For years we have used remote control units that allow you to control more than one device in the TV/hi-fi rack, thus avoiding the need to have 4 or more controllers in the lounge.
I probably don’t read the right magazines, because it was pure chance that we recently bought the Logitech Harmony 525 unit you can see above. It was only when I got it home that I realised there has been a major advance in controllers while I’ve not been looking. The Harmony unit doesn’t just allow you to control the TV or the DVD-player, it groups the devices by the “task” you want it to perform (watch TV, listen to radio, use AppleTV, etc.) and switches all the necessary bits of equipment on – sat tuner, TV, amplifier, for example. When you set up the controller, you specify in this case whether you want to control the volume using the TV or the amplifier.
When you use the controller, you first tell it on it’s built in menu what activity you want to do, it switches the various bits of equipment on, and then you don’t need to think about which device you are controlling, you just hit the volume up/down, channel scan or whatever button and the controller figures out which device should get the command and sends it the signal.
I don’t have any brand loyalty – each of our hi-fi and TV components comes from a different manufacturer – and the Logitech unit controls them all. The set up of the unit is done on a PC or Mac using a USB cable and software which comes with the device, and Logitech provides frequent updates to cover new hi-fi components as they are released.
After a couple of months using it, there is no way I’d consider going back to an unintelligent remote control.
