Logitech Harmony 670 Remote Control Review
The Logitech Harmony 670 makes departure in terms of design from the previous 500 series models. However, the basic programming and function remain similar to its predecessor. There are some subtle differences that might warrant an upgrade for consumers with older Harmony remote controls.
Features
As far as features go, the 670 is similar to that of 500 series models. The easy programming and operating remains the same. The 670 adds bit more in the way of DVR functionality for the ever popular TiVo and other DVR users. The 670 does come with little bigger LCD screen and 6 hard buttons to go along with the LCD compared to 4 on the previous models. Also, the backlit keys are nice for usage in the dark environment. The easy way to program in activity control and device control mode remains constant from the previous models.
Design
Harmony 670 forgoes the slick rectangular look from the previous 520 and 550 models. Instead, 670 went with peanut shaped clicker, thin in the middle and fat on the ends. While it might not look as slick or sophisticated as the earlier models, it actually manages to feel more comfortable in the hand. Also, Logitech managed to cram in more buttons than the previous models. While more buttons doesn’t always translate to better remote, it does in this instance. The button layout is somewhat more cluttered than the 550 due to the addition of buttons. The top and bottom part are identical to the 550. Top is dominated by the LCD with playback function buttons right below it. The bottom part of the remote houses the numeric buttons as well as channel and volume button. The middle section contains the directional button and DVR specific buttons. This is where it differentiates itself from the 550. Logitech added DVR specific buttons clustered around the directional pad.
Ease of Programming
Like the previous models, programming Harmony 670 is fairly simple. The same programming procedure remains for this model. You hook the remote to PC or Mac via USB cable. From there, you install the program and connect to the web interface and follow the step by step direction. You will need to enter the manufacturer and model and select how the device will be used in the home theater set up. As always, you can program to operate the devices based on activity. The remote will basically work with all the devices in your home theater to get that activity done. For example, programming “watch TV” will turn on the television, cable box, receiver, or any other devices that are required for you to watch television. This type of macroing will make it much easier to operate all your home theater devices. On the other hand, you can choose to operate the devices individually if you choose.
Ease of use
Once you finish programming the remote, the remote is really easy to use. You will need to acclimate yourself to the button locations. The buttons themselves are made of hard plastic and easy to locate throughout the remote. It should not take you too long to familiarize yourself with the remote. The backlit buttons are nice touch. The addition of DVR specific functions are nice touch if you TiVo frequently. Also, Logitech added sound and picture control to instantly modify sound system as well as video settings on your television. This is an improvement over the previous model that should appeal to owners who constantly tweak their television. The color coded activity buttons are also a nice touch.
Overall, this is not a revolutionary step forward over the 550 model. But, it does add various nice touches that might appeal to DVR owners as well as home theater enthusiast. The addition of DVR buttons and backlit buttons are useful addition. If you do have more complicated set up that include DVR, this is very nice remote to consider.
Pros
- Ease of programming
- Backlit buttons
- DVR buttons
Cons
- No rechargeable system
- Peanut shaped design
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Logitech Harmony 670 Universal Remote List Price: $149.99 Sale Price: $98.48 Used From: $50.00  |
This site contains the personal opinions of various authors and contributors to this website. The opinions in these articles and reviews are offered in good faith, but also come with no guarantees or warranties.
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WELL WORTH THE MONEY
AN ABSOLUTELY GREAT INVESTMENT. WORTH EVERY DIME. IT’S SO EASY TO USE EVEN I COULD DO IT. THIS IS MY SECOND PURCHASE OF ONE OF THESE PRODUCTS. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUTSTANDING.
Logitech Harmony 670 Universal Remote
One remote contols everything, even my old A/V receiver. I couldn’t get the cable box remote to control the volume on my Samsung HD TV. This product works on all my stuff. Easy to use. Easy to program. Works as advertised.
