I missed that Logitech released the latest version (7.6) of their Harmony remote software for the Mac.
I have not updated my Harmony 895 and remote extender in a while (must have been 6 months) and did notice that the firmware on both was bumped up (probably to support the PS3 bluetooth remote extender). This was also the first time, that I was able to update the firmware and settings without a glitch (no more safe-mode requirement on the remotes)
My trusty Logitech 895 flaked out over the weekend. Although nothing had changed (isn’t this what is usual in cases like that?), I was not able to update the settings on the remote. If the Logitech Control centre displays an error 0×24400700 during/after updating the remote, you will be able to resolve it with the instructions below.
The Harmony remote has a “safe-mode” option, which allows you to re-flash the firmware (when doing this, I noticed I upgraded from 4.0 to 4.7):
- Remove the rechargeable battery
- Keep the power-button pressed
- Plugin the USB cable and release the power button once “Safe mode enabled” is displayed
- Re-flash the firmware (via the Download button in the Harmony control centre)
- Update the remote with the latest settings
- Remove the USB cable and insert the battery again
I did have to re-update the settings several times (this might have been related due to the fact that I had my notebook not connected to a power-plug).
My home-entertainment system consisting of a 46″ 100Hz Sony Bravia, a Yamaha YSP-4000 soundbar, a Yamaha YSP-150 subwoofer, a PS3, a Nintendo Wii and PVR made me a 4-remote collector. A simple task such as watching a BlueRay movie turned into the ordeal of switching on the PS3, soundbar, subwoofer and TV. Then having to select the correct input on the soundbar and the TV and we are good to go. The same applies when wanting to watch a movie on the PVR – instead of enjoying a movie, I have become the master in remote-control juggling.
Until I found the Logitech Harmony 895:
The Harmony is a (pricey) universal remote control which comes with a charge cradle and a number of remote-blasters (for people who have their equipment in closed cabinets). The remote control has a color display, 8 activity/quick-launch buttons (left and right of the display) and the usual remote control features such as mute, volume, PVR-controls. A cool feature is the built in tilt-sensor which recognizes when the remote is picked up and then automatically illuminates all buttons and switches the display on.
I am not sure how the Harmony software functions on Windows, but the OS X version seems to be browser-based and is painful to work with, if you experience slow internet speeds. What really makes Logitech’s Harmony range tick though is the included software. This provides access to a huge range of control codes for devices. You tell the software what equipment you have, which means getting down and dirty with the precise model numbers, and it then pulls the information from its extensive database. You then plug the remote in via USB and the data is transferred over to the remote. The good news is the database is very extensive and you’d be hard pressed to actually own something that isn’t on there – and of course grows over time. It certainly had no problems with any of my kit – the hardest trick is knowing which category to search in.
The setup was easy, but time-consuming but after 4 hours I reached the level of perfection on the remote:
- Configured 6 activities: Watch PVR, Watch Blue-ray, Play PS3, Play Wii, Listen to radio, Listen to Music
- Assigned 20 graphical icons to my favorite TV-channels (such as M-Net, MTV etc)
Continue reading “Ultimate Control: Logitech Harmony 895” »
I was checking out Logitech’s website and their homepage gave me the “there-is-something-odd” feeling:
Probably makes sense that everything is backwards – after all seems to be a Microsoft remote – judging from that back-to-front Windows logo 
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