# Best Universal Remote For TiVO



## johndoedoes

Looking to purchase a universal remote for my Sony TV, Bolt, PS4 and Apple TV.

This is on sale today through Amazon and it got me thinking about what everyone else uses here? And if this is a solid choice.

Logitech Harmony Smart Control with Smartphone App and Simple Remote - Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ5RYI4/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_GH1qwbRCG4RX2

I'm open to suggestions on which one you use and how it'll interact the best with the Bolt.


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## tomhorsley

I like the harmony remotes that have 6 or so "soft" buttons with an LCD display to show you descriptions, but where most of the buttons are "hard". You can program the soft buttons for odd things you never use, and you hand learns where the hard buttons are, giving you the same feel and layout for all your devices. It has been a long time since I bought my last one, so there probably isn't any specific current model I could recommend.

P.S. Their web based setup is abominable, but once you make it through it, you don't have to use it very often.

P.P.S. I use mine with my Roamio, so I have no specific experience with the Bolt.


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## mdavej

+1

Some people like the Smart, but I would not get one due to lack of buttons and LCD. Elite is a better choice. At $16, Nevo C2 is excellent, but can't control a PS4.


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## geko29

With the exception of the missing help function--very useful if you have a complicated setup where some things occasionally don't wind up in the correct power/input state--I actually prefer the simple remote to my Ultimate. Now that they finally offer the simple remote without the hub, I'm actually going to buy a second one to replace the Ultimate (which comes with a hub) for most use.


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## raqball

I have the Harmony Elite and it's a great remote.. If you can get past it's initial price shock, I'd recommend it..


mdavej said:


> Some people like the Smart, but I would not get one due to lack of buttons and LCD. Elite is a better choice.


Agree. I had the Smart Control last year and ended up selling it because of those exact reasons. Add in it's not backlit which was a huge deal breaker for me..


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## moveandstore

The Harmony 650 is an excellent choice for the money, especially around 60 to 70 dollars, and you don't want to buy the Harmony One. I use it on 5 different components and it works seamless. The only drawback that I have with is you have to make sure that the Bolt is fully turned off and the green light is gone. Otherwise the next time you turn on your components, the Bolt will be on Standby mode and turn itself off. Then you have to hit the Help button to turn the Bolt back on while keeping the TV and receiver on. I have been using it (the 650) since I had my Premier without issue.


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## moveandstore

Oh I forgot. If you are using a Roku or a Amazon Fire TV, all the components have to be in line of sight of the remote. I know the more expensive remotes in the Harmony line have both IR and RF (and I think Bluetooth) as well. So you have to have the components within line of sight. But as I said for a budget remote and barring the buggy software interface that you must use to set it up, none is better IMHO.


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## tomhorsley

geko29 said:


> With the exception of the missing help function--very useful if you have a complicated setup where some things occasionally don't wind up in the correct power/input state


The help button takes too long . I just add a "soft" button to toggle the power on all relevant devices in each mode, so if something doesn't come up right, I can just use one button to fix it.


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## mdavej

PS4 control is the big gotcha in this case. Only a Harmony Hub based remote can control it, so the 650 is out unless the OP can drop that requirement.

BTW, you should be able to find a refurb 650 for around $40. In my experience, they're as good as new. I have a couple of refurb 650s that are still going strong. 

But I have to reiterate that the $16 Nevo C2 is far more powerful at 18 devices, editable activity macros, custom protocols, IR signal analysis, variable command durations, pronto hex import, unlimited offline configs, 72 favorites with icons, unlimited macro length, custom icons for every command, etc. That's a lot more remote for your money.


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## raqball

mdavej said:


> PS4 control is the big gotcha in this case. Only a Harmony Hub based remote can control it, so the 650 is out unless the OP can drop that requirement.
> 
> BTW, you should be able to find a refurb 650 for around $40. In my experience, they're as good as new. I have a couple of refurb 650s that are still going strong.
> 
> But I have to reiterate that the $16 Nevo C2 is far more powerful at 18 devices, editable activity macros, custom protocols, IR signal analysis, variable command durations, pronto hex import, unlimited offline configs, 72 favorites with icons, unlimited macro length, custom icons for every command, etc. That's a lot more remote for your money.


