LOGITECH 890 User Guide

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer’s Guide – Page 2

Logitech 890 Reviewer’s Guide

Table of Contents

1. A Note to Reviewers .....................................................................................................3

2. Product Overview..........................................................................................................4

3. Industry Overview .........................................................................................................5

3.1 The Problem: The Growing Complexity of Home Entertainment.............................5

3.2 The Opportunity .......................................................................................................5

3.3 The Logitech Family of Harmony Advanced Universal Remote Controls................6

3.4 Harmony Family Overview ......................................................................................8

4. Key Features in Detail: The Harmony 890 Remote ......................................................9

4.1 The Harmony 890 Remote: Features and Benefits...............................................11

4.2 Logitech Harmony 890 Remote Layout.................................................................12

4.3 Harmony 890 Remote Product Specifications and System Requirements ...........13

4.4 Reader Info Box.....................................................................................................14

5. Setting Up the Harmony 890 Remote.........................................................................15

6. Using the Harmony 890 Remote.................................................................................18

6.1 The One-Button Activity.........................................................................................18

6.2 Controlling Devices Behind Cabinet Doors or in Separate Rooms .......................18

6.3 Switching Between Activities.................................................................................18

6.4 Controlling Individual Devices ...............................................................................19

7. Optimizing and Customizing the Remote....................................................................19

7.1 Customizing the Color Display ..............................................................................19

7.2 Creating a Custom Button.....................................................................................20

7.3 Teaching the Harmony 890 Remote an Infrared Command..................................21

7.4 Adjusting the Speed Settings ................................................................................22

7.5 Custom Activities...................................................................................................22

8. Frequently Asked Questions.......................................................................................23

9. About Logitech Inc......................................................................................................25

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer’s Guide – Page 3

1. A Note to Reviewers

This guide provides information to help you craft your independent review of the
Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote. The communications team at
Logitech hopes you’ll find our efforts helpful; we would appreciate your feedback.

Contact References:

Refer your readers to:
www.logitech.com/harmony
Customer Support:

1-866-291-1505

[e-mail]

Press Relations Contact (not for publication):

Nathan Papadopulos
Marketing Communications Manager
Logitech Harmony Remotes
Voice: 510.713.4207
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

Product Images:

Images are available online by visiting http://www.logitech.com/pressroom

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer’s Guide – Page 4

2. Product Overview

The Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote is

Logitech’s first retail remote to use radio frequency
(RF) wireless technology, allowing people to control
home-entertainment components hidden behind

closed cabinets, or even those that are in other rooms
of a house. The Harmony 890 remote offers the same
ease of use and one-touch, activity-based control that
has helped Harmony quickly become the most
popular brand of advanced universal remotes in the
U.S. marketplace – but by using a combination of
infrared (IR) and RF wireless technologies, this
remote offers a new level of flexibility and control in
the home.

Typically, the device-specific remote controls that ship with consumer electronics
products work solely with infrared wireless signals – light waves that are easily blocked
by furniture or walls. Using an IR remote, people must point the remote directly at the IR
sensor on the components they want to control. If the component is behind a cabinet
door, or if furniture or any other obstacle blocks the beam, the remote can't communicate
with the device, and thus can’t control it.

The Harmony 890 remote communicates with Logitech’s RF Wireless Extender, included
in the retail package, by using RF signals. Unlike light waves, these radio waves can
travel through solid objects – such as cabinets, doors, furniture, and walls. Located
within range of the home-entertainment components that users want to control, the RF
Wireless Extender receives the RF signals and then, based on this information, blasts
out the necessary IR commands to control the components.

It may sound complicated – after all, the technology is sophisticated. But using the

Harmony 890 remote is easy. People don’t need to worry about aiming the Harmony 890

remote at their entertainment systems, or opening up the cabinet doors to expose their

components to receive infrared signals. And as with all Harmony remotes, pressing one

button on the Harmony 890 remote puts the entire entertainment system in the right

state to watch TV or movies, or listen to music – making it simple for any family member

to enjoy the modern home-entertainment experience without frustration or guesswork.

The Logitech Harmony
remote controls comprise
the No. 1 selling brand of
advanced programmable
remotes in the U.S.

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer’s Guide – Page 5

3. Industry Overview

3.1 The Problem: The Growing Complexity of Home Entertainment

Until recently, most home-entertainment systems were confined to a single room of the
house – a living room or media room with only a few components. In nearly all cases,
these components were out in the open, so that conventional IR-based remote controls
could operate them.

But today’s home may feature entertainment consoles and systems concealed inside of
cabinets or other furniture. And today's consumers often enjoy music, video, games and
other home entertainment throughout home. Many high-end music systems include
speakers built into several rooms – a scenario in which walls prevent conventional IR
remote controls from controlling the equipment in another room.

This state of affairs has left many consumers frustrated – while they may spend
thousands of dollars for top-of-the-line home-entertainment technology, the experience
is tainted by their lack of complete and flexible control over their systems. They resort to
using several remote controls, often in several rooms, to operate their equipment.
Worse, the proliferation of multiple remotes throughout the house makes it all the more
difficult for family members to both learn and remember how to operate everything.

3.2 The Opportunity

Several companies have tried to solve the problem of home-entertainment complexity
with universal remotes. However, most third-party programmable remotes have been
inadequate for these reasons:

• They are difficult to set up. They require consumers to program complicated
infrared codes into the remote, so they must have deep technical knowledge or
hire an installer.

• They control components individually, even though most entertainment
activities involve more than one component. They require pressing an elaborate
sequence of buttons to simply watch television or a DVD, or listen to music.

• They do not work with all components. Many remotes only work on a limited
number of popular devices. On some remotes, information that the remote uses
to control components is stored internally, at the time it was manufactured, and
quickly becomes outdated, forcing people to teach these codes to the remote via
a confusing, laborious process.

