to be set up and then left as is. A simple illustration: to add a soft button in the Harmony, you have to (as far as I can see) delete and then re-create all the existing buttons 'below' the new button as the wizard does not allow buttons within an activity to be moved.

As I said earlier, whether or not these types of issue matter to you depends on EXACTLY what you want to use it for. For example, both work perfectly for my family's use when watching television and DVDs in our living area and my wife tends to use the Harmony as she prefers its ergonomics. For playing music on our HTPC, however, we both use the Pronto as the Harmony cannot do what we want (e.g. Barry Gordon's javascript to select and play the music, a TCP/IP script to kill/re-start the music software the odd occasions when it hangs, buttons to re-balance the speakers depending on where we are sitting, etc).

Regarding discretes - you can teach new commands from the OEM remotes or your Pronto at any time. When you setup each device you have complete control over the commands used for power and input selection and the method (toggles vs. discretes vs. list cycling, etc.). The only part you can't directly control is when it turns a device on or off and when it does the input selection - that's what the smart state figures out for you dynamically.

After you select an activity you're in Activity mode. You can switch from activity mode to device mode by selecting a device. When you're done you can switch back to Device mode.

Device mode is only used for rare commands or troubleshooting - things that you don't normally do in the activities. Each Device and each Activity has it's own separate, customizable button mapping (both hard buttons and LCD buttons) so you can customize them any way you want (within reason).

You'll also get the HELP button which uses the smart state info to resync all of your devices. e.g. if you manually turn off the TV you can hit HELP and either automatically or after asking questions the harmony will turn the tv back on and reset the internal smart state accordingly so your activities will continue to work. This is especially helpful for the non-tech savvy family members or visitors.

You won't have complete control over the soft button appearance although you can control which commands appear and in which order. And you can't do more than 5 command macros if that's important.

Sorry Blou, I assumed after your first post you were using one of the newer ProntoPros available. The fact that it's an older remote, it does not have rs-232 capabilities, or 2-way communication.

The H1 should be able to do everything you're looking for, without missing a beat. In fact I can understand the switch. I personally perfer the wand form factor, and I found my Pronto to be cumbersome to use at times.

The wizard programming may be a refreshing change from Prontos editor.

Best of Luck

yeah it was the first color touch screen pronto i think... TSU-6000?

every time i change a piece of hardware or change my configuration it takes hours to redo macros/add new remote/photoshop custom buttons etc. im looking forward to a simpler process without losing functionality.

also its a two handed remote for me most of the time and all the time for my wife. im also tired of looking down to make sure im hitting the right button on the LCD, tactile feedback will be a nice change too.

couple last questions:

How is it as a media center remote?

can global buttons be programed?

Thanks.

You can't program the OFF, Activities, Help or Media buttons (off the top of my head - may have missed one or two). The rest are fully programmable for each activity and device. Can't help with media center - I don't mix computers and home theater.

Ok, I've read and researched enough to take a chance on the H1. It's on order.

This thread had the most influence in my desicion. Thank you very much guys.

just like to follow up....

While this remote is a downgrade feature/flexabilty wise from the pronto it is a SOLID remote that just works. ease of setup and smart state won me over in a hurry.

im completely satisfied and have no regrets, the pronto is already in storage.

my only complaint is maybe it needs a few more hard buttons and id like the abilty to have button defaults..meaning once the off button is hit the remote still has default functions without going into a device.

The workaround for that is to define a new activity called OFF or goodnight and put only the light controller device (typically) or whatever you want to control in it. Then use that activity instead of the OFF button.