Logitech Harmony

The line includes universal remote products designed for controlling the components of home theater systems (including televisions, set-top boxes, DVD and Blu-ray players, video game consoles) and other devices that can be controlled via infrared, as well as newer smart home hub products that can be used to additionally control supported Internet of things (IoT) and Smart home products, and allow the use of mobile apps to control devices.

[1] The Harmony remote control was originally created in 2001 by Easy Zapper, a Canadian company, and first sold in November 2001.

Computer peripheral manufacturer Logitech acquired it in May 2004 for US$29 million, turning Harmony remotes into a worldwide phenomenon.

[3] In April 2021, Logitech announced the decision to discontinue the manufacturing of Harmony remotes.

Pressing the 'Watch TV' activity button on the remote will turn on the TV, turn on digital set top box, turn on the sound system, switch the input of TV to the digital set top box and switch the input of the sound system to the set top box.

This method allows updates to the product database, remote codes, and macro sequences to be easily distributed.

This also allows Logitech to survey their market in order to determine products for investigation and research.

[citation needed] Harmony control software is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.

A group of developers was working on Harmony Remote software for the Linux operating system; as of February 2012[update] the latest available release was dated August 2010.

The simple remote lacks a display screen, and can also be purchased separately for those who already own a Harmony Home Hub.

Other changes include the media transport control buttons being relocated to a more ergonomic location, and the addition of user accessible battery compartment.

The lowest-budget version of the Harmony remote, which can control up to 8 devices in particular categories, and supports only one activity: Watch TV.

Unlike most current and former products in the Harmony line, this model lacks a display screen.

On November 8, 2017, Logitech announced that it would end support for the Harmony Link and make the devices inoperable after March 18, 2018, citing an expired security certificate for a component in the platform.

The extra up/down arrows of the 550 is removed to make room for the colored X, Y, A and B buttons beneath the play and pause rows.

This would make it the remote in the 500 series with the most hardware buttons, 54 (counting the four direction arrow keys).

The Harmony 510/515 is an entry-level remote that is essentially a replacement to the 500 series and the Xbox 360 version.

It lacks the red, green, yellow and blue colour buttons commonly used for things like teletext and PVR control.

Compared to the model 525, the 550 and 555 have two extra buttons, and are made of higher grade materials with different colors.

The Harmony 688 was (no longer produced) a mid-range, computer programmable universal remote.

The H688 has a monochrome LCD screen and is back lit by an Electro Luminescent sheet (blue in color).

The Harmony 720 was initially offered exclusively through Costco[15] in 2006 and featured a color screen and backlit keys.

The Harmony 768 is a capsule-shaped remote with a backlit LCD screen it was available in silver, blue or red.

Difference between 880/885: The 885 has the red, green, yellow and blue colour buttons commonly used for things like teletext and PVR control.

The Harmony 890/895 is the same as the 880/885, but it adds radio frequency (RF) capability, enabling the remote to control devices even without line-of-sight to and from different rooms, up to a range of 30 meters.

(Primary and secondary remotes can be set up that work with the same wireless extender) It also adds two buttons — picture and sound — that allow for quick access to picture- and sound-related commands.

The Harmony 1000 has customizable touch screen commands, sounds and a rechargeable battery, and allows control up to 15 devices.

The universal remote has 1 activity support (Watch TV), and control up to 4 devices.

This remote has no LCD, and like the discontinued 500 series mid-range models, no battery charge pod.

A CNET TV review stated that it is one of the best universal remotes on the market today.