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Product Review - Logitech Harmony 720 Universal Remote Control
Written By: Joseph A. Gillespie

Take a look at your entertainment center, do you have a whole shelf dedicated to holding remote controls? Is it over full? Well, mine was not long ago. One for the TV, Satellite Receiver, ReplayTV, Surround Sound, DVD Player, etc. Today however, I only see one remote sitting snuggly in it's charging cradle. How could this be? What magic could have created such a powerful object? The answer is simple, I bought a Logitech Harmony 720 Universal Remote Control.

Now, this isn't the first Universal Remote Control that had entered the house however, in fact most of the remotes claimed to be universal already. But the Harmony 720 is finally one remote that was, actually, universal. I could literally program the remote to do whatever I wanted it to. Let's take a quick look at some of the key features that make this remote one of the best parts of the entertainment sector.

Ok, so the first and possibly best feature of the Harmony 720 is the "activities" function. Each "activity" is a sequence of commands that allows multiple operations to be performed in a predefined order and time slot. Um, in other words it allows me to press one button and have the surround sound, tv, satellite, and ReplayTV all turn on and go to the correct settings to watch TV.

No more do I need to press power on the surround sound remote, press power on the TV remote, change the TV channel to the right input, adjust the surround sound input, make sure the satellite is on, etc. All I do now is press "Watch TV" - and voila in less than 20 seconds everything is up and operational. That feature alone makes the Logitech Harmony 720 Universal Remote Control worth purchasing. But wait, there's more! No... really. Of course the remote allows me to control everything with ease, volume controls the surround sound, channel controls the TV, guide controls the ReplayTV, and never a need to press a "input" button. It simply knows what each command should do. But there are a few simple amenities that make the remote even more user friendly. My personal favorite is the full backlight. EVERY single button on the remote lights up very clearly. Well, except one, the "Record" button has a solid red circle for the symbol, and does not light up. Odd, but no big deal. I rarely use this button, and if I do need to use it, I just find the only button that ins't lit up. You may be thinking, "So, what? My remotes already have backlights." - hm, but can they do this!

Oh, right... text. Hm, allow me to explain what just happened. I simply picked up the remote, and it lit right up. A tilt sensor located within the remote detects when you have picked it up, and automatically turns on the backlight. There is no need to find/know where the "backlight button" is, just pick it up. The remote also features a full color LCD screen, with 8 hard buttons per page. Now, this is not a touchscreen LCD, but that's specifically what I wanted. Instead there are "hard" buttons lined up both sides of the LCD, and you press the button located next to each selection to actually perform the task. Each command can be custom titled, and ordered. This makes the possibility of there not being the right buttons on the remote itself a thing of the past. Oh, and that reminds of another important feature I had almost forgotten, the "Help" button! All right, with all things technology, there are bound to be bugs. It's just the sad truth of our current development.

But, the Harmony Remote Control is even aware of this fact, and has a way around it! Let's say you pressed "Watch TV" but the Surround Sound didn't turn on. You simply press the "Help" button, and it asks simple yes or no questions on the screen. For our example, it may go something like this: "Is the TV on? [Yes] [No]" you press "Yes" - "Is the Surround Sound on? [Yes] [No]" you press "No" - the remote will then resend the signal to activate the surround sound and ask, "Is the Surround Sound on now? [Yes] [No]" - you press "Yes" and everything's right where it should be! It makes the remote not only universal for the components, but for the users as well. Anyone from the techiest geek to the worst technophobic person can use this remote control.

That's a lot of praise for this remote, but it's all not perfect. There are some annoyances that I would like to mention as well. In general, the quality of the remote is topnotch. The LCD screen is covered in a very hard plastic, and the buttons feel extremely solid. However, the words written under the buttons (not the symbols on the buttons) rubbed off rather soon on my remote. It's not a big deal, since everyone knows the symbols anyway, but it was quite a shock to see the "FWD" and "Play" words fade and wipe away like they were put on with chalk. I'm really trying to find another problem to mention, but I just can't think of one!

I'm going to go ahead and wrap this up now, with these final thoughts. The Logitech Harmony 720 Universal Remote Control is one of, if not the best purchase I've made this year, and if you've got more than one remote to fumble around with currently, I recommend you buy one to. Oh, and there are a lot of different Harmony styles. The 720, at the time of this writing, is available exclusively through Costco, and is not even listed on Logitech's Harmony site. You may prefer one of the other models, but the 720 had the right price, right layout, and right features for me. I researched a lot of universal remotes, and I would feel safe in saying the 720 has the best of all worlds, at a middle ground price.

Last Modified: August 9th, 2006

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Comments on This Article:

Mike
17 Aug 2007, 12:18

I just bought one at Costco for $119.99

Rob
28 Dec 2006, 10:03

In case anyone else needs the software,

http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/logitech_en_amr.cfg/
php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3255&p_created=1137170761&p_sid=3M-gtgqi&
p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZ
wX3Jvd19jbnQ9MjImcF9wcm9kcz04NDQsMzQwLDE1NjMmcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PTMuMTU2MyZw
X2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX
3RleHQ9c29mdHdhcmU*&p_li=&p_topview=1

Quoted from the page:

"If you have multiple Harmony remote models, it is recommended to have version 7.0 of the remote control software installed. This particular version of remote control software is compatible with all Harmony remote models."

Doc
26 Dec 2006, 19:01

I just purchased this item, and I want to know: can it control a cable box??

Valerie
10 Dec 2006, 18:42

I have been told this model won't operate a cable box. Is this true???

Nick
18 Nov 2006, 13:46

I need to update the software version to 7.0 but this remote is not on the logitech site. Which software should I use?

Joseph
21 Aug 2006, 17:08

@Bryan: I would recommend contacting Logitech and just explaining the situation. They should send you a new CD or a download URL. :)

You can download the software from their website ( http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/downloads/categories/US/EN,CRID=2109 ) but at the current time the Harmony 720 isn't listed as an option yet. :/

Bryan Marek
21 Aug 2006, 12:28

I bought a H720 off of ebay but I didn't get the software, how do I get it, this remote looks awesome, I loved my old H550 and this looks like a great upgrade from it, can't wait to use it, what do I do about the software though?
karaliusbronius@gmail.com

Buzz
09 Aug 2006, 22:08

I was at Costco today and the price was 159.95. I would suggest checking back with them and getting that 20.00 spot! Good Review!

Joseph
08 Aug 2006, 20:47

I paid $179 for it from Costco, but I think MSRP today is $199. Which is still much better then the $399 for the Harmony 880 (the closest comparable model). :)

Bob
08 Aug 2006, 19:58

You talk about the price being good, but you didn't tell us how much you paid. How much?

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