Harmony 670
Once the realization hit that this device, while excellent, can’t think for itself, we were very happy with it. It depends on the components it controls being synchronized, so they all turn on at once etc…so if one component is turned on manually by a foolish meddler the synchronization is destroyed. The remote’s help feature is then used to restore status quo ante.
Setup software was well designed and easy to use. It is a great boon to the Luddites in our house who are generally helpless when it’s time to switch a TV input. Just remember – once you have the remote use it and it alone to control your devices!
Best Remote Ever
If you can use a computer without having to watch Video Professor CDs, then this will be the greatest remote you will ever own.
It is infinitely programmable. I currently have the following components that it controls:
1. HDTV
2. A/V Receiver
3. Tivo
4. Digital Cable / DVR
5. VCR
6. Apple Airtunes
Plus, I have two game systems (playstation 2 and gamecube) that it does not control, but that it can set up the other components so that all I need to do is press the power button on the game system.
The software is great and allows you to mix and match components for any given activity (watch Tivo, watch DVR, Watch VCR, Listen to MP3′s streamed via Airtunes, Play Gamecube, Play Playstation, etc). For each activity you get to choose what component is used, what gets turned off or stays on, how the volume is controlled, what inputs need to be set, and so on. For functions that do not correspond to the buttons on the remote, you can program them in so that they appear on the LCD screen.
Seriously, this is the greatest remote I have ever owned, and I see no reason why anyone would need to spend any more than this. I think it will even control lights and other home automation functions, if you have them.
Love this remote!
Even though it took a little while to setup this controller (Mostly old TV with no manual or original remote, which meant that i had to figure out which signal did what thing on the TV)
But once the setup is complete, my crazy multi input, multi source entertainment system is under control with 1 remote, that is so simple to use that even my grandma can now use. Now, this is the system that NO one, NO ONE can figure out without a CS degree.
My girlfriend now loves it
Remotes don’t get any better than the Harmony series
If you don’t mind setting up your remote via your computer then a Harmony remote is what you need. I recommend them to everyone. These remotes will really let you put away all of your other remotes. You can test drive the setup procedures on Logitech’s website to see if this is your cup of tea.
All Harmony remotes have the same programmable capabilities, so you should make your decision based on the buttons available, price, and other features. The only thing that I wish this model had was rechargeable batteries because the batteries need to be changed about every month.
Best Remote I’ve ever owned
Great product and easy to set up. It’s the only remote I’ve owned that correctly controls every one of the devices I own. As a bonus I discoverd it even controls my Bose Portable SoundDock for my iPod. Very slick!
Excellent product, though slightly laggy
This particular logitech remote is everything that it advertises itself to be. It works with all of my components and I’ve had quite a delightful time programming it to work EXACTLY how I want it to work.
My only qualm thus far is some lag time when starting the Watch TV macro. It takes way too long to run this macro and then if I’m not paying attention, I tend to hit other buttons, which just adds more commands to the queue. I’ve had numerous occasions when I have turned my TV on and off several times inadvertently.
Main problem aside, I love this product.
Great product
The Logitech Harmony 670 remote ties in our new Samsung 52″ TV, DVR, Cable, Radio and Blu-Ray player. So much better than five remotes. It has a sleek design and is asthetically pleasing. Easy to use once it is programmed correctly. The help button is great during the rare times when all items either don’t turn on or don’t turn off. Highly recommend to anyone of any level of electronics savvy!
Gets off the ground quick and has intelligence
If you are like me and have reprogrammed ‘learning’ remotes in your home several times for several rooms, you have had the frustration of fingering in the codes.
You can imagine how it must feel to NOT have to try every code from a vendor.
Well those days are over. Try the Harmony 670. You can get it at a bargain price as compared to the higher end models, likely worthy of their price, (judging from my experience with this one).
The key is: You need a piece of paper to write down what the model of the units you want to control with the remote. It is also good to know what you have inputs and outputs plugged into.
