![]() ![]() From here, you’ll press a pairing button on the back of the Hub, choose a Wi-Fi network for the Hub to permanently connect to, and you’re off to the races. Happily, that dumpster fire of an app seems to be history, as you can now take care of the remote’s setup using the much more tolerable Harmony app on iOS or Android.ĭropping the remote in the charging dock will cause the screen to illuminate, telling you to fire up that mobile Harmony app. Using it is like punching yourself in the face. This used to be every Harmony owner’s dread: Logitech has relied on a truly God-awful downloadable Windows / Mac app based on Silverlight (yes, Silverlight) for as long as I can remember. ![]() Once you drop the Hub somewhere in your A/V rack and connect one or both of the remote IR blasters as necessary, you’re ready for the setup phase. (Yes, the remote still has an IR window of its own, but you may find that you never need to use it.) Adding devices sounds like a pain, but it’s not This means you can change volume from another room and hide your ugly set-top boxes in a cabinet. This last bit is critical: the remote in your hand doesn’t need line of sight to any of your devices, as long as the Hub or one of its remote IR blasters does. But the Hub is a pretty killer sidekick to the remote: it functions as an IR blaster and can control two additional wired remote IR blasters, it connects to your home Wi-Fi, it has support for home automation protocols so you can control smart bulbs, sockets, thermostats, and the like, and it communicates with the remote via RF. Unlike the Ultimate and the Home Control, which offer a choice of black or easy-to-find white, the Elite only ships in glossy black.Ĭheck out the Harmony Home Control review for detailed tests and impressions of the app and more in-depth descriptions of other aspects of the hub system, and how the remote works with Smart Home devices.I know what you’re thinking, because I’ve been there before myself - this already sounds too complicated. Like the Harmony Ultimate, the Elite can control up to 15 different home theater devices, compared to eight on the Home Control. That's not a big deal for some people, but for others it might be a deal-breaker. If you get the Elite, you'll basically have to keep it in its charging cradle when not in use. If the Elite went longer than three days on a charge I felt lucky, and a couple of times when I forgot to recharge it, I had to resort to another remote. ![]() Logitech claims a 20 percent improvement in battery life compared with the Harmony Ultimate, but in my time using the product that didn't matter much. Of course, a Roku 4-like finder function, complete with a button on the hub, would be even better. The package includes a sleek-looking cradle that charges the remote, keeps it upright and also provides a convenient place to park it, which helps prevent dreaded RLS (remote loss syndrome). With its screen and backlight, the Elite uses a rechargeable battery that replaceable in case it goes kaput. Sarah Tew/CNET Backlight good, battery life badĪside from the screen, one of my favorite extras on the Elite is full backlighting behind every hard key, making it much easier to use in a darkened home theater than the Home Control.ĭropping the backlight allows the Home Control to achieve tremendous batter life, however - you'll typically go half a year or more before you have to replace its watch battery. Stashed at the bottom, where they belong, are the less important color-coded keys and smart-home keys. They're right under the screen on the Elite, above the main four-way cursor pad. I give the Home Control and now the Elite a big thumbs-up for moving those controls within easy reach. The original Harmony Touch and Harmony Ultimate had the same screen as the Elite, but I complained about the nonsensical button placement, with the "transport" keys - play/pause, fast-forward/rewind, stop and record - mounted a far to the top, necessitating an inconvenient stretch of the thumb to reach. I also liked the haptic feedback, so you get a little jolt of reassurance when you select items or long-press a button. At times it was a bit too responsive, and more than once I engaged an activity more than just by picking it up. I found the Elite's full-color screen easy to use and relatively responsive, although it didn't feel as sensitive as a phone or tablet screen, and the resolution is much lower, leading to chunkiness in some icons for example.
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