I tried the Nevo and hated it! Bulky and awkward were my 1st thoughts on it. It's also pretty difficult to set up and make changes to.

For the price though it is a nice option if someone does not want to spend a ton of $$. I only had mine for 2 days before returning it, so take my opinion on it with a grain of salt..


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## mdavej

raqball said:


> I tried the Nevo and hated it! Bulky and awkward were my 1st thoughts on it. It's also pretty difficult to set up and make changes to.


I'll give you that. Very bulky. I quickly returned my first one too back in 2009. The C3 isn't bulky at all but is far more expensive these days than the C2. But you have to admit, the Tivo remote is also pretty bulky. It's way thicker than it needs to be.

But I assume you never tried it with Remote Master. It's far better than the web based software from the manufacturer. With good software, I'm able to now overlook the less than stellar styling for the huge amount of functionality I gain. Plus, I can have a remote in every room for the price of a single Harmony.


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## raqball

mdavej said:


> I'll give you that. Very bulky. I quickly returned my first one too back in 2009. The C3 isn't bulky at all but is far more expensive these days than the C2. But you have to admit, the Tivo remote is also pretty bulky. It's way thicker than it needs to be.
> 
> But I assume you never tried it with Remote Master. It's far better than the web based software from the manufacturer. With good software, I'm able to now overlook the less than stellar styling for the huge amount of functionality I gain. Plus, I can have a remote in every room for the price of a single Harmony.


I did not try the Remote Master software... I do agree with you though that for the price of the C2 it is a killer remote..

Yes I know many love the Tivo remote but I personally hate it.

I looked at the C3 before buying my Harmony Elite but decided to go with it instead.. Has the C3 been discontinued as well? I didn't find many placed that stocked it.


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## eric102

If you have or can find an old Harmony as a trade in you can get $100 off an Elite at BB. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/logitech-harmony-146725?acampID=0&ref=8575135&loc=0

Others have been successful at stacking the 10% off USPS movers coupon on as well for a total cost of $225. YMMV


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## johndoedoes

raqball said:


> I have the Harmony Elite and it's a great remote.. If you can get past it's initial price shock, I'd recommend it..
> 
> Agree. I had the Smart Control last year and ended up selling it because of those exact reasons. Add in it's not backlit which was a huge deal breaker for me..


My issue with the Elite is that there aren't numbers quickly assessable. I would NEVER get one of these with my TiVO and Apple TV (I can handle two remotes) but with the Sony TV that I have, I like running Netflix/YouTube from the TV App because I prefer the 4K quality it provides vs the TiVO's.

I like the Smart because it has numbers, but the LCD screen on the Elite is a plus too. Now I'm in a dilemma. Haha. First world problems.


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## raqball

johndoedoes said:


> My issue with the elite is that there aren't numbers quickly assessable. I would NEVER get one of these with my TiVO and Apple TV (I can handle two remotes) but with the Sony TV that I have I like running Netflix/YouTube from the TV App because I prefer the 4K quality it provides vs the TiVO's.
> 
> I like the Smart because it has numbers, but the LCD screen is a plus. Now I'm in a dilemma. Haha. First world problems.


You can set the Elite to where when you activate say 'Watch Tivo' that it automatically displays the number keys on the screen as the main page. From there you swipe right to access the other items / screens if that made sense.. You can customize each activities start screen / what shows on the LCD.

So if you want the number keys on the 1st / main screen only when watching Tivo then you can tell it to do that.. On the Apple TV you can set it to display something different for the 1st / main screen.


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## johndoedoes

raqball said:


> You can set the Elite to where when you activate say 'Watch Tivo' that it automatically displays the number keys on the screen as the main page. From there you swipe right to access the other items / screens if that made sense.. You can customize each activities start screen / what shows on the LCD.
> 
> So if you want the number keys on the 1st / main screen only when watching Tivo then you can tell it to do that.. On the Apple TV you can set it to display something different for the 1st / main screen.


Now that's Bad-A! Now I have to find an old one to trade in.


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## mdavej

raqball said:


> I did not try the Remote Master software... I do agree with you though that for the price of the C2 it is a killer remote..
> 
> Yes I know many love the Tivo remote but I personally hate it.
> 
> I looked at the C3 before buying my Harmony Elite but decided to go with it instead.. Has the C3 been discontinued as well? I didn't find many placed that stocked it.


