“One remote to rule them all” has been my goal for my entertainment center. And for a time, I was able to achieve this through my first encounter with the Harmony series of remotes.
Sadly after a solid six years of use, my Xbox 360 version had finally went on to the big electronic shop in the sky. It was time for an upgrade, in the most ultimate way…
After doing plenty of research and setting my father’s house up with the Harmony 750 series, I came across a Harmony given the title of Ultimate. It seemed like I found my remote, and let me sum up our first encounter as I quote
Is it okay to be attracted to an object?
–New Girl
So is this the ultimate in remotes? Does it really bring Harmony to a once multiple remote household?
OVERALL SCORE: 8.5
Setup
Harmony in one’s household isn’t simply achieved, it’s earned. Of course the harsh reality that there is some setup to do, especially before you can enjoy being a couch potato. Let it be said that I’ve set up plenty of these remotes. This, however, was my first time with a Harmony Hub. Before you begin the setup process be aware it requires patience and a little technical skills. This isn’t your mother’s harmony remote…
Another helpful hint before you start the setup process is to gather all the model numbers you intend on adding to this remote. Trust me, this will come in handy later.
To begin setup, visit MyHarmony.com, the website that you’ll use when you have to make any setting updates. Then it’s simply plug both your remote and hub in and let the website work its magic. Now it comes time for complicated stuff. From this point on you are essentially adding devices you would like to use, and customizing the buttons. Don’t think you’ll do it all in one sitting, it generally takes about 4 visits before the remote is ready for Prime Time.
The Design
As mentioned above, the remote is pretty darn smexy. Which is good, considering the upper-$300s price tag attached to the device! Extra care was put into the box design to give it that special wow factor as you opened it up. The design is broken into three groupings. The top of the remote features many of the familiar play and pause buttons. In the middle is a customizable touch screen, and the bottom has the arrow keys and pretty much most of the things you are going to use. The buttons are each given dual purposes using a short- and lon-press feature. While this was a certainly nice in concept, it makes for fast forwarding things a bit of a pain as there is no separate Skip and Fast Forward buttons. That being said the arrow keys on most devices function for most of your fast forwarding needs.
The touchscreen is by far one of the most used areas of the remote. During your setup you can customize it based on the activity you’re performing, or device you are using. For instance, when watching a Movie I added the subtitle button right up and front for easy access. (This makes watching anime a breeze.) It also displays your favorite channels, in case you still have cable. You can also customize the activity’s icon, and the wallpaper to give the remote a high-tech flare.
The Feel
Speaking of the feel, in my vast experience with the Harmony remotes, the Ultimate is certainly my favorite.. The weight of the remote is perfect, neither heavy nor light. The device simply fits in your hand. My only complaint is placing the movie control buttons on the top of the remote, but fortunately the way things are moving, almost everything can be controlled by the arrow buttons and the okay button. The central location for the touch screen makes sense, making it more accessible for on the fly controls.
Features
The highlight of the Harmony Ultimate is the use of Bluetooth. This may not seem like a huge feature, but have you ever wanted to be able to turn on your PS3 using a remote? I know: amazing, right?
There are a number of other neat features. One is the use of IR extenders that hook up the Harmony’s Hub. This allows you to take control of devices stored in a cabinet. Using the hub also allows you to hook up one’s iPhone or iPad using the Harmony App. One of my favorite features is a charge dock that comes with the device. No more changing batteries with this remote! Something that seemed a little silly, but now I can’t do without is the clock display on the touch screen. It’s a easy glance to figure out how much Downton Abbey you’ve just consumed…
Overall: 8.5
A pretty impressive remote all-around, the Harmony Ultimate sports a rather large price tag, but does in fact do everything I want. Including controlling my IR Dimmer switch. The initial setup requires someone with patience and some technical skills, but if you are looking for the ultimate remote, I think you’ve found it.