Harmony Hub Setup, the SMART Universal Remote
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- The Logitech Harmony Hub allows you to easily connect your entire entertainment center together and control the whole thing with one remote or your smartphone! This video will take you step by step on how it works and some other cool tricks along the way.
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First upload had some audio issues... What other questions do you have? Full voice assistant tutorial coming soon!
Thank you for this! Looking forward to the Google Assistant component when you have the opportunity to upload. FYI, one expected issue I experienced during my initial setup was when powering off a device, the hub would send the command to power off all devices not related to the activity at hand. The fix was to adjust the power settings on the devices I didn't want to affected to only power off manually... I'm sure operator error was the main culprit; nevertheless, thought it worth a mention to anyone else that may be getting started with the hub.
Ok, usually I would want the entire activity to turn off. Did you then just make a specific Activity for each device?
@@TechWithBrett yes, for example I have a Lasko fan that I typically control via the Harmony Hub with my Google Home Max. In addition, I would have a separate routine for Watching TV vs Watching Roku as another example... Before adjusting the power settings on the aforementioned devices, switching from watching TV to watch Roku would subsequently turn off all the devices. There was a bit of a learning curve; however, after an hour or so of research and tweaking, I was able to get things sorted out... In any event, I thought perhaps some others may benefit from my initial experience.
Big fan of the channel! Thank you for all your tutorials!!
Those are great tips. The testing begins tonight!
Nice tutorial! I have an LG tv webOs 3.5 and the screen off option is deep in the setting menu. Is it possible to create shortcut to acces or execute this function? Thx
While my set-up for my Harmony wasn't quite as trouble-free, once I had it running, I like it very much! It works better than my Dish remote even!
Outstanding !!! Curious, does this mean that you HAVE TO turn OFF HDMI-CEC on all your HDMI-CEC capable devices so as not to interfere / complicate your activity programming ? I find HDMI-CEC to be extremely useful except a couple of my devices (Old PS3, Spectrum Cable TV Box) do not have HDMI-CEC capabilities. Thanks.
Brett unplug the IR blasters. It will still work. You only need the blasters if you have your device enclosed in some sort of box. Other than that, the main hub will shoot a signal that will bounce off the walls and hit anywhere in the house. You don't need all them wires. You're welcome.
Lol, you da man. Just making sure I had all the basics covered.
I love my Harmony remotes, they've allowed to make my entertainment setups much slicker to use 👍 The other benefit is the ability to control smart home devices, I especially like that it creates links between platforms that wouldn't necessarily okay nice together otherwise i.e SmartThings & IR controlled plug adaptors, TV & Hue lights etc It's one of the most versatile home automation hubs around in addition to being an awesome entertainment remote
Going to setup my Hue lights soon to make some fun activities!
@@TechWithBrett No Harmony set up is complete without a movie night routine, lights dimmed & surround sound on 🎥
Hey Brett , great video, as usual. Hopefully, you are still responding to messages here. I recently purchased the Harmony Hub Elite and am loving what it can do, and looking forward to having it completely automate my media devices as well as all of my home automation systems when I connect it to a SmartThings hub(future purchase) as well as my current Google Home hub system. My setup includes the following: LG tv(several HDMI ports and a USB port, as well as, Component connections). I also have a similar Onkyo receiver that you show in this video. Lastly, I have both a Firestick & Chromecast box. I was only able to get my tv connected to my receiver using the Component connection, I'm not sure why it wouldn't work with HDMI. Also, with this setup, to get both video & audio I had to connect my Chromecast & Firestick to the receiver and not the tv.The issue I'm having is, I can't figure out how to setup the harmony hub "Activity" options to automatically change the input to the correct settings to allow me to watch either one of these devices. Would you have a clue?
You will most likely need to go through each activity and set everything to be completed the way you would like. My internet is having issues right now so I can't tell you exact steps. I think it is odd the received wouldn't output audio correctly to the TV.
