1. Computer Programmable Remote Control Handles Just About Any Device

Logitech's Harmony 890 computer programmable remote control with it's illuminated color display and keyboard.

If, like me, you've got a pile of audio-video remote controls and you've not been happy trying to consolidate their functionality in one of those cheapie manually programmable "universal" remotes, Logitech's Harmony 890 just might be what you're looking for. The 890 comes with a combination USB-based battery charger and dock to connect it to your computer. The 890 Windows-based software provides a nice interface for defining your devices (audio-video components) and putting them together in a variety of useful on-off, initialization combinations. The software also links to the Internet where it is able to download up-to-date remote control specs for virtually any AV device you can imagine.

The 890 with its charger-dock. The three in-line gold metal objects toward the left side of the charger-dock are charging and data contacts for the remote.

Once you've set up your devices, you can create groups of devices, called "Activities", to do such things as turning on your TV and audio receiver so you can watch cable broadcasts with audio handled by your receiver. Activities are the real power of Logitech's 890, though the ability to download remote controller specs comes in a very close second.

The Harmony 890's display close up. Notice that you can create rooms, sort of like folders to hold sets of Activities appropriate to a given room. Note also that the 890 can control the lighting in a room, for example dimming the lights when you watch a movie and making them brighter when you listen to a CD or the radio.

With Activities in place for such device combinations as your TV-and-audio receiver and maybe your cable box if you want to turn it on and off, your DVD player-and-audio receiver, your receiver's radio and your VCR-and-audio receiver, all you have to do is click the button next to the appropriate icon on the Harmony's display to start the Activity. IR signals are sent to all devices in the group and you're off and running. To turn off the devices for the Activity all you have to do is press the Off button at f the very top of the 890.

After you turn on the devices in an Activity, the Activity options disappear from the display and it shows optional actions you can take for the devices in the activity group. For example, you can change the aspect ratio of your HDTV, if it is possible to do that with the component's own remote. This gives you some idea of the depth of detail for a device's varied operations that is loaded into the 890.

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