Remotes

Hands On With Harmony 550

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I ordered the Logitech Harmony 550 while Amazon was running a recent rebate, so I’ve only had it on hand for a day… However I already feel like it’s $75 (after rebate) well spent.

Compared to the 520, the 550 seems to have a better build quality. It’s more solid, the buttons respond better, and the back has a nice rubberized coating. I thought the 520 looked pretty sharp, and the 550 looks even better. The 550 adds a few more buttons than the 520. As with the 520, Logitech kindly packaged 8 Duracell batteries — four for now, four for later.

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Deal of the Day: Half Price Harmony 880

Amazon has the Harmony 880 on sale for $155.49 plus a $30 rebate good through 1/29. The 880 retails for $250. Instead of macros, Harmony remotes group related functions into activities. For example: Hit ‘Play DVD’ and Harmony will turn on the TV, set it to the proper input, and power up the DVD player. The 880 has a color screen and internal rechargeable battery with docking cradle. As with all Harmony remotes, the 880 has access to a huge database of devices — before we moved, we had 6xx models controlling our Lutron lights and projector, in addition to the standard stuff. I currently use the 880 in the den to operate my TiVo Series3 and Xbox 360. Download network icons at Squareworld to setup soft keys for your favorite channels.

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Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… Hands on with the Loop motion controlled remote : Gizmodo Orb adds mobile YouTube search: PVRWire Mods to quiet your (my) Xbox 360: Extreme Tech Portable Audiovox XM receiver discovered: Orbitcast Sony PSP GPS accessory hits the market: Engadget

TiVo Unveils $50 Premium ‘Glo’ Remote

TiVo.com has begun selling the Series3 remote as a $49.99 accessory. Not only does the remote control the S3, most Series2 units are supported as well. One slight difference over the bundled S3 unit: instead of a silver perimeter, this sports a chrome rim. TiVo’s remote control designer points out enhancements versus the standard Series2 … Read more

Who You Gonna Call?

Need a little help with your gadgets? You donÂ’t have to call tech support anymore. IÂ’ve run across two applications recently taking different approaches to solving your gadget woes. The first is Retrevo. Launched at DEMOfall last month, Retrevo is a vertical search engine that lets you look up your devices to find product documentation, … Read more

Logtech Introduces Harmony 670

If you’ve been reading my site awhile, it should come as no surprise that I’m a big fan of Logitech’s Harmony remotes. They do initially require some time to configure and tweak to your liking, but the time you’ll save down the road makes it worthwhile. I didn’t particularly care for the button layout of … Read more

Logitech Unveils $500 Harmony

I’ve played with Prontos, Sonys, PDAs, and even flirted with VNC as a means of HTPC remote control… and I just don’t like the ‘slab’ style. They can’t be held in one hand and most functions are not tactile: I’d rather visually focus on content than on controlling that content. I’m even less interested when … Read more