 |
| Date Reviewed: 01/09/2005 |
|
Strengths: This remote works as advertised and the price was right.
Weaknesses: Not as easy to set up as I had hoped, but still very easy. Had some initial problems controlling some of my older gear, but with a little tweaking, everything works fine.
Summary: I did all sorts of research on universal remotes and decided to go with the Logitech Harmony line. Then of course, the problem became which model to choose?
At first, I assumed that the remote with highest model number was the newest or at least had the most features. Wrong. I found out the 680 is the most recent addition to the line. And the fact that the 680 has a one-touch control for “Media Center” PC’s doesn’t mean you must own a Media Center PC (which I don’t…yet) to enjoy the full utility of this remote. According to my research, feature and function-wise, the Model 680 does everything that the other Harmony 6XX remotes can do…for all intent and purposes, they’re the same thing, except for a slightly different button feel or layout. (Okay, if you have a burning desire to change the color of your remote’s faceplate to match your home theater’s blue wallpaper, the 680 is not for you.) Most of the reviews I found on the Internet preferred the 680’s hard buttons and “joystick” over the squishy buttons and extra buttons found on other models…that’s all a matter of personal preference. The big reason I chose the 680: PRICE. For some inexplicable reason, the 680 seems to sell for less than the other models (Let’s see…newer model, does the same thing, cheaper…duh!). Once I received my 680 I was not disappointed. The set-up was not as easy as I had hoped, but not hard at all. I have some older gear, so the set-up involved a little extra fine-tuning of the remote. No big deal. And since I got my 680 properly configured, I haven’t had to touch any of my other remotes. This is a universal remote that’s truly universal!
 90% of People (18/20) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
 There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 12/08/2004 |
|
Strengths: The H680 is by far the easiest remote setup I know of. The backligt feature on the buttons is also a plus. Controls everything with one touch button.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Summary: I have owned the Sony RM-AV2100 remote for 3 years now. I was in the market for a remote that controlled my media center PC, and this is what I found. The H680 is PC ready out of the box. But it also has a learning feature to program from other remotes controlling the entertainment center. The USB/internet connection was a breeze to set up all my equipment. You simply select/click your entertainment center hardware and model numbers and how you control each element and you are done! The thing I like most about the remote however, is the one touch programming. i.e. Simply press “Play DVD” and your receiver, TV and DVD all turn on to the appropriate source. This applies to Tuner, TV, or CD. One of the things not mentioned anywhere when researching this remote was the LCD and backlighting. This is paramount in a dark room. No worries here, the Harmony 680 has the blue LCD and backlit buttons for ease of use.
86% of People (18/21) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 2 comments for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 04/04/2005 |
|
Strengths: Programmable via the web. Excellent support. Button layout is very intuitive.
Weaknesses: Missing two color scheme from H659 which makes remote appear more cluttered. Light button does not glow very strong. Activity buttons are not labeled with words.
Summary: I purchased this remote since I already have a Harmony 659 and know that it is the BEST! I liked the way the buttons for play, fastforward, rewind, etc. were laid out on the 680 and the potential to use it with media center at some later date was a nice bonus. I have no real complaints with the remote. The feel is very similar to the 659 in weight and size is pretty well identical. When carefully analyzing the button layout differences between the 659 and the 680, I did overlook the fact that the 659 has a two color appearance which visually separates the top, bottom, and middle sections where the 680 is all one color. I did not realize how much the color separation helps on the 659 until actually using this remote. It's not that the functions are difficult to find, but it will take me a little time to get used to finding them where the 659 was pretty immediate. Also, when comparing to the 659, there are 2 more things that stand out. The light button on this remote does not seem to glow as brightly as the 659. This can make it more difficult to press and light up the keys. One last item is the fact that the activity buttons no longer have the words "watch a movie", "watch tv", etc. on them. Instead, the buttons have pictures to indicate their function. Since they are in the exact same place as the 659, this is not a problem for me, but I think that for someone who did not know how to operate the remote it would be more difficult.
