DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Penny Can
HTML https://pennycan.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Hardware
*****************************************************
#Post#: 29736--------------------------------------------------
Remote Controls
By: Mac Date: July 17, 2014, 9:21 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Logitech - Smart Keyboard
HTML http://www.logitech.com/assets/50998/harmoney-smart-keyboard.jpg
I've always been a fan of Harmony's universal remotes, mostly
because I've appreciated the simplicity of the company's
Web-based setup wizard that intuitively walks you through the
process of adding devices and programming activities like Watch
TV, Watch a Movie, etc. About a year ago, Logitech introduced
the $100 Ultimate Hub, which allows you to use your smartphone
or tablet as the universal remote, in conjunction with a small
box that converts WiFi signals from your phone/tablet into IR
and Bluetooth signals to control your AV gear. This approach of
using an existing touchscreen device as a remote control is not
new. Most major manufacturers of smart AV gear offer a free
remote app to control their devices, and recent research by The
Diffusion Group Says that 16 percent of adult broadband
subscribers use a tablet or smartphone as a TV remote control.
In the arena of universal remote apps that control multiple
devices, Logitech originally offered the Harmony Link (now
replaced by the Hub), and we've also reviewed similar products
like the Griffin Beacon and Peel remote.
Now, Logitech has gone one step further by combining the
Ultimate Hub with a full-sized Bluetooth keyboard that can also
serve as your universal remote. The $149.99 Smart Keyboard
system allows for control of up to eight devices, via compatible
smartphone/tablets and the keyboard itself, which comes with its
own set of Activity buttons and is labeled with many commonly
used remote functions like DVR, Guide, Menu, Volume, Channel,
Page, etc.
Why would anyone want to use a bulky keyboard as a universal
remote control? A lot of networkable HT devices support the
addition of a Bluetooth keyboard to speed up text entry and Web
browsing, and some people find using a keyboard with dedicated
hard buttons to be more intuitive than a traditional remote or
control app for these tasks. If you own an Apple TV, a Roku, an
Xbox, or a PlayStation and want a faster way to search for
content within Netflix, Hulu Plus, iTunes, etc., then a keyboard
might be the way to go. Likewise for smart TV owners who also
browse the Web via their TV. Anyone who wants to integrate their
computer as a source and control it remotely through a keyboard
might want to look at the Harmony Smart Keyboard. With this
device, you don't have to set the keyboard aside and grab the HT
controller to perform other AV-related tasks; you can do most
everything via one product.
The $150 package includes the Ultimate Hub, the Smart Keyboard,
two USB receivers that let you integrate certain (but not all)
non-Bluetooth devices, and an IR blaster if you need more IR
coverage than the Hub provides on its own. The free Harmony
Remote app is available for both iOS (6.0 or later) and Android
(4.0 or later), and the setup process begins by downloading that
app and plugging in the Hub near your AV system.
For the Ultimate Hub and Smart Keyboard products, Logitech has
moved the setup wizard from your computer directly to the
iOS/Android app, so you don't need a computer at all to
configure your system - unless, like me, you own an older iPhone
that does not support Bluetooth LE to initially communicate with
the Hub. To set up the system via my iPhone 4, I would've needed
to first go to my computer and download the newer version of the
MyHarmony software to add the Hub to my wireless network. Then I
could go back to my iPhone to set up the rest of the system.
Luckily, I also own a Samsung Galaxy tablet that was able to
communicate directly with the Hub over compatible Bluetooth, so
I performed initial setup through the tablet instead.
As someone who has always heralded the Harmony setup process -
how easy it is and how it generally controls most everything
correctly from the get-go -- I was disappointed by the setup
process for this particular system. I found the app-based
platform to be much slower and the flow to be less intuitive
than that of the Web-based MyHarmony software on my Mac. I won't
go into every little detail of my setup frustration, but let's
just say that I encountered a lot of little hiccups and had to
do a lot of tweaking to get the system to work exactly as I
wanted. As just one example, when I first set up the Smart
Keyboard to control my Dish Hopper, the number keys and
cancel/select buttons did not work properly, even when I tried
to reprogram them (they worked fine with the Dish Joey, though).
When I deleted the Hopper as a device and put it in again later,
everything worked fine.
On the plus side, once I was finished with the lengthy setup
process, the Harmony system - both the control app and the
keyboard -- provided fast, generally reliable control, even with
my more complicated theater system. The Activity functions
worked as advertised, with smart-sensing technology designed to
prevent each product's power on/off state from getting out of
sync. I didn't encounter any major communication issues between
the Keyboard, Hub, smartphone/tablet, and my devices - although
I sometimes had to press the Keyboard's Activity buttons
multiple times to initially power on the system. The Harmony
system was actually more reliable with my Harman/Kardon receiver
than my Control4 system, which initially needed a lot of
tweaking to get the commands right. The Harmony remote, in
contrast, required no tweaking to reliably execute the HK
commands.
The Hub was able to control almost all of my gear on its own,
without the add-on IR mini blaster - simply by placing it beside
or atop the AV equipment. The only device that required the use
of the blaster was the Autonomic music server, which has a very,
very narrow IR window that barely works with the company's own
IR remote. Since your phone, tablet, and Smart Keyboard
communicate with the Hub over WiFi, you don't need line-of-sight
with your gear; I was able to control my system from anywhere in
my home.
The templates within the iOS/Android control app, for activities
like Watch TV or Listen to Music, allow for some customization.
