this remote is absolutely amazing, after installing just about every remote that harmony has to offer, as a professional a/v tech, i would recommend this purchase to almost anyone, for most all applications, after being programmed properly, this baby will simplify the most complex home theater setup, (properly being the the functional word). with a color touch screen too!
after reading multiple reviews and hearing people slam and gripe about simple things and features of this, it seems that 90% of the issues are in the initial setup, or people not understanding how to program properly. the programming can be a bit tedious and confusing for more complex items, but it can be accomplished, and if it is too much for some, that is why people like me have jobs.
but overall, if you are somewhat a tech savvy person, and you can read, then no big deal in getting this baby setup and ready to rock.
first of all, this thing supports 15! devices, which i have yet to reach a cap on in any persons house, if you set this system up, with some playing around, you can also program up multiple room's systems too!
second, this thing is so easy to use, that when i finish programming and verifying that everything is where it needs to be, i usually hand it to the closest child in the house and tell them to instruct their parents on how to use it.
third, the price. most people don't seem to understand the price point of something like this 10 years ago, without a touchscreen, and rechargeable battery.
fourth, this thing is way cool, and will do alot for you, but will not solve all applications for your setup in some cases. it is not compatible with an RF extender, which is my only major gripe with this remote, but in most cases an IR extender will solve the issue, but for a home owner might be too much to set up.
fifth, functionality is superb, there are no sneeky buttons that this bad boy cant show you on its touch screen that your old remotes can hide, after reading some reviews about them being difficult to find, with some work you can move those commands around, or in the worse case scenario, depending on the application, create a new activity on the remote to shortcut to what you are doing, as in create a generic activity / utility. this bad boy when set up properly will get everything ready for your gaming systems, and DOES have an adapter for PS3 commands as well, that is very well priced for anything with blue-tooth commands.
sixth, tech support is superb, the only time that i had a major problem programming this bad boy, after installing a brand new device that was just released to the public, some of the commands were just not working, during the phone call to tech support, they reprogrammed this thing right over the phone for me.
seventh, more complex commands can be a bit tedious and aggravating to program into the system when dealing with a distributed audio system in a multizone audio receiver, you really need to pay attention as to how it is programmed at this point, because you can have conflicting commands, depending on your equipment and the way that you leave the programming on for the other devices (if you tell it to turn zone 2 or room B on, you can turn of your main zone and equipment).
overall, this thing is the best thing to happen for your coffee table ever, as you can clear that remote farm of of it and not be the only person that can play a DVD in your house.
of all the negative reviews that i have read:
batteries and charger: i have not heard a problem yet from any customer as of yet.
tactile feedback of touchscreen: yes there is a problem here, this is not a push button remote.when you are using the touchscreen, this is not for all, if you are elderly or have very large hands you might want to upgrade or downgrade the remote to one of their other remotes, they are all this easy to use.
programming: this is why i have a job, if you cant figure this out, call someone who can, believe me it will be worth it. believe me when i tell you if i don't know or am comfortable with something, i wont do it (you wont see me rewiring my electrical breaker box, because i am not an electrician, stuff like that is just common sense).
durability: unless you drop this from 10 feet onto a tile floor, i wouldn't be worried, the remote is very well put together.
i hope this review helps you, i personally really enjoy installing the harmony line of remotes because when i am finished, the end result is a happy customer with a drawer full of remotes that never see the light of day again.
Technical Expertise: Tech Savvy
I've used this product: More than a year