Plug the CD in, load the SW. Plug the remote in and start answering a few activities questions. A couple minutes, really just a couple- like two, later you will emerge with a remote programmed to do everything for you automatically.
That’s it, life is simple. I tried Sony RM-VL600 8-Device Universal Learning Remote. It’s good, inexpensive and a great value, so take a look at it for a room setup where you do not want to fork over the extra bucks for a Harmony.
So it depends what is worth more to you, your money or your time. If it’s money, try the Sony, but if you resent the amount of time, and the entry attempts it takes to ‘reprogram the remote’, the Harmony is slick because you do not have to take your time and waste it punching in numbers, codes and macros.
If you like a good remote and do not want to fork over the extra money- for something that, let’s face it, comes FREE with the component…
Look for the logitech- see if it is on sale, first. If it is not on sale and you need a remote buy the Sony. But if it is, spend a few more dollars, simplify your life.
+++++++++++++
Update:
Multiple channels programmed, and other inputs for example favorite music channels, all pre-programmed now. Just select activites and ‘next’ until you see your customized labels (east to do)i.e. ‘HGTV’, American Idol, Jazz standards… etc and that channel and appropriate equipment are set, powered on and running.
Also, You can program ALL your room systems on one remote and label as such.For example- when you select the equipment used to ‘Watch TV’ in your basement it may or may not be identical to your ‘Family room’ equipment. The Harmony software lets you track the activitities for each room.
Pretty cool- I now have a pile of 12 remotes that are not going to be used- unless this breaks.
Logitech Harmony 670
I love this remote. It is easy to set up, intuitively organized and incredibly easy to use. This is actually the second one I purchased. A few years ago after getting into home theater in a big way, I found myself trying to ‘train’ the universal remote that came with my AV receiver, with only about 75% success – and still dealing with 4 or 5 remotes on the coffee table. I had a sheet on the table for my family to use: to watch TV, set the TV to Video 3, the AV to Digital 1, turn on the cable box, etc. For DVD or VCR, it was all different settings of course. After doing some research, I decided on the 670 for two reasons. First, I’ve had other Logitech products for my PC and they work great, and the reviews were solid. Second, the 670 was the “top of the line” in the segmenet of their products that used disposable batteries. This was important to me as the research I did suggested that the rechargable units worked great – until the batteries wore out and it was then expensive to replace them and they could also be hard to find. The backlight button is easy to find by feel in the dark, and illuminates the screen perfectly, without overusing the batteries. Batteries last nearly a year and the remote remembers it’s commands when they expire (very handy!). So, I settled on the 670 and was delighted to discover that my family can now run the system, switching between TV, DVD, VCR, Radio, CD’s, Game controls etc. without incident. The HELP feature is also very slick, as it resynchronizes the remote when needed and keeps things working as designed. All the other remotes are where they belong – in a shoe box in the closet. The 670 is all I need (even for the DirecTV Sattelite DVR). I recently purchased the second one to service another area in our home…the first one is still going strong, 4 years after my original purchase. Finally, the Amazon price and availability was impossible to beat. Great job guys, thanks for the great product and the terrific service.
Superb function, difficult setup
Function: 5 stars, but with one point off because some buttons are too close together. I have small hands and still have trouble with the black buttons being too close to the up/down/left/right ring.
Setup: 2 stars. Swimmingly deluxe — at first. The “Web wizard” gives you the illusion of a smart, brief and simple programming process. Alas, it didn’t work. I had to spend more than a few hours learning to navigate the user interface and eventually had to program each button individually. For example, I wanted to add the Roku/Netflix device. You first have to select a category from: Television, Amp, Cable/Satellite box, Video Recorder, DVD, Music Player, Game Console, Music System, Computer, Home Automation, and Misc. Which one? Well, there are 3 to 10 subcategories under each of these — more than 50 altogether — none of which is clearly valid. Taking a guess, you then select a manufacturer name from a long list. Not there? Try again with another subcategory until you find it.