Tech With Brett Thanks for the reply. I’m thinking the same thing. I know that both my tv and receiver are a little old but they both have hdmi connections so I thought it would be an easy setup. Also, I forgot to mention that in order for me to be able to change the input settings for both my Firestick and Chromecast so that they work properly was to plug them directly into the receiver. If I plug them into the tv, I get no sound. This is the only issue I’m having with my setup. This is also why I believe I can’t properly setup the Harmony hub to change the input for hdmi devices when creating the Activities. I always have to go into the video setup options for the tv in order to change the input for sound. Hope this makes sense.
Very cool, but the short press, long press, is a deal breaker. My girls would struggle with it.
I’m leaning towards the hub with google home voice control.
Looking forward to your video on the google assistant integration!
Outstanding video Brett. Very well edited and super informative. Well done, sir.
Yes, Thanks...…. from your great review it sounds like it will definitely fix my problems of Harmony Ultimate (Cheap SAM's) not being able to speak to Nvidia Shield...
Great presentation! You have a gift! Do you know if once you have everything setup properly, can you program a single key to turn on/off closed captions?
Enjoyed the video. You did an outstanding job of setting up all of your devices. But what I was hoping for is a device that allows the setup to go one step further; to not only 'Watch TV' and turn on the necessary devices (TV, Apple TV/Roku/Amazon Fire Stick, Soundbar) but to actually allow granular control and launch Plex, Netflix, Prime or Fitness+. In theory, we merely have a device that only allows several remotes to be put in a drawer, yet fails at doing what the original device could do. The engineers, as usual, are running the asylum at Logitech. 75% of the buttons on the remote are unused.
If someone walked into your house and attempted to watch X (long press/short press buttons with icons that are totally unrelated to the functions they are performing) they will encounter one fundamental problem - whether or not you are in the room to hand the remote to when they have no freakin clue what to do.
Give me granulate IFTTT! I don't care how complex the setup is, the object should be to make it so my grandmother can walk in the room and hit the icon and it just works.
Great video! The physical remote obviously has multifunction buttons that work differently based on device. How may the physical button functions be changed from the physical remote if I want the directional pad to control the TV instead of my DVR?
I am interested in buying this but Amazon has alot of mixed reviews and apparently a new firmware update removed some features? Is this a good buy or not?
Love the channel Brett, top home automation resource, thank you! Just bought a Harmony Elite remote. Now I realize I am causing myself my own challenges, I have some CE Smart plugs/switches, some TP link switches, Hue, Lifx... just wondering if adding a Smartthings Hub may solve “clutter” or should I migrate to one manufacturer to make things similar?
If you already have a bunch of different devices SmartThings is a great way to unify what you already have (as long as they are supported with it.) Bit if you are looking to expand and only one app you need to use then I would looking into choosing a specific brand that can fit your needs.
Thank you so much, one other question... I have a Nest thermostat that the remote does not “find” nor does it come up now on my Find Devices search... has their been some kind of behind the scenes relationship change with Google/Nest to cause that?
A great video. Thanks. You might be able to help me with a couple of issues. Our home theatre uses an AVR HDMI cable from the TV to the receiver. Our Frontier set top box and our Sony DVD player (with streaming apps for Netflix and Amazon Prime) is also connected to the receiver. Consequently, when watching TV, we think that the keyboard that should be programed on our Harmony remote should be the receiver remote to control volume, close captioning, channels and accessing saved programs. Does this make sense? And, when watching a DVD or streaming a movie, we should have the Harmony remote using the DVD player remote keyboard. We could then open and close the disc tray, play a disc, adjust volume, and select a streaming app for streaming a movie with the Harmony remote. We wouldn't need a special key function for 'eject disc" for example if we were using the DVD remote keyboard on the Harmony remote. I guess the question is whether we can program the Harmony remote to have different keyboard setups depending on the activity. Also, our TV is a LG OLED TV and we need to periodically 'refresh" the screen pixels to prevent the development of 'ghost' images. This involves several steps using the LG remote. Could you think of anyway we could program either an "activity" to accomplish this, or setting up yet another key board for the TV to accomplish this task using only the Harmony remote? Your thought on all of this would be most welcome. Many thanks, David
Hey David that is a great question! From my experience this should be possible. Each Activity has some required buttons to control items like the TV or receiver. But after those the rest of the remote is completely programmable for each activity. When using TV the arrows and menus can control the TV. When using DVD player, the arrows can control the DVD. While I am not positive on support for every device I believe it should work.