Overall, I have to say I really do enjoy the remote. My one big complaint with the 659 has been answered with moving the play, pause, etch buttons toward the middle of the remote. The 680 has a much more user friendly layout of these buttons.
If this were my first harmony remote, I am sure I would be completely thrilled! Since I am comparing it to the 659 all the time, I feel there have been some steps backward with the design of the 680. I don't think that I have made a bad choice, but I think I may have been just as well off with another 659 for my needs.
77% of People (10/13) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 01/10/2005 |
|
Strengths: User friendlyness - especially for technophobes
Weaknesses: Battery door fit/quality
Too hard to chose between the different 6XX series harmony remotes
Summary: Unbeleivable remote. Once you se the 'activity' metaphore you can'r understand why all universal remotes don't work this way.
technical support is out of this world. Not that you need to talk to them - the product works - well. But they helped me fine tune my system to the nth degree
67% of People (6/9) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 03/14/2005 |
|
Strengths: Ease of use, Feature set, Multiple capabilities, Excellent software
Weaknesses: Uses 4 AAA batteries. Short battery life
Summary: Followed directions that came in the box, hooked up USB cable to my computer, logged on to Harmony website, and performed my update. All took less than one-hour. I've been back many times to tweak my settings. Overall wonderful experience.
60% of People (3/5) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 01/16/2005 |
|
Strengths: Web setup, Simplicity, Layout
Weaknesses: No Macros
Summary: Great price and Great Product. The ability to setup on the web is the number one reason why I purchased this remote. Will update review after more use.
33% of People (1/3) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 01/15/2005 |
|
Strengths: Highly customizable.
Weaknesses: Limitations in prioritizing order of device display.
Summary: Easy to setup initially. For complex installations, a considerable effort is required to design specific activities. Dependent on web application to configure and maintain. Ability to learn from obscure remotes and include them in activites a major plus.
0% of People (0/3) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 02/27/2005 |
|
Strengths: Easy setup. Extensive online database of home entertainment components, no programing necessary. Turns on entire entertainment center with one button.
Weaknesses: None to speak of. Occasionally components may not respond appropriately if signal gets blocked etc. but Harmony remote has a built in help function that fixes any such problems.
Summary: An excellent universal remote. The USB connector and web interface make setup simple. The online database had default settings for our entire entertainment center including game system and HD Tivo. Works great, one remote controls it all. Only one function in the database did not work on one component but the Harmony remote was able to learn it from the original remote without any problems
0% of People (0/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 02/08/2005 |
|
Strengths: Wonderfully flexible and able to control just about anything that comes with a remote. (fans, lights, oh yeah and all your components as well.)
Weaknesses: FYI - Although this is a fantastically flexible remote able to control almost everything, you will need to spend at min 20-30min setting this up through the web interface.
Summary: So far so good. So far, I've been able to plug it in and run with it. Have not yet tried the tech support to tweak theis baby and based on past reviews, I'm actually looking forward to it.
0% of People (0/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 01/20/2005 |
|
Strengths: one button ability to handle multiple components
ease of set up
durable buttons
good layout
Weaknesses: Customization of individual functions for each component is a bit tricky.
Summary: Great Remote!!!! Does everything I needed at the press of a button. The size of the remote makes it very easy and comfortable to use. The buttons are durable and have good placement. Set-up was flawle
0% of People (0/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
| Date Reviewed: 10/16/2006 |
|
Strengths: Eliminates all those other remotes. Setup is very well done.
Weaknesses: Would like backlight to stay on a bit longer. Sometimes doesn't get switch something properly but built in remote helps always makes it work.
Summary: Setup is very nice. Be prepared to spend a bit of time getting it all working. The activity buttons are very nice. Setup activities like "watch movie", press a single button and everything is set right. If something doesn't get set like you think it should the built in help always makes it work correctly. I have a sony projection TV, onkyo receiver, home built media center pc and a sony playstation two all under control of this remote. Highly recommended.
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
|
Report this as 
