Logitech Harmony 659 Family Remote Control - 966179-0403
VCR, DVD Player, Satellite Box, TV, A/V Receiver

When I first bought a Harmony 659, before they were Logitech, I was very nervous about the cost vs value. 8 years later I have never looked back. I currently have 3 of the 659 remotes, in the bedroom, living room, and the basement, and all are in major use. The living room one gets the most abuse from the kids but it has held up nicely until the last few months when the channel button has started to give us trouble. You have to press real hard and then it works. I took it apart, cleaned it up a bit, and it was back to working for a while but slowly faded again. So this is a replacement for it. The ergonomics on the 659 is still better than their others I feel (channel and volume button locations for example) so I'm sticking with it. For a remote to last 8 years I think that's pretty stinkin' good.
 
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The remote is great but the key to this remote is the software it makes setting up the perfectly working remote very easy and guaranteed since it uses the power of an online database. It also has a great macro/theme buttons that do a list of commands for you and guess what the software already knows how to do it for you!!!
 
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I've owned this remote for almost 2 years now. I've owned scores of other "universal" remotes (RCA, Sony, etc.), but none of them have performed as well as the Harmony 659. The one-touch operation for activities like "watch TV" means your tech-phobic family/friends can even use it easily. PROS: Ease of setup, button layout, features, price, comfortable to use. CONS: Battery life could be longer; some features only accessible by navigating pages on the LCD screen; no RF for use with some DirecTV receivers (but this option is available on a more high-end Harmony remote; IR works fine, though. Quick word about customer service. On my own ignorance, I couldn't figure out why my remote wouldn't work with my direcTV receiver initially. I called Harmony's customer service, was talking to a rep within seconds, and they helped me solve my problem (I had to switch my DirecTV HD receiver to receive IR signals vs. RF). Prompt service; very knowledgeable. Nice surprise in a world where customer service is generally the weakest selling point of any product.
 
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My wife won't let me near our 1st Harmony. She simply can't let go of it. LOL! This is our 2nd Harmony remote and it will be programmed for the extra TV, DVD player and stereo in the den. The 1st one we purchased was for our main entertaiment center in the family room. This remote is amazing! Looking back, we now wonder how we ever got along without it. Anything you can do with the factory remote for any electronic device, you can easily do with the Harmony. It controls everything, and I mean everything! Our 1st harmony was programmed to operate our LCD TV, satellite receiver (dual channel with DVR), 7.1 surround sound system, CD player, and DVD player. Do yourself a favor and buy the Harmony. It will surely spoil you as much as it has us.
 
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This is the best remote control that we have ever owned! I use to hate getting all of the remotes out because there were so many buttons to push. Now everything is simplified & very sleek, easy to use. Get this remote. You won't be sorry....
 
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If you can manage to write down the model numbers of all your components once, type them into the set-up page at the Logitech website, answer some easy questions about how you use them (for example, do you listen to your TV audio through your TV or a receiver?), and plug in a cable (supplied) to your USB port, you can program this remote to do almost anything with your electronic components. Now when my baby-sitters come over, they just press "watch TV" or "watch a DVD" or "listen to music", etc. and everything they need comes on and adjusts automatically, and I don't have to spend half an hour the next day trying to figure out what setting they screwed up. Sometime's it's the little things that can make life better, and this is one of them.
 
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I bought this based on the rave reviews by CNET and others, but am disappointed with how temperamental the remote is to use. There is a built in help button for a reason, it requires frequent tampering to keep working properly. The buttons are small and slow to respond. The online database is great, but if you have a non-standard setup it becomes tedious to get everything just right. Worked well for about a week, then the LCD cracked when it fell from my sofa to the floor (about a 1 ½ foot drop onto carpet!) Disappointed is the nicest thing I can say.
 
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The few negative reviews you may see about this product must be from non-tech people. The one drawback is the internet-based programming. But, if you can handle that, this remote works great. You can preload brand name components, then adjust for custom buttons. You will spend some time fine tuning, but it's worth it.
 
