Harmony Ultimate, Harmony Smart Control, Harmony Link

[towboy123 Logi Legend]

I already have number 2  I will number 1

[TnTTroy]

Thumbs up for ability to customize the layouts!  Other than that, it is a fantastic product!!

[KazeOne]

how about open source the code so anyone can add controls into their own apps for the harmony link and by opening it up things would get done sooner and support for other devices would be expanded at a much faster rate and Logitech would still make money since people would buy the hardware still so I think that would actually increase sales.

[lcajiga]

Hi, great post. I just purchased the Harmony Link and I think is a great device, only issue is software is too vague. There is a huge difference between the iPhone and iPad GUI and there are good things in both. The ability in the iPhone to go directly to a device to access commands nnot available in default GUI is great. In the iPad you need to scroll down and if the device you are looking for is at the bottom, it is a pain. 

I do have a Motorola Cable Box that uses the ABCD buttons to perform some activities. I can see those buttons on the iPad GUI but not on the iPhone. Without those buttons controlling the device is useless.

Another example is I have a TV, Cable Box  and Receiver in the activity to watch TV. The sound comes from the Receiver so in the activity I selected the Receiver to control the volume. The problem is that I need to put the TV in mute since sound comes from both the TV and Receiver and due to delays it creates a non desirable echo. I need again to search for MUTE buttons in the iPad to mute the TV. With the ability to modify the activity's macro will be a fly like in other Harmony remotes.

As previous people mentioned, the ability to define sequence, delay and customize macro buttons will make this remote the best available (at least for my HT). 

[Big_Pete1999]

I really want 3 things and will list them in order of importance.

#1 The link needs much better macro control. My example is this. Say I'm watching a movie and am tired and want to go to bed. I turn everything off. If in the morning I want to watch TV, I hit the "watch tv" macro, and it turns on my plasma and instantly tries to turn the input station to my tv station. The bad thing with this is that my tv takes somewhere between 5 and 10 seconds to "turn on" before it can accept any input requests. All of my other harmony remotes allow this option, yet the newest remote doesn't? Macro functionality via 1 touch commands such as "watch tv" "watch dvd" etc.... are what distinguishes harmony remotes from $5 wal-mart univeral remotes. If a fix for this doesn't come out very, very soon, I will demand my money back and just use the factory tv remote, as it has universal features to it anyways. I mean, if I'm having to manually change inputs with my Link, I could just as easily do it without the Link

#2 I know Harmony is based on IR technology, but c'mon man, it's almost 2012, half the electronics out there are RF. With the Link, the consumer (me and you) shouldn't be bound by traditional "remote control technology". What I mean is that my iPad can send an RF signal to my devices. I know this because I have a Boxee Box which uses RF only. I downloaded a Boxee app, and can control it via the RF signal my iPad sends out. Well, there is no reason what so ever that the Link and the Harmony software can't integrate this into an all inclusive package. It's simple really, just use the wifi to send all IR device signals to the Link, and use the built in RF capabilities of the iPad to perform all the RF commands. I shouldn't have to switch back and forth between my Link and my Boxee remotes to for example, "watch boxee" (tv turns to input, or I manually turn it if the tv was turned off). Then I switch to the boxee remote to put on a movie, then I have to switch back to the link remote to adjust volume, then I have to switch back to the boxee remote to pause or do whatever... back and forth I go. It's ridiculous. Simply have Harmony ask "does this device use IR or RF?" during setup. If you choose IR, then the software sends the wifi signal to the Link. If you choose RF, then the software tells the iPad to send an RF signal. It's "as easy as breathing." Please Harmony/Logitech, please please please integrate this feature into the Link. Let the power of your software and tablets shine!

