Remote....help

[Rodny Alvarez]

I need to replace my remote control the came with my Integra receiver, I looked at the harmony 890 PRO, pronto TSU3500, Universal Remote TX1000, MX 1000 and the monster cable AVL 300, I read the AVL 300 is a copy of the 890 pro with some minor upgrades.
Anybody familiar with this remotes???
Just need some input,
thanks!!!!

[Otto]

I use the 890, but not the PRO. I'm not sure what the differences are between that one and mine.

All in all, I find it to be an excellent remote. I can control all my stuff throughout the house, as well as outdoors. The macro-based "activities" allow flexible configuration for whatever you want to do. Of course, you can also set up whatever you need for each "device", and that is independent of each activity. There are eight soft buttons that can be assigned to anything you like, and you can create multiple "pages" of those eight soft buttons.

It's pretty cool that if you shake it, it lights up. A convenient feature for me. I think you can disable it if you don't dig it.

Every once in a while it'll lose communcation with the RF to IR remote extender and you'll have to resync it. This has happened probably four times in the last year or so.

My wife likes it and can use it without confusion. I think I just gave her the basics, and she ran with it.

Here's the best part, for me -- Harmony/Logitech actually listen to the customers. "We" told them over and over again that their web-based interface was goofy, and they actually changed it. I have talked with them on the phone, and they have been excellent and intelligent to deal with.

One possible, potential and long-term down side could be the fact that the tool to interface and communicate with the Harmony remotes is web-based. So if they go under, it's possible that we would have no support. However, with Logitech as big as they are, I don't see them going under. If they did, I would hope that they would give us a downloadable executable that would do the same thing (but without any future support, of course). Again, I don't see that happening.

Is the Pronto a touch screen thing? I really require tactile buttons to be able to work it in the dark, so I'm always against touch screens. YMMV on that issue...

I think I read somewhere that the Universal Remote customer support isn't the best, but I have no first-hand experience with them.

I don't remember exactly when I got the 890, but I've been very happy with it, and I'm even more happy that they have fixed my only major complaint about it (I think I ranted about that problem in another thread (I know I was complaining about it at AVS), but if you want to know more about my complaint, I'll be happy to discuss -- but it doesn't really matter, because it's fixed!)...

Good luck, Rodny.

[Rodny Alvarez]

Thanks Otto!!!
I haven't decide which one I want yet, the monster cable is the same thing is the harmony, for me is better to buy the monster(dealer cost )