Great video Brett. Can you make your LIFX lights automatically turn off when you pause a movie? Can it be done on the Logitech Hub?
This only controls all your electronics in the 1 room. Not the TV in the kitchen or bedroom or bedrooms etc? Great video
Brett Awesome Video really enjoyed every time I watch your Videos I find something else that I forgot I have too funny .Also reading other comments helps as well, again you really need much more subs they have no idea what they are missing. Thanks again Deb ✌👍😉
Nice video. What can you do with google home and the smart hub? I am itching to see your video on google home paired with this guy as I am thinking about buying this and that decision will be made based on what can be done with the google home.
You saved me with this Video! Now I really enjoy my Harmony Ultra Edition! 😀
Oh awesome! I'm still learning to some I am glad this helped!
The only thing I feel limited with the hub is that when you create an activity, you have somewhat to follow their limited example, to get something really custom is not possible... Other than that, it works very well.
Moving in to a living room with 3 different tvs. (2 Roku, 1 fire stick) would the harmony hub be able to control all 3 tvs at the same time?
Love your how to videos. I would like to know how to connect my Yamaha RX-V385 receiver to my Google Assistant. I only want to power it on and change the volume. Right now my Roku Ultra and TV work with my Google Home. I really don't want to send big bucks on a harmony remote and hub to power my Yamaha receiver if I don't have to. Do you have a video on this?
I will spend the money on a Harmony Elite/Hub for my home theater system where I need to control several devices. Thanks.
That IR blaster placement was able to get to your tv?
My friend has the same remote… older gentleman and he does not know or remember how it was set up… I added a Roku to make his old tv a smart tv… problem I’m having is trying to figure out is how to change the input from tv and roku easily for him… he is 79 yrs old and he doesn’t have the tv remote any longer which would be easier for him to switch back and forth but that’s not an option please help. Thank you
Please do a video linking this device to Google Home devices.
Great video! I have the elite and pro and I’ll never go back.
I just got the FB Portal TV...can Harmony control it? What about PC wake/sleep?
Can you control xfinity cable to this? Also I'm trying to figure out a solution for my elderly mother with dimentia that can't remember all the different remotes for cable/tv/fire tv....I'd like a voice command option....Is this a good solution??
Nice remote and thanks for your devoted review, it' very helpful.
Great video thanks so much for the good detailed instructions, keep them coming.
Hello great tutorial. Would a Harmony remote help me turn everything on at the same time. For some reason my Denon AVR doesn't turn on the TV. HDMI to arc and still nothing
I have the older Harmony 890 universal remote and I also have the Harmony Hub. Can the hub power on/off my Lutron lights in my theater? The older 890 remote can dim the lights incrementally or turn them all the way off. I haven’t seen a way to do it with the Harmony Hub remote.
Hi, I’ve just purchased a Samsung Smart TV (2020) and have been using this Harmony setup for years with little to no issues with a Panasonic TV.
When I turn on the Samsung for the first time of the day it doesn’t turn on with the harmony remote...🤷♂️ During setup and testing everything works as it should. Any ideas or tips as to what could be the issue.
Thanks so much,
Mark
Great vid! Is there any way I can have the volume buttons work to control TV volume on the Harmony elite, whilst the "Device" is set to Fire Tv. Ie I want to be able to control volume on the TV with the volume buttons on the Harmony remote control, like the original Amazon Fire TV remote.
The Harmony Elite, volume buttons don't do anything right now when the remote is set to Fire TV.
Is it possible to program the remote to open UA-cam TV? AND to be able to Use the Back Button once in YT TV- use the Home button to get to the top of the Menu to select Library, Home or Live? These 3 choices are needed to navigate this APP. Thanks!
Does your companion remote have led indicator lights that light up when you press buttons mine does not. Tried 3 batteries
Your video is so cool!
