- Oct 9, 1999
- 12,513
- 49
- 91
I sit here in a state of shock.
I have been the ecstatic owner of a Harmony 680 ever since my wife bought it for me for Christmas three years ago. I've been using it with no problems all throughout that time with my Windows Media Center PVR, HDTV, receiver, and DVD player.
I switched over to optical S/PDIF audio a couple of days ago, so I needed to update the remote control so it would put my receiver on the right input. No big deal, their software is very simple to use.
I'm notified I need the newest version of software. No big deal again. Make the necessary changes, the program flashes my remote control, all is well. Hit the "watch TV" button, the remotes wakes up the PC, turns on the TV and receiver, and sets each to the proper inputs. Gotta love it.
My son's routine in the morning is to watch TV while he drinks a bottle of milk. So, this morning, walk him in front of the TV, press "the green button" to bring up My Movies, and . . . . huh. Waitaminute. Green button doesn't work. That's odd. Batteries? No, it's working for everything else. What gives here?
Ah well, at the moment, I didn't have time to fool with it, so I grabbed my Microsoft control out of the drawer, started the movie playing, and got ready to go to work.
Fast forward to this evening. I plug in the remote control and start checking settings to make sure I've got everything right. Hmm. Looks like it. Go through the troubleshooter, which brings me to Logitech's support number. I have some time to kill, so I call it, wait on hold for a while, the usual. First level guy is very friendly, doesn't see anything he can do to help, so he kicks me up to second level support.
I explain the problem to the second level guy, who again, is actually coming across as quite competent, and after some research, he responds:
"We're no longer supporting that function for the media button (what Logitech calls the green buton) for this remote."
Me: "Umm. Say wha?"
The key thing is this. The 680 was marketed as a "Media Center" remote. It's styling is closely patterned after the official Media Center remote. It has the green button, just like the Media Center remote.
Keeping my cool, I ask the guy, "Well, I have been considering upgrading to the 880 to make use of the charging dock, will it still support the media button to be used as the green button?"
"No, it would be the same across the board."
At this point I'm just flabbergasted. I sez: "Look, I can understand forced obsolescence and giving people incentive to upgrade, but what you're telling me is, your newer, better, model, also lacks this feature? I think that's going to cost you some business, man."
I asked to speak to a supervisor, none was available, he will be calling me back - hopefully. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt given their good quality of phone support.
So now, basically, I've got a $200 (at the time) remote that is useless for why we bought it. If I could roll back the firmware it would be one thing, but there is no local storage of firmware for the remotes, it is all kept on Logitech's servers. I did some Google research and I'm not the only one with this issue. See here:
http://forums.logitech.com/log..._date_ascending&page=1
Also note the product announcement press release:
FREMONT, Calif. ? Oct. 12, 2004 ? Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today unveiled the first Harmony remote specifically designed to control a PC running on Microsoft® Windows® XP® Media Center Edition (Media Center PC) ? and any devices that may be connected to it, such as a television, a home theater stereo receiver, or a DVD player. The Logitech® Harmony® 680 advanced universal remote control helps deliver the promise of the Media Center PC experience by allowing it to work seamlessly with all the other devices in the entertainment system, making it easy for people to navigate and enjoy television, music and movies, in their living room.
According to research firm IDC based in Framingham, Mass., the worldwide shipments of media PCs should grow from nearly 1.5 million in 2004 to over 19 million in 2008.
?While a growing number of people are using Media Center PCs in their living rooms, the lack of a single point of control has made it difficult for the Media Center PC to fully complement the rest of the entertainment center,? said Bryan McLeod, vice president of Logitech´s Remote Control Division. ?Until now, people have been able to control their Media Center PC, but they haven´t been able to control any other component attached to it such as, a stereo receiver, CD player or TV. The Harmony 680 remote integrates the new with the old, bringing together the Windows XP Media Center platform with the devices that are connected to it.?
The Harmony 680 remote is designed to control Windows XP Media Center Edition right out of the box. Unlike other remote controls that come with Media Center PCs, the Harmony 680 can also be easily set up to add other home entertainment devices and tie commands to a single activity button. One Harmony 680 remote can do it all ? and help people rid their coffee tables of the clutter of excess remote controls.
The Harmony 680 remote has three dedicated one-touch activity buttons ? My Videos, My TV, and My Music ? that correspond to the same activities found within the Windows XP Media Center OS. These activity buttons can control the Media Center PC and any other entertainment-system component used in that activity. The remote has eight additional buttons specifically designed to control live and recorded digital television through the Media Center PC. While the Harmony 680 remote can control the Media Center PC immediately when taken out of the box, it´s also easy to set up additional one-touch activities and control of devices that are not part of the Media Center PC. The Harmony 680 remote has the ability to control as many as 15 devices.
