Universal remotes

af123

af123

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Staff member
My beloved One-for-all Kameleon remote has finally given up the ghost so I'm looking for a new one.

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Any recommendations or suggestions? I'm looking at the Harmony 300 at the moment - only £16 from Amazon for the matt version. Four devices is enough (TV/Humax/Blueray/Amp).

The Harmony One looks interesting but I'm not sure about the large touch screen.

TIA.
 
If you could find the Harmony 555 somewhere I would prefer that one. It's advantage is it is cheaper than the One and it has hardware colour buttons. The disadvantage: it is not rechargeable.
 
af123, I have a OFA Kameleon. I hated it. You are more than welcome to it free of charge, gratis and for nowt. (Well perhaps P&P). PM me if you wish.

It is as good as new. I didn't use it for long. It's been sat in the draw for an age.
 
semko said:
If you could find the Harmony 555 somewhere I would prefer that one. It's advantage is it is cheaper than the One and it has hardware colour buttons. The disadvantage: it is not rechargeable.
Click to expand...

The 555 looks ideal and the layout is nice; particularly like the way the navigation buttons are laid out - can't find one anywhere though.
 
Wallace said:
af123, I have a OFA Kameleon. I hated it. You are more than welcome to it free of charge, gratis and for nowt. (Well perhaps P&P). PM me if you wish.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer - to be honest I'm thinking of a change anyway and I can't really face talking to a Dutch call centre again to get them to play modem tones down the line; about time I had one which I can connect to my computer.

My wife always refused to use the OFA (preferring the Humax one which is a pain because it meant she kept changing the Humax volume instead of the TV - hence the poweron-channel package!) and I was getting a bit tired with how often the batteries need changing (using rechargables).

I've ordered a Harmony 300 (£16.99 from Amazon - the 300i is apparently just the addition of a glossy finish as preferred in Europe) for now and will have a play - might upgrade to the new 600/700 series later in the year and let her use the 300 or pass it on to my Dad...
 
Oh goody. :) We might get some nice customisations for a not-too-expensive RC!

I have a job in mind which involves melding a new TV + HD-FOX + USB drive + programmable remote into a seamless package for the technically incompetent and without mode changes.
 
Word for the day - "melding" - not used often enough. :) Makes me think of pointy ears!! I will be melding a curry and some beers later on this evening!!!
 
@af123.
I understand, I hated it. As you have also found, it is really battery hungry.

Having changed from the OFA to a Harmony 555 and then to a Harmony 785, I don't miss the OFA range at all. I had completely forgotten about the MODEM programming method, what a fag that was too!

The Harmony remote can be a little time consuming to set up to your own personal taste. The main constraint is that you have to use their software which is somewhat 'clunky', I feel.

Still, only yesterday, I added my Bosé Sound Dock 10 to it's menu no problem at all and without any phone calls to a help desk. Not bad for a remote that must be nearly three years old.
 
Wallace said:
The Harmony remote can be a little time consuming to set up to your own personal taste. The main constraint is that you have to use their software which is somewhat 'clunky', I feel.
Click to expand...

I'm reasonably okay with setting up and programming things :D

It cannot be worse than the OFA - I remember several evenings sitting with SWMBO calling out EFC numbers and me testing them to see what they do so I can add missing buttons and move functions around*. Once set up, I loved the Kameleon but I have never got around to finishing setting it up for my new TV, and it has never worked well with the Bose (it assigns inputs to the numbers so I have to manually move them to the macro keys and reprogram the numbers... I'm getting too old for this stuff).

* - good way to find diagnostic test modes on equipment, although it can cause interesting things to happen with a Topfield!
 
Lol, I wasn't doubting your programming ability. I may be slow, but not stupid! :)

I forgot about those too. Spending a lot of time trying to find codes that did a specific 'thing' with my TV etal. Being careful not to find the code that did something that I couldn't reverse!
 
I used to love the macros on my old Kameleon. Sadly, it ran out of memory long before I ran out of devices.
 
I've got my new Harmony 300 remote - seems nicely built and the layout is ok.
While setting it up I realised another thing I'm going to miss from the Kameleon though - it supported shifting for all keys, effectively doubling the number of available keys. I used to have eject programmed in as Shift->Stop for my DVD player and Shift->Volume for controlling the Humax volume instead of the TV etc.. I'm sure I'll manage to fit the most common commands somewhere onto the keypad!
 
Is the Harmony 300 programmable via USB the same as the Harmony 200? I was thinking of getting the 200 but a £20 and with only 3 devices controllable, the 300 at £17 and 4 devices looks like a better deal
 
Yes it is. You programme it with their silverlight app through your web browser then just sync the settings.

I did actually prefer the look and layout of the 200 but wanted four devices.

The 300 is a bit cheap feeling (just the buttons rather than the rest of the plastic) so I might upgrade to a higher model yet.
 
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