So helpful!
BTW, need a little of your help.
I have a few questions abt the Harmony hub.
1.) I did set up my A/C remote by taught the hub but it seems like working not fine. Only ON and OFF button but others button doesn't work same function as the real remote.
And another question is
2.) after i did setup my activities
1. A/C
2. TV
And this is what happened
I turned A/C (1st activity) on first, then i pressed TV (2nd activity) but the 1st was immediately shut itself off.
I have no idea how to fix this :'(
Thank you in advance
And sorry about my English
How do you remember which remote button to press to start a given activity?
Many of the buttons you have assigned don't appear have any kind of relation to the activity.
For example, pressing your "music" key starts your "watch movie" activity, (which really makes no sense).
I would forget which button does what.
2019 and still we have to deal with millions of annoying cables!
Cables are superior to wireless in nearly every way. Ethernet is 10x faster than wifi, wireless displays cause lag, signal can be blocked, etc. Only wireless items that are superior is wireless for remotes and controllers, plus headphones (even though BT only supports aac 256kbps at the highest)
@@highonpercs5229 wired is better and all , but managing a rats nest of cables is not a pleasant experience
I don't think you mention this, neither does Logitech in the setup guide but...you MUST have your wifi set to 2.4GHz and not 5GHz. I believe this is the reason I sent back an Harmon Elite because I had my wifi setup as 5GHz...would never connect!
How it will work with multiple HDMI sources?
The only reason we need this is because the infra red signal from the remote cannot reach our TV due to the glass it is encased behind. Is this the only/cheapest solution?
Hi, great video, can you tell me if this can be set to turn on certain items outside of the cabinet via IR? I would like an IR signal to turn my tv on and RF to communicate with the hub inside the cabinet for everything else.
How do you quickly go to a specific channel number since there is no keypad? Is there a voice command? Or must you only access keypad through a smart device?
I know the elite has a screen on it however the price is a lot more.
Thank you
Good advice
Nice and very helpful video...thank you Brett....
How forgiving is the placement of the IR blaster hub? I want to place the blaster at about 4 o'clock, approx 8 feet off the ground, and about 14-16 feet away from the components. Unfortunately there is a window at 6 o'clock so I can't put the IR blaster dead center.
If only it would have supported RF as well. The cable company that I am subscribed to here in Norway (Riks TV) uses a set top box (Strong SRT 8966) that comes with an RF remote, which kind of sucks when I really want to use a universal remote, and Google Home with Harmony Hub. I have tried the Broadlink RM Pro+ hub which supports both IR and RF, but the RM pro weren't able to pick up the signal for the remote, which makes me believe the set top box might not use RF on 433MHz. The funny thing is that the Harmony Hub knows about the Strong SRT 8966 set top box, but gives me a message "This is an RF device" when I add it as a device. So I can add it to activities on the harmony hub, but it can't control it.
That stinks. Sometimes I just wish it didn't have to be so complicated.
What is a good web page for doing set up?
awesome Brett...cant wait when you show us to intergrate this with the Google Home !!! keep doin this great stuff !! ^5
Great video. Keep up the awesome work.
Thanks!
Thank you
Hi, can I turn TV on and off from diferent network. My mom keeps losing the remote and I travel a lot, so I need to control TV from diferent country. Is that possible?
Does it work with bluetooth as well? I would need that for my android tv box
My cable box is in another room. How do I get my Harmony Hub remote to learn the Settings function on my Cablevision remote (UR2-CBL-CV04) so I can turn the Closed Captioning, On and Off with my Harmony remote?
hi....thank you so much for the video...harmony remote works very well but the back button isn't working with you tube tv....the arrow button works with netflix etc to go back but with you tube tv the back button and the arrow button are not working...only the exit button. : (
Just to make something clear... If the IR blaster is not pointing on all the devices you want to control in the same cabinet... It's not going to work? For example... I have a TV, Receiver and a blu-ray player all in the same cabinet but on different shelves. (one on top of each other)?
Hi, it just can control 8 devices right? or Broadlink rm4 is better because you can control unlimited devices or I understood wrong the harmony specs?