I have been the ecstatic owner of a Harmony 680 ever since my wife bought it for me for Christmas three years ago. I've been using it with no problems all throughout that time with my Windows Media Center PVR, HDTV, receiver, and DVD player.
I switched over to optical S/PDIF audio a couple of days ago, so I needed to update the remote control so it would put my receiver on the right input. No big deal, their software is very simple to use.
I'm notified I need the newest version of software. No big deal again. Make the necessary changes, the program flashes my remote control, all is well. Hit the "watch TV" button, the remotes wakes up the PC, turns on the TV and receiver, and sets each to the proper inputs. Gotta love it.
My son's routine in the morning is to watch TV while he drinks a bottle of milk. So, this morning, walk him in front of the TV, press "the green button" to bring up My Movies, and . . . . huh. Waitaminute. Green button doesn't work. That's odd. Batteries? No, it's working for everything else. What gives here?
Ah well, at the moment, I didn't have time to fool with it, so I grabbed my Microsoft control out of the drawer, started the movie playing, and got ready to go to work.
Fast forward to this evening. I plug in the remote control and start checking settings to make sure I've got everything right. Hmm. Looks like it. Go through the troubleshooter, which brings me to Logitech's support number. I have some time to kill, so I call it, wait on hold for a while, the usual. First level guy is very friendly, doesn't see anything he can do to help, so he kicks me up to second level support.
I explain the problem to the second level guy, who again, is actually coming across as quite competent, and after some research, he responds:
"We're no longer supporting that function for the media button (what Logitech calls the green buton) for this remote."
Me: "Umm. Say wha?"
The key thing is this. The 680 was marketed as a "Media Center" remote. It's styling is closely patterned after the official Media Center remote. It has the green button, just like the Media Center remote.
Keeping my cool, I ask the guy, "Well, I have been considering upgrading to the 880 to make use of the charging dock, will it still support the media button to be used as the green button?"
"No, it would be the same across the board."
At this point I'm just flabbergasted. I sez: "Look, I can understand forced obsolescence and giving people incentive to upgrade, but what you're telling me is, your newer, better, model, also lacks this feature? I think that's going to cost you some business, man."
I asked to speak to a supervisor, none was available, he will be calling me back - hopefully. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt given their good quality of phone support.
So now, basically, I've got a $200 (at the time) remote that is useless for why we bought it. If I could roll back the firmware it would be one thing, but there is no local storage of firmware for the remotes, it is all kept on Logitech's servers. I did some Google research and I'm not the only one with this issue. See here:
http://forums.logitech.com/log..._date_ascending&page=1
Also note the product announcement press release:
FREMONT, Calif. ? Oct. 12, 2004 ? Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today unveiled the first Harmony remote specifically designed to control a PC running on Microsoft® Windows® XP® Media Center Edition (Media Center PC) ? and any devices that may be connected to it, such as a television, a home theater stereo receiver, or a DVD player. The Logitech® Harmony® 680 advanced universal remote control helps deliver the promise of the Media Center PC experience by allowing it to work seamlessly with all the other devices in the entertainment system, making it easy for people to navigate and enjoy television, music and movies, in their living room.
According to research firm IDC based in Framingham, Mass., the worldwide shipments of media PCs should grow from nearly 1.5 million in 2004 to over 19 million in 2008.
?While a growing number of people are using Media Center PCs in their living rooms, the lack of a single point of control has made it difficult for the Media Center PC to fully complement the rest of the entertainment center,? said Bryan McLeod, vice president of Logitech´s Remote Control Division. ?Until now, people have been able to control their Media Center PC, but they haven´t been able to control any other component attached to it such as, a stereo receiver, CD player or TV. The Harmony 680 remote integrates the new with the old, bringing together the Windows XP Media Center platform with the devices that are connected to it.?
The Harmony 680 remote is designed to control Windows XP Media Center Edition right out of the box. Unlike other remote controls that come with Media Center PCs, the Harmony 680 can also be easily set up to add other home entertainment devices and tie commands to a single activity button. One Harmony 680 remote can do it all ? and help people rid their coffee tables of the clutter of excess remote controls.
The Harmony 680 remote has three dedicated one-touch activity buttons ? My Videos, My TV, and My Music ? that correspond to the same activities found within the Windows XP Media Center OS. These activity buttons can control the Media Center PC and any other entertainment-system component used in that activity. The remote has eight additional buttons specifically designed to control live and recorded digital television through the Media Center PC. While the Harmony 680 remote can control the Media Center PC immediately when taken out of the box, it´s also easy to set up additional one-touch activities and control of devices that are not part of the Media Center PC. The Harmony 680 remote has the ability to control as many as 15 devices.
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