Logitech bows out of the Harmony Universal Remote market (1 Viewer)

[John Dirk]

Did anyone have a pronto?

I had two.
My brother cracked the screen so I had to buy another one.

I think I spent more time programming that thing then I spent actually using it.
Hours and hours on Remote central.

My ProntoPro is still sitting in my HT storage room in the drawer I've come to refer to as my "remote graveyard." I also frequented Remote Central back then and spent hours upon hours adding custom graphics, backgrounds and icons to it. Looking back I can't believe I even bothered as the screen was laughably small compared to the Samsung 10 inch Tab I use now, but it was a pretty cool piece of hardware in it's day. Ah the evolution of Home Theater!!!

 

[Johnny Angell]

My ProntoPro is still sitting in my HT storage room in the drawer I've come to refer to as my "remote graveyard." I also frequented Remote Central back then and spent hours upon hours adding custom graphics, backgrounds and icons to it. Looking back I can't believe I even bothered as the screen was laughably small compared to the Samsung 10 inch Tab I use now, but it was a pretty cool piece of hardware in it's day. Ah the evolution of Home Theater!!!

View attachment 94446

There are drawers and boxes like this across the country.

 

[Dave Moritz]

For a long time I meant to get a Harmony remote and finally did after many years of dealing with separate remotes. After upgrading to the system I have now I finally pulled the trigger on my Harmony Elite and it is so much better than dealing with separate remotes. If something happens to this remote in a few years time I have to wonder what will I be able to replace it with? Not to happy that they are getting out of the remote business and what is going to happen is the smart phone going to take its place. Hell it is being used for everything else but honestly I do not even like picking up the smart phone unless I need to. Very disappointed in Harmony remotes going away in the near future! All I know is Control4 is not only more expensive up front but the cost of programing is expensive as well.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

For a long time I meant to get a Harmony remote and finally did after many years of dealing with separate remotes. After upgrading to the system I have now I finally pulled the trigger on my Harmony Elite and it is so much better than dealing with separate remotes. If something happens to this remote in a few years time I have to wonder what will I be able to replace it with? Not to happy that they are getting out of the remote business and what is going to happen is the smart phone going to take its place. Hell it is being used for everything else but honestly I do not even like picking up the smart phone unless I need to. Very disappointed in Harmony remotes going away in the near future! All I know is Control4 is not only more expensive up front but the cost of programing is expensive as well.

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Have to say, Dave, that is a beautiful remote.

I have two of them in my home. That's how much I love them.

I can't see anyone ever putting out a consumer-grade remote like this ever again.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Thank you Ronald and I totally agree with you they do make life easier.

 

[seangood79]

Bought the Hub last week to pair with my Ultimate One.
This probably means they won’t be developing the app aside from adding new devices to the date base.
Shame, because the app could use some work.

 

[DaveF]

Did anyone have a pronto?

I had two.
My brother cracked the screen so I had to buy another one.

I think I spent more time programming that thing then I spent actually using it.
Hours and hours on Remote central.

That was a $500 to $1000 remote circa 1999? I remember lusting for one, but could not afford it back then.

 

[Edwin-S]

Tried one years back. More pain than it was worth. Using separate remotes works fine for me. At least they said they would continue to support the installed base: not like TV manufacturers who stabbed people, who bought piles of 3D software, in the back.

 

[TonyD]

That was a $500 to $1000 remote circa 1999? I remember lusting for one, but could not afford it back then.

Yes.
At some point there was two I think.
The standard one and one that had a larger touch screen that might have had color.

I have the standard one.
There was A group on another forum that I can’t remember tht was doing a group buy or had a connection that offered them for under $400 maybe even less then that.

The one John pictured above is different then the one I had. Mine did not say Pro on it.

There might have been more then two versions.

 

[TonyD]

Wow, I just went over to remote central.
Apparently I’m a founding member but my email address is a long abandoned AOL email.

 

[DaveF]

Remote Central and HiFi-Remote helped me a lot do great things with my Radio-Shack 15-1994. This was the absolute best value remote back around 2000. But I never went so far as to get into the JP1 programming.

Remotes Home Page

www.hifi-remote.com

RC User Reviews: Radio Shack 15-1994 Remote Control (1)

www.remotecentral.com

 

[Todd Erwin]

This is not the first time Logitech has made this announcement, if you recall. They tried to sell off the Harmony line back in 2013, and after public outcry reversed their decision.

 

[John Dirk]

That was a $500 to $1000 remote circa 1999? I remember lusting for one, but could not afford it back then.

eBay!

 

[John Dirk]

Yes.
At some point there was two I think.
The standard one and one that had a larger touch screen that might have had color.

I have the standard one.
There was A group on another forum that I can’t remember tht was doing a group buy or had a connection that offered them for under $400 maybe even less then that.

The one John pictured above is different then the one I had. Mine did not say Pro on it.

There might have been more then two versions.

There were at least 4 versions in this footprint. The Pro was the one that added color and then there was another that added an RF bridge. Eventually Philips even made a larger version called the TSU9600 or something like that. It sold for around $1500.00 I think and was an even bigger programming nightmare as it was not backwards compatible with the smaller versions.

 

[SamT]

This sucks. This is an essential part of a HT. Nothing can replace it. What is they call it? CEC and stuff is not going to work like a proper universal remote. Can you change your TV channel, Sound System Input and stuff with CEC?

 

[Mark Booth]

If you have just a TV and a streaming box (Roku, Apple TV, etc), there is very little need for a universal remote. Most people are happy with a sound bar connected directly to the TV.

Home theater enthusiasts with AV receivers, fancy speaker systems, and multiple input devices are a rare and fading breed.

Mark

 

[David_B_K]

I have always preferred to have individual remotes. It's easier for me to keep up with the remotes than to program an all in one to do all the stuff I need to do with them and then remember it all.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

That's the beauty of the Harmony, you don't really have to remember anything. The remote knows what you're doing based on the activity selected.

 

[Robert Crawford]

If you have just a TV and a streaming box (Roku, Apple TV, etc), there is very little need for a universal remote. Most people are happy with a sound bar connected directly to the TV.

Home theater enthusiasts with AV receivers, fancy speaker systems, and multiple input devices are a rare and fading breed.

Mark

I think that goes without saying it. And, yes, those of us that are HT enthusiasts are a dying breed.

 

[DennisBassi]

I have bought Harmony Ones used over the past several years and have 4 of them. They are a great solution for must receiver/Bluray/tv hookups. I also have a new Elite that I have not even opened as I could not find the time to put it in service. I will continue to use them all. There is simply no way that a house guest/girlfriend can figure out how to turn on the TV without “training” if it is set up as a system with receiver, Blu ray, etc. The Harmony One took 2 minutes of training for a house Guest.