Logitech Harmony Elite

Very good for the money – I need to start with a disclosure. I have worked in the audio visual industry for a number of years. With this in mind I believe that the harmony elite is really good value for money. If you haven't had much experience with "all in one" remote controls I would imagine that you will find this system difficult and you'll probably require some… Read more

assistance. But for those who have an understanding of how audio visual systems work the Harmony set up is fairly straight forward. Although as with any all in one system there is always some tweaking and work arounds that you will need to set in place.

All in all I personally believe this is the best on the market and I would highly recommend this product.

Easy to set up and even easier to use – This is our second Harmony remote. Bought one about 5 years ago but could never get it to work properly. Decided to buy this one as I had read a few good reviews. This remote is fantastic. So easy to set up using the app on my phone. Set up all the devices I regularly use and then set up all the activities. Now instead of 5 or 6 individual remotes strewn across the table I just have this 1. Could not be happier with it.

Simply the best – This is our 3rd Harmony remote and they just get better, this does it all, with IR, Wifi and Bluetooth. I set everything up using my iPad over the wifi, the hub updated its firmware during the process. The manual is a useful read and the Harmony Knowledge Base is invaluable when customising the remote buttons, adding extra controls/functions and… Read more

renaming devices and activities. We now have a great remote plus two iPads and iPones that can control every function of our home entertainment system.

About the only negative that I can come up with is that I’m not keen on the texture/feel of the remote in my hand, however this is a very minor complaint and overall I couldn’t be happier with this product, if it was possible to give it 6 stars I would.

Update: Having now used the remote for a couple of years I need to add that I prefer using the iPads to the actual remote, the remote touch screen is a little too sensitive and by necessity you need to work through a few screens, where as everything is available on a single screen on an iPad.

Finally a premium universal remote that works – I've had plenty of universal remotes over the years, mainly from the Logitech Harmony range. This is head and shoulders the best I have had, albeit a bit costly to purchase (hence only 4 stars and not 5 stars).. The remote looks and feels very well made, and has a nice small touch screen and backlit keys, some of which are programmable. It also… Read more

provides haptic feedback (vibration when you touch a key). The remote is piano black on the top and sides, and has an extra grippy matt black backing. The remote sits in a charging stand when not in use, and lights up whenever moved or grabbed. The screen shows the Time which is very handy. The remote talks to the Hub by Wi-Fi so it can work through cabinet doors or from other rooms. The remote can also provide direct IR and Bluetooth controls if desired.

The Hub is the brains of the whole kit, and requires a Wi-Fi backbone network to work to its fullest. You attach up to two IR blasters to the Hub, to signal boxes without Wi-Fi or BT.

The real bonus is that you can use the free app with any mobile wi-fi device to control the whole show, and yes it covers both IOS and Android.. This is simply great. I love being able to start-up my home theatre before I enter the room, so everything is ready and running. It can be used to control AirCon, and other smart house devices, although I don't use these yet.

Like any advanced Harmony product, you need to be pretty technical to get this setup and working well. I'm an electronic engineer and it took me about 3 hours to get up and running smoothly from scratch. You use your mobile wi-fi device and the App to connect to the Hub by BT, then connect the Hub to your wi-fi, this part was amazingly easy, and then you simply type in your component model numbers and the Hub pulls the remote commands from an internet database. I had to reprogram the main user mode a few times to get it right, and then customise some keys, fix the time etc. Operation and switching between scenarios is seamless. The App control panels can be as simple or complicated as you like. Accessing individual component commands is a breeze by both the App and the Remote.

If you need a basic universal IR remote, this will be overkill for you. You should go for the lower end Logitech Harmony remotes. But if you want a premium remote that works by RF, this is the pick JUST AS LONG as you can get it for a decent price. RRP is $599 but it can be had for much less. Great job by Logitech.

Useful product, But not at this cost – I can understand the need for a universal remote to be honest however, there are some remotes that can go above and beyond what a universal remote can do, and this just isn't one. It isn't a bad thing but it just doesn't do anything other than be a remote and at that price range ($500) it just isn't worth it. Not to mention the overcumbersome… Read more

setup required to get it working. The app is slow the syncing is unnecessarily slow the interface on the remote lags and the wires for the IR blasters are messy. 70% of the time using the device, I found myself getting lost in the interface.

Despite all it's problems you can get quite a few nifty features, Vibration feedback, backlit buttons and the navigational display. The harmony Elite definitely feels expensive. But not enough to warrant it's 500 dollar price tag.

In my final summary it's definitely a head turner and cool at first, but it's cumbersome UI and it's sluggishly slow app defeats the purpose it set out to accomplish; a fast easy and intuitive univeral remote. Maybe after a few app updates and remote updates we may see a better user experience but how it is now, it just isn't worth it's price tag.