Customer Reviews
Harmony is Great - This one has fewer buttons 
2008-10-06
I have three different Harmony remotes -- I'm a big fan. This one is in my bedroom. Of the three that I have (880, 659, 628), this is my least favorite. Why? It's missing a few hard buttons that I miss, and the remaining buttons have a layout that I have a hard time remembering. Let me elaborate.
First, as I indicated above, I'm a big fan of Harmony Remotes. You can program them to do everything that any of your devices' IR remotes can do. In general, the dedicated buttons on the remote are enough to handle the tasks that you do 90% of the time. Less frequently used functions can be configured to appear on the LCD screen, which displays 4 (or 6 - it's configurable) items at a time, and can scroll. For really seldom-used functions, everything that the device's remote can do is accessible in "Device" mode.
I have never had any trouble with the website's programming applets. Some folks hate them, but I'm not one of them. There have been occasions where I have had to try a configuration, and go back to tweak it, because it wasn't working exactly the way I wanted it to. I would rather do this on my computer, using the website's huge database of devices and IR codes, than to try to program it manually, the way I used to have to do with older universal remotes.
I also do not have the problems that some other folks complain about where the device state gets out of sync. I always program my devices using what they call "discrete codes", where there's a different command for "On" and "Off", instead fo a single "Toggle Power" command, and different commands for TV input selection. I never have to try to find the discrete code settings, even if they're not provided by the device's original remote, because Logitech's online device database already has all of the discrete codes for all of my devices stored and ready for me to use.
The Harmony 628, in particular, is my least favorite of the three Harmony remotes we have. It is missing dedicated buttons for "Exit", "Menu", and "Info". I use all three of these regularly, so I ended up configuring them as items on the LCD. This isn't too horrible, although it's a little inconvenient. The other issue I have with this remote is that I just can't seem to figure out the button layout. When I'm watching TV, if it's dark in the room, I can never find the Play, Stop, Pause, FFwd and Rev buttons. They're always in the same place, of course, but it's just never where I expect. I always end up having to turn on the backlight.
Overall, this is a solid remote, at the inexpensive end of the awesome Harmony line. If your remote usage does not involve the "Menu", "Info" or "Exit" buttons, then bump my rating up by one. For my uses, though, this device is OK, but not great.
OK, but no miracle worker 2008-07-22
I have had various universal remotes, and this is decent but wont solve all your problems. Plus the light broke after about a year, though they did replace it. Main problem is that the remote still doesnt know what the TV/Reciever/Sattelite is actually set to. So when inevitibly there is some timing issue or a command is missed, its all out of whack. And with IR its going to happen unless you point it at each device every time. Wish it was all RF. Also i still had to program keys on my remote. Critical keys for satellite DVR were not represented, especially the commercial skip
Frustrating programming 
2007-06-02
Be very careful with the initial programming of this device. If you need to change something later, you're SOL! It's now just sitting in a drawer...
Great remote, but mine had a memory error. Replaced with the 659. 
2007-04-06
I spent 6 hours and 37 minutes on the phone (includeds hold time) with Logitech support to figure out the issues I was having with the remote. Finally at one point it would no longer update. They diagnosed it as a bad internal memory and I sent it back to Amazon.
I ended up buying the H659 and have been happy with it, although the extra couple buttons (compared to the 628) are useless for my setup, so I spent an extra $20 more for nothing. To be fair, the time with support mentioned above included helping me getting minor problems worked out with the 659.
I will say this about Logitech support. I called 4 times, once for something minor, and the folks in their Tier 1 support in Las Vegas ALWAYS transferred me to Tier 2 support in Toronto. Vegas knows little and was of no value. Toronto on the other hand has a very polite and very sharp support staff. Omar and Melissa in particular were fantastic. My only complaint is I waited 2, 26, 42, & 51 minutes on hold waiting for Tier 2 to answer. Actually, the 2 minute wait was nothing, but the wait time averaged 30 minutes on hold over my four calls.
I'm now using the H659 and I'm happy with it's performance. I suspect the 628 could have made me just as happy if I had stuck with it. I think the memory issue is isolated so I didn't kill the product with a poor rating.
Excellent Universal Remote; good value for money 
2007-04-05
I had it luckly. I bought this remote from Amazon about 10 months ago when it was on sale for $49. What a catch.
