Thoughts of a Random Gamer

With great numbers of electronic toys comes the desire for increased control.  A couple weeks ago, I made the decision to better organize my music, videos, and pictures on my computer by installing XBMC (Xbox Media Center).  XBMC is a cross-platform, open source media center application that is fairly configurable and supports skinning.  After getting it up and running with all my media integrated into the application, I found myself desiring a remote to control the software.   And thus entered the part of my mind that squashes sound financial planning in favor of laziness.  Instead of going the economical route and purchasing a simple media center remote, I increased the size of my purchase to also include a Harmony 880 Programmable Remote and the Nyko Blue-Wave IR receiver for PS3.  First things first, I love my new remote!  The ability to have one remote to control all six of my electronic toys is an amazing thing. Ok, now that the sappy gushing is out of my system.  Onto my thoughts.

The Blessing of a Programmable Remote

The best thing about a programmable remote is how much easier it is to add a device.  For all of you that have suffered through entering code after code into a remote, those days are over.  Logitech provides a wonderful, intuitive application for configuring the remote aptly named Logitech Harmony Remote Software.  Using this application makes configuring the remote’s basic functionality foolproof, making it a snap to get the remote working. Naturally if you want any real custom button map,pings you have to get your hands dirty, but the default settings are adequate for most people.  In addition to the ease of use, the software helps you set up the two major selling points of this remote:

• Your Devices
• Configured Activities

Adding a device to the remote is as easy as selecting the Device Type, Manufacturer, and Model.  A good example of this is adding my Xbox 360.  I first select Game Device (with DVD) for the device, Microsoft as the manufacturer and manually input Xbox 360 as the model.  While this seems somewhat convoluted, the number of manufacturers available for something as limited as Game Device (with DVD) is astounding, at least twenty.  After you have added all of your devices into the software, you setup the activities for the remote.  This is where the remote shines. One of my activities is Watch TV, and when run it:

• Turns on my TV
• Sets the Channel
• Turns on the Home Theater
• Sets the Input
• Turns on the DVR Cable Box

In addition to turning on everything needed, when in Watch TV mode the remote maps the buttons appropriately for each device.  In short Volume controls the Home Theater, Channels control the Cable Box, and Input controls the TV.  This is extremely useful because it cuts down on the number of required button presses to perform a particular task.

The Curse of a Programmable Remote

One word, Configurability.  I am a person that delights in setting everything up just right.  I compulsively retrieve all album artwork, label all TV show episodes with the title, and organize my games by system.  Having a remote that I can define what each button does is almost too much for me.  I spent several hours getting each button mapped to the control that made the most sense.  And if there was no button for that task, I compulsively created the custom button that appears on the display screen for that task.  And even worse, I went through and ordered the custom buttons by which ones I used the most and removed those I never used.  In the end it was worth it, but it definitely cut into my gaming time.

The second big let down was the lack of IR support on the PS3.  The work-around suggested by the Harmony forums was purchasing the Nyko Blue-Wave Remote for the PS3 and using it’s IR sensor with the Harmony.   The controls work great when watching a movie or listening to music, but doing anything else is almost impossible.  I truthfully haven’t spent the time necessary to try and fix this simply because it was easier to leave the PS3 remote in a drawer and pull it out when needed.

Final Thoughts

The Harmony 880 is a wonderful piece of technology for those that desire a way to reign in their coffee table “decorations”.  But with great configurability comes great responsibilty and the time to fiddle with the settings!

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