Review of the Logitech Harmony 890 Pro Advanced Universal Remote

In my short adult lifetime, I have owned at least a dozen televisions and A/V receivers; yet I have never owned a universal remote control. Even after I wrote the Guide: How to shop for your first HDTV, I refused to open myself up to buying an aftermarket remote. I know that this may seem like crazy talk to some of you, but brace yourselves: sometimes I even right walk up to the equipment and turn it on or off... manually. I blame my denial of convenience on the progress of technology, because it changes so quickly that all of the equipment seems to be replaced long before the remote begins to shows signs of wear. Okay, so it's mostly all of that, but it's also because I'm not lazy.

Regardless of my cautious approach to convenience technology, now that I have a whole new array of electronics the real problem begins. You see, up until 2007 I was a three remote kind of guy. The 'system' was comprised of a television, DVD player, and receiver. Then everything changed. It all started when I bought the new Sharp AQUOS LC-52D62U 52" 1080P HDTV, which was followed by a new 7.1 HDMI A/V receiver, and then the satellite receiver, HD-DVR, and finally a nice Windows MCE HTPC to round things out. My simple entertainment room quickly turned ugly on me, and the new collection of remotes began to occupy almost all of my table space. If clutter wasn't bad enough, all of the equipment was brand new, which meant that I had no idea which remote went to what device.

Since none of the manufacturers filling my entertainment system shelves can offer more than simple one-device remotes, I was in need of either a deluxe remote control caddy with labeled organizer, or I would need to get a universal remote control and take a day off work just to program it. It was a quest for the unobtainable, a journey for the unthinkable; I wanted to replace a collection of remote controls with... One Remote to Control Them All. Logitech heard my cries of despair, and presented the Harmony 890 Pro Advanced Universal Remote Control to save the day.