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Topic:
Harmony 900 question from potential buyer
This thread has 7 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Monday February 13, 2012 at 13:48
audvid1
Retired Account
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January 2012
30
I am currently using URC mx 850.
Considering buying Harmony 900.
I need advice, before buying the harmony.

My system:
Lexicon MC12 (no HDMI switching) Audio processor
Sony Qualia 004 Projector.
X10 IR-543 Infrared X10 Command Console(which converts IR to X10 signals)
Monoprice 5X1 HDMI switch.
Sources are: Directv DVRs (two of them - so I need to teach harmony alternate set of Directv codes), Panasonic Blue Ray. Xtremer Media center.

My activities are:
1. Typical "watch dvr or bd or Xtremer"
2. I need to be able to turn the lights on/off, using one of the buttons, directly on the remote.
3. I need a sleep timer, which will turn Projector OFF and after a 10 minute delay, turns the Lexicon MC12 off (don't ask why!).

Typically, I am able to do everything (except sleep function) with my current URC mx 850 because I am very familiar with URC programming software. I am familiar with pronto software programming also.. But I am concerned that web based programming of the harmony might not give me enough freedom/control.

Any input for experienced harmony users would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Post 2 made on Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 05:29
jlet
Super Member
Joined:
Posts:
March 2004
2,631
You will be able to do everything you mentioned except the sleep/delay function.
H659, H680, SA8300HD, TH-50PZ850, AVR-X4000
Post 3 made on Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 05:58
kayzee
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
February 2012
15
Hi

I recently brought a Harmony 900 and just getting the flavour of it.  Delays is the main problem I have too.  I have an Cable TV connection that take anything between 30 seconds to 2 minutes to boot up.  The remote only allows 60 seconds as the highest possible delay.  I have a support ticket with Logitech and hopefully will get some response from them.

On the power off situation. The Harmony 900 does not custom power off settings. I have received a response from support that explains how to do "Actions on leaving a task" . However the user interface in my software is not similar to what was explained in the support response.  I have reesclated the situation back to Logitech support and waiting for a response. 

If they do not come back with a good answer, I am afraid your power delay maynot work with harmony 900.

Cheers


K.C
Post 4 made on Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 15:56
TVAddict
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
June 2002
91
I've been using harmony remote basically from day 1 - had original ez-zapper, then two 768s and 720. I've recently switched to MX-1200, after having negative experience with 2 900s:

First one would lock up after the update - just sit there with white screen until I pulled the battery. Exchanged it, helped with that particular issue. But both had a different issue - they would randomly loose RF connection. It would reconnect in a sec but by that point macros would get screwed up. And the biggest problem both of them had - I'd turn on TV, start watching and then a few minutes later, when I wanted to pause or change volume, the remote didn't respond. If I went and changed to IR from RF, it would start controlling. Then it would start working again, with RF, as mysteriously, as it stopped.

Now, I do not believe remotes were defective, perhaps something in my environment interfered with RF. But, I couldn't get it working and tech support was of no help.

I have since upgraded to MX-1200 (with MRF-350) and couldn't be happier. Yes, it's much more expensive, but for the first time control is rock solid. RF reception is great 100% of the time. There are tons of graphics images available and I can add my own (although it's a bit of a hack). And the biggest plus for me - with URC you can change number of IR signals sent with each key press. I could never figure out why harmony remotes were as responsive with Tivo as the original one. But with URC, I've increased repeats to 5 and it works perfect.

Now, I'm not bashing 900. I really like it and really wanted to keep it and not spend 3x the money. If it works for you - great. Just didn't work out for me.

P.S. One thing to consider (and it's been talked about endlessly) is that 900 doesn't have macros. So in case of X10 controller, you would need to have separate buttons for devices and on/off. I do not believe you can have one button sending Unit Code and On/Off command. If you have modified all house IR-543, it's even worse because that one needs House Code as well. I've switched to Insteon IR controller so that wasn't an issue for me.

Last edited by TVAddict on February 14, 2012 16:04.
OP | Post 5 made on Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 20:35
audvid1
Retired Account
Joined:
Posts:
January 2012
30
not being able to do the marcos is bad..
For example, when I hit a power on, the projector should turn on, the audio processor should turn on and the lights should turn off via X10 of IR.
Can I not program this sequence?

And in the future, I am going to get a Matrix 4X4 switch. Therefore, every time I need a HDMI switch, I will need to send two commands to the matrix switch. Without macros, how can I do this? There has got to be a way to do this, yes?
Post 6 made on Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 23:38
TVAddict
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
June 2002
91
I think you can still do macros when switching to an activity. So if you create activity "Watch Projector", for instance, you can program as many steps as you want, including turning off the lights. However, once you're in the activity, there's no way to do macro. So if you want to program a button to turn another light on or off, you can't. You'd have to have one button for unit code and another button for on and off. Or you can have a separate activity just for that light. So it's doable but isn't necessarily the most intuitive.

As far as your matrix switch goes, it's not an issue to begin with because the remote for that switch doesn't have separate buttons for A and then 1-4. It actually has A1, A2 ... B1, B2, etc. So only one command is required to change the input. I have that switch and it worked fine.
OP | Post 7 made on Wednesday February 15, 2012 at 07:54
audvid1
Retired Account
Joined:
Posts:
January 2012
30
Thanks for the replies! I appreciate it.
I prefer more programming control.
Therefore I decided to use URC 780
Thanks for your suggestions.. but I no longer am interested in the harmony.

Last edited by audvid1 on February 15, 2012 16:17.
Post 8 made on Monday March 5, 2012 at 07:11
kayzee
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
February 2012
15
If any one from harmony reading this...  there you lost a potential buyer..  I am pretty sure that you can provide better programming control to the end users.  Really appreciate if you could update the user interface to do so... Many people will conisder alternatives with more control...!


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