I finally found Roku and then had to type in the model number, which it recognized. It would have been much more efficient is this case to either (A) choose Roku from and All Manufacturers category, or (B) simply have a Search function on manufacturer or model number. (The Logitech online Search for Roku produced zero hits.) My next device was the Western Digital WDTV HD Media Player. I couldn’t find it. But somehow — don’t remember the steps — I was able to type in the model number, got the response Not Recognized, but nonetheless it actually had the list of WDTV buttons. I was later able to map them one-by-one to the Harmony. This took about an hour of experimentation involving unplugging the Harmony, trying it with the device, rinse and repeat.
In my opinion it’s very confusing and awkward to navigate the Wizard for a non-obvious device. Part of the WDTV device process actually involved the “learning” capability where the Harmony reads button presses of the WDTV remote. Maybe this is how is was able to finally recognize the actual remote. If so, then this simple quick method should be available at the outset: point the remote at the Harmony, press a button as instructed by the Wizard, repeat until it has enough data to identify the given remote. The Logitech online support and forums were of no help: I did a WDTV search, found a forum page but did not have “permission” to load it even though I was registered and logged in. Strange.
Ok, now the devices – - TV, DVD, WDTV, Roku, Receiver – have been added. Next step (not obvious at first) is to define Activities. For example, select Play DVD from the list. That went fast, as obviously the TV, Receiver and DVD devices must be used. But, once again, I had problems creating activities for the Roku and the WDTV. The problem is that you are presented with a preset list of activity types that essentially lock your options regarding Devices. I was never able to create an Activity for the WDTV player that didn’t also require the Roku.
A problem here is that when you create an Activity, the Harmony assumes that when you start the Activity all the specified devices must be powered ON. IOW, pressing the TV button turns on the TV, Receiver, and Satellite box (but if any one of them is already On it skips it — very proper). But when I want to play the WDTV it tries to power on the Roku. The Web wizard does not let you delete Devices from the list it generates. Maybe there’s a way but I couldn’t find it.
Now you have your Devices selected and Activities created and (re)named. There’s still all those buttons to deal with. I have 5 remotes to be mapped onto a single Harmony. For example, when playing a DVD I normally use only about 5 TV buttons, a dozen or so DVD buttons and about 8 Receiver (audio) buttons. These easily map to the Harmony. I used the default settings that the wizard created for the DVD. I then set up the 1,2,3,…,0 buttons for most of the audio and TV video buttons. Since the black buttons around the ring are very close to it I nulled some of them out.
It now works very well and I love the Harmony. It just takes a lot of time to individually do this remote-button to Harmony-button mapping and you have to do it for each Activity. In summary, it’s a discovery process to learn how the Wizard works and how to customize the buttons. Logitech has a huge database of remotes but some of them are hard to find, especially with no Search function and a capricious categorization scheme. Lots of trial and error for me.
Finally, it would be very helpful if there was some way to PRINT your list of button assignments.
Great solution to having too many remotes!
I received the 670 as a birthday present. I have a Samsung TV, Xbox 360, Onkyo Receiver and a Philips DVD player. I’m also hoping to add other devices such as a HD satellite service and a DVR (Tivo). Since this device handles up to 15 devices, I should not have a problem.
I simply wanted a way for my family to be able to use the TV without having to conduct a 3 day seminar on how to switch all the settings so they could watch the movie “CARS” or play a video game. With this remote, my little ones can play a game or watch tv with one simple button push.
I have never owned a universal remote but I am so impressed with how easy this software is to use. I entered my device model numbers in to the software after I installed it and presto – it configures everything for you. However, it also allows you to tweak the settings as well. I had to do this as I listen to CD’s on my DVD player and my DVD player automatically turns on my TV (anynet+). When this happens, the remote does not know the TV is on so it can’t turn it off. One simple setting and I was good to go.
I highly recommend this device. Works for the entire family!!
