Logitech Harmony 650 remote review
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 17th 2010 11:49AM
posted March 17th 2010 11:49AM
Succeeding the One
The current generation of Harmony remotes was more or less ushered in by the Harmony One back in early 2008, fitting in toward the higher end of the product line (but below the big-screen Harmony 1100) by offering a touchscreen and rechargeable batteries. Its form factor was subtly evolved and simplified to form the Harmony 700 last year, which ditched the touchscreen and revised the button layout slightly.
Here we have the 650, the next evolution downward in price. Available for $99 (or $79 if you can do with the monochrome screened 600) the 650 looks almost exactly like the 700, but lacks the circuitry for recharging batteries internally and, curiously, has been limited to control just five devices. That's only one less than the 700, but in our case it was one too few, meaning our soon-to-be collectors item HD-DVD player was feeling left out during this testing.
The button layout, stolen from the 700, falls to hand very naturally and leaves us with easy to find volume and channel rockers, plus the play/pause button in the lower-middle feels quite intuitive too. It's also worth noting that the buttons here feel far more solid and springy than those in the older models -- like our 520, which has a few unresponsive buttons after a little over a year of use. Dedicated activity buttons up top are handy, up and down arrows make for easy paging through DVR menus, and the row of colored buttons is great for everything from console game controls to those A, B, and C buttons on Scientific Atlanta DVR remotes. Unfortunately, though, unlike the 700 the buttons themselves aren't different colored, they just have labels on them, and we had a real hard time telling them apart in the dark.
The device is backlit, though, and has a simple accelerometer that will pop on the lights when you pick it up. However, it's a little less sensitive than we've seen in previous remotes, occasionally requiring a shake to come to life. When it does the buttons and the color screen light up, though that lighting is somewhat dim. We also weren't too impressed by the LCD, which has very limited viewing angles. That's picking nits, though -- it's not like you'll be watching Avatar on there.
Setting up and configuring the 650 is just as easy or frustrating as the previous ones, relying on the same online software suite that offers a combination of wizard-like questionnaires and dizzying arrays of menu options. Setting up the 650 will take some time, but the software is comprehensive and, like the other models, this one can learn commands -- leaving us to wonder if there wouldn't be a way to sneak that woebegone Toshiba player on there after all. You can import your settings from another remote, but the Logitech software will no longer recognize that other model when you do. To avoid losing all our settings on our older 520 we had to create a new account and start from scratch.
Wrap-up
There's not much to dislike about the 650. It offers most of the features of the higher-end Harmony models but at a more approachable price. The only thing we really don't like is the curious five device cap. Other than giving the 700 a reason to exist we're not sure why the limit was made one lower here, but for many users five will be plenty, and if that's you then you could do a lot worse than picking up a 650 -- or a 600. We'd save $20 and go with the monochrome model, but if you have the means there's nothing wrong with spending a little more to add some extra color to your life.
"Unfortunately, though, unlike the 700 the buttons themselves aren't different colored, they just have labels on them, and we had a real hard time telling them apart in the dark."
Uhm.. Like I can see colors in the dark..... That's the advantage of this one, it has buttons that you can actually feel in the dark, as they stick out more as the older harmony remotes.. If they make this PS3 (bluetooth) compatible I might buy one as I think the design is great.. I'd rather they released one without a display (which would save a lot of power)...
@SuperDre
I'm sure you know, but there are plenty of adapters to make any Harmony (Or universal remote) work with the PS3. This is the best one I found: http://www.schmartstuff.com/ps3ir500.html Pricey, but definitely worth it, using my Harmony 520 with it flawlessly.
About the screen, it's definitely necessary, as they can't predict what buttons every device will have on it, it's not practical. However, this sounds like an excellent place for e-ink.
@clarinetJWD For those prices you can get an universal remote that does work with the PS3 (blu-link)..
And I really disagree about the display, (for me) the best remotes I've used are the ones without a display, as I never used the display anyway, and I don't know what you mean with 'what buttons every device has', as the only buttons I normally use are the physical ones, and ofcourse you have to program every button to your own liking, never liked the whole schemes anyway, always putting actions on the wrong buttons.
