Harmony SST Remote

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PolkThug
PolkThug Posts: 7,532
edited July 2004 in Electronics
Anybody have any experience with the Harmony SST-659? I just ordered one. Basically you set it up with your computer and Internet connection. I walked through the setup on the website, and they had every piece of equipment I own, so I'm hoping setup will be a breeze.

www.harmonyremote.com

Regards,
PolkThug
Never Forget
Post edited by PolkThug on
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,621
    edited March 2004
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    You should have bought my brand new never been used MX-700. $225 shipped if you change your mind........ :)
    comment comment comment comment. bitchy.
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  • RVJII
    RVJII Posts: 167
    edited March 2004
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    What is an MX-700? Who makes it?
    A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,621
    edited March 2004
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    It's made by Universal Remote Control and you can read up on it HERE.
    comment comment comment comment. bitchy.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,722
    edited March 2004
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    If that had the ability to control the Klipsch Decoder, I'd grab one today...
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  • ezc
    ezc Posts: 426
    edited March 2004
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    PolkThug
    You bought yourself an great remote! We are a dealer for harmony & we have two that we have been using a SST-659 & a SST-768. My wife uses the 659 & loves it I use the 768. NO MACRO PROGRAMING! My remote currently controlls 4 tv 2 vcr, 2 dvd players, 2 receivers, & my office ac. For every tv I have tv listings & is set up to load 5 days of listings. I have 11 activities set up as one button. My main system watch dvd turns on the receiver, turns on the mits 55, changes the input to component 1, change the receiver to dvd, powers on the dvd player & last ejects the dvd tray! Soo easy. Programmed my remote in less than 2 hrs. I did go back in & assign buttons to a certin function & have other buttons like the channel up/down to do chapter skip / back. etc.! Have a look here at my site & I have a review of the remotes also. http://www.ezconnection.org/harmonyremote.htm
    The 768 has lifetime tv listings & the 659 has 2 mo free than you can subscribe $20 for a year or $40 for life. I dont think harmony is enforcing the 2 months yet but was told they probably will soon.
    I have been contacted by other Polk members for the remotes & I do offer a special club price. I dont know if this is where I should place the club price. & yes we are a authorized Harmony Dealer.
    Hope this helps!
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  • PolkThug
    PolkThug Posts: 7,532
    edited March 2004
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    Thanks for the input, I can't wait!
    Never Forget
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  • KeithV
    KeithV Posts: 107
    edited March 2004
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    heh I can get those things for $80 a pop new in box, I never realized those pieces of crap retailed for so much.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,802
    edited March 2004
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    Ummmm....a little diplomacy goes a long way!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited March 2004
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    Well if we can't...

    Wait a minute... Didn't we just do this?
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • KeithV
    KeithV Posts: 107
    edited March 2004
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    Originally posted by Tour2ma
    Well if we can't...

    Wait a minute... Didn't we just do this?

    I think so :o

    Sorry I'm in a haughty mood.

    (I mess with these products on a daily basis, so my initial impressions are strong.)
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  • PolkThug
    PolkThug Posts: 7,532
    edited March 2004
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    Originally posted by KeithV
    (I mess with these products on a daily basis, so my initial impressions are strong.)

    Did you take one out of the box at CC and play with it? Or, do you think its a piece of crap just by looking at it?
    Never Forget
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited March 2004
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    Sorry I'm in a haughty mood.

    1. You recognized it.
    2. You spelled it correctly...

    What do you find less than thrilling about them?

    What aftermarket universal remote do you like better?
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • KeithV
    KeithV Posts: 107
    edited March 2004
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    Originally posted by PolkThug
    Did you take one out of the box at CC and play with it? Or, do you think its a piece of crap just by looking at it?

    Actually I'm a retailer that carries this product, and after messing with it for a while I determined that, although it's a great replacement for a macro based remote, it's just spread too thin for my liking, and has limited interface options.
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  • KeithV
    KeithV Posts: 107
    edited March 2004
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    Originally posted by Tour2ma
    1. You recognized it.
    2. You spelled it correctly...

    What do you find less than thrilling about them?

    What aftermarket universal remote do you like better?

    I havn't found one I like yet, I'm waiting for a totally programmable touch-screen based remote that I can design the interface on using my PC, and then load it onto the remote.
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited March 2004
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    I picked up the Harmony SST-659 about a month ago. I like it alot. I bought and returned a bunch of universal remotes like the one-for-alls, the sony's, RCA, the Pronto Neo, the chameleon, and a few others. Seems like they all had their little quirks about them that just wasn't 100% what I was after.

    The Harmony comes the closest to my liking. Its actually perfect in running my equipment the way I want just like ezc describes. I like the "hard" buttons on the Harmoney compared to the touchscreen on the Pronto. The Pronto did come with NeoEdit software which let's the user customize the user interface with whatever buttons one wants to create... but the touchscreen was a royal pain for me. different strokes for different folks here I guess.

