Hello All,

Just want to say sorry in advance for my lack of knowledge, I cringe at being so lost in the remote department, as I consider myself a pretty tech savvy individual. I suppose I've just never had the luxury of being financially stable enough for these kinds of toys.

I recently picked up a Westinghouse 42" LCD Model lvm-42w2 at bestbuy, it was an open box for $1200(sweet deal huh?) plus a $300 bestbuy giftcard with which i used to buy an upconvert dvd player and the also warranties on both items. Well, I was thinking that my Insight cable universal remote would work on the tv but thats a no go, and with the addition of the dvd player and a xbox 360 along with a vcr and such I figured it was time for a remote.

Anyways, to the nitty gritty of my wants/needs/help requests

My setup:
Westinghouse lvm-42w2
Toshiba upconvert
HD cable box
xbox 360
old yr 2000 magnovox vcr
future home theater 7.1 upgrade

And my questions:

Most of the research I've done thus far is on the Harmony line of products. Everything I've read points me in their direction due to the ease of use and such.
I'm trying to decide between the H720 H520 H550 and H880 or maybe going outside the Harmony for the HK TC30

I want a PC programable remote, the recharge factor is not a need but rather a want.
For the price the 550 seems like the best bet but I do like the additional activities buttons on the 720 which would allow me to set it up for one button use with the bedroom setup also(If I'm not mistaken).

Do all of these remotes allow for one touch use? (I.E. you hit watch TV and it powers on tv, HD box AND also turns the TV to the correct input) Or are they limited to power on?

Is the 720 merely a beefed up 550 with added convieniences or are there fundamental differences? And between the 520 and 550?

If I got the 550 with the limited activities buttons could I program them with 2 seperate sets of commands ("toggle" between bedroom and livingroom)?

With all these remotes is future upgrades a non-issue?

Thank you in advance for your time and trouble.

It looks like you've already done a lot of homework, and you're on the right track with a Harmony.

All of the models you mention(even the TC-30) use the same database, are programmed the same way, and work basically the same way.

The 720 is probably the pick of the bunch at the moment...it is basically an 880(rechargeable battery, colour screen) with the form factor(rectangular rather than peanut shaped) of the 520/550. That being said, the 550 will still work fine and do all the same things if you want to save a bit of cash. I think the 520 might have been discontinued???

As you have noticed the 720 has 2 more LCD buttons than the 550(and the 880 has 2 more again), but this doesn't mean you are only limited to that number of activities. All the models can have up to 255 activities...over multiple pages if required.
This would mean in your case you could have "Watch TV bedroom", "Watch TV livingroom" etc.

They all allow one-touch operation as you suggested(maybe 2 or 3 presses if the activity isn't on the first page....depends how many activities you have).
Selecting an activity turns on all devices needed for that activity, selects the correct inputs(even if it involves toggling through inputs), and turns off any device not needed for the activity(you can customize this). When this is done, the remote is setup to control the activity, rather than a particular device. This might mean(for example) the transport buttons control the DVD player while the volume buttons control the receiver.
You can also select a dedicated device mode for each device that will have all functions of the factory remote available.

All programming, firmware upgrades etc are done on-line, so the only proviso is that you need an internet connection to set them up. The upside to this is you have access to a huge database of devices...by far the largest available.

But if I could get my hands on a cheap 520 then It'd do the same thing?

Yes, it would do the same thing. I think it might have had less memory than the other models, but I don't think it's much of an issue in practice(I think it is limited to 12 devices compared to 16 on other models). Some people have also reported it feels a bit flimsy...I don't know if that has been addressed with the 550.

If you go about a couple hundred bucks above budget you could get a pronto tsu3500. Fully customizable and does everything you want.

I'll have to at least kind of agree with Ali on this one. If I understand this post correctly you seem to be alright with used remote....yes/no? If so, I suggest saving for a little bit and getting yourself into used Philips TSU7000. You will certainly won't regret it.

Frankly... I don't see how some one can spend the money on a new Harmony when for just a little more and some patience they can get into something like the Pronto. Although be it used....or refurb.

Because not everyone likes Prontos. Prontos are great if you treat them as a hobby in themselves, but if you just want a remote to control your system easily with minimal setup, then a Harmony is the way to go. There's also the whole touchscreen/hard button thing.

Personally, I would still buy a Harmony even if it was twice the price of a Pronto....to each their own I guess.

Got me there.... They are a border line religon..lol. Just seems to be a waste to spend equalivent money and limit yourself.

I can definately see, and know, why people wouldn't want to deal with them.