The C2, C3 and their twins the Xsight Color and Xsight Touch were all discontinued in 2011, as far as I can tell. You used to be able to get a C3 for $30, which was a steal since it originally sold for $250 new. But supplies are nearly exhausted now, hence the uptick in prices. As you probably already know the C3 is much slimmer, rechargeable, RF and touchscreen. C3's are my main remotes. I use C2's in bedrooms and guest rooms, where I don't need RF. At these prices, I've bought up more than enough to last me the next 30 years. By that time, IR will be obsolete, I hope.

Even if you don't actually use the remote, it's great to have for harvesting, analyzing and sending codes to a Harmony for learning purposes since it can take pronto hex or any other format you can imagine. Plus you can create your own codes, which is great when you can't find a discrete code. All you have to do is try every possible command byte value (00-FF) and you can discover totally undocumented commands that don't exist on the original remote or in Logitech databases. For example, I discovered a half dozen new Roku commands by this method which don't exist on many Roku remotes or are unlearnable from Roku RF remotes.

And lastly, since you can add your own codes, you can add every possible command for a device. For example, my receiver has about 500 discrete commands, only maybe 100 of which may be in the Harmony database. I can add all 500 of them.


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## Javelin3o4

moveandstore said:


> The Harmony 650 is an excellent choice for the money, especially around 60 to 70 dollars, and you don't want to buy the Harmony One. I use it on 5 different components and it works seamless. The only drawback that I have with is you have to make sure that the Bolt is fully turned off and the green light is gone. Otherwise the next time you turn on your components, the Bolt will be on Standby mode and turn itself off. Then you have to hit the Help button to turn the Bolt back on while keeping the TV and receiver on. I have been using it (the 650) since I had my Premier without issue.


Why not just go into device power settings in the Harmony setup software and tell it to leave the bolt on all the time? Then it will never send a power command to the bolt? I love the Harmony remotes until they made the new ones with no hard buttons for the number pad. I have two Harmony One's (one of which is still brand new in the box) and a Harmony 700. I just havent gotten around to programming the Harmony for the bolt yet.


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## mdavej

Javelin3o4 said:


> I have two Harmony One's (one of which is still brand new in the box) and a Harmony 700. I just havent gotten around to programming the Harmony for the bolt yet.


I assume you already have a Tivo. Why do you need to reprogram your remote for the Bolt? Is you current Tivo really, really old?


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## johndoedoes

I don't think I can swing the expensive option at the moment. Should I pull the trigger on this deal or just wait for something else?


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## raqball

johndoedoes said:


> I don't think I can swing the expensive option at the moment. Should I pull the trigger on this deal or just wait for something else?


That's a great price and it comes with the hub included..

I'd get it before it's sold out or the deal ends. If you find you don't like it just return it as Amazon has 30-days..


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## mdavej

Yep. Better hurry! Only 4 hrs left on the Smart deal as of 11PM EST tonight.


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## Javelin3o4

mdavej said:


> I assume you already have a Tivo. Why do you need to reprogram your remote for the Bolt? Is you current Tivo really, really old?


nah they aren't old (well one is now TiVo HD) just weren't used for a while, while I was living with my sister. The Harmony 700 wasn't programmed to a TiVo, and the Harmony One that I was using while staying with my sister I reprogrammed to a Comcast box.


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## HarperVision

moveandstore said:


> The Harmony 650 is an excellent choice for the money, especially around 60 to 70 dollars, and you don't want to buy the Harmony One. I use it on 5 different components and it works seamless. The only drawback that I have with is you have to make sure that the Bolt is fully turned off and the green light is gone. Otherwise the next time you turn on your components, the Bolt will be on Standby mode and turn itself off. Then you have to hit the Help button to turn the Bolt back on while keeping the TV and receiver on. I have been using it (the 650) since I had my Premier without issue.


All you have to do is program the Harmony to leave the power of the TiVo on at all times.....problem solved. I had the same issue when I installed my Smart Keyboard w/ Hub.


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## JayMan747

HarperVision said:


> All you have to do is program the Harmony to leave the power of the TiVo on at all times.....problem solved. I had the same issue when I installed my Smart Keyboard w/ Hub.


I need to do this... where is this modified?


