While some of that is true, how do you research a product? I mean, product marketing is usually not a good indicator of real world performance…
I love Harmony remotes.
I’ve had the Harmony One for maybe 7 years now, and still going strong. I had to replace the battery once though (known problem). It controls my TV, Roku, AVR, and BluRay player. Love it.
I bought a 2nd Harmony remote for my basement viewing area, it controls variants of all the above plus a dehumidifier (turns it off when I’m watching something, turns it back on when I stop watching) and my Nest thermostat (though I never use the temp functionality on it). Once I upgrade my lights to be “smart”, it’ll control those too.
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You have to realize that my phone (ah, the good ole days) has an IR blaster. I can control both my TV and Roku with it, just different apps. HTC One M8, one of the best phones ever made (and yes, that means it likely does more useful stuff than your phone does… isn’t that sad?).
So… still skipping the whole Harmony thing… don’t need the extra device 
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You can tell from the Harmony 650 picture that my dog would love this device. They would think it would make a great chew toy.
It boils down to convenience. Also has a high WAF.
I have an app for my TV, AVR, BluRay and Roku on my phone too. But that’s 4 different apps. And/or 4 different remotes (let’s say I can pair it down to 2 for general usage)
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I’ll go along with you on this. After just three weeks of on-hands experience with the 650, I’m completely sold on the quality, design and functionality of Harmony product. I picked up the “Ultimate One” yesterday, will now relegate my 650 to a bedroom TV.
All over the internet, I’m now reading about how Harmony remotes “Don’t work with Roku”, and how the batteries die after a few weeks or months. Wrong and wrong. Like you, I had configured the 650 remote to control an AVR system, Roku, BluRay player, etc., adding a Fire TV and a “Watch Fire TV” Activity.
Was able to transfer all functions and activities from the 650 over to the Ultimate One, I’ll be adding new activities as I learn more. It had not occurred to me to set this up with a Nest or other smart home device, I’ll be exploring those ideas as well.
…
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Getting a little bit carried away with the Logitech Harmony thing … bolstered by my excellent experience with the 650, I went out and scored an “Ultimate One”, finally got to break it out of the box and set it up. It’s fantastic, I love the form, the looks and the overall excellence.
The Touch Screen makes a difference, it is a joy to operate. Transferred all Devices and Activities from the 650 in the “My Harmony” app and added a few more. Unlike the 650 and remotes of it’s ilk, this one comes with a charging cradle, which (in my view) is another added bonus.
Hoping to leave well enough alone at this point, but I’ve seen how that goes.
…
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Next up the harmony hub. Then smart plugs. The smart lights. Then smart blinds. Sooner or later you’ll need to sell your home and get a smart home. All due to the harmony remote 
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I am decidedly on that path.
That M8 was a fantastic phone, it was ahead of it’s time. I have a U12+ (unlocked, international version), something of a modern-day M8. I’ve always thought of HT phones (and tablets) as excellent product.
HTC’s problem is the “lemons”. They’ll have some really great phones, and then a real stinker. Problem is that for whatever reason, people only buy the stinker HTC phones and thus, they’ve garnered a really bad reputation.
(I think we’ve taken this thread about as far off topic now as we should)
Discovered a new feature on the Harmony Ultimate One remote, I really like this. When loading “Favorites” / favorite channels on a device, you can select between cable providers, or (in my case), you locality by Zip and find all your OTA channels. Load the ones you like, in the order you like and they will present when you click the * button on your remote, when viewing.
In my case, I loaded about 50 channels, and it does let you scroll (downward) through the entire lineup, click the one you like and it’s there. I love the fact that each channel is represented by it’s Logo, a very nice little touch. Beginning to find more reasons to recommend this over the 650.
Is that only for Cable? Does that automatically start the Tablo and select that channel for live viewing (how?)?
It’s not only for Cable. When you go to load your channel favorites, it will give you a choice between all the major cable providers by location (Comcast, etc.) OR you can select your local community OTA lineup.
Once you do this it will load all the stations (and sub channels) in the city you designated. You then select which ones (or all) you wish to appear in the physical remote itself. When you’re watching TV, click the * (Star) button and the stations will appear, as in the photo above. Scroll through, click one and your TV or device will tune it.
In my case, I’ve got this set up with my Channel Master Stream + (also works with Air TV player). I can click the Guide button on the remote and scroll through the Grid to select OR just click the Favorites button then select from the screen.
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Though you can’t do this for Tablo channel viewing, you can set up an Activity to Turn on your TV, AV system (or Sound Bar), Roku or Fire TV Box and Tune to your Tablo Live Channels with the click of one Button.
You create an Activity, name it “Watch Tablo”, and set it up. Once done, you pick up your remote, click “Watch Tablo” and that’s where everything leads to and starts. You still have to scroll the conventional way though.
Ah, thanks. I didn’t run my antenna to the tv, I only watch through the tablo
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The Harmony 650 is on sale for $29 at Best Buy today. Fantastic offering, excellent remote.
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This is a great remote. I have 2 of them and at that price, it’s a steal. I think I paid $40 or $50 for mine. The only caveat is that it goes through batteries faster than conventional remotes, about every 3 months or so, but I buy them at Costco and always have lots of spares laying around.
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Yes, great price, people pay that much for a Sideclick! And more so, for generic remotes and the RCA & GEs of the world. I use rechargeable NMH batteries on mine (and on other Harmony remotes), and get long life from them. Got my first one at a Walmart for $39, thought that was great. Picked up two of these yesterday (for friends).
Greetings. I’ve been lurking here for a while but this post motivated me to create an account. I’ve been using a Harmony remote for most of the last 10 years. I have a 720 which was a special model originally made for Costo. When I bought it, it was available on Amazon. Right after buying our Tablo Dual 64, we bought a new Roku Premier+, which would not add to the Harmony 720. We replaced it with a 665. I liked the screen on the 720 better than the 665. But the buttons on the 665 just feel better. The only thing I wish the 665/650 had was a rechargable battery. That’s the thing about the 720 I really miss. Otherwise I love the 665 as much as the 720. I have not noticed any issues with the batteries yet.
When you read online that Harmony remotes don’t work with Roku, it’s because people don’t understand the difference between Infrared remotes and Wireless. Roku Streaming sticks use WiFi. The lower end Harmony remotes (like the 650/665) use Infrared, so they cannot be used to control Roku Streaming sticks. But it works just fine with my Premier+.
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