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USB Remote Control
c13v3rm0nk3y writes "The Easy Zapper from Harmony is a universal A/V remote with a twist. Created to battle the complexities of operating home theatre systems, the Harmony operates a bit like a mobile telephone. There are few buttons to get you into trouble. The idea is that a single gesture is necessary to "watch a DVD", or "listen to music". It also acts as a TV Guide, as it can learn your local programming, and even tweak those choices based on a "zap" from the user. The interesting thing is that the unit itself has no remote "smarts". It learns eveything it has to by downloading code (va USB) and visiting the Harmony website. Support for Windows only right now, but there are plans for Mac OS, Linux, Playstation and XBox support. Very cool toy. The potential ability for this company to collect a lot of data on "typical" viewing habits is a bit scary. RemoteCentral.com has a review."
I suspect Sony will require FireWire for it to work with its products...
I can't imagine that the code would be *that* large. It wouldn't be practical. Not *everyone* has broadband (although they should ;)
Well, if it has one touch "Play a DVD" then it wouldn't be much harder to do "Set Time on VCR".
The "activity-based" model for this remote reminds me too much of the "Wizards" Microsoft is famous for... Nice in concept but more confusing in practice. This remote claims that when you choose an activity, for instance "Watch a DVD", everything will be turned on and set to the right function. How does the remote know the state of a device? When trying to toggle the DVD player on, it may inadvertently toggle it off. Then what do you do when you can't control individual functions, being left with mostly activity buttons?
I wonder what the Interface Hall of Shame would make of this one.
It's a real world model designed to function as a poorly designed virtual model, or so it seems. There doesn't seem to be any real advantage to hitting three or four buttons to do something when I can just hit {VCR}{1}{2}{ENTER} to do the same thing on any other universal. If you REALLY want this functionality, perhap you should use your Palm Pilot instead?
Never confuse volume with power.
or is there no "record" button on this miracle of hi-tech?
The potential ability for this company to collect a lot of data on "typical" viewing habits is a bit scary
Yeah, if someone knew I watched a lot of Junkyard Wars, Iron Chef, and Enterprise, why they could... er, they could, um...
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
For example, when you are watching a video and the phone rings, simply press Mute. The Harmony will not only mute the sound, but will also pause the video.
..
Did I SAY I wanted to pause the video?
I'm sure this is configurable, but I really don't think this device is useful. Two years ago, my wife bought me one of those cool lcd-screen remotes (The Marantz), and while it's pretty cool to be able to set it up so one button will dim the lights, kick on the behind-the-tv light (ease the eye strain), turn the TV to input 2, kick on the DVD player and the Receiver -- I found that after a few months I started using my normal remotes again. It was just too much work to keep this configured correctly.
Now, for my wife who has no clue what inputs things should be on - this is okay. But most of my good remotes (with many buttons - which I like, and with tactile feedback - which I like even more) have the ability to learn the capabilities of a few other remote's functions - so my receiver's remote can control my TV.. I just set up a few of these remotes that I use most often to control a couple other devices that are associated with them, and I'm very happy.
My Marantz now sits in a closet.
There's an active discussion of these remotes at the JP1 Yahoo Group.
Many devices actually support codes that the default remote will never send. The most common such codes are separate on/off codes.
The potential ability for this company to collect a lot of data on "typical" viewing habits is a bit scary.
I'm not looking to get flamed here, but why are people so terrified of the collection of anonymous, aggregate, viewing statistics? Or for that matter even the collection of individual viewing data? Am I the only one tired of receiving douche coupons and Metamucil samples in the mail?
Exactly what are the negative aspects of more accurate advertising profiles? We might as well get used to advertising - it's here to stay. If I'm going to be inundated with junkmail - I'd at least prefer it to be potentially useful.
[I knew I should have worn my tinfoil hat today.]
Sorry, but this is another remote with poor design in my opinion.
The best remote I have seen was on the VideoGuide system. A central joystick, an independent rocker panel around the joystick, a button above the rocker panel and a button below it, with an index finger button on the underside (protected from accidental pressing by the sculpting of the remote.)