#3 This is more of a far fetched one, and would only be needed if Logitech doesn't do my 2nd wish list thing, but what about dragging and dropping other remote control apps into the Link's software, kinda like a customizable button? Basically, in my example, I open the Harmony software. I can take my boxee app and drag it into the link app and have the basic controls of the boxee remote as part of the functionality of the Link. Kinda like an extra row of buttons. You know how the 1st row is the channel up/down volume up/down, then you drag the sidebar out further to expose things like the arrow keys, favorites, etc... then drag it further to expose the number pad, etc.. well, this could be a 4th row drag out to have other "linked" remote control apps. Thankfully the boxee is simple as it's nothing but arrows, a play/pause button, an enter button and a back button, so it would be quite simplistic. I don't know why it couldn't integrate that, therefor you'd have 1 platform (harmony) that allows other applicaton's software to be used (boxee remote). If I touch the boxee remote commands, because it's pretty much only superimposed onto the harmony software, it would still use the boxee remote commands, such as telling my ipad to send RF signal.

[towboy123 Logi Legend]

---

lcajiga wrote:

Hi, great post. I just purchased the Harmony Link and I think is a great device, only issue is software is too vague. There is a huge difference between the iPhone and iPad GUI and there are good things in both. The ability in the iPhone to go directly to a device to access commands nnot available in default GUI is great. In the iPad you need to scroll down and if the device you are looking for is at the bottom, it is a pain. 

I have added to the thread another users suggestion to have the Devices collapse so you don't have to scroll through all the commands for each device

I do have a Motorola Cable Box that uses the ABCD buttons to perform some activities. I can see those buttons on the iPad GUI but not on the iPhone. Without those buttons controlling the device is useless.

Simple button customization would take care of this

Another example is I have a TV, Cable Box  and Receiver in the activity to watch TV. The sound comes from the Receiver so in the activity I selected the Receiver to control the volume. The problem is that I need to put the TV in mute since sound comes from both the TV and Receiver and due to delays it creates a non desirable echo. I need again to search for MUTE buttons in the iPad to mute the TV. With the ability to modify the activity's macro will be a fly like in other Harmony remotes.

Additional commands at the start of the Activity would solve this problem

As previous people mentioned, the ability to define sequence, delay and customize macro buttons will make this remote the best available (at least for my HT). 

And again the ability to customize buttons would fix this

---

[towboy123 Logi Legend]

---

Big_Pete1999 wrote:

I really want 3 things and will list them in order of importance.

#1 The link needs much better macro control. My example is this. Say I'm watching a movie and am tired and want to go to bed. I turn everything off. If in the morning I want to watch TV, I hit the "watch tv" macro, and it turns on my plasma and instantly tries to turn the input station to my tv station. The bad thing with this is that my tv takes somewhere between 5 and 10 seconds to "turn on" before it can accept any input requests. All of my other harmony remotes allow this option, yet the newest remote doesn't? Macro functionality via 1 touch commands such as "watch tv" "watch dvd" etc.... are what distinguishes harmony remotes from $5 wal-mart univeral remotes. If a fix for this doesn't come out very, very soon, I will demand my money back and just use the factory tv remote, as it has universal features to it anyways. I mean, if I'm having to manually change inputs with my Link, I could just as easily do it without the Link

I Have the ablity to adjust delays in the list.

You can contact support and they can adjust this for you

#2 I know Harmony is based on IR technology, but c'mon man, it's almost 2012, half the electronics out there are RF. With the Link, the consumer (me and you) shouldn't be bound by traditional "remote control technology". What I mean is that my iPad can send an RF signal to my devices. I know this because I have a Boxee Box which uses RF only. I downloaded a Boxee app, and can control it via the RF signal my iPad sends out. Well, there is no reason what so ever that the Link and the Harmony software can't integrate this into an all inclusive package. It's simple really, just use the wifi to send all IR device signals to the Link, and use the built in RF capabilities of the iPad to perform all the RF commands. I shouldn't have to switch back and forth between my Link and my Boxee remotes to for example, "watch boxee" (tv turns to input, or I manually turn it if the tv was turned off). Then I switch to the boxee remote to put on a movie, then I have to switch back to the link remote to adjust volume, then I have to switch back to the boxee remote to pause or do whatever... back and forth I go. It's ridiculous. Simply have Harmony ask "does this device use IR or RF?" during setup. If you choose IR, then the software sends the wifi signal to the Link. If you choose RF, then the software tells the iPad to send an RF signal. It's "as easy as breathing." Please Harmony/Logitech, please please please integrate this feature into the Link. Let the power of your software and tablets shine!

