# directv universal remote suggestion



## housemr (Jun 3, 2009)

Does anyone have any suggestions for basic to midrange (appx $110) for a universal remote for directv hr 21, tv, cd player, receiver, dvd player, and maybe another tv, directv box, or my htpc.

i have seen remotes like the Logitech Harmony 670 etc. I would like something that will be easy to program but still allow me to easily use my dtv box by setting programs to record, bring up the short cut list which i have been using a lot lately, etc.

thanks in advance.

also, please move if this is the wrong spot


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## Fluthy (Feb 9, 2008)

I have a Logitech Harmony 700... which works very well. This includes the colored buttons which is nice. It priced right around that $110 range.


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## housemr (Jun 3, 2009)

Nick, can you still bring up directv's jumplist/quick tune channel list. i have my 9 favorite stations programed to them and it is very nice.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

You can do anything with a Harmony that you can do with the DirecTV remote and then some.


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## gully_foyle (Jan 18, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> You can do anything with a Harmony that you can do with the DirecTV remote and then some.


Low bar.


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## Jason Whiddon (Aug 17, 2006)

Love my Harmony 650. Controlling HR22, Toshiba TV, Denon rcvr and Panny BR player.


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## HarleyD (Aug 31, 2006)

Harmony remotes are great. The model I have in the living room and family room is no longer made however the Harmony remotes in general are very, very good units. If I were in the market I would buy another Harmony in a heartbeat with no hesitation.


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## housemr (Jun 3, 2009)

elwaylite said:


> Love my Harmony 650. Controlling HR22, Toshiba TV, Denon rcvr and Panny BR player.


I was checking out the 650s on amazon. Do you use just regular aa batteries and do they last closer to a few weeks or a few months?


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## Jason Whiddon (Aug 17, 2006)

I use reg AA's. Not sure, because Ive only had it a month. My old 530 that broke, went a loooong time on a set of batteries. The feel of the 650 is very good and sturdy.


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## Fluthy (Feb 9, 2008)

As the others have mentioned you can do anything (like quick tune) with the Harmony remotes. A couple reason I chose the 700 was the colored buttons, (I didn't have to map them to the LCD screen), will run all my devices, starts all my device with one push, and that I can charge it with a USB cable, no need to replace batteries.

One last thing... the price is nice for the features.


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## Jason Whiddon (Aug 17, 2006)

650 has colored buttons too. Works with BR player and HR22.


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## cgking114 (Mar 5, 2007)

yeah you should be happy with harmony.


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## mike558 (Mar 5, 2007)

I have to agree that the Harmony remotes are the way to go. I have a Harmony One which may be more than you want to spend right now, but I'd at least consider getting a rechargeable model. The money saved on replacing batteries will be worth it. Before I got the Harmony One, I used a 650 for all devices. The remote is still used in the spare room for a TV that I could not program with the DirecTv remote.

I can also say that the product support from Harmony was also very good. I had to replace my Harmony One after about 10 months because of a problem with the battery indicator. There was no hassle from the company, they shipped me a new unit within 3 days of my call.


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## klambert (Feb 8, 2008)

We've tried a whole bunch of different ones and recently got a Harmony 700 and it's just absolutely fantastic. I have never used anything this easy before, everything just works. We have a TV, Blu-Ray, DTV DVR, Receiver, Netflix/Roku box, and a Wii.

The 700 seems to be the sweet spot from what I can see as it has the color custom screen and recharges. Though I had to use the plug-in--my PC USB doesn't put out enough to recharge.

The entire programming paradigm of "what do you want to do" rather than "what buttons do you want to press" is brilliant. It decided our Roku was a second DVD player and we had a few other tweaks, but using the computer to do it with pulldown menus and all that was like night and day compared to setting up those stupid macros and programming buttons.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

I will be the dissenter here. Never liked the Harmony remotes. They want to do things the way they want them. Tried two and never got them working the way I wanted.

Any learning remote will work fine. And be far cheaper than the Harmony.

I just started using the Sony VL610. It mostly worked out of the box for DirecTV and I learned the last few commands. Lots of very useable buttons and they are not learnable with several macro keys. All for under 30 bucks.



klambert said:


> The entire programming paradigm of "what do you want to do" rather than "what buttons do you want to press" is brilliant.