• IR dependent remotes don't work through cabinets, where today's components
often reside, and they can't work through walls or floors to operate equipment in
other rooms of the house.

As a result, some consumers have turned to elaborate whole-house automation systems
that provide operation of all remote-controllable electronics throughout the home.
Unfortunately, these systems are typically custom installed and programmed by a
professional, extremely costly and still complex to operate.

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer’s Guide – Page 6

3.3 The Logitech Family of Harmony Advanced Universal Remote Controls

The first Harmony advanced universal remote was brought to market in 2003, and
Logitech has since introduced a complete line of these remotes. Each solves many
problems with its easy setup and use, its one-touch activity-based control, and its
complete control of the most complex and unusual entertainment systems.

Simple One-Touch, Activity-Based Control

All Harmony remote controls feature buttons that, when pressed, send a sequence of
infrared commands to set up the entire entertainment system for an activity. For
example, to watch high-definition TV on a cable system with a digital video recorder
(DVR), the TV, high-definition receiver, cable receiver, and DVR box may all have to be
powered and set to the appropriate inputs – which could require pressing 10 or more
buttons on several remote controls. With the Harmony remote, one button – Watch
HDTV – launches all of the correct components with the correct input settings in the
correct sequence. After starting an activity, the remote knows how to control any of the
components used during that activity. If the volume for watching television is controlled
through a home-theater receiver rather than through the television, the Harmony remote
knows to send infrared commands to the receiver when the Up or Down volume buttons
are pressed.

By using activity-based control, Harmony remotes work the way people think. Nobody
sits down to switch on the TV, change the input, turn on the DVD player and A/V
receiver, switch the input and sound field setting and adjust the volume. They simply
want to sit down to watch a movie. With the Harmony remote, they need to press only
one button to do so.

Smart State Technology

Logitech’s patented Smart State Technology® powers every Harmony remote control.
This technology allows the remote to recognize all the current states and settings of the
entertainment components it has been programmed to control. For example, at any
given time, a Harmony remote knows whether the television’s power is on or off, and
which video input it is currently set to, based on the activities that were entered by the
user. This capability is the backbone for a Harmony remote’s ability to deliver complete,
simplified control of an entire entertainment system. For a complete description of how
Smart State Technology works, see Logitech’s Smart State Technology Innovation

Brief.
Easy Setup Wizard

The Logitech Harmony remote is configured through an intuitive online setup wizard.
People create a profile as they go through the setup, answering simple questions about
the equipment they own and how they prefer to use it. Once all the questions about the
system have been completed, data is downloaded from the online Logitech database to
the remote. When the update is complete, the Harmony remote is now a customized
controller that has been tailored precisely for the person and his or her equipment.

Because there are intricacies with everyone’s setup, Logitech maintains a toll-free tech
support line, available seven days a week, and a quick-response e-mail support system.

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer’s Guide – Page 7

The Most Complete Online Database of Equipment Codes

One reason why the setup of Harmony remote controls is so easy is Logitech's
comprehensive online database, which contains information for more than 120,000
components (from more than 3,300 manufacturers) and the unique infrared signals that
control them. When people enter a component model number during setup, the
Harmony wizard matches it with infrared codes for that device, which are already stored
in the database. These codes are then downloaded into the remote as an update.

This industry-leading database is unique in that many thousands of Harmony remote
owners have contributed to providing the codes and device details. During a Harmony
remote owner’s setup, the database occasionally lacks information about a particular
electronics component or a unique feature. In these cases, the wizard walks the person
through a process that teaches the Harmony remote about the component as the person
presses a few buttons on the component’s original remote control. The Harmony remote
then captures these commands, and uploads them to the person’s online account,
where the commands are stored and can be accessed or updated at any time. This new
component information is then validated by the Harmony customer support team,
ensuring its accuracy, and is then published in the database for use by other Harmony
members. The next time a Harmony customer enters that component model number, the
new information will be available in the database. This approach ensures that the
database has the most current and accurate information, whether the components are
new or old, popular or obscure.

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer’s Guide – Page 8

3.4 Harmony Family Overview

Model Features/Function MSRP (U.S.)

Harmony® 890

Delivering the complete set of advanced
Harmony features, the Harmony 890 remote
adds radio frequency (RF) control, providing
consumers the ability to control home­entertainment systems that are hidden behind
closed doors or in other rooms. Unlike remotes
that use only infrared technology, the Harmony
890 remote doesn’t require a direct line of site to
control entertainment systems.

$399.99

Harmony® 880

Harmony® 550

Harmony® Remote
for Xbox 360

The flagship of Logitech’s infrared remotes, the
Harmony 880 remote is rechargeable, features
a color LCD with eight programmable buttons,
and has a sleek design that complements
today’s living rooms. Optimized for complicated
HDTV and DVR systems, the Harmony 880
remote helps to tame sophisticated home­entertainment systems.

The Harmony 550 remote delivers one-touch
activity control, easy setup, simple for anyone to
use – in a budget-friendly design.

The Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for
Xbox 360 makes gaming easy, with Play Xbox
360 one-touch activity control and dedicated X,
Y, A and B buttons that can be used to navigate
the Xbox 360 interface.

$249.99

$149.99

$129.99

Harmony® 890 Pro

Harmony® 880 Pro

This modular product allows installers to create
custom multi-room solutions using wireless
extenders. Multiple remote controls and
enhanced support of lighting and home­automation devices using Z-Wave wireless
technology.

Includes additional hard buttons to the Harmony
880 remote design that provides enhanced
control of advanced A/V features such as
aspect ratio and audio settings.

$449.99

$349.99