While if there's one thing that digital revolution has given us is more remote controls than we ever want to see, touch and operate. The idea of a universal remote control that can operate all devices is simply not new and has been around for quite some time now. However, they have typically been primitive in nature and cumbersome to use and so have not really taken off in a big way.

Logitech has been involved with such devices for quite some time now and I recently had the pleasure to test drive the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote which is somewhat different compared to the other offerings on the market. Firstly, to configure the remote control requires an internet connection where you define the appliances you are wishing to control and the application downloads the appropriate  configuration files suitable to drive them. This is considerably different to traditional methods where the user is required to enter a code that relates to the appliance in a hope that it will perform the necessary functions.  Of course this is considerably better than the original universal remote controls which learnt the commands by pressing every button individual whilst pointing it at the universal remote which would attempt to learn. We have come a long way since the universal remote beginnings.  Secondly what makes this remote control different from its peers is it does have a touch screen to allow for extra functions or buttons that don't exist on the remote as standard.

Setting up the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote requires a little bit of tinkering and preparation. The make and model numbers of all the appliances is required as well as  logging into the Logitech website after setting up a free account. I found this process to be a bit awkward as the instructions lacked depth. As I use Apple Mac and can't comment for Windows I have to say the configuration application was not thought through very well. Once the USB interface was plugged in, a quasi-network connection is created and as I was not aware that this was part of the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote configuration soI did not allow the network preferences to accept the new network connection. There was nothing in the setup instructions to convey this. I did note that the software was written for a very early version of Mac OSX and I suspect that it requires updating in order for the configuration process to be seamless.

Once the configuration was underway it was simply a matter of selecting the appropriate devices (make and model) from the drop-down menu list to add them to the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote capabilities. Once completed the remote was a fully functional universal remote that happily controlled all my devices. Incidentally, once an account is setup with all the devices listed, it makes for an excellent backup should a new remote be required to be configured in the future.

The universal remote has a standard/generic layout which includes numbers for the channels, pause, rewind, forward, volume and channel controls as well as all the other standard functions you would expect to find on a remote. For functions that were not covered by the standard buttons on the remote, they were simply accessed from its colour touch screen. The device would be selected and the screen would change accordingly i.e. TiVo functionality would appear on the touch screen once selected and would be accessed using the touch buttons.

The success of any universal remote is its adoption. To that end the fully configured universal remote was strategically placed amongst the standard remotes and I watched with curiosity to see the reaction of the family members. I advised it was a universal remote capable of doing all the functions that the other remotes performed and initially there was some interest but that interest waned rather quickly. This is the problem with universal remotes. A universal remote has to be all things to all appliances and so the layout is fairly generic. What I found was that using the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote was not intuitive as many functions require the use of the touch screen which is a slower process and ultimately not intuitive enough for the user i.e. cannot operate blindfolded. That's not to say that the universe remote did not achieve the objective of being able to replace all remote controls but rather the lack of intuitive feel made adoption very difficult. This is not a criticism of the Logitech remote but rather the achilles heel of all universal remote controls.

I can't say with confidence that the family members would not have embraced this remote control and that is a question of time which I have to say I did not have enough of.

One of the nice features of the Logitech remote was that it appears to have motion sensors such that once the remote is moved the touch screen immediately lights up which is a very handy feature. The other thing which I found interesting was that the TiVo functionality was actually better than the standard TiVo remote. Those who are familiar with TiVo in Australia would be aware that the 30 second skip function has been disabled forcing us to physically view commercial breaks albeit in fast forward however this was not the case with the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote and I was able to skip through the commercials in 30 second blocks with much joy. That in itself is almost good enough reason to purchase this remote. So as a side note, the 30 second skip function has been blocked out at the remote control level not the TiVo box.

Another clever feature of the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote is that it has an IR Blaster System. This device is positioned in front of the appliances to be controlled and sends its IR commands to the devices. It receives its instructions from the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote and so there's no need to be constantly aiming the Logitech Harmony 900 Remote at the device being controlled. This is a very useful and handy feature.

The Logitech remote also has a charging cradle to reduce the dependency on batteries which has to be a good thing. What is most surprising is the level of support the remote control has. It supports 5,000 brands and up to 225,000 devices which is extraordinary. Of course given the Internet configuration method the number of brands and devices are constantly being updated which means the remote is future proof for any new additions you may be considering.

As far as universal remotes are concerned, this is a winner but whether or not it's right for you depends on the individual and their circumstances. I am a great fan of the concept of a universal remote control and I would have no hesitation recommending this device. If you were looking at something like this, you may wish to also look at the Logitech Harmony 1100i Remote as it has a larger touch screen with the same core functionality and I suspect it may be more intuitive with its larger screen.

Nik G