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.

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

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.

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	$399.99
	Harmony features, the Harmony 890 remote
	adds radio frequency (RF) control, providing
	consumers the ability to control home-
	entertainment 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.
Harmony® 880	The flagship of Logitech’s infrared remotes, the	$249.99
	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 home-
	entertainment systems.
Harmony® 550	The Harmony 550 remote delivers one-touch	$149.99
	activity control, easy setup, simple for anyone to
	use – in a budget-friendly design.
Harmony® Remote	The Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for	$129.99
for Xbox 360	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.
Harmony® 890 Pro	This modular product allows installers to create	$449.99
	custom multi-room solutions using wireless
	extenders. Multiple remote controls and
	enhanced support of lighting and home-
	automation devices using Z-Wave wireless
	technology.
Harmony® 880 Pro	Includes additional hard buttons to the Harmony	$349.99
	880 remote design that provides enhanced
	control of advanced A/V features such as
	aspect ratio and audio settings.