Note: When you open the software on your computer it connects to the Logitech website to download all the possible devices, etc. However, when one of these servers is down you will get an error like the following:
Invalid procedure call or argument /EasyZapper/New/ProcLogin/Start.asp, line 133
To fix this, you simply need to close down the application (including the system tray icon) and try again. You may need to try several times. I’m sure this is relatively rare but it happened to me the first time I loaded the software.
Very Good But Some Set-Up May Be Required
I bought this to solve an annoying problem that meant I still needed 3 remotes for watching TV and DVD’s. For example, the Aspect Ratio was only controllable from the TV remote – this is something I often changed when watching movies.
Now that I have it customized the way I want it is great. However it took quite a while and the set-up process was troublesome at a few points. I also thought it odd that the default mode for the Watch a Movie activity was to use the VCR device.
After trying a quick set-up it seemed to run OK. Then I’d go back and try a few customizations. After this the Activities failed to work. This was easily solved by walking through the on-screen Help Process which is idiot proof. This seems unnecessary though. Why does it keep losing the previous working settings?
To finalize the settings it took sitting down in front of the TV and going over it all in detail. I eventually changed most of the default Activity and Custom buttons. Again, oddly the “Watch TV” Activity had “DVD Chapter +/-” buttons on the custom menu.
I expect a lot will depend on your particular equipment and how well the defaults have been programmed.
I added my CD Mini-System and it all worked fine with the default settings.
For me, an easier set-up process would have earned the 4 stars.
Lot of shortcomings
1) No set-up for Blu-ray
2) No DVR button
3) Buttons are too glossy, impossible to read
4) LCD is dim and hard to read.
I almost never return products but this is going back today.
Just OK
I bought this as it was supposed to be optimized for A DVR like DirecTV or Tivo.
I assumed the colored buttons at the top had functionality like the colored context-sensitive buttons on currrent DirecTV DVRs. This turned out not to be true. They are for fixed functions like Watch TV and watch movie.
The colored button functions of DirecTV appear in the LCD display.
This no better than my Harmony 550 in my opinion for controlling DirecTV.
In fact, my Harmony 550 feels more expensive and my fingers find the button much more easily. The buttons are so small I often push the wrong button unless I look.
The 550 has a nicer button layout and also a motion detector than turns on the backlight, a nice feature, that this one lacks.
Nice – but not as good as the 550
I bought the Logitech Harmony 550 for my wife last Christmas. I liked it so much that I picked up the 670 when it was on sale. While the remote generally works well, it feels a bit clunkier than the 550. The button layout is somewhat odd (very different from the 550) and the remote itself is physically quite a bit thicker/larger than the 550.
I occasionally have problems with the remote not switching the input on the TV when I first turn it on. Switching between inputs after the TV is on works fine. I’ve played around with the timing delays in the software, but haven’t been able to get it to work consistently.
Harmony makes life simpler
We recently purchased the Harmony remote and are very satisfied with the product. It is much easier dealing with only one remote!
I’m elevating my rating to 4 stars – Good design, good customer support – construction could use some work
My wife bought me this remote for my birthday in March, 2008. For almost a year it functioned well, and was well designed for use with Tivo. However, after just a few months, the silver exterior finish began to wear off through normal use. A few weeks ago, the LCD display began disappearing intermittently, only to return when certain buttons were pressed. It has now disappeared for good. The rest of the buttons continue to function. I went to Logitech’s website to see about the warranty, since it’s less than one year old. They provide phone support for the first 30 days, and after that it’s either online or email. I didn’t see any way to contact online support, besides email. I sent an email explaining the problem. The screen that popped up after sending my message said they were experiencing a high volume (not a good sign), and that I should expect a reply within 3 days. It’s now day 4, and I’ve had no reply yet.