That is exactly what I hate about the Harmony remotes. They make too many assumptions and need to know the state of the equipment. Plus, I have yet to see a Harmony or any other logic that matches up to what I want to do.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

If you're willing to put in the time programming, check out the URC R7. It's about $20 and very versatile. Personally I have two Harmonys and really like them.


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## MartyS (Dec 29, 2006)

I've had four Harmony's and just retired my Harmony ONE for a 650. I like using AA batteries, and it has the color buttons that the ONE didn't have.

For $100 its the best remote that I've had!


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## David Ortiz (Aug 21, 2006)

MartyS said:


> I've had four Harmony's and just retired my Harmony ONE for a 650. I like using AA batteries, and it has the color buttons that the ONE didn't have.
> 
> For $100 its the best remote that I've had!


I'm thinking about doing the same. Do you miss the touchscreen?


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I personally like the hard buttons more than any touchscreen remote I've had.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

I also don't care for the touchscreen. I've got 2 harmony Ones I have been debating on replacing them with 700s. I also have an 880. I always preferred the hard buttons by the screen of the 880, but the main button layout of the One. The 650s and 700s seem to be the best of both worlds there. My big issue is the number of devices supported. In my theater room I currently have 12 devices, which is way too many for either of the newer models.

Maybe I'll replace one of the Ones, and the 880 with a 700, and keep the other One in my theater room for now.

That said I realy do love Harmony remotes (I guess that's probably pretty evident since I own 3). I've also bought 880s for my parents and my sister. I haven't found anything I have wanted to be able to do that I couldn't get a Harmony remote to do.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

There are many, many threads about this subject in the Miscellaneous Equipment forum. You'll get lots of good ideas there. I personally don't understand why anyone would want to spend $100 or more on a remote. Many $20 remotes do a fine job, UEI being the most configurable.

However, I have to advise against the 650 or 700 in your case. You have 8 devices, and those models can't handle that. To stick with harmony you'd either need an older model or jump way up in price to the 900. HERE's a good harmony comparison chart.

Having said that, you're usually better off with one remote per system. So your second tv/sat box/htpc should really have its own remote, unless you enjoy having to remember to carry your remote from room to room. All the more reason to go with a couple of cheap remotes instead of one expensive one.


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## housemr (Jun 3, 2009)

mdavej said:


> There are many, many threads about this subject in the Miscellaneous Equipment forum. You'll get lots of good ideas there. I personally don't understand why anyone would want to spend $100 or more on a remote. Many $20 remotes do a fine job, UEI being the most configurable.
> 
> However, I have to advise against the 650 or 700 in your case. You have 8 devices, and those models can't handle that. To stick with harmony you'd either need an older model or jump way up in price to the 900. HERE's a good harmony comparison chart.
> 
> Having said that, you're usually better off with one remote per system. So your second tv/sat box/htpc should really have its own remote, unless you enjoy having to remember to carry your remote from room to room. All the more reason to go with a couple of cheap remotes instead of one expensive one.


Thanks for all the suggestions. Nice to have a different spectrum of remotes to consider that people have used from 20-100.


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## intharuff (Nov 25, 2006)

A few nice words about the Harmony remotes. I had a Sony Commander before it finally pooped out after almost a decade.
My family loves the Harmony because of the activities button. Select Watch TV, Watch DVD, Play Xbox and it cuts on ALL things you need at once. The wife and daughter love that part because its simple.
It controls the Xbox 360 for use as a DVD player, which is nice.
The batteries have lasted me over 6 months now and going strong. It dims out and when you pick it up, it lights back up! Very intelligent remote and worth the money because it doesn't just learn like the old Sony did. Plug it in via USB to the PC, tell it what devices you have and it gets all the settings you need.
LOVE IT!


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## Rusty_Clown (Apr 8, 2010)

I have an older Harmony 670. It's worked flawlessly for the couple years I've owned it. Programming was simple, and batteries last me 3-4 months. The only thing I wish is that it had bigger buttons.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

I have had a Harmony 880 (discontinued) for over 4 years. By customizing it via their app, it does all I could want for all my equipment. The original charger had a connection problem but they replaced for free even though it was out of warranty. If I was getting one now, I'd probably go for the 650.


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## Flukstercds (Aug 23, 2009)

I have an 880 and i use to have a 659.