You can move and reassign buttons, add new buttons, and fix
commands that aren't working properly. Each person in the house
can customize their own template on their own phone or tablet. I
found the larger tablet screen to be a bit more desirable to use
than the smaller iPhone screen because more buttons could fit on
a single page, but both layouts got the job done. The app
includes a touchpad slider to perform tasks like volume up/down,
channel up/down, mute, and play/pause with the slide of a
finger, for those who don't want to search the touchscreen for
virtual buttons to perform basic tasks. You can also set up
favorite channels and control Philips Hue lighting via the app.
One very smart feature is the option, under Settings, to keep
your phone or tablet awake and unlocked when the Harmony app is
running. A huge complaint against all these universal control
apps is that you have to wake up and unlock your screen and
sometimes restart the app every time you want to execute a
simple command like pause or mute. With the Harmony system, the
app will stay open for immediate response (you can dim the
screen to help save battery life).
As for the Smart Keyboard, three buttons at the top serve as
Activity buttons. Up to six Activities are supported; you can
launch different activities based on a short or long press of
the assigned button. The Smart Keyboard can also be customized a
bit; through the setup tools, you can add commands and change
how buttons function.
The Keyboard's all-important text entry function was
hit-and-miss. It worked great with my Apple TV, paired via
Bluetooth. It worked with my Panasonic smart TV, paired via USB
receiver. It worked with many apps in my Roku 3 box (paired via
WiFi), but not all of them - including YouTube and Hulu. I
couldn't get the Bluetooth in my Dish Hopper to pair with the
Harmony, and the supplied USB receivers did not work with the
Hopper or the Oppo players, even though they were listed as
compatible devices during setup.
I'm one of those people who prefers to control my system using
button-based remotes over touchscreen apps, and I quickly got
used to the Keyboard's layout and enjoyed using it, although the
lack of backlighting was a huge drawback in a dark room. The
keyboard made signing in to apps and searching for content so
much faster (when it worked), and I liked it a lot better than
using the virtual keyboard within the control app.
High Points
• This product combines a universal remote with a keyboard,
designed for faster, easier text entry, Web browsing, and
computer control.
• You can also use a smartphone and/or tablet as a controller.
• The Ultimate Hub communicates with your phone/tablet and the
Smart Keyboard over your home's WiFi, so you don't need
line-of-sight with your AV gear.
• You can pair the keyboard via Bluetooth, WiFi, or USB
receiver, although success varies per product.
• You can set up the control app to stay active on your
touchscreen so that you don't have to wake up/unlock your
phone/tablet to issue commands.
Low Points
• Setting up this system wasn't as easy or intuitive as previous
Harmony products I've tested. The iOS/Android setup wizard is
much slower than the Web-based wizard, and I had to reprogram a
lot of buttons to control my system(s) properly.
• The Smart Keyboard lacks the Harmony Help button that lets you
quickly fix a problem during the launch of an activity, and I
sometimes had to press an Activity button several times to
initially power on my system.
• The Smart Keyboard lacks backlighting.
Competition & Comparison
There are a lot of products on the market that allow you to use
your phone/tablet as a universal remote, including converter
boxes and devices that plug directly into your handheld. The two
products we have previously reviewed - the $70 Griffin Beacon
and $99 Peel remote -- have been discontinued. The iRule system
is a popular option amongst more serious HT enthusiasts because
it allows for a lot more customization and flexibility to build
your own templates.
The Smart Keyboard is the only one I know of that combines the
app approach with a Bluetooth keyboard, so you get the benefit
of a dedicated device with physical buttons. For those who
already own a universal remote that they like, you could simply
add a Bluetooth keyboard to the equation, and Logitech sells a
few, including the backlit Living Room Keyboard, but you won't
necessarily get the integrated AV system control in a basic
Bluetooth keyboard.
Conclusion
The Harmony Smart Keyboard may be a universal remote, but it's
not going to have universal appeal. This control product is
designed for a narrow audience of heavy "apps" users and
computer-oriented users who desire a keyboard for controlling
certain aspects of their system. The basic tenets of the Harmony
approach are in place, but the app-based setup process is slower
and more tedious than previous Harmony products. I wouldn't
recommend this product for anyone who has an overly complex HT
setup that requires a lot of control customization. However, for
a more basic AV setup or secondary system - one with, say, a
smart TV, cable/satellite box, streaming media/gaming console,
and/or HT PC - and wants a faster, easier way to handle text
searches and computer commands, the Smart Keyboard is worth a
look.
I first set up the Harmony to control my living room system,
which consists of a non-networkable Samsung TV, a Dish Network
Joey, an Oppo BDP-93, and an Apple TV. Later, I set up the
system to control my more complicated home theater ensemble,
which is normally controlled by a Control4 system: a smart
Panasonic TV, Harman/Kardon AVR 3700 receiver, Dish Network
Hopper, Oppo BDP-103, and Autonomic MMS-5A music server. The
iOS/Android setup wizard follows the same basic philosophy as
the Web-based computer platform: add your devices and then
create activities by answering questions about how those devices
are connected to each other. All of my devices were in the
Harmony code database except the Autonomic server, so I had to
teach the system the device codes using the Autonomic remote.
I have a 5 year old Logitech Universal and for the most part
love it. The clutter of remotes is such a hassle.
#Post#: 29738--------------------------------------------------
Re: Remote Controls
By: Chiprocks1 Date: July 17, 2014, 9:46 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I've never seen this particular keyboard, but I was immediately
drawn to the idea that the track pad was on the right side,
rather than on the bottom, which to me would make sense and more
comfortable. The thing I hate about the typical track pad is how
moving your arm/hand toward you has never felt natural when
typing.
*****************************************************