I am unsure whether to buy a Harmony 880 or a Sony 4000. My main concerns are:

1) I have an LG plasma. Switching the inputs on the plasma takes time to go through the range, that is, you have to wait for several seconds between pressing the multimedia/input key to go from component 1, component 2, AV1, AV2 etc. (I use component 1 and AV1). Will either of these remotes deal with this? Will I have to hold the remote key down and point it at the receivers for a long time?

2) The Harmony looks nice, but will it be able to replicate all of the existing buttons on my remotes? Ie it looks like there might not be a full range of buttons.

3) Can the Harmony learn or do I have to rely on the website 100%?

Thanks very much.

1. Yes. The Harmony will deal with this - there are 4 different delay settings that can be configured for a device; one of which is the time it takes for a device to switch input. Once you have selected an activity you don't need to keep pressing the key but you will obviously need to point it at the devices for the length of time it takes to send the necessary commands - the time will obviously depend on the delay settings required for your devices.

2. Any keys that you cannot map to a hard button can be assigned to a label that is displayed in the LCD display - although if there is more than 1 screen full you will have to page though them to get to a specific command.

3. Yes. The Harmony can learn from most remotes (there are a few exceptions due to the way the IR signal is encoded); so if your devices aren't already in the online database you should be able to learn the commands from your original remotes. However you need to use the website to do the learning, configuration and to download a setup into the Harmony remote.

Thanks very much remotevisitor. That was quick and informative!!

I think I will order an 880 online.

Two final questions:

1) is the signal sent by the Harmony powerful? The Sony 3100 review on this site makes that remote’s signal sound very powerful. I suppose the Harmony has a continually recharging battery and if the battery power is always high this hopefully means the signal power will be high too.

2) When the rechargeable battery finally dies, is it replaceable? I don’t want the same problem that iPod users report, although they obviously drain more from their batteries because of the hard drive.
Then to find the cheapest & reliable online dealer I guess…

Some people have reported problems with some components seeing the IR. I don't have that problem, across a range of device vendors and component types, I also point the remote between my DLP TV and my equipment rack (not at any particular device) from about 3 meters away, and everything still sees the signals.


It's a replacable unit - I seem to recall that it comes in separate packaging and you have to install it yourself as the first step when you open the box.

Thanks for that

So I take it Logitech sell the batteries at a reasonable price?

Although the Harmony can learn from other remotes, you must do so through the web tool, at least for the 676, so you are "relying" on the website.

The learning feature is very quick and intuitive.

The 880 isn't as powerful an IR transmitter as earlier models and some people have had some issues as a resut. The most powerful IR signals in the harmony lineup are in the 6XX remotes, especially the 659 and 688 which both have 3 IR emitters, but nobody has noticed any decrease in performance from the 676 and 680 which only have 2.