@SuperDre
The screens come in handy whenever there are devices that don't have equivalents on the remote. I have a Lutron Maestro dimmer and a Mac Mini I control with the device; I have custom buttons programmed to handle the light and any special functions I want the Mac to perform.
Why is it shaped like a dildo? Ugh-ly.
When does the Harmony 650 come out?
My Harmony One is GREAT. My ONLY only complaint...? is that I hate the touchscreen, as the nature of IR is such that it needs line of sight - and being the lazy bastard that I am, I use my arm to gain the angle needed... which, when trying to hit the correct touchscreen button is sometimes difficult to do when peering over the top of the remote and having no tactile frame of reference. Aside from this quibble, its really a great innovation. I have 6 devices, and back when I used to get stoned, it was literally too much effort to remember every step of what needed to be changed in order to switch activities.. Harmony One.. you saved many a night from boredom. Also, my retarded sony LCD has all its buttons on TOP of the display. At a mere 6-3, I still have to guess by feel which button does what. Happy with my product. The cheaper products were, admittedly, not perfect (the 659 wouldn't connect to the charging leads consistently). I just look forward to harmony incorporating the qwerty slideout for searching my DishTV... which I hope to use a CableCARD for. :)
My Harmony One is GREAT. My ONLY only complaint is that I hate the touchscreen, as the nature of IR is such that it needs line of sight - and being the lazy bastard that I am, I use my arm to gain the angle needed... which, when trying to hit the correct touchscreen button is sometimes difficult to do when peering over the top of the remote and having no tactile frame of reference. Aside from this quibble, its really a great innovation. I have 6 devices, and back when I used to get stoned, it was literally too much effort to remember every step of what needed to be changed in order to switch activities.. Harmony One.. you saved many a night from boredom.
"That's picking nits, though -- it's not like you'll be watching Avatar on there", Lmao, funny as fuck!
My only complaint with my Harmony 880 is that it doesn't have the buttons for bluray. Other than that I love it.
@James5mith
Buttons for Bluray? wouldn't these be similar to DVD buttons?
Scratch that. Not similar, exactly the same!!!??
@James5mith Man, I have the 880, and while it has all the functionality, the size of the custom buttons are way too small. Also, the 880 is hard to use in the dark. I dumped mine in favor of a Harmony One. Love it Love it Love it. This is my fourth Harmony, and I swear by them.
@SH No. I'm talking about the "colored" buttons on the remote. Red/Green/Yellow/Blue. Those are used for specific functions by bluray players. They are not used on DVD players.
i bought a harmony one a while back (18 months) and i gotta say is not that impressive at all. mine for the most part just sits and collects dust.
@dan991199 Why is that?
The most important pic of all is missing, how it looks in the dark with the backlight for the keys on...
@SH
If it works like the Harmony One, all the buttons light up. Plus, the One has a mercury switch to automatically light up the buttons when you move it. Huge improvement over the 520 with the very tiny "Glow" button that you can't hit with a watermelon from a foot away. Dumb.
@The Digital Pimp
Yes, but I'm more concerned with HOW BRIGHT it is. I've been very disappointed with backlit keyboards in the past, however my 2 Harmony remotes are plenty bright.
@SH
I dig. It's not overly bright; I'd say it's just right. At least it's not horrid blue like the 520 :P
@The Digital Pimp I happen to like the blue backlight on my 550. What color is the backlight on other models?
@drathos My 628 and 670, nice blue and bright, I'm guessing like yours.
http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/1836/harmonybacklight.jpg
@drathos
The backlight on the Harmony One is white. Very pleasing and readable
I still can't find one of these that controls all my devices,..specifically my Bose Lifestyle 48,..let me look into this new one.
@ProcrastinationXtravaganza
Is your unit RF? If so, you'd need to jump up to the RF version of the Harmony One (i forget the name). It ain't cheap.
Quality and innovation has dropped ever since Logitech bought Harmony.