Can I connect 4 Samsung smart tvs that is the same brand and model to this remote controller?
I see your great video I broke my universal program remote I want to buy different because the control I have is programmed with the technician program, you Recomend harmony now or a different please answer me thanks I appreciate 👍
I would still recommend Harmony but they might be harder to find.
Let's say you have another tv you want to control where the hub is not visible. Is there any solution to control it or I need to buy another hub?
So I lost my Panasonic receiver remote, if I buy a harmony do you think I can access the recover options such ass renaming inputs, changing db's for speakers, etc?
How is this working your TV if the Hub and blaster are down below in cabinet?
Can be used with a power bank?
Hi..if I have a separate switcher for my devices, how would I program this in my Harmony Elite? What 'input' would I say this is?
Does the remote have a sleep timer function or do you have to use the app on your phone?
thanks Brett nice informative video review 👍✌️
Hi Bret have you experienced many lags and speradic navigation issues? I'm running the hub and companion remote. The app control runs well but the remote lags randomly.
Hey Brett, what do you think of just buying the Harmony Hub (which is sold separately), and using Google home voice commands to turn the equipment on and off change channels, change TV input sources et cetera? I have a Cox cable box.
Yeah I think that would work just fine. I like having a remote around for visitors but for the most part you could definitely do it with voice and through the app.
@@TechWithBrett thank you very much
@@a1locjaw I would suggest getting both, voice is a hit and miss when the tv is loud.
Yeah I have it, it can do that.
I use Broadlinks in the same way. Although I have just ordered the Harmony Hub on its own to voice activate things via Google Home.
Excellent Thanks
HI, can you tell me if it possible to control tv with voice via logitech hub + google assistant also for changing channels and adjusting volume and not just turning tv on and off?
Yes. Here is my video about it. I'm not positive on the changing channels but that should work. ua-cam.com/video/AA_21SAhazM/v-deo.html
1. Have you experienced your app getting stuck in like "powering off mode forever" ?
2. Is it ok to un-install the app and re-install ? if so does all the previous configured settings in the harmony gets erased ?
I haven't had that issue. Everything is stored on your Harmony account and in the Hub so you can delete the app without losing any info.
What are major differences between the Elite and companion?
Thanks. can Harmony Hub remote support 65 inches LG WebOS Tv ? Thanks .
Brett, trying to make a purchase decision. The Harmony Companion remote is obviously a lot cheaper than the elite (or its predecessor) but why did you choose the companion over the other models? Is the only difference price and touch screen?
The Elite would be nice to have but I didn't feel we use the TV enough to justify getting it one. If we used more cable box features it might be nice to have. I have my phone alayys around so I figured it can be the the controller if needed.
I brought a harmony hub 2012, just the hub and well it talks with hassio now, and it's placed at the sofa-side, not at the tv-side, no extra blasters needed-
Have you hooked it up to Alexa and can say “Alexa watch TV” and she turns everything on?
Can you connect to a Netflix account that is signed in on your laptop?
How does the remote work with Chromecast?
If you cast a device to the Chromecast, can you control it with the remote?
So I have a issue with off command. installed I have a Harmony, Favi projector, Visio sound bar and a fire stick. I have the correct skills synced. Now when I issue the command to alexa to turn on it works great. All the equipment I have is set with one command. Now I'm thinking the issue is maybe the fire stick is waking up the projector as the fire stick is powered on by a usb on the projector. Not sure... All I know, its annoying. The command to power off works but the projector comes right back on with out an order.
Nice vid. What about source selection avr? Since many items are wired to back of avr.
Does your receiver receive any type of remote input if so the Harmony Hub will be able to adjust that.
Tech With Brett Hi, it’s a Marantz avr 5014 which is remote controlled. Remote has source buttons and it would be nice to have these buttons duplicated on harmony remote . Thanks for responding,
@@iampuzzleman282 that is a good question. On the remove you are able to make custom buttons to control certain items. I'll have to play around with it to see if it can work.
