CES Innovations Honoree: Logitech Harmony 900

CES Innovation Awards

The ability to conceal a home entertainment system and control it with a single remote, without pointing has previously been the domain of professional installers and AV-savvy consumers. The Logitech Harmony 900 is the result of extensive research into the needs of real consumers and the unique challenges of their AV cabinets and device setups, resulting in a remote control and RF System that can be set up in a quarter of the time required for most existing RF solutions.

Harmony900_BTY1

With the Logitech Harmony 900 there is no need to pair the RF system to the remote (it comes pre-paired in the box), no need to connect the RF system to the remote or the PC for programming (the remote wirelessly updates the RF system automatically when changes are required) and no need to precisely locate the IR sensors on the AV devices (just place the IR blaster and mini blasters on the shelf to control multiple stacked or side-by-side devices). And the RF system includes attractive yet discrete IR blaster and mini blasters that are easy to set up and eliminate clutter.

Harmony900_Miniblasters

In addition to RF capabilities, the Logitech Harmony 900 has an ergonomic shape that supports multiple hand sizes and positions comfortably, whether interacting with the touch screen and hard button sections of the remote. The sculpted, backlit buttons in logical zones allow the user to navigate by feel, even in the dark. The remote also comes with a recharging cradle so you’ll never run out of batteries.

Author

Product Manager, Harmony Remotes Business Unit

6 comments

  • Any idea when the device DB will be available online. I was considering the H& but am unable to check compatability online.

  • Is there any change in your product Roadmap to include directly bluetooth technology in your remote control ? Technically speaking it seems not so difficult so why we still need to buy an extra equipments to communicate with PS3 for example ….

  • Congratulations on the honor. It is deserved: the Harmony line is a good product. Hopefully, with a little tweaking, the Harmony line will become a great product! I enjoy my Harmony One, and would happily move to the 900 when I require a RF solution.

    Food for thought, however: The only thing that is holding the Harmony back, in my opinion, is the lack of customization available in the software. You have an easy-to-use remote that is easy to program, but basic things such as customizing the order in which devices appear on the screen or allowing for customized icons / images to be used for actions (rather than the one image for radio, one image for watching TV, etc.) stop me from truly loving my remote. It seems truly tragic to me that a product is developed to the level that the Harmony remotes are, and then left at a state that is “good enough” rather than going the extra mile to achieve brilliance.

  • Ian,

    You said in your earlier entry that you are the Product Manager for the 900 — there doesn’t seem to be a way to add a comment there anymore.

    I have been a Harmony customer since the 800 first came out, buying the 800, the 890, the ONE and (most recently) the 900. I bought the 900 when I convinced my in-laws that it would help them use their new home entertainment setup more easily. I spoke with your sales department first and asked if it did everything the 890 did and was assured that it was a drop-in upgrade for that model, just as the ONE was a replacement for the 880 I gave to my father. The reason I checked is because my father-in-law is paralyzed and doesn’t have the manual dexterity to deal with the touch screen on the 900. For that reason, I bought the 900 for myself and gave him my 890.

    Forget that I had to spend many hours pain-stakingly transferring my programming to the 900 manually. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that two of the features I have come to depend on had been removed from this super-expensive “upgrade”. I rely on the Sequences functiion to drive functionality on one of my devices that is missing from its IR command-set. More importantly though, I have used the CD Media functionality for my Sony CD Changer ever since I got my first 880. The remote that came with the CD changer allows me to search by artist and title and displays the names of each disk on the display of the remote. Back when I was first deciding whether to buy a Harmony, that was one of the deciding factors. I have used the feature through my upgrade to the 890 and I expected to see it in this $400 “upgrade” to the 900. Without it, I have to have a second remote sitting next to my Harmony for the first time ever.

    I was the VP of Development for a software company for over 22 years and was also a Product Director for a line of software products. I have never released any upgrade (let alone an expensive one) that stripped away features. Furthermore, I have never had the sales department describe something as an upgrade that has lost functionality. I am asking you to bring the features back and make the 900 the true Upgrade that it should be.

    Regarding the CD Media functionality, I have had your support people tell me that it is because the 900 doesn’t have a dedicated media key. However, just as the “Favorites” key appears for activities which involve my TV (or TiVo), a “Media” key could be made to appear for the CD changer. For that matter, that button could say “Favorites” if it is not possible for it to say “Media”. You could then have it run the same uploaded hierarchical list of artists and titles which the 880 and 890 support.

    I have had another Harmony product manager tell me that the 900 is much more than an 890 that only has a new form factor and touchscreen. Apart from higher screen resolution, the better mechanism for updating IR Extender and the better help system (from the ONE), I am unable to perceive anything else that is “so much more.”

    As a Product Manager, I would think it would be rather embarrasing to have your most expensive remote be the first one that requires an original device remote to be layed along side it. Don’t give with one hand while taking away with the other. What do you say?

    Best Regards,
    Adam

  • Where is the “Leave a Comment” section for the “Logitech Harmony IR Extender System Controls Hidden A/V Components” thread? I want to respond to a poster “Navjo” that had a question about my posting. Thanks!

    Alex

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