Is There One Remote to Rule Them All?..... Let's See Shall We
Ever since I got my Phillips Pronto Universal Remote Control some years back now, the company doesn't want to make them anymore because of 'Cost' reasons. So a lot of people turned to 'One For All' remotes and then along came the name we, the Home Cinema public knew only from PC Keyboards and Mice, 'Harmony'. They started to make remotes that where basic in design and function and then went on from strength to strength.. I know that some people hate them and some love them, as most of the 'High End' ones need a PC or MAC to set-up properly and can and could be time consuming.. So a few years on from the Harmony 1000 and 1100, has anything changed?
Fig 1. The Harmony Ultimate in ALL its Glory. Plain But sSimple
The remote looks and feels very nice to touch and feels very comfortable in hand buttons are response, which is what you should and would expect. I could only play with it for a short time but to me it all feels well built and well thought through. The included Harmony Hub turns RF signals from the remote control into Infa Red commands your home theater devices can understand. Access internet services like Netflix on your PS3 or Xbox 360. But now with the Addition of Bluetooth.. so the PS3 is now covered...Great.
Fig 2. The RF Hub small and looking like a shiny pebble
The Ultimate now gives you all the control you deserve. Control Your Home Cinema devices that are behind cabinets and through walls. Control IR devices as well as Bluetooth game consoles. Even use your mobile phone as a personal universal remote control. You can get a App for iOS and Android and its free as well, so there's another Bonus. You can even control the Phillips lighting system called 'Hue' with it so you'll never have to get up to dim the lights again.. It Has Double the number of buttons by programming them for both short and long presses. And you can now See in dark rooms thanks to the tilt sensors that automatically light up the touch screen. And gentle vibrations let you know when a screen button is pressed, so there’s no need to take your eyes off of the Movie your watching.
It even comes with a docking station to charge your little device when your not using it.. so all is thought of then?.
Fig 3. The Front View and not to Cluttered
It can control up to 15 devices if you own that many and can offer over 225,000 devices in its data base. So they say and there isn't anything I haven't found it wont control, and even if you do you can teach it the commands if you still have the original remote. You STILL haver to use the online database if you want to fully take advantage of all its features but hey everyone's got a PC right?. Connect the Harmony Ultimate to your Mac or PC and visit myharmony.com. Harmony’s guided setup will walk you through the process step by step.
Price well its a bit of a big price for such a little product, but as they have discontinued the 1000 and 1100 range and they felt like £299,00 products this comes in at £229,00. A bargain?, well that is up to you and how many remotes you have down the sofa or sitting on your already cluttered coffee table.
So that's it guys a 'New' remote for a 'New' generation. What with Smartphone Apps as well it seems they have decided to join the community.
Have a look HERE if your at all interested.
Have a look HERE if your at all interested.
Going to Upgrade?.. Need an Upgrade?..
Or just Starting to get a little annoyed at ALL the remotes laying about?.
Do You Have Any Huge Collections?, Fancy Being Featured on My Blog? or Are You Thinking About Starting a Collection?.
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