Can i control my electric projector screen? Can the remote learn from other remotes to control the 2 weird items i have? I want to lower the projector screen and turn off the ceiling fan, turn on the projector and receiver, select the roku, turn off the smart lights, and start the popcorn machine on the smart plug?
Thanks for the awesome video.
I’ve heard it can learn from other remotes yeah.
Do you know if work with rf signal?
How about voice control via Alexa??
Are you able to turn off firetrap using activity? The hold home and right and then ok. Works through device but not when added for an activity. Anyone with a work around.
I also have a samsung smart tv with built in Netflix and other streaming services, if I link the hub to google home can I ask google to start Netflix???
That is the same question I have. I have a samsung smart tv with built in netflix, a Samsung sound bar, an XBOX One, a cable box, and google home. I can not seen how the Harmony Hub works with this scenario to allow the app and google home to control all devices. I have only seen it with an external streaming device.
So I can create an Activity for watching cable tv which includes powering on the tv, powering on the cable box, changing channels on the cable box, and controlling volume via my receiver powering my speakers-- all within the same Activity?
My setup does exactly this.
You're the man bro nice video
Haha! Thanks. Only took me 5 times rendering to finally get it right!
Hi how i learn a new remote which is not listed to the harmony hub
Is there a way to connect the Harmony Elite to a Cable/TV box that is running on RF? (ARRIS Model# AX013ANM)?
Does the Harmony Hub/Companion work with Bluesky TV?
Hello Brett
Do you know if the harmony hub can be trigger with Smartthings?
For instance if I get an action in smartthings then the harmony hub will turn on my tv!
thanks!
Honestly I am not sure. I will need to check into this.
Hi, I just bought a TCL C71 TV, and a pioneer receiver. I have a VIrgin cable box hooked up. The virgin tv works fine (The tv is hooked up to the receiver via 1 HDMI which is in the TV OUT HDMI on the receiver. Another HDMI goes from the Virgin box to the SAT/CABLE HDMI point on the receiver). The idea is to be able to access the onboard menus on the TV for Netflix, etc but system is not playing ball. I have tried switching all the HDMI points on the receiver but this does nothing. Can anyone help?
Is it feasible to only buy the hub and use it along with the smartphone app w/o a physical Harmony remote?
Yes, and it's a lot cheaper too.
Can it control Bose sound bar?
Hello, I recently purchased this remote. However, the harmony express app is no longer on the App Store. Would you possibly be able to app share it with me?
This is the app you use: apps.apple.com/us/app/harmony-control/id626853860
Do you need the hub in order to use the remote?
I found your tutorial very helpful, but I do have a stupid question. After the set-up was completed, I hit the OFF button on the Harmony remote and everything turned off accordingly. So my stupid question is, "How do I turn it back on"? I can do so through the app on my phone, but I do not see an ON button on the Harmony. I did click not the remote, the TV icon, thinking that that would turn it on, but it did not. Thank you in advance for any assistance.
So there was a section where you selected the Activities that would be activated by the 3 buttons at the top. Pressing or holding one down should start the activity.
To assign these go the the Harmony App > Top Left Menu > Harmony Setup > Add/Edit Device Activities > Remote & Hub > Harmony Smart Control > Activity Launch Buttons > Then choose which button starts which activity. Hope that helps!
UA-cam wanted me to watch a 23 minute advertising video before seeing this. Sorry, I am not biting, off to Bitch Ute.
Can it connect to my TV that is not and cannot connect to WiFi? And use it to control the volume?
Hi, thanks for the video, do you happen to know if it can be connected to MI Box S ? I need a button for the voice assistance of Google, does this remote has it?
I use it to control my Mi Box S. When adding the device you need to look for "Nvidia Shield" and follow the instructions. It works flawlessly for me. Afaik the remote can't be configured to summon Google
Or maybe you could program a button for your Mi Box S activity on your remote to summon Google via this way: support.myharmony.com/en-es/customizing-physical-buttons-on-your-remote
How does it work for devices that use radio signal, like DirecTV? My (newer) Samsung TV and Amazon Fire also use radio signal.
Yes