I like the 880 because it is rechargeable.

all i can say to those that trash a $100 + remote is that they cant possibly have everything working on one remote.

I though my wife was going to kill me :eek2::eek2::eek2: when i bought my first Harmony remote.

But i was presently surprised when i came home after the first day of having everything working from one remote and being told that the remote was wife approved.

so i wrote this review on my blog :grin:

http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/csta...let-me-buy-a-90-remote-control-for-my-tv.aspx

with that in mind you can buy refurb models from newegg for half the cost of a brand new one.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

My $10 JP1 remotes do way more than harmony (unlimited devices, unlimited macros with if-then-else, incredible speed and durability) and control absolutely everything in my system, but the family likes harmony better due to the LCD. Limited 5 step macros on harmony were really hard for me to adjust to, but I managed to work around it for the most part. I have to give a big +1 on refurb harmonys. Good as new and dirt cheap. I'm not saying $100 remotes aren't worth the money. They are, and they're great. I'm just saying you don't have to spend $100 for near harmony functionality using other remotes and a little programming effort.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but I'd recommend a Harmony.


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## GregLee (Dec 28, 2005)

The Pioneer vsx-1020 at $549 MSRP is kind of pricey for a universal learning remote, but you get an HDMI 1.4 AVR thrown in.


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## Flukstercds (Aug 23, 2009)

ok so i put my foot in my mouth :hurah:

the JP1 remotes sound very powerful, but also look very complicated to program.

None of my macros with my Harmony require more than 3 devices at once so i guess i never had the need for 5 devices at once. Cant even think of 5 devices that would be needed at once.

Don't know that i can even think of more then 3

*Watch Direct tv Macro*
Turn on tv set to HDMI1
Turn on HDDVR
Turn on Sony Receiver and set to TV

*Play Wii*
Turn on tv set to HDMI2
Turn on Sony Receiver and set to RBG1
Wii is controlled by Wii controller

*Watch DVD*
Turn on tv set to HDMI3
Turn on Sony DVD
Turn on Sony Receiver and set to DVD

And so on.

Cant think of anything else needed unless you are setting mood lighting or room temp :lol::lol::lol:...

I guess you could need to turn on an amp and an EQ but my system turns all of them on when i power on my receiver.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

I guess I push the envelope with remotes. I've got over a dozen activities, scores of sequences (macros) and lots of devices including cameras, PC's (keyboard/mouse), HDMI switches, DVD recorders, and yes, mood lighting 

Even though JP1 is challenging to program at first, it took me weeks to finally convert everything over to harmony by the time I jumped through all the hoops in their very tedious software. Once you get to expert level in both harmony and JP1 programming, I think JP1 is quicker, easier and much more flexible, plus you can store all your config files on your own computer. You can simply drag and drop functions to buttons on a picture of your actual remote instead of having to use those stupid up/down arrows in the harmony software. If you want to do any conditional branching, just set a bit and examine it in your other macros. You can nest macros and even have macros call themselves if you have any repetitive or recursive routines. Any button can have 4 or more functions (short press, long press, double press, shifted for example). And downloads to your remote take 3 seconds instead of 3 minutes. Macros run extremely fast. You can create your own devices and protocols from scratch. If you want to control all 8 DirecTV addresses, you can download the codes in seconds without having to learn them all. You can use DirecTV long press commands (skip to tick, slo-mo, skip to beginning/end). You can drop-kick your remote across the room and it will still work. If your dog eats it (mine has), you're only out $10. The list goes on.

All that being said, the biggest drawback is JP1's lack of an LCD, which is precisely why my harmony sees the most use these days.


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## amorse2183 (May 25, 2006)

mdavej said:


> I guess I push the envelope with remotes. I've got over a dozen activities, scores of sequences (macros) and lots of devices including cameras, PC's (keyboard/mouse), HDMI switches, DVD recorders, and yes, mood lighting
> 
> Even though JP1 is challenging to program at first, it took me weeks to finally convert everything over to harmony by the time I jumped through all the hoops in their very tedious software. Once you get to expert level in both harmony and JP1 programming, I think JP1 is quicker, easier and much more flexible, plus you can store all your config files on your own computer. You can simply drag and drop functions to buttons on a picture of your actual remote instead of having to use those stupid up/down arrows in the harmony software. If you want to do any conditional branching, just set a bit and examine it in your other macros. You can nest macros and even have macros call themselves if you have any repetitive or recursive routines. Any button can have 4 or more functions (short press, long press, double press, shifted for example). And downloads to your remote take 3 seconds instead of 3 minutes. Macros run extremely fast. You can create your own devices and protocols from scratch. If you want to control all 8 DirecTV addresses, you can download the codes in seconds without having to learn them all. You can use DirecTV long press commands (skip to tick, slo-mo, skip to beginning/end). You can drop-kick your remote across the room and it will still work. If your dog eats it (mine has), you're only out $10. The list goes on.
> 
> All that being said, the biggest drawback is JP1's lack of an LCD, which is precisely why my harmony sees the most use these days.


I've had several universal remotes over the last 16 years or so and the harmony were definitely the easiest to program. all you have to do is type in the model number in the computer program, update, and it's done. i don't know how those jp1 remotes or other cheaper remotes still operate, but i remember they all used to lose all the information every time you had to put in fresh batteries. that isn't a problem with any harmony i've owned. currently i have a 700 that i used to replace an 890 that i loved.


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## waylonrobert (Apr 22, 2010)

Any of the Logitech Harmony remotes.


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## GregLee (Dec 28, 2005)

mdavej said:


> I think JP1 is quicker, easier and much more flexible, plus you can store all your config files on your own computer.


I don't doubt it, but the JP1 software is not very Linux friendly. I tried to use it a couple of times with no success.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

amorse2183 said:


> ...i don't know how those jp1 remotes or other cheaper remotes still operate, but i remember they all used to lose all the information every time you had to put in fresh batteries...


Things must have changed. None of mine have ever lost their memory, in the past 10 years anyway. I've had some sitting in my closet that long.


GregLee said:


> ... the JP1 software is not very Linux friendly. I tried to use it a couple of times with no success.


You should give it another shot. RMIR is java based and should work fine in Linux. The developer is always eager for feedback and wants to make it work as well on other platforms as it does on PC. So please report the bugs. Many of the Linux drivers have improved greatly in recent months.


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## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

housemr said:


> Thanks for all the suggestions. Nice to have a different spectrum of remotes to consider that people have used from 20-100.


Have you checked the forums and reviews at Remote Central? Lots of information there. That link is to the Harmony forum but you can get to the main page to see everything on the site by clicking the Home tab at the top of the page.

And I have a Harmony 550, One and now a 700. Started with the old 659.


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## Hoosier205 (Sep 3, 2007)

I've had my Harmony remote longer than I've had my wife. I use it daily and the buttons are worn. I'm talking about the remote fellas...


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## mogulman (Mar 19, 2007)

Logitech Harmony 610. Works great with directv. Newegg had one for $50 earlier in the week.


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## housemr (Jun 3, 2009)

olguy said:


> Have you checked the forums and reviews at Remote Central? Lots of information there. That link is to the Harmony forum but you can get to the main page to see everything on the site by clicking the Home tab at the top of the page.
> 
> And I have a Harmony 550, One and now a 700. Started with the old 659.


I will have to do that.

Sorry if this is not under equipment and in general, still getting used to this awesome site.


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## housemr (Jun 3, 2009)

mogulman said:


> Logitech Harmony 610. Works great with directv. Newegg had one for $50 earlier in the week.


Damn. I must have missed that as i was on there Monday


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## Todd H (Aug 18, 2006)

Love my Harmony. :up:


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## HDinMA (Aug 29, 2008)

Thanks for the good info on remotes!

I have recently been considering investing in a new remote, simply because the DirecTV ones have become so awful! Does anyone know what the deal is? I have tried reprogramming, and that helps for a while, but lately all of my remotes have become severely slow and sometimes completely unresponsive and it's really frustrating. 

I will check out the Harmony and Sony models.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

^^^

I hate to burst your bubble, but the slowness is not due to the remote, it's the receiver. So a universal will make life easier for other reasons, but won't cure the slowness. To prove it to yourself, just watch the LED on the remote and you'll see it's sending commands as fast as you press the buttons. You can even see the IR LED flash through a digital camera viewfinder.

FWIW, the Harmony 700 is $59 after rebate at Fry's for a few more days (usually $129). I just picked up one myself. Very nice remote for the price, but the 6 device limit is a pain.


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