So far, the remote has worked very well. It's been able to control multiple devices from Pioneer, Onkyo, Motorola (Comcast), Philips, Sony (including an old mini system) and now my macbook, no less (for Front Row). Setting up the remote can be challenging for the average non techie user. However, I found it extremely easy and was also able to play around with some custom settings. The most useful feature is that if you use just this remote, it remembers the state of all the devices you are using. So if you initially choose to watch TV - using your TV, A/V Receiver & Digital Set top box, and then switch to watching a DVD movie - using your TV, A/V Receiver and DVD player - it knows that your TV and A/V Receiver are already on, and all it does is, switch of the digital set top box, start up the DVD player, and switch inputs on the 'on' devices, as specified by you during setup. During setup, you have options like what device is used to control the volume e.g. TV or A/V Receiver. I have the default activities setup - Watch Movie (DVD), Watch TV (comcast), Listen to Music (CD) and other custom ones including - FM Radio, Satellite Radio (from Comcast), iTunes over Airport Express & Front Row from the MacBook. For the Front Row setup, I had to tell the remote that the MacBook was actually a Mac Mini (no big deal, since the functions of the remote remain the same).
The main thing to know up front is that Logitech expects you to know the model number of every device that you plan to control using this remote. Once you choose the manufacturer of the device, it provides you an example of the what the model number might look like.
Also, you have to make sure that you can point the remote in the general direction of all devices in a given activity. Sometimes you might find that one or more devices did not switch on, or some command did not get executed. The remote has a Help feature which asks you some yes/no questions to troubleshoot the issue; that works fine. The more the number of devices and commands in an activity, the longer you have to point the remote at all the devices since the commands are sent in a sequence. For older devices you might have to slow down the commands, or increase the gap between commands - the remote allows you to do this.
Last but not least, a feature I have not yet used is the learning capabilities of this remote. Should you have a device that is not in Logitech's database, you can always teach the remote different functions using the device's original remote and a step by step walkthrough using the Logitech Harmony Software.
I'm thrilled with this remote and would recommend this to anyone.
Waste of Money 2007-03-29
The Harmony Remote is the world's only remote with Smart State Technology ActivityControl. Just press an Activity button such as "Watch TV" or "Watch a Movie", and the Harmony Remote will automatically set-up your entertainment system in seconds without you ever having to program a 'macro'. The Harmony Remote provides simple, intuitive control of even the most elaborate entertainment system for anyone in the family.With the world's only Smart State Database of electronic devices, set-up is a snap. The community-driven database together with IR learning ensures support of all infrared-controlled devices made by any manufacturer, including TiVo, HDVCR, HDTV, Plasma Displays, Monitors, Projectors, Lighting Control, CD/DVD-R, PVR, Satellite Radios, Amplifiers, DVD Players, Receivers, Dual VCRs and even combination devices like DVD-VCR components.With interactive media capabilities, you can select TV Shows, Movies or Music titles from the interactive display. You can even control devices like lights, fireplace and your personal computer!
Good Remote 2007-03-06
This is a good remote. I didn't find the set-up too hard, although it was a little more involved than I expected. The macro functions are outstanding: one button turns on all the right gear.
The battery life is really the only con I see with this remote. I change the batteries every 2 or 3 months it seems, which isn't that big of a deal, just kind of a hassle.
Better than 3 remotes but still has issues 2007-03-04
This remote is much better than using the 3 remotes I had to use and it is awesome that it determines what components to turn on and shut off but it still has 2 issues.
#1 Battery Life Sucks (2 months max)
#2 It often does not turn my speakers on, even after making adjustments in the options. To remedy this I must cycle through the help screen and then it will work.
i wonder if I upgrade to a better remote if I will still have issues like these 2.
Awesome remote for the price! 2007-03-01
This has been the best universal remote that I have ever gotten for myself. The only reason it got 4 stars is because every now and then it fails to register button presses. I feel like I have to button smash things sometimes in order for the input to register. My only other minor gripe would be a LCD screen with more rows. On my DVR device I am continually hitting 'next' to get the other options that are not on the default buttons. Otherwise, this is a great remote for the price!
Good attempt to make life simple 2007-02-10
Like so many others, I have a lot of remote controls and my wife hates them. Harmony attempts to make life simple for the rest of us. I have to stress the word "attempts". I am technically savvy and it still takes me over an hour to "program" this gizmo. The web interface of Harmony is too restrictive; you *have* to follow the programming flow to get the unit programmed. I would prefer having a more advance system where I am more in control. I also don't like how hard it is to program a new device (like an unknown media center, etc.) With all that, I do have to say that once you have everything working, it is a pleasure to use (especially for my wife) -- one button to turn on the TV monitor, the AV receiver and the LinkTheater).
