Harmony Ultimate, Harmony Smart Control, Harmony Link

[gmprice]

Hello,

With the Harmony Link and a Western Digital WD Live Plus...and the android app on a supported android phone.....

is it possible to set up activities like "listed to spotify" and "watch netflix" and have the  harmony link automatically turn on the WD Live & scroll to the spotify app & open it....or the netflix app & open that & log me into my account?

it seems that all I can figure out how to do is make an activity like "turn on wd live" & then from there I have to use the controls to do my own scrolling & selecting manually in order to get to spotify or netflix or whatever I want.  I'm looking for more automation.

I think this may be possible by "learned commands" ???...but I can't find a tutorial on how to do this for the harmony link?

Can someone please set me straight?

Thanks,

GMP 

[triad]

You can do that on older harmony remotes using the old software, but it's impossible to do that with the link using myharmony.com. It's very easy to do on other remotes that can do macros.

[gmprice]

Dangit.

Well, is it possible to do what I want with the Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote?  I'm thinking i may be better off to return this link thing & get a regular handheld remote.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the reply! 

[triad]

Yes it is possible with the One (I assume you are in the US and wouldn't be getting the OnePlus, correct?). On the One, you would go through the activity setup wizard, and at the end answer you want to add more control, then after confirming several settings, you get to a point where you can add more commands to the start of your activity. That's where you add the commands for navigating to what ever content or app you want. You can also do this on the Xsight Touch which is better and cheaper than most harmony remotes and what I personally use in my own home theater. Be aware than any model newer than the One is just as limited as the Link. So you need to stick with the One or older. Logitech removed a lot of features from all the newer models, making them pretty much useless to advanced users.

[gmprice]

Thanks for the reply.

I am in the USA & i looked for the  XSight Touch...but it seems they aren't available in the US.  Bummer.

So I will check into swapping my harmony link for the harmony one & see if that will work better for me.

When I get it, I may be askign you for some more help...ha!  Thanks!

Greg. 

[triad]

The One should work out fine for you.

I'm in the US too and have gotten several Xsights from different sources over the years, most recently Amazon. Neiman Marcus has them for $50 right now. Used ones are even cheaper on ebay. It's worth a shot since it's a fraction of the cost of a One and more advanced (adds RF, macros, multiple favorites lists, better battery life, colored buttons). If you have DirecTV, it will even control that via RF without any bases or IR blasters, unlike any other universal remote.

[gmprice]

oh wow...I see now.  I kept searching for "Xsight Touch"...but that keeps taking me to UK sites.  But if I search for "Xsight ARRX18G" then I find a bunch in the USA.  I was just mis-googling.  Thanks for clarifying.

Ok - I might try this then....again, since you are the expert w/ experience I may be asking you some more programming questions when I get it.

So I'm curious....if the Logitech remotes used to be so good & powerful & customizeable, whey did Logitech take that functionality away all of a sudden? 

Thanks!

Greg. 

[triad · Accepted solution]

That's a more closely guarded secret than nuclear launch codes. We've been asking for years, but the beta testers that know the answer won't talk until next year. In the mean time, they've lost lots of customers. Sales actually decreased last year, in spite of the introduction of several new models. Hopefully they will connect the dots and restore those features someday. I've always argued it probably took more engineering effort and cost to remove those features than to leave them in.

There is a glimmer of hope since many features were asked about in a recent logitech survey. That's the first time I've seen them actually ask their customers what they want, rather than employ focus groups consisting of chimpanzees as they normally do. With more competetion from iOS and Android devices, the market is only going to get more competitive. Without offering at least the basic functionality they used to have, they're in for a tough ride.

I hung in there as long as I could, but haven't personally used a harmony in over a year. Other remotes are much more functional. A few simple changes could make harmony unbeatable in the marketplace. But so far they've refused to change anything for the better. Myharmony is a cruel joke. As an outsider looking in, Harmony management seems to be so focused on the web interface, they don't have any staff who actually understand what a universal remote is supposed to do. Perhaps they'll hire someone with some expertise in remotes at some point, but I'm not holding my breath.

[gmprice]

thats cool. thanks for the info.