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Logitech Harmony Smart Control Review

The Logitech Harmony Smart Control "turns your smartphone into a powerful universal remote". That's the motto for this universal remote in Logitech's Harmony line-up. The Logitech Harmony is a series of premium universal remote controls, ranging from stand-alone ones to ones tied into SmartPhones. The biggest draw to the Logitech Harmony is the community support of 225000 electronic devices. Theoretically, you should be able to control any remote-control device from the past, present, and the future. Logitech provides a database search function to see if its community database has your electronic devices. See "Related Links" below to access that database.

But there are many generic universal remote controls out there for far less expensive than the most inexpensive Logitech Harmony. Why would you want a Logitech Harmony remote?

Well, let's take a look at a real life example, mine. I have an Aiwa AV-D30U Home Theater Receiver. I have lost it's remote (RC-7AS09) last year. So for the past year, I've been walking to the receiver to change settings. A generic universal remote can control its basic functions, like volume and power. But what I need in addition to that is to change the equalization--dance, pop, live, rock, etc.--for different medias that I watch. None of the generic universal remote can do that. But the Logitech Harmony devices database indicates that it does support the Aiwa AV-D30U. That raises a few questions about the Logitech Harmony:

Will the Logitech Harmony remote support all of the functions on the original remote?
What if the original remote has buttons that is not on the Logitech Harmony remote?
Can the Logitech Harmony remote buttons be remapped individually?

I don't know the answers to those questions. But now I have a Logitech Harmony Smart Control on hand. And in this review article, we will answer those questions and more.

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Package

The Logitech Harmony Smart Control comes in a sleek black box. The content is sealed by two manufacturer sealing tapes. The box outlines a number of features:

Harmony App gives your smartphone the power of a universal remote.
Control devices behind cabinets or walls with the Harmony Hub
Control up to 8 devices with your smartphone or simple remote.
Display up to 50 favorite channel icons on the Harmony App.
Swipe or tap your thumb to change the channel, fast-forward or volume up.
Customizable inapp gesture control.
Essy setup with your smartphone.
Compatible with over 225,000 devices.
Compatible with IR/Bluetooth game consoles.

These are some neat features. But they don't answer all of my questions directly. We'll have to get inside the box to find out. Although the box is sleek, it's not easy to open.

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Content (Unboxing)

The Logitech Harmony Smart Control box actually indicates what's included:

Harmony Hub
Remote control (with battery)
IR mini blaster
USB cable
AC adapter
User documentation

The Logitech Harmony Smart Control is a really mysterious device. Even though it provides a list of included items, it's unclear what many of these items are for. The remote control and AC adapter is obvious, but what is a Harmony Hub?

Much like the Logitech Harmony Smart Control, the instruction sheet is quite cryptic as well. For a device that generate so many practical questions, it only provides four simple instructions:

Visit the Apple App Store or Google Play store.
Search for an install the "Harmony" app.
Launch the app when ready.
Follow the instructions provided by the Harmony app to setup your Harmony remote.

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