Remote Control - as Harmony is discontinued

[Paul Heroy]

Curious what people's thoughts are for control interfaces now that Logitech has discontinued Harmony. Of course the current stuff will work and they claim it'll be supported as long as people are using it (ha), but we'll see. Eventually it will be out of date.

I have used Harmony for a long time now and have always loved the "activity" oriented way of setting it up. It makes it SO much easier for my wife and other folks who don't know or care what device does what, to use a HT setup. I have 2 displays (TV & projector), and multiple sources (sat box, disc player, multiple streamers) and even with macros I think that would be tougher to set up and use on a traditional device oriented remote. Edit: in addition, the Elite that I have supports IR, IP and BT which seems to be pretty rare - and I have devices that use all of these so it's non trivial.

A lot of control seems to be moving to app based, but I don't know how that gets integrated. Is there anything out there that looks like a good eventual replacement for Harmony? Assuming Harmony isn't bought by someone, perhaps something will come along that takes inspiration from its approach.

[Douglas.barnum]

I set up roomie remote (iOS app based) and run it with a iPad mini as pretty much a dedicated device.  It duplicates in functionality what the Harmony remote/hub was doing and actually in a few respects is a bit more reliable and easier to use.  Being app based it doesn't do IR directly so I had to buy an IR gizmo that was IP based but then could control the Radiance Pro via IR.

Of course the big downside is the loss of tactile feel.  And it's a subscription so the cost is $49 a year.  The control of Android devices is via developer debugging mode which is a real hack.  It works fine on my Shield but a slower device like Fire sticks it is pretty awful.  They were meant to be controlled by bluetooth and as far as I can tell the roomie remote cannot do that.  Or at least I didn't figure it out.

I can post more details if anyone is interested.

[Paul Heroy]

The roomie sounds interesting in some ways but overall... not for me. I love the Harmony Elite form factor. Fits well in one hand, good enough complement of physical buttons.

I was able to grab a couple of Elites as stock dwindles, as a safeguard. (Both are refurbs so I need to make sure to test them soon!) I actually had been mulling grabbing one to replace the flaky 900 I use in my 2nd system. I bought it refurb after they were discontinued - I slightly prefer its design overall because it has a number pad. 

[SRW1000]

URC remotes have models that are similar to the Harmony line.

The stickler is the software.  It's meant to be installed by a professional, so you might have a hard time finding a dealer willing to provide you with the software.  Some people have problems using it, but I didn't find it to be that hard.  

Scott

[David Vaughn]

URC remotes have models that are similar to the Harmony line.

The stickler is the software.  It's meant to be installed by a professional, so you might have a hard time finding a dealer willing to provide you with the software.  Some people have problems using it, but I didn't find it to be that hard. 

Scott

There are a lot of videos on YouTube that can help as well. My biggest issue is if I don't use the software for a long time, I forget how to do certain things (button repeat settings, If/Then commands, etc.), but for basic use it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. 

[Paul Heroy]

I've looked at some of the threads elsewhere suggesting URC. I actually had an MX-500 almost 20 years ago that was my first really great remote, and it was more of a "learning" type instead of software programmed. I would never even consider the current URC remotes unless I had access to the software - I try little changes and adjustments or add gear too often to pay for that. 

I'll keep using my Elite until they start shutting down servers and support and I lose the ability to program it. At that point I'll survey the options and hopefully see a good path. Who knows maybe there will be a way for the Harmony community to provide a user supported solution to keep it alive.

[bmoney]

hope they continue to support the Harmony even though they arent making them anymore

[AVSMike]

Me too. Really hate to see them leave the market.

[bmoney]

just hope mine doesnt die anytime soon.  and i can continue to alter it.  since its web based

[Paul Heroy]

just hope mine doesnt die anytime soon.  and i can continue to alter it.  since its web based

Right, that's the big concern by far. In the "other forum" people pointed out that Sonos had a similar demise in 2012 and support has been maintained in some way so it's not a doorstop. I'm not sure on the details there and how it compares to what it would take to maintain the Harmony setup, though. 

It just boggles my mind that nobody seems to compete in this space. Admittedly it's a bit of a niche but I still hear people complain about the complexity of controlling things. It's been streamlined in some ways but it's gotten worse in other ways with the continued fragmentation of streaming apps which all have differences in their interfaces. That's my #1 complaint right now for the UX, as long as my Harmony is working.