    My only complaint with the Harmony is that it seems to be a battery hog. In one month I've gone through two sets (four per set) of AAA batteries. This seems a little excessive. I do notice that the screen on the remote does not seem to go into sleep mode. Even though the backlight goes off, there is always something showing in letters on the screen. Not sure if the screen is supposed to go into some sort of sleep mode but mine has always functioned this way; I'm just questioning it now after going through all of these batteries.
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  • racer4551
    racer4551 Posts: 373
    edited March 2004
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    Pjdami,do what i did and buy two sets of rechargeable batteries and quit buying batteries,saves alot money in the long run, i have rechargeables for my mx500 remote and my digital camera and they used to eat alot of batteries too.
    *HT PRE-PRO*:Rotel rsp-1068, *AMP*:Rotel RMB 1095 *DVD PLAYER*:Denon 2200,*CD PLAYERS*,Arcam Alpha Mcd 6 disk carasel,Hughes Hdtv receiver, Hughes hdvr2,*MAINS*:Polk LSI 15'S, *CENTER*:Polk LSIC, *SIDE SURROUNDS*:Polk LSIFX,*REAR SURROUND*:Polk LSI 7'S,*SUB*:SVS PB2+*.MONITOR*:Mitsubishi ws48413 hdtv,Monsterpower hts2500X2,,Sony playstation2,Harmony sst-659 remote
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited March 2004
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    I hear ya racer. Ironically, I was just on the Best Buy website looking at the rechargeable batteries and now I know what I want to do with that $10 customer reward gift certificate I received from Best Buy.

    thanks for the tip.
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited March 2004
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    Newer rechargables have gotten better. I had a Panasonic set years ago that were... not good.
    Originally posted by KeithV
    I havn't found one I like yet, I'm waiting for a totally programmable touch-screen based remote that I can design the interface on using my PC, and then load it onto the remote.
    I've got a NIB Madrigal Microsoft IRIQ that may be what you're looking for...
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • racer4551
    racer4551 Posts: 373
    edited March 2004
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    I use the ni-cad setup from rat shack and has worked out great with no problems,batteries maintain a charge alot longer than standard non-rechargeable batteries.
    *HT PRE-PRO*:Rotel rsp-1068, *AMP*:Rotel RMB 1095 *DVD PLAYER*:Denon 2200,*CD PLAYERS*,Arcam Alpha Mcd 6 disk carasel,Hughes Hdtv receiver, Hughes hdvr2,*MAINS*:Polk LSI 15'S, *CENTER*:Polk LSIC, *SIDE SURROUNDS*:Polk LSIFX,*REAR SURROUND*:Polk LSI 7'S,*SUB*:SVS PB2+*.MONITOR*:Mitsubishi ws48413 hdtv,Monsterpower hts2500X2,,Sony playstation2,Harmony sst-659 remote
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  • ezc
    ezc Posts: 426
    edited March 2004
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    The battery life in our 659 is about 1-1.5 mo so far. That is my wifes main remote & is used daily with our main system & other tv's & system in another room. My 768 using monster 700mah recharge batts lasts about 1 mo but the batts have only been cahrged twice so far. This seccond charge has lasted 1 mo & 1 week so far, & this is the remote we use as a demo in the store & customers homes & with our system. pjdami, the back light shuts off but there is always somthing in the screen, it shouldgoto power conserv mode even in that state. If you dohave a problem call harmony & see whatthey can do, they are really good with customer service, you will need to send them or fax them your receipt & they will do what is neededto correct the problem. Need to remember to update the remote when the batteries are removed or replaced, orthe tv listings will be off. Keith have you looked at the MX-3000 by universal remote? That remote sounds exactly like what you want, fully customizable active matrix color touch screen, template galleries of gif,& jpeg & control up to 255 devices.
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited March 2004
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    Thanks ezc for the response. Yes the backlight does go off but I wanted to make sure that something is still supposed to be displayed on the screen. I did buy some rechargeable batteries for it yesterday; we'll see how that goes.

    Sorry I didn't buy one from you. It was really an impulse purchase and with my luck with remotes I wanted to make sure that I could return it if I didn't like it and the local store just seemed to be an easy approach. But I do like it a lot! It is not going back.

    Thanks for the tip on this remote.

    Paul
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  • ezc
    ezc Posts: 426
    edited March 2004
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    Paul,
    Glad you happy with your purchase! Thats what matters! How do you like the tv listings? After getting used to having it Im spoiled. We did a small install this past saturday & I set up my remote to opperate the customers system with activities. After the install & giving them some instructions on how to use thier system with 4 remotes I showed them what one remote could do. They were amazed & purchased one. No more which remote controls the dvd player or receiver or which button changes trhe input. The wife wasnt thrilled purchasing the system but after the install & the remote demo she was the one that said yup well take one! Or can we just buy yours! And it took me less than 20 min to set up thier system on my remote & have it ready for use!
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited March 2004
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    How do you like the tv listings?

    TV listings??? LOL.. I haven't even graduated to that part yet. I'll definitely have to look into that part of the equation. Is that service offered for free?
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  • ezc
    ezc Posts: 426
    edited March 2004
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    The tv listings for the 659 is free for 2mo ( purchase 12mo listings $20 or life for$40) & 768 free for life. Go to your account & in the right colum under your watch tv activities click on set up tv listings. It sets up the same way the remote is programed by answering questions! Saves me the tme of reading the paper for tv listings or watching the cable tv listings. You also set how many days of listings you want stored. I normally will set it at 5 days for multipul tvs or if its just one tv 7 days, Than at either 5 days ot 7days just do an update fornew listings!
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  • PolkThug
    PolkThug Posts: 7,532
    edited March 2004
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    cool stuff. It should be delivered to me by the end of the week. I'll post a review.
    Never Forget
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  • tecmo04
    tecmo04 Posts: 421
    edited July 2004
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    do any of u guys know of a full touch screen remote? price doesnt matter
    My Stuff
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  • PolkThug
    PolkThug Posts: 7,532
    edited July 2004
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    Sony makes some with large touch screens, but there are still lots of buttons below the display. They cost 149-199.

    Regards,
    PolkThug
    Never Forget
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