Reviews by ciemo@pacbell.net
Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal
Price: $119.99 - $199
A very good, but not perfect universal remote07/05/05
- Pros:
- First true Universal remote I've owned, Web updatable
- Cons:
- Ergonomics, Web UI, No Macros, Help
I've owned several other "universal/programmable" remotes,
all under $250. This one is the best so far. However, it's
not perfect.
What I do like is that the buttons are a good set and
work well with Tivo (many other remotes don't), my DVD player, my Cable set-top box, and my TV.
Another likable attribute is that the Web programmable UI
is pretty comprehensive and that there are many many
opportunities to remap buttons.
Okay, now the downsides:
1) Less than stellar ergonomics. The oval arrows (up, down, left, right) ring is too small for my hands (and I have small hands). It's uncomfortable to operate Tivo menus using this ring. The volume and channel buttons are too
stylistic to operate comfortably with your eyes off the
remote. Logitech designers should take styling cues from
the Sony Tivo remote.
2) The WebUI is very clunky. All programming operations must be done via the Web UI. The UI is appallingly slow.
There is no reason for the UI to be as slow as it is.
3) The default key mappings are not always correct and will
take multiple iterations with the slow Web UI to get it
right. But atleast you can eventually "get it right".
4) The Activities menus and Help features are interesting
and more "intelligent" than most other remotes -- they
remember the operating state of all components. However,
if the state is not correct for any reason (a component is
on when the remote thinks it is off), you can end up in
20-questions hell as the Help walks you through each
component one-by-one-by-one-by-one. I really want a menu
of buttons for changing power and A/V inputs on a component
by component basis. You can add these virtual buttons to
the menu yourself, however, there is no macro feature for
programming a sequence such as "TV/Video menu, 5" to get
your Tivo input set up correctly on the TV.
So, should you buy it? Well, the wife and baby sitter can
now operate the AV system with a single remote. I've yet
to teach my 6 year old to operate the system with the remote
(he has, however, mastered the Tivo remote).
Maybe Logitech will listen and a future software update
will get me the features I want.
It's a tough call. At the price, it's a bit expensive. It
does work as advertised, but there is certainly room for
improvement.
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Zenith Electronics ZHDTV1Z
Price: $ - $
Decent antenna if you are close to towers04/30/05
- Pros:
- Works pretty well for close in stations
- Cons:
- Doesn't receive all "yellow" stations
I bought the Zenith ZHDTV1 and hooked it up to the ATSC tuner built into my HDTV.
Only a few of the stations were picked up ... those less than 27 miles away. Stations further away (30+ miles) were missed.
If you go to Antenna Web (http://www.antennaweb.org) you may be able to pick up stations that are "Yellow" -- those that can be received by a "Small Multi-directional" antenna. However, I was unable to pick up all stations that Antenna Web said I might be able to pick up with this antenna.
This is a reasonable antenna if you are close to the sources but given my distance, it just doesn't work.
Your mileage will vary.
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