By all accounts I am a complete home theater geek. So when I was asked to test this unit and review it I was pumped. Let me first start off by saying what a great idea for a remote control. This unit incorporates almost everything I have ever wanted in a remote. I went straight to the web site to research the company. I found the site easy to browse and it explained how I could set up the remote myself while online. They laid out all the reasons why this remote would replace all my other remotes. Simply put, it has the ability to save different personalized macro features that you can set and name for any home activity. The macro feature allows you to program your tv, stereo, satellite/cable box, and vcr all at once and to do it in any sequence of your choice. You even have the ability to turn on and off all the devices with the push of one button. The web site did an incredible job selling me on this unit.

The ususal draw back to purchasing a high end remote control is the set up. One of the things that I really like about this unit is that you can set it up on the internet. If you were to enter a store that sells these remotes you will find that the price on the remote is usually a bit more than the price of programming it. The high end theater market has been the only part of the electronics industry to maintain margins on all its sales. The high end remote control is no exception. For the most part, these remotes have been sold with separate set up charges. I have been quoted as high as $350 to program a similar remote. It is ridiculous to be charged such a fee for a service that should be included in the cost of the product.

Setting it Up

As soon as I received my Harmony Remote I went back online and followed the simple instructions to sign up. To program your remote you'll have to fill out some forms. This is where the honeymoon ended. It is incredibly easy to get started, but its not so easy to finish. The first problem that I encountered was the fact that I have an older computer and I do not have a USB port. Not that big of a deal if you have a friend you can call to set up your remote and to save it all and then download onto another computer. So I called a friend. Next it was time to set up my livingroom. My Pioneer amplifier was not lisited. As this prduct is only a year old I wasn't too impressed. While they have some models Harmony certianly doesn't have them all listed. As they did have my tv, Dvd player, and satellite listed this part of the set-up was quick. To customize your settings you go through a series of pages listing the activities you will be doing and then you fill in the model numbers of your system. More codes have been added since the writing of this review so you may be able to find most codes for your gear now.

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