For the money you get certainly the best Ferndienung the there are and which can control the most complex HiFi settings.
The features in brief:
With the remote control up to 15 different devices can be controlled. The remote control consists of the handle and the hub. The FB itself can indeed also send infrared signals but basically you control only with the FB the stroke of the self or the two can be connected IR blaster sends the signals. This makes it possible also anszusteuern devices that are out of sight (in a closet, etc.). And here I think is also the biggest benefit of these expensive FB. The FB communicates via RF to the hub and the hub via WLAN with the myharmony.com account in which the configuration is stored. Another feature is the app to call. This allows the hub operated via a smartphone. More on that later. What is quite nice yet, it can be operated via Bluetooth all major game consoles.
Differences to the touch:
- The housing is slightly more ergonomic and bulbous. This it is indeed good in the hand but strange on a flat surface like a table. She wobbles and is not nice and flat on.
- The bottom has a great feel. It's not like in older Harmonys this rubberized plastic which wears very quickly. It's a bit rougher and not as soft finish. Holds good to me and should be a little more durable.
- There is a built in accelerometer that the FB wakes the move, thus a more pressure on the touch panel is necessary.
- It is installed a Virbrationselement. This is a einstellbarers feedback when used on the touch screen.
- Charge status indicator on the display.
- Slightly modified menu.
- Double assignment of keys with a long and short push button possible.
Previous experience:
The decor was very simple and straightforward. The configuration is made myharmony.com very clearly and quickly. The FB must be connected to the computer for the first device. This firmware updates installed and connected to the hub to the WLAN. Other changes to the configuration require only rarely the FB on the computer but can be synchronized easily at the FB itself. Because the stroke applies the configuration from the WLAN by myharmony.com and sends them via RF to the FB on. After adding the existing equipment, the actions like "watching TV" or can "listen to music" individually. After that usually are a few adjustments in the course of use necessary when one is missing one or the other button is assigned incorrectly, or on the display but is still appear another button.
So far, everything went what I wanted to achieve with it. The control is fast (even faster than my old Harmony 555) and also the touch panel reacts quite fluently. The switching delays seem to be better adjusted, since my old Harmony had now and then swallowed with the input selector on the receiver and TV. This was so far free of errors, the Ultimate.
Positives:
- Huge range of functions
- Quality hardware, great feel
- Truly universal
- Teach the unknown IR commands is very simple
- I miss no keys, which is often criticized. By double occupancy and the buttons on the touchscreen sufficient control possibility exists
- Feel of the buttons is very valuable
Negatives:
- The control over the smartphone app is more than a nice gimmick to call a real operating possibility. The arrangement of the buttons in the app can not be changed, and the worst part is that after being connected to the hub, the app every time the phone is in standby was need to reconnect and often fails with the Hub. Thus a comfortable controlling the entire system while one is a movie looks just useless and annoying. But generally speaking, if a connection is because you can control all functions easily and with a barely perceptible delay. Therefore, I can only advise against any of buying a Harmony SmartControl. I hope this will be rectified.
- The setting myharmony.com mask is not as flexible as it could be. Programmed sequences can be only for actions not invest for the devices themselves. Opening and closing commands can not be completely free to make actions.
- The key arrangement of the navigation buttons to deem touchscreen is unfortunate but not bad as you read it often. Yes you have to reach around and pulls the trigger and at touch screen but you get used to it quickly and is absolutely not a ko criterion.
- All Adicional keys are as scrollable list in the screen, unfortunately, all displayed among themselves. With the old Harmonys there were four on a screen. I thought that was better.
- The favorites for the TV channels are quite nice but not really useful. To zap unsuitable because simply the channel number is entered. On my Samsung TV, this means pressure on a number and then you have to wait until the number is accepted as a channel selection timeout. It takes a second, making it to zap absolutely unsuitable.
- Very expensive
Conclusion:
A really ultimate remote control also can do. Great hardware good functionality and easy setup. Only she is so expensive that you should make use of all the functions. I could well do without the app to use, because it is not really usable. And since I do not need the RF functions with a lying in the cupboard HiFi rack would hand me the normal touch. Now I have but they get as mentioned at a discount. So it is ok, because the hardware of the FB is to be compared with the normal touch also improves that. Here everyone should think carefully about what he expected and actually need!
