Logitech Harmony One Remote Control Review

We’ve been using a Sony universal remote for several years, but some of the buttons weren’t functional anymore. It had to be replaced. After some research I chose a Logitech Harmony One.

If you have several remotes to control your home theater setup, you know just how important a good universal remote is. The Harmony One is a good remote. The shape fits in my hand better than the Sony did, and it balances better. Backlit buttons and a charging station are two things I knew I wanted in a new remote, too.

A USB cable lets you program this remote through your computer. The setup tool is mostly clear and easy to use. The database of known devices was complete enough for me — I could program everything I needed to. The setup tool connects to Logitech’s site to grab the necessary devices. Perhaps I was attempting to program our remote at just the time that the site was having trouble, but I found the site to be up and down several times while trying to program the remote, forcing me to re-login several times, which was a little frustrating.

Using the remote is a mostly-pleasant experience except that the buttons audibly “click” when pressed. If you’re trying the remote in the store the ambient noise will disguise this well. In the quiet of your home it’s a very audible sound and it almost borders on annoying. (On the other hand, at least I’m sure I pressed the button.) “Activities” are basically just macros, which make it easy to watch a DVD, for example (with one button press: turn on the TV, DVD player and receiver; switch the TV and receiver to the correct inputs; eject the DVD tray.) The power button turns everything off with one press, which is also useful.

Chances are, through experience, you know that the majority of the universal remotes available (and especially those that are cheap) don’t do an adequate job. The Harmony One is capable of running a more complex system than ours while still keeping the everything easy-to-use.