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I've programmed the Pronto and used other remotes to control my home's three different AV setups for 3-4 years. There was always something not working that required tweaking, re-programming, etc. I got tired of having these issues on my "to do" list so I started looking at new remotes and bought the Harmony 659 yesterday. It took 20 minutes to setup (it would have been quicker but the software and firmware needed to updated) and IT WORKED with no tweaking, macros, or programming. I'm back at buy.com to buy another one...
 
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After reading many reviews all over the net on Harmony Remotes I decided to buy one so now my family could actually use all of our electronics. It took me a bit of time to get it programmed....after finally coming to the conclusion that the issue was with the Logitech website being overwhelmed with post x-mas new harmony users I got it set up. Once you get the feel of how to program it, it's actually quite easy to change things around and add extra items for the remote to perform. It's much easier to use then the "universal remotes" that come with your TV or your cable company. One button and everything goes on, or off if that's what you want. But, you can also program it to leave on things like TiVo and your Cable box so you can record when you want. If you are willing to take the time to figure out all your model #'s and sit at your computer to get this programmed I think you will be quite happy.
 
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This Control can make your life easy, Just have a single control for multiple devices, It is very easy to program, Not so easy to use but you will learn in small ammount of time (2 days myself)
 
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This is a great product if you have and like Home theatre/HDTV/DVD/XBox/ Surround sound, and have separate remotes for them! Makes control all the equipment very easy and you can add any funtion to it! Before, to watch a DVD, i had to : turn on DVD player, put in DVD, turn on Receiver & click to DVD input, turn on TV and find DVD input, and have all 3 remotes in front of me. Now, all i need to do is: put in DVD and click "Watch DVD" on the Harmony remote control (it does the rest for you)! Again, INCREDIBLE AND INGENIOUS PRODUCT, and worth the money!! I can't live without it!
 
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This is the first universal remote I've ever had that was fun to set up.Setting up my remote was a breeze, just be sure you know all your devices' model numbers.Using the remote was a little more of a challenge. The buttons are a little small requiring two hands for operation. Since the remote can be used for practically any device, the button configurations are different for every person.You just need to play around and practice to learn how the remote works for your particular setup. ALL the functions are available, you just need to find them.
 
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I've been using this remote for more than a year now...only tech gadget my wife has ever been excited that I bought. Super easy to setup and even easier to use. This is the first and only remote we've used where you can actually put away all your other remotes and have only one on the coffee table. You won't regret buying this one! Plus the internet configuration and updates are way cool!
 
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With the proliferation of AV equipment and all of the confusing remote control options, it has become a nightmare to turn on and operate 3 or even 2 devices at one time. Well not any more. Now with this wonderful intelligent Harmony remote, you are in control. The Harmony can control every device you have and it can do it intelligently. It knows and remembers what you have turned on and adapts itself to controlling only the primary functions necessary for the activity that you are presently doing, thereby minimizing the buttons positions that you will need to learn and remember. Watch a DVD and the forward and rewind buttons control the DVD while the volume and mute buttons control your AV receiver. Watch a VHS Tape and the forward and rewind buttons automatically control the VCR. No more having to tell the remote which device you want to control, it knows... This is the first multi unit remote that is not frustrating to use. It is intuitive. Programming is done with the computer in less than two hours. It is so simple that the manual has very little in the way of instructions. And if you run into trouble, the toll free tech support is the best I have come across in a very long time. The wait is less than 5 minutes during peak hours and the people on the other end are very knowledgeable and speak English (they are located in Canada). < < > > Here is why I gave the setup procedure a 4 out of 5. The reason is that I had to call tech support. They told me I needed to download and run a firmware update before my remote would communicate with the PC properly. However, with the technicians guidance it was a simple process. It would be an improvement if the manual that came with the unit had a little more set-up information and screen shots so that one can follow along to see if everything is proceeding normally. It would have cut my setup time down to one hour.
 
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