The last outstanding space in my home is the Family Room. I have barely automated anything. Mainly due to FAF (family approval factor).. with all the remotes etc.. already in the space, I have hesitated to mess with it as everyone is self sufficient at getting activities to run.
We have a Harmony Ultimate One remote (with the touch screen) it works great for TV, Amplifier, Record player, Xbox. And we have a Roku 4k Express. Just hit the Activity, everything powers up, modes, inputs etc... are all set for you.
I recently bought a Broadlink RM 4 Pro and am in the midst of setting it up, (I wanted the voice integration via Alexa and possible fan control) BUT....
The main failing point with the RM is that the Harmony One will not stay in sync if it is used... so if I turn on a scene/activity with RM/voice the Harmony will be out of sync. Using voice to turn on a movie is great but while watching if I want to turn up the volume with the remote (so we don't interrupt the movie) the Harmony will not be at the same 'position' and thus won't work.
So to my questions.
I am understanding the Harmony Hub integration properly, that the hub allows everything to stay on the same page and regardless which method initiates the activity.
If I were Abel to find a used or new unopened Hub... will this be painful, given Logitech's exit, accessing apps, creating activities, profiles etc...
Do you think the Harmony Hub and integration worth the risk? I am seeing them used local for $80 to $100
At this point I am in to the RM for $50.. but am still within the window to return it.
Thanks for any insight or experiences you can share.
Not so far as I'm aware... If you turn on your TV with its original remote, or another service, the Harmony Hub won't know anything happened. Is that what you meant?
I use just the tv remote now (either Roku or Google TV). My needs are simple. My only automation with the tv are to turn it off when the house shuts down and to turn the lights down after 6 when it detects a change on the tv (like chaning from main to Disney or what not) .
Sorry.. to clarify... I am referring to a system with the Harmony Ultimate One Remote and Harmony Hub, and integrated via the hub to Hubitat and/or alexa etc... I no longer use any of the original device remotes.
But yes, anything outside that Eco system would cause it to fall out of sync.
I use the harmony hub hubitat integration and use alexa voice with it and some virtual switches for a few things such as pause/resume that are not the built un harmony activities. If i turn on this way everything stays in sync. Ie
yes the harmony ultimate one remote plus the hub.. works with remote and with voice and stays in sync. as long as you have the activities configured correct with the harmony software.
in fact you can see in the jobs above i have two such configurations in the house. and voice commands for both .. ie turn on roku or turn on fr roku.. etc.
i am not sure what you are trying to get at. but it is not active in the sense it sends notification to your remote that you turned on via voice..
but as long as your activities are set up after turning on etc via voice the remote does not change screens but can confirm regardless of the activity as long as buttons ie off pause are set up for the activity they work fine on the remote as does volume channel off, etc.
You can still setup devices and activities for now, but once they shutter the service we're all going to be SOL as far as adding anything new unless something changes that. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to use things like @ogiewon's Harmony Hub Driver together with a Broadlink RM4 Pro to duplicate much of the functionality by making Hubitat the middleman. Probably will be pretty painful to setup though.
Everybody has their own unique situation and needs when it comes to remotes. I no longer think I'm going to bother with a different universal remote in the future, but I may change my mind. Our Samsung Frame can control the TV, Apple TV and FIre TV box. There's only one function I occasionaly need the Apple TV remote for, and only one function in Kodi (running on my Fire TV box) for which I occasionally need the Fire TV remote. All three are small and comfortable remotes to hold. The TV downstairs also has a Harmony Hub and remote on it, but it's superfluous because the Fire TV stick remote covers everything except the Samsung BluRay player. It gets very little use these days and the since the TV is also Samsung, its remote handles the BluRay player too.
Thanks for the insight. I agree everyone is unique.
Its really my legacy stuff (pre 2008) that is the hang up... My old 55" TV works just fine with a Roku.. and My Yamaha Receiver from 1998 is still one of my best pieces that I am not going to replace... so I make my own challenges in a way.. don't we all.
ya dreading when it goes away.. i have 3 harmony hub remote configurations in 2 houses..
nothing out there will work with for instance my older sharp aquos tv and my tivos, yamaha receivers and rokus, and shields.
i wish someone would have bought that division.. it would be an instant money maker.. just to keep the servers running most people i imagine would pay 50 per year/configuration so instant profit.. oh well.
Me too (though all three Harmony's are in one house and we use a simpler RokuTV setup in the cottage). Logitech said some encouraging things about supporting Harmony into the future when they EOL'd Harmony, but of course they can change their minds at any point. I'm enjoying the continued support while it lasts.
ya our cottage is roku also as are our rental condos.. i pull avail shows off of your tivos to nas and stream via plex when we are away from home.. lately i have found the shield to be a better streaming device than the rokus, but without guest mode cannot use them on our rental condos and they are much pricier than a roku.
Not super familiar with Roku's capabilities. Maybe you have some unique inputs that need to be switched on your receiver? My Kenwood receiver downstairs is almost as old and it's controllable by the Fire TV stick.
