fumanstan

I've been using a Logitech Harmony One for quite some time now; it still works great, had to replace a bulging battery once, but I still love the features and functionality of it with all my devices which currently consist of an XBox One, Cox DVR, Onkyo TX-NR616 Receiver, and Playstation 3 with a Harmony adapter.

I recently got a Playstation 4 and it doesn't look like there's an easy way for the Harmony One to work with it which is pretty disappointing. I've read some guides about using this FLIRC IR adapter and mapping keys to get some level of support, which might be my best option for now.

Thinking more long term though, any one have any other recommendations for a remote that will work across all my devices and both consoles? I'm kind of disappointed to see that the newer high end Harmony remotes drop the physical number pad and even the Harmony Ultimate One is still IR anyway. I really like the one touch activity set up of the Harmony's though. I'm not really interested in using a smart phone for control either.

Not a huge deal, I can get by using the XBox One for most media stuff anyway or I might just leave the PS3 connected and put the PS4 in the bedroom but still Thoughts, ideas, and solutions?

OldBoy

MX-500. if you can find it somewhere. had 2 in my life and love it. durable and fully functional. love this motherfucker!

fumanstan

Doesn't seem like that helps since it's still IR, and much uglier then my existing Harmony One.

Reading more online, it doesn't seem like there's very many good options for the PS4 at all. I might just start using the XBox One for all media functions instead (Blu-ray, Netflix, Amazon) or end up keeping the PS3 just for that afterall. Even the Harmony Hub devices that are compatible with the PS4 still can't power it on thanks to Sony. Blah.

Spiky

I quit trying with game consoles. Picked up a Roku for all the media stuff. Faster to get to the apps I want and remote controllable. Although now those are starting to be proprietary remote systems too.

PS4 plays games just fine.

If someone was interested in the MX-500, the current version of it is the URC-R40. The button layout isn't quite as good, but everything else is an upgrade. (actually, the R40 may have also been discontinued recently)

fumanstan

Yeah, from all the searching online I can find it sounds like i'm probably out of luck with the PS4. Sony seems intent on being difficult. Luckily the XBox One can do everything I need it to as far as Netflix and Amazon so I feel like that will just be the go to media player.

mndtrp

I'm assuming you already read this?

How to Control Your PS4 With Your HDTV Remote

More info at link.

fumanstan

I saw this before and while it would let me use a particular remote from my TV, it still means manually turning on all my other devices like the receiver, setting inputs, etc. That's the functionality that I like with my Harmony that I would have preferred to have with the PS4.

Superman07

My Harmony One is working well too, but what I currently realized is a lot of these newer home automation products operate on something other than IR - be that RF or proprietary networks. To have those work with a One you need some series of convoluted boxes and adapters. The alternative is to get the new Harmony's that support RF.

Very annoying. The Elite at least seemed the best to hold in the store. I didn't notice it was missing numbers until you mentioned it. Either way, I'm not looking to drop $350 on a new remote. Too many other things on the to-buy list.

story

Looks like Logitech is done making Harmony remotes, though support will continue for existing products.

Alan Smithee

Universal remotes are a great idea but frustrating in the end- they never have ALL the buttons that you would have on the original remotes. In the late 80s we had a Memorex programmable remote, but it didn't have enough memory to let you actually use every button under every function! Later ones just don't have enough buttons period.

fujishig

Urgh! While not perfect, I love the Harmony Hub.

Is there some other premium brand that's still out there? The main use case is to allow the rest of my family to switch all inputs on the TV and receiver to the right device (as well as controlling said device of course).

tonyc3742

Sad news. I've had multiple Harmonies and loved them all. My two complaints are when it switched from client software to cloud software and the associated account stuff, and that it doesn't (to be best of my knowledge) work with Roku. Other than that, they've been great. Some of the other premium brands were just too expensive or too complex. And the non-premium were just excruciating to set up.
I do currently pretty much use my Xbox controller to navigate, because that's my main media center now, but I still use the harmony for power on/power off/volume (which usually doesn't change).
Is anyone else still really in that marketspace anymore, or is this a tech that is growing obsolete?

Noonan

Not that I know of. I looked around last year for an alternative to Harmony; there's nothing that I could find. Still using Harmony Hub as well.

mndtrp

I've also been on the hunt for about 6 months for a Harmony replacement. CEC and all that works ok, but I have several random things in my living room that I'd like to add to a Harmony-type remote.

Noonan

I don't even have a major setup; TV, DirecTV box, receiver, Apple TV. Finding another brand that can easily set up macros for on/off of everything has been challenging.