harmony one

Last Christmas my wife, reprising her role as Santa Claus, climbed down the chimney and left the Logitech Harmony One universal remote under the tree. It was gleaming in the early morning sunshine--I got a little misty-eyed. After fulfilling my familial obligations (I love watching my son open presents) I scurried upstairs and began tinkering.
 
I had two objectives in mind when I selected the Logitech Harmony One. We needed a means of relegating our collection of remotes to the closet and I wanted to make simple tasks like watching TV and listening to music easier for my wife and son. In order to accomplish these tasks I needed to find a way to control my WMC-based HTPC. With a huge assist from two articles written by Stuart Harrison at thedigitallifestyle.com, I was able to do just that. What follows are the steps I used to create an HTPC activity on my Logitech Harmony One remote.
 
Requirements:

• Windows Media Center based HTPC
• IR Remote for WMC (I use the one that came with XP MCE)
• Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote
• Logitech Harmony Software (download here)

 
Steps:

• Install Logitech Software

 
Just click on the link above and download the version of the software appropriate for your OS. There’s nothing about the installation that requires any direction. Once installed it will open the software automatically, bringing you to a log in screen. This software requires an online profile, so create one and enter the required fields. Once that’s done it will prompt you to connect the remote to your computer via the supplied USB cable.