Logitech Harmony 300 Remote - Universal remote control

I've given this 4 stars because (I think) it is better than the other remotes out there for my needs. If the competition was better, maybe I would only give this 3 stars. There is defintely room for improvement. But it does the job pretty well, so maybe I am too fussy!

I recently replaced my TV, DVD player, and surround-sound Amp with new ones that are all HD/HDMI compliant (Panasonic TV & DVD, ONKYO amp). I also have a Humax FreeView PVR. (This is basically a TV receiver and hard-drive recorder in one box - extremely user-friendly by the way). They are connected up with the DVD player & Humax going into the Amp. The amp then sends the sound to the speakers and the picture to the TV. I also have a Brennan JB7 on order which will also feed into the amp. (The Brennan is basically an MP3 jukebox).

NB. This means I will have FIVE devices all controlled by the Harmony 300.

The main problem I have is that with HDMI it seems I can only control the volume with the amp. So when I am watching TV (i.e.the Humax) or a DVD, I need to use their remotes for most functions (pause etc) but grab the Amp remote to adjust volume. Also I need to use the Amp remote to switch inputs from Humax to DVD & vice versa.
Finally, despite playing with all the auto settings on TV & Humax, I still sometimes have to adjust the TV aspect ratio for some TV programs coming through the Humax. So I am juggling lots of remotes.

I spent some time checking reviews for various universal remotes, and thinking about what I really needed before picking this one.
I rejected a lot that have LCD screens because (1) many reviews say they gobble batteries (or need a charger) (2) you can't FEEL a touch screen - and many reviewers pointed out that we learn to find the buttons by touch on a well-laid out remote.
I also rejected the more expensive Harmony models because - in addition to the LCD screens - I didn't like the sound of their "Activity" modes. In theory it's a great idea: you want to "watch TV" so the remote sets it all up for you - switches on the TV, Amp & PVR, sets the correct inputs, and puts the remote in the correct mode. Fantastic! But I read too many reviews saying the remote gets out of step with the devices, turning them off when they should be on etc. I checked one of the manual online, and it confirmd that the remotes "take care" of switching devices off as well as on as you move between different Activities. But I don't want that! My DVD player & Humax take a while to start up - I don't want the remote to switch them off every time I flick from one to the other. Also my Humax has radio channels - so I can be "watching TV" but with the TV off. I know I could probably work around all this - but it seemed easier just to go with this 300 model that actually has an On/Off switch designed in. Interestingly I discovered the 300 is a pretty new model (released 2010) - so Logitech have started complex, and got simpler, not what I initially assumed.
I also looked at some other brands, but they seemed to have too few buttons. The Humax has several unusual functions, so I needed enough buttons to go round (even though I decided to ignore some of the options I never actually use, such as Picture-in-Picture).

Once it arrived, I had the basic setup done very quickly. This is where you tell it your devices, and it allocates the default button settings automatically. This was a reasonable start but it took me a couple of hours of experimentation to find out what it would and wouldn't do. Then it was pretty quick to customise once I knew exactly what I wanted to do (within the constraints it imposes).

So, a few tips....

1. You really must understand your existing equipment to get the most out of these gizmos. THINK about how you want to use it and PLAN how you will allocate commands to buttons.

2. The software is a bit inflexible so do some experiments, then don't be afraid to delete all the devices and start again. That way you can set it up tidily, once you get the hang of it. EG. When you teach it a command from an existig remote, you have to enter a name for the command. It will NOT let you rename it afterwards, and it won't even let you delete the individual command. You have to delete the whole device then start again. It's annoying but probably better long-term to keep the configuration clear so it makes sense when you come back to edit it again.

3. When 'teaching' it from another remote, it kept having problems picking up the signal - until I turned the 300 FACE DOWN!!! Its sensor is not quite centred, and that made all the difference.