Proprietary RF cannot be controlled by any Universal Remote or the iPad.  When you are controlling the Boxee with you iPad it is done over WIFI.  I have added to the list for the Link App to dump into other apps after the Activity has started.

#3 This is more of a far fetched one, and would only be needed if Logitech doesn't do my 2nd wish list thing, but what about dragging and dropping other remote control apps into the Link's software, kinda like a customizable button? Basically, in my example, I open the Harmony software. I can take my boxee app and drag it into the link app and have the basic controls of the boxee remote as part of the functionality of the Link. Kinda like an extra row of buttons. You know how the 1st row is the channel up/down volume up/down, then you drag the sidebar out further to expose things like the arrow keys, favorites, etc... then drag it further to expose the number pad, etc.. well, this could be a 4th row drag out to have other "linked" remote control apps. Thankfully the boxee is simple as it's nothing but arrows, a play/pause button, an enter button and a back button, so it would be quite simplistic. I don't know why it couldn't integrate that, therefor you'd have 1 platform (harmony) that allows other applicaton's software to be used (boxee remote). If I touch the boxee remote commands, because it's pretty much only superimposed onto the harmony software, it would still use the boxee remote commands, such as telling my ipad to send RF signal.

This would be a great way to implement what I suggested above

---

[Big_Pete1999]

Thanks,

I emailed support last night, and will, I'm assuming, hear back from them today. I can't wait for them to tell me how to adjust it. That is the entire reason why I started buying Harmony Remotes in the early 2000's. I mean, the other obvious reason I love these remotes is because you don't have to look up the codes and punch them in.

To the other ones. I'm not sure how my iPad controls my RF devices. I haven't tried to disconnect my boxee from the internet to test your theory. All I know is that there are lots of apps in the apple store that control RF devices. Whether they do it by wifi or by an actual RF signal being sent from the iPad is beyond me. All I know is that if a kid in his parent's basement can write a quick script to have tablets and  smartphones control RF devices, Logitech should have absolutely no problem making it happen. ESPECIALLY if it's transmitting it through RF as you suggest. I mean, that's how the Link works.... It sends commands through wifi. lol. Just a simple command script in there to say that the Link's hardware controls devices that are controlled by IR and that the iPad/iPhones/Android/iPod Touches control the RF capabilities through wifi. It *SHOULD be seemless I'd think.

Also, yeah, I think my #3 would be really cool if they didn't do what I said in #2. It would be a little superimposed picture of the commands of these other RF apps that are on the Link. I'd suppose it would be very similar to them just implimenting my #2 suggesting though, cause either way, the Harmony software would distinguish between the signals it sends to the Link Hardware and the signals it lets the iPad/phones etc control. Whether it's by a check box option during device installation saying IR or RF, or it's by piggybacking off an app that Logitech let's appear within it's GUI is entirely up to them, but I think it would be a somewhat easy fix and realistic thing for them to do. Having things control RF these days is a MUST. There are just way to many devices that are controlled via RF to keep ignoring it.

Thanks for the hard work my man. It's always appreciated and will never go unnoticed!

:cheers:

[towboy123 Logi Legend]

It is definately not being controlled by RF.  Each company creates there own version of RF and therefore is proprietary it would be nice if it wasnt then there would be alot more devices like Fireplaces and Light/Fan controls that were controllable.  

I use a Squeezebox with Squeezepad controller which allows me to see album art and track info on the iPad.  I wish after the Activity ran it would put the Squeezepad app as the background then still also allow control with the slider.

There is so much the Link could do seeing that it is operating on a Mini computer that I really wish Logitech would tap into

[EdMartin]

Under Phone UI, I'd like to add "Add 'List' button to the controls for DirecTV DVR's".

The button exists in the iPad app, but not on the iPhone (I can't confirm Android).  But "List" is the button that gets to all of your recorded programs.  Kind of a key feature for a DVR.