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## raqball

JayMan747 said:


> I need to do this... where is this modified?


In the Harmony phone app:

Menu ---> Harmony Setup ---> Add/Edit Device & Activities ---> Devices --> Select your Tivo ---> Power Settings --> Keep Device Always On

Done!


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## Chuck_IV

We are using a Logitech 650 on our living room TV and swear by it. So much so, I bought a Logitech 700(on sale at the time for the price of a 650) for backup, if the 650 bites it.(700 is basically same as 650 but with rechargeable batteries and allows a few more devices).

We despise the number key being on a touchpad, thus why we don't like Logitech's current offerings.


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## raqball

Chuck_IV said:


> We are using a Logitech 650 on our living room TV and swear by it. So much so, I bought a Logitech 700(on sale at the time for the price of a 650) for backup, if the 650 bites it.(700 is basically same as 650 but with rechargeable batteries and allows a few more devices).
> 
> We despise the number key being on a touchpad, thus why we don't like Logitech's current offerings.


I actually like the keypad on the screen MUCH better than the physical keys.. On the smart control unit I had i found the keys to close together. On the LCD I zoom right through them with zero issues..


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## Jeff_DML

I have the "Logitech Harmony Smart Control with Smartphone App and Simple Remote" along with a bolt and PS4 plus other stuff.

I like it much better then the old IR harmony remotes since you dont have to aim so works works everytime. Not aiming is very helpful with kids,

All the buttons are soft buttons, you just need to remember what they map to since there is no LCD. Also every button has a short and long press so you effectively have double the buttons that are on the remote. 

Yes not having a backlight does suck but I got use to it.

finally PS4 support is not good currently barely works and does not work in certain PS4 apps such as media player. It worked great with PS3. Sony just came out with a BT PS4 media remote so hoping logitech can add better support now.

With that said I might go for that best buy deal for the elite and move my old one to my spare tv setup.


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## tomhorsley

JayMan747 said:


> I need to do this... where is this modified?


The harmony setup interface always reminds me of the old computer game that would tell me "You are in a maze of passages, all different". There is no way an actual human could deduce what path to take to find any setting you are looking for .


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## Jeff_DML

tomhorsley said:


> The harmony setup interface always reminds me of the old computer game that would tell me "You are in a maze of passages, all different". There is no way an actual human could deduce what path to take to find any setting you are looking for .


tell me about it. I made the mistake in recommending one for my dad and I am now his customer support agent


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## Jeff_DML

looks like the elite still fails with the transport buttons

http://www.cnet.com/products/logitech-harmony-elite/

On the TiVo my wife prefers 30 second skip and I prefer ffwd and having those share the same button does not work well IMHO.


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## raqball

Jeff_DML said:


> looks like the elite still fails with the transport buttons
> 
> http://www.cnet.com/products/logitech-harmony-elite/
> 
> On the TiVo my wife prefers 30 second skip and I prefer ffwd and having those share the same button does not work well IMHO.


Works fine on my Elite..

Short press FF long press 30 second.


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## Jeff_DML

raqball said:


> Works fine on my Elite..
> 
> Short press FF long press 30 second.


yeah but I my wife likes to queue up several 30 second presses at one time


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## raqball

Jeff_DML said:


> yeah but I my wife likes to queue up several 30 second presses at one time


Got ya.. I'll try later and see if I can do that as I've never tried.


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## Chuck_IV

raqball said:


> I actually like the keypad on the screen MUCH better than the physical keys.. On the smart control unit I had i found the keys to close together. On the LCD I zoom right through them with zero issues..


We had a remote back in the day(anyone remember the Pronto Neo) that had the numbers on the touch screen and we hated it. No real substitute in our house for the ability to just feel your way around the remote without the need to look what your finger is hovering over.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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## NickTheGreat

Jeff_DML said:


> yeah but I my wife likes to queue up several 30 second presses at one time


I've been debating reversing those buttons on my Harmony Ultimate. I 30sec skip much more than FFW.


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## Jeff_DML

NickTheGreat said:


> I've been debating reversing those buttons on my Harmony Ultimate. I 30sec skip much more than FFW.


yeah reverse works a bit better.

I ended up just mapping rwd/ffwd to the color buttons that are below on my remote instead.


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