Question: Harmony 880 Remote. Using one "device" to control another?

[Coldkilla]

On my 880 Logitech Harmony remote, I never use the "activities" feature. It's too cumbersome and I have too many devices that screw up the whole process. I recently set up our new TiVo and got it working flawlessly. However, the one issue? The TiVo controls had no volume controls. While in the "TiVo" device, I would like to adjust the televisions volume without having to switch the device to television first, then adjusting the volume.

Any thoughts on how to do this?

Thanks!

 

[purbeast0]

thought you could create your own activities, that would explicitly tell it what piece of equipment the volume would control.

i'm not talking about the "hard coded" activities that are on the remotes, like "Watch a DVD", etc ... I'm talking about the ones that you basically create from scratch.

i have an older model remote so i'm not sure if it's different now, but i had one that would allow it where the channel buttons would change the tv channel on my cable box, but the volume button would change the volume on my AVR.

however, the whole macro thing where it would try to power on everything never would work right. like if i pressed the macro to "watch tv" that would watch it with my AVR input, the macro would try to turn the tv on, turn the avr on, then set the right input. well if the AVR or TV was on, it would turn it off sometimes, and screw it all up.

i stopped using those macros pretty quick because it was more of a headache than anything else. i ended up doing what you are now currently doing because of it.

 

[ImpulsE69]

You can do exactly that with the activities. You can manually set which button goes to what device (in an activity) so more or less you would at least need the tivo and TV both.

 

[blackangst1]

aayyyyup! The Harmony will do this!

I dont get why you say the activities menu is too cumbersome...you set it up once, and its done.

 

[Mathwiz]

Using the "activities" feature of the Harmony remote is the nicest aspect of owning one.

I have a HDTV, a Denon receiver, a BD player, and a HDDVR cable box, and they all work beautifully together using the activities button. What's really nice about it is the ease of use for my wife & daughters when I'm not at home. Couldn't imagine the hassle of not having one.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

On my 880 Logitech Harmony remote, I never use the "activities" feature. It's too cumbersome and I have too many devices that screw up the whole process. I recently set up our new TiVo and got it working flawlessly. However, the one issue? The TiVo controls had no volume controls. While in the "TiVo" device, I would like to adjust the televisions volume without having to switch the device to television first, then adjusting the volume.

Any thoughts on how to do this?

Thanks!

This makes no sense -- "activities" is the one feature that makes the Harmony worth it. If you have a home theater with lots of devices, you make custom activities and it is a piece of cake to use everything. This is especially true if you have a device like a receiver, where you generally not only turn it on but also have to select the input and make any other adjustments too.

Oh, and too many devices? I have a Roku, BD player, HDDVR/cable box, Xbox, Denon receiver, and Panasonic plasma with Viera cast (I configured an activity just for this). I've never had any problems making activities.

 

[Binky]

Activities have two basic functions:

1. Turn on/off devices that are/aren't needed for that activity.
2. Change what various buttons do (volume, channel)

What you (OP) are describing is exactly what activities are made to simplify. You should suffer through learning how to best use activities. It will be time well spent.