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| Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote | 
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| Brand: Logitech
Category: CE
List Price: $129.99
Buy New: $64.49
You Save: $65.50 (50%)
New (52) Used (6)
Avg. Customer Rating:  603 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 11.8 x 7.1 x 2
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: 966208-0403
Model: 966208-0403
UPC: 840356629193
EAN: 0097855037947
ASIN: B000EUGX70
Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Did everything I could ask for (4.5 stars is what I'd give it if I could) December 1, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I love the functionality of this remote. It has some great "activity" programming -- it turns my AV components on and sets the components to the correct inputs/settings. Pretty much everything worked the first time by just following the software's set-up wizard.
In addition, I was able to customize the button functionality, as well as having the Harmony "learn" some commands from my old remotes that were not in the Harmony database (I have some rather obscure AV components).
Compared to previous universal remote (a Sony), setting this one up was a piece of cake.
To nit pick a bit, the software crashed once, the remote had some trouble learning commands from one of my old remotes (but it did finally work), the setup software is a bit unintuitive at times, and the hardware could be a designed a bit better (I think the Tivo remote is still the best feeling remote in your hand).
Overall, I highly recommend this remote for getting rid of remote clutter.
(Note: My remote is the Harmony 520 which looks very similar to the 550 -- the 550 has two extra buttons just above the numeric keypad. I'm assuming that the 550 is an upgrade of the 520.)
Had me drooling like Homer Simpson November 28, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm a little confused by some of the ratings here, particularly from people who say the remote can't juggle multiple changes at once. I have a HD TV with multiple inputs, a home theater receiver, a HD DVR/cable box, VCR/DVD combo (which has never worked with any other universal remote), a digital streaming box (ditto) and an XM radio and this remote handles them all. It will automatically set up and switch all inputs and it works great with the Scientific Atlanta DVR box (a problem for another user here but certainly not for me).
Insanely easy to set up -- but be sure to follow the instructions. As long as you hook this up to a PC with Internet access, it will do all of the work for you.
I did knock off a star because it has fewer buttons than some of the more complex/expensive Harmony remotes. This means that if you have to get into the more esoteric settings of some of your individual components, you have to scroll through many menu screens -- but I have found that for all the functions you use everyday, this remote works great. Spring for the extra cash if you want even more control. I don't need it and you probably don't either.
I particularly love the way it will work based on tasks -- i.e., "watch television" -- instead of you having to switch to each individual component on the remote. This is basically a macro operation without all of the annoyance of programming macros.
 Utterly Useless November 28, 2006
2 out of 24 found this review helpful
Found this remote to be utterly useless. The software seems to require a fast internet connection to program it. I have one. Unfortunately the logitech server keeps failing. Expensive time wasting rubbish.
Greatly Disappointing November 24, 2006
10 out of 18 found this review helpful
I can't say enough positive about Logitech mice. This device, however, was a dismal disappointment. The PC interface works well, and its knowledge of existing components seems impressive. Unfortunately, that in no way translates into a good remote interface. The ability of the unit to reliably turn on multiple components was poor, and, for those with video recorder boxes, very important functionality like the ability to access or schedule recording lists is not readily available (if its there at all, its hidden many keystrokes deeper than I care to know about). Even when reverting to manual operation of individual components, changing which device is being accessed involves two keystrokes (as opposed to just one on less complex universal remotes--a much more irritating trait than one might think). Overall, for day-to-day functionality I actually consider the barely-programmable remote that came with my Scientific Atlanta DVR vastly superior to the Harmony, which I've given up on after only a few days of forced use.
Considering the ridiculous pricetag, I strongly advise you save yourself a lot of money and your relatives a lot of frustration this year by steering clear of this sad study in user interface failure.
 Great Remote, once programmed its invaluable. November 10, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Harmony 550 is a great remote control. Its one of the few Harmony remotes that looks like a remote, not some prop from Star Trek. It feels good in your hand and the buttons are in pretty good positions. As many reviews of this product tell you, programming this remote can be a bit of a pain. The web interface is fine and the options are extensive. I was happy to see all of my components were listed and easily selected. The first problem I encountered was I have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 settop box. This settop is also a PVR. The Harmony software allows you to setup the 8300 as a cable box or PVR. This was a tad confusing. I went ahead and set it up as a PVR only and this works fine. There are many options to setting up Watch tasks. Make sure you check them all before finishing. One thing I had to do was lower the response time for all devices. The defaults were too long. Once I was happy with the programming, it was on to introducing the remote to my wife. She likes simple and uncomplicated, to many button pushes and she gets frustrated. Well, this remote ended up getting a very high Wife Satisfaction score. Pressing just one button to WatchTV or WatchDVD is great and she loves it. We did have some problems at first with a device not turning on, but the help screen was easy to use and solved all problems with just a few button clicks. My wife is really happy with the help function. Overall, this remotes has moved all other remotes to the drawer and it works as good as advertised and looks great. I highly recommend this remote.
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