Follow up review: I went to send a new message to customer support after receiving no reply, and it turns out that my first message never went through. Please note that, when using Logitech’s site, after you have typed an email and hit “continue”, you are taken to a new page that provides additional troubleshooting information – you need to scroll down and hit another button to actually deliver your email. I didn’t do this the first time. My “second” email was responded to within 1 day. I was instructed to go through the “download firmware” process, and told that if it doesn’t work, to reply with my address. I downloaded the firmware, and it didn’t work to solve the problem. I replied, providing my mailing address, and within a couple of hours I received another email stating that a new unit would be shipped, and that I did not have to return the old one. This is really great customer service, I think, and I would now elevate my rating to 4 stars. It would be 5 stars based on the design and general performance of the remote, but I’m making it 4 due to the wearing of the silver finish and the failure of the LCD screen within one year of purchase. The LCD screen issue seems to be a common problem among other reviewers, and is surely something that Logitech is aware of – but they seem to respond well to the issue, based on my experience and that of others here.
Wonderful product
Very easy to program and to use-wonderful product that will get rid of the need for 10 different remotes!!!
Easy to use, but short life for the money
When I first purchased this remote for my husband, we loved it. The love affair has since worn off. We love the ease of use with this remote. However, over time, this remote has not aged well.
There are many features that are available on this remote that were not present on the remote we got from our cable company. While using the DVR features of our cable box, this remote allowed us to skip ahead in 30-second intervals, which the cable remote wouldn’t do. We were also very excited about being able to program all of our devices using our computer. Once we programmed it, anyone could use the remote easily. Even my mother (who’s terrible with technology) was able to switch easily from movies to music to cable without any hassle.
Unfortunately, after using this remote for just over a year, it’s starting to wear out. In addition to needed frequent battery changes, the screen has stopped working. The menu choices that are available on the screen are critical to using the features of the cable box, and we can no longer see those choices on the screen. Though we did originally love this remote, we have both been disappointed by its recent behavior. We expected a lot more from a remote that is so expensive.
If money is no issue for you, this is a fun new remote that programs easily. We didn’t think that the money we spent on this would lead to such a quick break in this device. Think before you buy and make sure if you do get it, you have rechargeable AAA batteries handy.
Display failed within first month–poor support.
I bought the Harmony 670 in late December. By mid January the display occasionally would freeze partially drawn, but we thought nothing of it since any function that could change the display still worked. Less than two weeks later the display stopped working altogether while all other functions still seemed fine. The batteries were still going strong, and the device had been handled well.
Logitech tech support sent instructions to update the firmware but this did not help. They requested my contact information in that message, but my response–twice sent–received no reply [Update: beyond the initial reply, Logitech's responses were dated FIVE DAYS LATER!].
Since the device failed within Amazon’s return window, I’m washing my hands of it. Overall, had the Harmony 670 continued to function properly, I would easily have rated it four stars.
Great deal!
Bought this as a refurb product, and it has worked perfectly. The remote came with all the items available in the retail package, just at a fraction of the price. I think this remote is a little pricey retail, but this ended being a great deal for a great remote.
DirecTV HR-21, PS3, Oppo HDMI/DVI Tips
Works great, the setup software is great and allows for tinkering to make the universal remote just right. Some quick advice though, to make it work with a PS3, buy the PSSIRX1 from http://www.schmartstuff.com for $35, which makes the PS3 respond to infared. When using the DirecTV HR-21, remember you can turn off the HR-21 and it will still record your shows. Being able to power off your HR-21 may give you more flexibility when working with combinations of devices and if you don’t have enough TV or Audio ports. In my case I use the Oppo HDMI/DVI switch box to share one DVI port which the 670 works with as well.
Tecnical but good
Too technical to make the unit function as a normal remote. With Geek support from a neighbor’s son, the unit is now functioning similar to a normal remote. After using the unit for several weeks I am happier, but have requested a second visit from the neighbor’s son, as some time the transition from local broadcast to satellite produces a very loud speaker blast and no picture, which send the dog and others for cover. If I can get it do all the functions that Logitech advised it will do I will be very happy and will toss out all four of our current remotes.