This should work with a set-top box with an ethernet, usb-b and as available jeni and upnp interfaces. Consumer devices with these interfaces would plug in, solving the "what state is the device in?" question. Additionally, the consumer devices would provide a software faceplate interface that the remote base station would use to provide an on-screen interface for the user to control.
If this were integrated into a A/V Reciever, the reciever could figure out what device was plugged into what port on the reciever and handle just about all of the setup for you. Otherwise you would have to tell the set-top box how your system was wired together.
Then again, that's just my opinion, your ideal is probably different.
-Rusty
You never know...
I got one of these beasts back in novenber. Despite some problems it does work as described, BUT the company has not been forthcomming with any documentation for the propriatary XML language or binaries that the device uses.
Harmony has time and again broken promises to release the full XML spec. I have even extrapolated non-documented xml features that have helped, but I should not have to.
As a simple remote with "activities" they are great, but if you are getting this to do complex programming steer clear.
http://www.remotecentral.com/
Good forums that have true user feedback.
What if my components are holed up in closet next to the TV? (Which they are)
How do they get the IR information into the closet?
I've got a 'smarthome' control screen that's X10 based and has an IR blaster for the closet. It's fully programmable and could probably do 90% of what this'll do, but I can't be bothered to PROGRAM it to do so.
This device claims to remove the programming acpects, but it OBVIOUSLY won't IR blast thru walls... (And NO, after spending $500 for the current setup, and $200 for this new setup, I'm not willing to loft ANOTHER $80 on an IR repeater.)
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
Is that too damned much to ask?!?
AMCGLTD.COM. Where cats, science fictio
...that this could be too successful. It seems like it's targeted almost at power users, most of who probably understand how to work their televisions already. Hell, my parents call me up when they need to shut the computer down. They're not going near a USB port... ever. Seems like it would be fun to play with, but just another piece of technology like any other: Too complex for the lay man, too easily broken for the family (leaving it crying for its old remote collection), but fun to mess with for the techie.
Of course, the flip side of that is if someone hacks the DNS for your cable modem and points it to a bogus website, you could get stuck with a Barney marathon. Unless you were *trying* to let your kids watch Barney (which should be classed as abuse), when it would kick out the Playboy Channel.
--Dave Rickey
basically this means, it will send an "ON" command instead of a "toggle power" command.
2. It's got a help function if some equipment becomes out of sync.
It will ask you for example "Is the TV on?" so you can correct it, then everything is fine again.
=D
- Activate receiver, pre/pro and amp, if any
- Select 'DVD' input
- Activate television
- Select appropriate input
- Activate DVD player
- run DVD
And that's a pretty basic list.Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
Grab the receiver remote. Press power, select input for DVD.
Put it down and grab the tv remote, press power, put it down.
Grab the DVD remote press play.
Phone Call
Grab the receiver remote. Press mute.
Grab the DVD remote, press pause.
Is soooooooooooooo much easier than just pressing [Watch a DVD]. Phone Call -- press [mute].
This is old technology, back in my day my father had all of this and MORE! It would change tv channels, answer the phone, and make popcorn. It was a wireless model, voice driven.. "Kenny! Bring me some coffee".
Sigh, I need kids of my own.
This has been out and well-publicized for months! Why is it on slashdot? It's been onsale since about september of last year!
Everyone and their brother has reviewed it! It's been featured on remotecentral since february!
Is slashdot near death? Tell me something new, not something that has been beat to death elsewhere!
-a.e.mossberg
Um, because I'm an idiot =)
If every slashdot reader . . . allowed their viewing habits to be tracked in the aggrigate, Futurama would never be cancled.
Fox released their fall schedule yesterday and Futurama made it in. From the rest of the article you get the impression that with all the other cancellations (X-Files, Ally McBeal, Dark Angel) they needed to keep some of the marginal shows around just so people would remember what network they were watching.
Of course they failed to make the one change that might give the show a real shot at survival, putting it in the 8:30 timeslot instead of the 7:00 slot where it will yet again get bumber almost every week by NFL football.
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