4. The "Watch TV" button will turn on (and off) any of the 4 devices you tell it about. What commands does it actually execute? The ones you assign to the Power button. (You can in fact assign any commands you like to the Power button)

5. The 300 is described as replacing 4 remotes. But it would be more accurate to say it has 4 MODES. Using the Learning feature you can teach it commands from ANY remote you want to - so it will control more than 4 devices, but you need to assign the commands sensibly within the 4 modes.
I have got mine set up with the modes as
CBL/SAT = mostly Humax commands
DVD = mostly DVD player commands
VCR/AUX = mostly Brennan commands
TV = TV commands (for rare occasions I want to adjust TV menu etc)
The first 3 are the ones I actually use to watch TV, or DVD, or listen to music (when Brennan arrives).
In all of these modes I have "taught" it the ONKYO AMP volume & mute commands, and assigned them to the relevant buttons. I have also taught it the ONKYO Power on/off. And the ONKYO input select buttons.
On top of that I have taught it the TV aspect-ratio commands.
What all this means is that once the remote is in the correct mode, I have all the commands I generally need at my fingertips WITHOUT needing to switch to another mode.

5. There is no way to set a button to do nothing, if by default it has a command assigned. Obviously you can assign a different command - but you can't assign it nothing. If you wanted to do this for some reason you could teach it a "Dummy" command from a friend's remote, then assign that to the button in question.

6. The only buttons that are non-modal (ie same in all modes) are "Watch TV" and "TV Input". The TV Input is really annoying - the Logitach guys have ASSUMED you will only ever use the same command to select input. Well the ONKYO has different buttons for CBL, DVD, AUX etc - so I would have loved to assign the correct button within each mode. But the software won't let me - grrrrr. So I had to assign the inputs to a less obvious button - annoying. This is the kind of thing they could improve so easily by allowing the user more flexibility.
(By the way I assigned TV Aspect-Ratio to "TV Input" button instead).

So the upshot of all the above, is I ended up with a setup that has a kind of logic to it (well it makes sense to me) that allows me to do ALL the functions I use regularly, with only one remote in my hand - which was the goal.
I hope all this detail will help someone else make a well-informed choice whether to buy this or find something more suitable to their own needs.

A couple more comments -

Physically it sits pretty well in the hand, with most of the buttons easy to find, and they have quite a good feel when you press them (surprising how much you notice these things!)
Where I think they could improve is by having one of those cirular layouts for the up, down, left, right, ok keys. The great thing about the disc style, is it is really easy to feel - whereas the 5 separate buttons on the Harmony feel too similar to the surrounding ones.

So all in all, with certain caveats, a good product at a very reasonable price

This is a vey good "universal" remote and for the £14.99 I paid it's an absolute steal. It has all the buttons you will need (more than many more expensive units) and the Logitech software/webapp to set it up is pretty straigtforward too. I had absolutely no problems making this do exactly what I wanted. It has a learning function and so it's quite easy to do any device - e.g. it couldn't find the latest VirginMedia TiVo box in its database, but as the old V+ remote is almost the same, I used that and just got it to "learn" the 3 or 4 extra TiVo buttons - brilliant.

Things to be aware of:
There is no fancy display or anything, but that's good - the batteries last much longer.
The bottom of the unit is curved, which is nice when handling it but if it's on a flat/hard surface (coffee-table) and you push buttons it just rolls about.
There is only one one multi-function button "Watch TV" but I don't use that sort of feature much anyway.
It ony does 4x different devices but that was OK for me and also bear in mind that with the number of buttons it has, you can get it to learn some codes from an additional remote and so one device setup can actually be used to control other devices as well - e.g. when I'm operating my TV I can also control the main functions of my Surround Sound System.
Most important - don't bother with the Harmony 300i unless you really must have a glossy black case that shows all your greasy fingerprints - the 300 and the 300i are identical (except for that glossy finish) but the 300 is anywhere from £5 to £15 cheaper.

The first 'universal remote' that I have found actually works properly!
I havent been able to cover every function, but enough to make it a very useful tool, even if I still need the original remote for some functions on my Sony DVD recorder.
Nice appearance and shape, comfortable to hold.Good value and prompt despatch as usual. You need an internet connection in order to program it.
Recommended.