Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote - universal remote control ( 966191-0403 )
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List Price: $99.99
Features
• Control up to 12 home entertainment systems with just one remote
• HDTV- and PVR-compatible
• Easy online setup
• One-touch operation: Choose"Watch a DVD," and remote will power on TV, DVD player, stereo receiver, set all inputs and press play
• 0.88Hx2Wx8.25L" |
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Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote - universal remote control ( 966191-0403 ) Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
It's cheap, but it's cheap...
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This remote packs in all the functionality of a decent universal remote, for a great price, but the quality of its construction leaves a lot to be desired.
When this remote first hit the market, I snatched one up at a local Wal-Mart (the only retailer selling them at the time). The 520 was the first Harmony remote I've owned because it was the first Harmony remote that was within my price range.
Many people have raved about the ease of setup, and I would agree for the most part, so I'll skim over this section. The software downloaded and updated the firmware right off the bat, which was nice. During the programming setup, I was hoping for a little more detailed configuration options (I'm a computer programmer by trade), but the wizard-style setup was plenty sufficient to get the remote in good working order. I especially appreciated the fact that it supported my Windows Media Center PC (MCE 2005 and now Vista Ultimate). Current updates to the software and firmware allow more detailed configuration and more devices (even though the standard interface is still wizard-style). After the wizard-style programming, you can go in and configure fairly detailed programming instructions which satisfies my tinkering nature enough.
The ergonomics of the remote are very good. It feels very comfortable in an adult hand, and it is very well balanced. I've always been frustrated with remotes that have commonly-used buttons in awkward and unbalanced places, and that's where this remote shines. The contours on the underside of the remote are well placed an provide great support for the volume, channel, arrow, play, pause, stop, FF, RW, and chapter skip buttons. Despite the asymmetrical contours on the underside, the remote is still very attractive when placed on a flat surface like a coffee table -- the remote rests with a slight forward-angle, but the curved end of the remote gives it the appearance of resting flatly.
The backlight of the remote is another useful feature - especially for those movie nights in the dark. The backlight can be activated by moving the remote after it has sat idle for a while, or by pressing the "Glow" button (just below the arrow-pad), and it turns off after a short period of inactivity.
The build quality, on the other hand, is definitely sub-par -- borderline poor. The volume down button on the first 520 I owned broke within 2 weeks of opening the package. It was almost humorous, because both me and my wife (in an attempt to test/fix the broken button) hit the volume up button multiple times - it worked - then we hit the volume down button multiple times - unsuccessfully. We repeated this to the point where we couldn't hear each other speak before finally conceding that the remote was broken. I returned the remote to Wal-Mart and exchanged it for a new 520. I've been using the 2nd 520 for nearly a year now, but I'm still only 3-stars satisfied. Throughout the year, the 4 LCD buttons have required continually increasing pressure to register. Even though the LCD buttons click, they require further pressure to actually register -- which often causes us to press the button, hear it click, and assume that it sent the signal; when, actually, the button press never registered -- forcing us to have to re-press the button (sometimes more than once). In addition, the black paint on the arrow-pad has halfway flaked off - despite the white-painted arrows not flaking - revealing the clear plastic underneath. At first I wondered if we've been rough with the remote (causing the paint to flake), but looking back, the remote has only been used by adults and the arrow-pad has only come in contact with soft materials (our thumbs and our couch). So I can only imagine what would have happened to the remote in a household with children or in a household that is more abusive on their appliances. Also, the entire remote creaks. By "creaks" I mean that the remote is so flimsy that when pressing any button near the top, the entire remote flexes and torques to the point where the faceplate and the underside of the remote rub against each other a creak like old hardwood flooring. It's mildly unnerving, even after owning the remote for a year, because whenever you feel the remote flex and hear it creak, you're afraid you're going to break it in half.
Beyond the poor build quality, the remote has plenty of functionality and has served its purpose in my household just fine. Would I recommend it to someone else? -Only if they can find it for a good deal. |
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Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote - universal remote control ( 966191-0403 ) home electronics.