universal remote control

Oct 03 2012

News - Logitech Harmony Touch Announced (Officially)

By Matthew Miller

Hey look, everybody! Logitech has announced a new Harmony remote control. That's right, the Logitech Harmony Touch that Best Buy started selling over the weekend now officially exists. While it is certainly nice of Logitech to acknowledge the existence of the new remote control, there was not much to announce that we hadn't already learned from the box that ashoemaker took a picture of. The Harmony Touch is a fairly traditional candy bar remote dominated by a 2.4 inch color touchscreen that supports taps and swipes. The touchscreen can be used to control activites as well as provide direct access to up to 50 specific channels, complete with channel numbers and customizable channel icons. The placement of the transport controls above the touchscreen, near the front end of the remote control will probably be a sticking point for anyone not interested in Logitech's vision of controlling the home theater from a touchscreen, though. The Harmony Touch will sell for $249, comes with a charging dock, and supports up to 15 devices via IR.

 Logitech Harmony Touch

One interesting note from the Logitech blog suggests that the MyHarmony.com website where users register and setup their remotes has been changed to allow users to swap out an old remote for a new remote. Given how inflexible the MyHarmony.com account system has been in the past, even this small change will be welcome for long-time Harmony users, though I suspect that MyHarmony.com still does not allow for more than one Harmony remote to be registered per account at one time.

It features a simple, streamlined design and a touch-screen that lets you smoothly swipe and tap your way to your favorite entertainment options, including one-touch activities such as “Watch TV” and “Listen to Music.” Channel icons and numbers for your favorite networks are automatically provided based on your location and TV service provider, and you can add, remove and organize your favorites right on the remote.

Logitech Blog

--Press Release After the Break--

Sep 30 2012

News - Unannounced Logitech Harmony Touch Pops Up at Best Buy

By Matthew Miller

Logitech HarmonyLogitech Harmony remotes are perennial favorites around these parts. Their programmability makes them an ideal solution in a home theater with an array of equipment, and their emphasis on activity-based usage can go a long way toward making a home theater easier to use, an especially important consideration for those of us with friends and family who may not share our geeky patience. It has been awhile since Logitech released a new higher-end remote control, but it sounds like that is about to change. Evidently AVS Forums member, ashoemaker, was cruising his/her local Best Buy and stumbled across an unexpected treat in the form of the Logitech Harmony Touch, an unannounced and previously unheard-of new Harmony remote control. Although ashoemaker posted some pictures of the box on the Best Buy shelf, there is not a whole lot to go on at this point spec-wise, but it appears that the remote comes with a charging dock and gets its name from the finger swipe-supporting touch screen that appears to dominate the upper half of the remote. If ashoemaker is correct on the $249 price tag, then the Harmony Touch looks set to settle into the Harmony lineup between the Harmony One Advanced and the Harmony 900.

A new Logitech Harmony remote control, the Harmony Remote Touch is now available for sale at retail. According to a post on the AVS Forum, the new remote control, was seen at Best Buy this morning. With a candy bar form factor and a touch screen in the middle, it appears to be a cross between the current Harmony One and the Harmony 1100 Advanced Universal remote (the one with the 3.5″ touchscreen).

Tech of the Hub

 

Jul 03 2012

News - Peel Bringing AllPlay TV to Google TV

By Matthew Miller

Peel App IconI have already lamented the lack of news from Google regarding Google TV during the Google I/O developer's conference last week. Obviously I was looking in the wrong direction because at least one company saw fit to talk up Google TV during the conference: Peel. When we reviewed the Peel Universal Smart Remote for iPhone and Android, we found a universal remote control app system that, while capable enough, didn't really do much to differentiate itself from the growing collection of similar systems that were flooding the market at the time. Well, Peel is back with a new product specifically for Google TV dubbed AllPlay TV.

AllPlay TV is a new feature coming to the Android version of their Universal Smart Remote app that allows Peel to offer direct control of Google TV over your wireless network. The basic principle remains the same, except there is no longer a need for the usual IR hardware. Unfortunately, in its initial release, AllPlay TV is extremely limited, only offering control for connected DirecTV DVRs and Netflix for streaming services. If you don't use these services, you are not going to be able to access anything through Peel beyond the Google Play universe. Peel is promising more to come, though even assuming more DVRs and streaming services come online, the biggest limitation may end up being the need for a Google TV.

At the moment, though, the “All” in AllPlay is a relative term. For one thing, you need a Google TV device to use it–the Peel app talks to Google TV over your Wi-Fi network and doesn’t need the $99.95 universal-remote adapter. The only online video service it supports is Netflix. And it works only with DirecTV DVRs. In other words, you need to be a DirecTV customer who subscribes to Netflix and owns Google TV to get the full experience. 

TIME Techland

Apr 13 2012

News - Pulse-Eight Motorola NYXboard Hybrid Remote Reviewed

By Matthew Miller

NYXBoard Hybrid Remote

It has been about a year since Pulse-Eight announced that they would be selling the Motorola NYXboard Hybrid remote control. It was a pretty exciting announcement if only because we so rarely see a company so unabashedly targeting the HTPC market. The NYXboard is an interesting universal remote control for HTPC users for a number of reasons. For one thing, it supports both IR and RF, making it ideal for use with PCs and regular consumer electronics. The RF mode also integrates with Pulse-Eight's HDMI to CEC adapter to control CEC-equipped electronics. The NYXboard is also double-sided, with a fairly standard array of remote control buttons on one side and a full QWERTY keyboard on the other side. The real clincher though is that the NYXboard is designed specifically to work with XBMC, though it should work well with most HTPC software. The limited angle of the IR signal is a bit disappointing, but it sounds like something that one could get used to with experience. Otherwise, there seems to be a lot to like about the NYXboard.

Pulse-Eight is one of the companies tracing its roots to XBMC, and it is no wonder they have a host of interesting products in the HTPC space. We have already taken a look at their innovative HDMI CEC adapter product, and today we have their universal remote up for review. The Motorola NYXboard hybrid remote from Pulse-Eight is unlike any other remote we have evaluated so far.

Anandtech

Mar 10 2012

News - Peel Smart Remote and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Reviewed

By Matthew Miller

Peel on Galaxy Tab

As smartphones and tablets have come to be defined by the apps they run, one of the more surprisingly popular type of apps has been remote control apps. Most such apps are device specific, but a few companies have stepped up to try to create a new class of universal remote controls with their apps. One such company is Peel with their Peel Smart Remote. We reviewed the Peel Smart Review a few months ago. In our case, we used an iPhone 4S to run the app and to interact with the Peel Smart Remote hardware, a small Wi-Fi to IR converter device that the app communicates with. Recently, Peel teamed up with Samsung to bring their app to the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Samsung latest tablet. This is an intriguing combination because the new Galaxy Tab has a built-in IR emitter, making the Peel hardware unnecessary. Given the price of some high-end remotes, a $399 tablet devoted to running one's living room isn't completely out of the question, particularly given all of the extra functionality that a tablet brings to the table, assuming that the tablet and app work as advertised.

Well, Peel has now teamed up with Samsung to provide an integrated solution for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus tablet. Because the Samsung tablet has built-in IR capabilities, there's no need for the add-on converter box. Peel sent me a sample of the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus ($399.99) to try out the Smart Remote system, and I took the opportunity to explore the tablet, as well.

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