Introduction & Setup
On the surface, there's nothing particularly glamorous about a universal remote. It's simply a device that controls multiple electronic gadgets, like your TV and Blu-ray player, so you don't have to keep track of and juggle multiple remotes. No big deal, right? If that's what you think, then you haven't encountered Logitech's Harmony line.
Like regular universal remotes, Logitech's Harmony models consolidate your electronic controllers into a single piece of hardware, only they do it in spectacular fashion. They're also far more capable than the no-name models that places like K-Mart peddle in the clearance bin and at the checkout line, and for what it's worth, they look good too.
What we're evaluating here is Logitech's Harmony Elite, the new flagship model in the Harmony line. It's the first in the series designed from the ground up as a whole-home controller to extend universal control beyond the living room, which is where the Harmony line's been headed over the past couple of years. More on that in a moment.
That's Not a Hockey Puck, It's a Hub
What you see here is the included Harmony Hub, which is sort of the command center. It takes commands from the remote control or your mobile device (using Logitech's free Harmony software for iOS and Android) and passes them on to your electronic gadgets via IR, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth wireless signals. It's essentially a super IR blaster, and Logitech includes two mini wired IR blasters that plug into the main unit to extend its reach in your A/V rack -- perfect for multi-level setups.
Though it uses IR for your gadgets, the Harmony Hub communicates with the Harmony Elite remote through RF signals. This means you don't need a direct line-of-sight when controlling your A/V or smart home gear, nor do you even have to be in the same room. If you're watching a sporting event and the crowd goes wild while you fetch a beer, you can press pause in the kitchen (provided you brought the remote with you) and catch up on the action when you return to the living room. Cool stuff.
Configuring the Remote
Setup here is pretty simple. Once you plug the Harmony Hub into a power source and place it in your A/V rack, you're ready to configure the remote. You can do this by plugging the remote into your PC via the included micro-USB to USB cable or through the aforementioned Harmony app.
The Harmony Hub and Elite work with more than 270,000 home entertainment devices from over 6,000 different brands, and it can store up to 15 devices. With that kind of product library, chances are if you own it and it uses a remote, the Harmony Elite is compatible.
Our test setup isn't too complex, though there's enough variety for the Harmony Elite to either thrive or fail. It consists of an 70-inch Sharp TV (LC-70LE640U), a slightly older Onkyo receiver (TX-SR608), a DirecTV satellite set-top box with built-in DVR capabilities, and an Xbox One console.
Adding devices is as easy as punching in the make and model, which is the first step in the setup process. Once you've added the electronic devices you wish to control, you'll create various "Activities" such as "Watch TV" or "Listen to Music." This is where the Harmony Elite really shines.
When you create an activity, you end up with one-touch operation for tasks that would normally require multiple button presses and remotes. For example, after creating the Watch TV activity for my particular setup, a single tap turns on the TV, switches to the appropriate input (HDMI 1) that's connected to my surround sound unit, turns on the Onkyo receiver, switches to the correct audio input, and powers up the DirecTV satellite box.
Let me reiterate, it does all those things with a single tap. There's no fiddling with inputs, and because it asked during the setup phase, the Harmony Elite knows to send volume button commands to the surround receiver and channel commands to the DirecTV box when I'm watching TV.
This is not only a time saver for your home's entertainment captain (you, presumably), it's a godsend for less tech savvy people in your household. With a properly configured Harmony Elite, your kids, babysitter, significant other, visiting in-laws, and anyone else can easily operate your complex A/V configuration - they just need to tap on the desired activity and the remote will handle the rest.
With the setup out of the way, let's take a closer look at the remote itself.
Design & Build Quality
The Harmony Elite doesn't deviate from the overall design of its predecessor, and instead improves upon it with some subtle changes and a few new buttons.
Familiar Design
Logitech stuck with a traditional rectangular form factor with rounded edges. This time around, the only physical button up top is the Off button -- pressing it powers down all of the equipment that was turned on with the most recent activity. So, if you last pressed Watch TV and it turned on your television, set-top box, and surround receiver, all three will be turned off when pressing the Off button.
One of the subtle changes I really appreciate about the Harmony Elite is the new location of the playback buttons. Previously the playback controls were located above the LCD display, but on the Harmony Elite, they're more conveniently accessible on the lower half of the remote. Now there's no more adjusting my grip to pause a movie or fast forward through a commercial, I can reach these buttons (and all the rest) with my thumb.
The top portion is dedicated to a 2.4-inch color LCD. This is where you tap on activities that you've configured into the remote. You can also access individual devices, alter settings, punch in specific channels, view a list of favorite channels for quick access, and more.
Using the touchscreen to jump to specific channels and other tasks means looking down at the remote. There's really no way around this -- you can attempt to memorize the location of certain controls, but that only works if you know which menu is displayed, and even then it's not as easy as finding a specific physical button.
Let There Be Light!
Not only did Logitech move the playback controls to the lower half of the Harmony Elite, it also added two new rows for lighting and other home control devices. These buttons can be used to turn on the lights and adjust brightness, among other functions. How you use them, if at all, will depend on your setup.
Since Logitech doesn't offer a line of smart home gear for lighting and temperature controls, the buttons for these operations are generic, albeit mappable to specific tasks and functions. At present, the Harmony Elite works with SmartThings, INSTEON, and IFTTT smart home platforms and can control connected home devices such as lights, smart locks, and thermostats.
The neat thing about tapping into your home controls is the ability to create and combine different activities. You could create a 'Good Night' activity that turns off the lights, locks the doors, and lowers your blinds, or a 'Romantic' activity that dims the lights and plays your slow jams, to give just two examples. Cool stuff.
Logitech Harmony Elite: Final Thoughts
The universal remote has evolved from a simple device that consolidates your various controllers into a smart gadget that intelligently operates your home theater setup. And with Logitech's Harmony Elite, you can add smart home devices like lighting and temperature control to the mix, too. Whether or not you need those functions will determine if it's work the asking price.
At $350 MSRP, the Harmony Elite isn't a cheap device. Just the opposite, we suspect many people will find it cost prohibitive no matter how fancy the features are. It just so happens that the feature-set is pretty darn fancy and, if you're a home entertainment enthusiast with a complex A/V setup, it's worth every penny.
Some would argue otherwise -- it is, after all, still a remote. But labeling it just a remote is like calling a Ferrari just a car. The Harmony Elite is a universal smart home controller that adds a level of convenience to your home theater setup. It also makes your complicated setup accessible to less savvy users in your home -- not being able to figure out how to switch from watching Netflix on your game console to watching TV through your satellite box with surround sound turned on might be a first world problem, but it's a problem for kids and many significant others nonetheless.
What if you already own a Harmony Ultimate? There's probably not enough here to warrant a $350 upgrade, not unless you can't live without the dedicated smart home buttons and can't stand the top placement of the playback buttons. The Harmony Elite is more of an incremental update than a major overhaul.
For everyone else, the Harmony Elite will make a wonderful addition to your home theater and smart home alike.