Internet-Enabled Remote

ExtremeTech has a review of a new remote that can possibly replace ALL of your existing remotes. The slogan “If you’ve got more remote controls than you can count, then maybe you need to bring a little Harmony to your life.” is catchy. The idea sounds unique but if you are like me you may be skeptical about buying yet another universal remote.

Setting up the Harmony remote is very straightforward, but unlike most others, you will need a PC to make it work. Installation was easy, just plug the remote into a free USB port and install the device driver. Along with the device driver, a System Tray applet gets installed that senses when the Harmony has been connected and then connects it to the internet via your web browser

The web interface is what sets the Harmony apart. Using your browser, you can update the remote’s settings, add new devices easily, and change the current setup. You will need a live Internet connection to complete the installation/configuration of the remote.

The first time you’re taken to Harmony’s site, the configuration app walks you through defining what devices you have in your home entertainment system. Harmony has an impressively large database of device configurations for most major manufacturers’ home electronics devices. Here are the defined devices that you can use the SST-768 to control:

ExtremeTech was unable to find the exact match for one of their test remotes so I would assume that we would have one of the main problems a lot of universal remotes do, they can’t emulate all the functions of the original remote. They have a work around which involves buying more equipment. (Or you can do like you already do, keep your original remote and do the special things with it.)

My skepticism aside, this product seems to be on the right track for solving the “too many remotes” problem and as usual, it has peek my curiosity but I would like to see some more reviews. Extremetech has done a thorough review touching, setup, configuration and use of the remote. So if you are in the market, go check this out.

More info on the Harmony Remote