Controlling out home theater devices can be a tricky business, especially when there are other members of the household that are befuddled or frustrated with our current lineup of remotes peeking out behind couch cushions.  Simplicity is key when keeping your significant other happy, so the Harmony series is certainly a great concept.   We have previously covered both the Harmony 1100 and 1000, touchscreen solutions before the iPad became a giant influence in the home theater space.   But we havn’t taken a look at the more traditional remote style since the Harmony 880, which we really enjoyed testing.  Logitech was nice enough to send over the Harmony 700 for testing.  The 700 doesn’t control as many devices as the Harmony One and doesn’t have the RF capabilities of the 900, but it does offer a couple expanded features over the ...

For the serious home theater enthusiast, the concept of a home theater PC is very attractive for those who want to store all of their media in one spot and utilize it to consume the rapidly growing library of web based, high definition video.  Unfortunately, interacting with a HTPC has been reliant on a wireless keyboard / mouse setup or HTPC remotes that lack in complete functionality for navigation.   Enter the Navigator from GlideTV, a small device that is a hybrid of the keyboard and mouse.The GlideTV Navigator isn’t designed as a replacement for a home theater remote in the Logitech Harmony series, but rather for a broader form of control on the PC, Mac and Playstation 3.  The company has dubbed it a “couch mouse”, probably the most accurate description of the Navigator.  It also looks nothing like a ...

Harmony is a great name for this Universal Remote Control. Its main objective is to allow the user to eliminate all other remotes and solely use the 1100 as the single entity to direct multiple home theater devices needing orders at the same time. Logitech spares no modesty in its confidence to do just that, as the startup screen on the 1100 welcomes you with its boastful claim, “Finally, One Remote To Control Them All.”  And that it does. How well it does that is up to you.The Harmony 1100 has a few tweaks that its predecessor, the 1000 model, arguably needed from the start. The overall consensus is that it is significantly faster, not only in touchscreen response time but also the IR transmission. It is also black instead of silver, a concept I think many purists still are ...

Introduction The first TV remote was made by Zenith in 1950. Called “Lazy Bones,” it allowed you to change the channels and to turn the TV on and off. It came with a 20-foot wire connecting it to the set. The first wireless remote also came from Zenith in 1955, using a directional flashlight to activate its then-incredible four control functions; the “flashlight” system meant stray sunlight activated functions at any given time. Within a year, Zenith switched to an ultrasonic remote that added almost 30 percent to the cost of the set. This became the first practical remote control. It wasn’t until the early ‘80s that IR (infrared) technology replaced the ultrasonic remotes and, thankfully for us, now we have IR, RF (Radio Frequency), Bluetooth, WiFi and surely more technologies to come. When the first remotes came out, a single remote for your TV was fine. Fast forward 50 years and we now have ...

Introduction Ah, remotes. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without. Well, let me just get this out of the way - I generally hate remotes. Some remotes are good; most of them suck. What good is piece of equipment costing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that can be rendered inept by a terrible remote control? Sure, we’d all like to have a home automation system from the likes of Crestron, AMX or Control 4 that will do everything shy of rubbing our feet and walking the dog, but not many of us have the moolah to plunk down on such a system. Well, the people over at Logitech have answered the call with their new Harmony 880 Universal remote control. Logitech is one of the leading manufacturers of third-party peripherals for today’s computer market. Chances are, if you’ve sat in front of a PC or Mac for a good portion of your life ...