Gadgetory

chances are watching anything on your TV requires juggling a bunch of remotes for a bunch of different devices you've got one for your TV one for your cable box one for your blu-ray player one for your Apple TV maybe even one for your Roku TV or fire TV or even a gaming system juggling all these remotes when you just want to watch a TV show kind of sucks so a good universal remote can really make your life a lot easier a good universal remote controls all of the devices in your entertainment cabinet even ones that don't use standard IR control and they make it easy to turn on the right devices in the right order with just one button press it also should be accessible for anyone in your house to pick up the remote and turn on the TV smart phones may seem like a good choice for universal remote but unlocking your phone launching the app waiting for word to connect it's really kind of cumbersome when you just want to turn the TV on or change the volume there used to be a lot of companies offering universal remotes when the past couple of years Logitech Harmony line has become the de-facto choice that means that picking the best universal remote really means picking the best Harmony remote that Logitech offers and the best of the field is the elite the Harmony Lea has everything you could need in the universal remote support for IR Bluetooth and Wi-Fi a vast database of codes and a straightforward app to program it it also has a smart organ Amma Clay out so all the controls you can need are right in your thumbs reach since the elite performs this task through a hub that sits on your attainment center you don't have to worry about pointing it at the right devices the entire time it runs its commands Logitech has also made it easy to program automated functions so single button press can turn on your TV turn on your cable box and set your TV to the correct input or you can program a setting that turns the TV on dims the lights and automatically launches the Netflix app the Harmony smartphone app which is used to set up and program the elite can also be used as a remote itself which is convenient I want to rely solely on my phone as a remote but it can come in handy when the remote is out of reach unsurprisingly a runner-up pick is another harmony the 650 how many 650 is about a straightforward of a universal remote as you can get control up to 8 devices has an ergonomic backlit keyboard and has an LCD screen for more advanced functions and onboard help it's also a lot cheaper than the elite the 650 can only be programmed by a Mac or PC app which is a bit clunky and has no aspirations of leading the living room you can't use it to control smart home appliances at all and since it only works over IR it can't control Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices Amazon fire TV or Playstation for the rest of the choices available include other harmony models that either rely too much on smart phone control or don't have the smart home features of the elite and don't add enough to justify the cost over the 650 there's also a newcomer called the raised super remote which blends a smartphone like design with smart home control but the REA doesn't have as expansive of a selection of smart home controls as the elite and it's mostly touchscreen design left me wanting for physical buttons either way whether you go all in with a Harmony elite or keep it simple with a harmony 650 there's really no need to be juggling a bunch of remotes anymore