Logitech Harmony 515 Universal Remote

I've tried several of these "one for all" type rermotes in the past and could never get them to control everything just right. There was always buttons missing, or functions on my original remote that I couldn't find an equiavelent for.

This Harmony 515 is superb. It does take some fiddling to get it set up just right - it took me 3 sessions totalling a couple of hours until I was finally happy with it.
The PC software you use to program the remote is excellent. You can set up "Activities" like 'Watch DVD' and it will turn on your TV, DVD player and AV Amp and set them all to the correct channels and inputs etc.
You can also set up individual "Devices" - e.g. AV AMP, TV, DVD - and just control them seperately.
If a function for your kit doesn't map onto a specific button on the remote you can add an extra 'button' that maps to the four buttons either side of the LCD panel and the name of the function appears on the LCD screen next to its associated button. e.g. I couldn't find a button to use for my AV Receiver function to scroll through the various DSP modes (SURROUND, ROCK, HALL, CHURCH, etc) so I created one called "DSP". and "Learned" the function from my Amp's original remote. So now, when I select my "AV AMP" device "DSP" appears in the LCD screen and if I press the button next to it then it scrolls through the DSP settings. You can set up dozens of extra 'buttons' in this way so while the remote itself controls the basic functions (volume up/down, channel up/down, play, skip, reqind, etc etc) you can still program it for all the extra less used functions of your various equipment (DSP settings, setup menus, etc).

Harmony maintain a huge database containing thousands IR codes for TV's, DVD players, Amplifiers, etc etc so you will need to know the manufacturer and model number for all your various equipment. The programming software then connects to Harmony via your PC's internet link and downloads all the codes for each device - so you will need a PC connecte to the internet to set this thing up.

Basically, thats all there is to it. As long as you're prepared to spend some time customising it you can make it do exacly what you want.
Believe me, I consider myself to be extremely picky about having a remote control that I can do everything with, and this is the first one I've tried that I can set up to completely replace all my original equipment remotes.
Play.com had it for the lowest price I could find too.

** Review Updated 26 March 2010 **
I've had this remote for a couple of months now. I just want to confirm that its STILL the best 'one-for-all' remote I've ever had.
Once I started using it regularly I found I had to tweak some of the button assignments, but even when I've had to 'teach' it additional original remote functions I've had zero problems getting it to learn from the original remote.
I find the extra 4 buttons by the LCD panel are fantastic for assigning odd functions (like menu and setup buttons for my various bits of kit, or buttons to enter the timer recording menus on my DVD-R).
Just thought I'd confirm my original 5 stars once I'd lived with it for a while. If I could give it 6 stars, I would.

Having had a more expensive Harmony One remote for about 1 year and loving it, I decided to try the lower end of the line to replace the 3 remotes my kid uses in his bedroom.
Was very pleased to confirm that it works as well as its more expensive brother (but for only 5 devices while the Harmony One can handle 15). There are a few things I havent figured out yet, such as how to go back to the current activity if you switch to a particular device, but that is probably due to my own ignorance and lazyness to read the manual (the Harmony One, has an always visible "Current Activity" link on the display when you go away from it, but the 515 has a much smaller display).
One other thing which I think its a bit of a pain is that you cannot have more than 1 remote in the same account. You need to create a new account for every Harmony remote you own, so more user names and passwords to remember.
My son (and I) is very happy with it. In fact I am going to order another one to replace the TV+Sky remote in my bedroom.
Hope this review is useful to someone.

I highly recommend this remote, and suggest you get one quick as this model has now been discontinued.

The remote itself looks quite nice (better in reality than in the pictures), and balances nicely in the hand.

I use it to control my TV, Blu Ray, DVD, Projector and Surround sound (6 devices). The remote does have a 5 device limit, but you can have it learn additional commands and add them to existing devices.. I.e. I had used my 5 devices but still wanted to add the ability to turn my projector on and off, so I had it learn the power command from my projector remote and saved it on my blu ray device as an extra button.. I then configured the blu ray device to press the blu ray and projector power buttons when turning the blu ray on (as I only watch this through the projector, not the TV).

I did have some issues getting this to select the input correctly on my 10 year old Panasonic TV though, as the TV has a counter-intuitive input selection mechanism. Logitech support were very helpful and made some advanced changes to my setup, which fixed the problem. My only complaint really is that this advanced functionality is obviously available, but not accessible by the user. If I make any additional changes to my TV's setup it will undo/overwrite the work of Logitech support, which is a shame. I don't anticipate having to change my TV setup though now that it is working, so this isn't a big deal. I think it is a good idea for Logitech to keep your settings in your account online, so they can investigate and make changes without having to get you to change them through the software.

Another minor issue is that the process of updating the remote over USB is quite slow - I don't know if this is common to the other remotes in the Harmony range or just the older ones.

Overall the remote works well.

This remote is amazing! It is the first time I have ever owned an all in one remote, and I can't believe I didn't get one sooner. For 25 quid it is a bargain, it can be set up to control various activities, such as watching TV or blu-ray etc. It will change all channels and settings as you would want them. The only negative that could possibly be said is that it can only control 5 devices. Do your maths before you buy and you will be fine:)

I got the Harmony 515 formy parents as I already own a Harmony One. They had seen my remote working & wanted to do the same without paying as much! I didn't have to set it up for them, they just followed the software instructions, updated the remote, pressed 1 button & it did exactly what they wanted to do. Controls Sky, turns TV on/off & correct inputs, sound goes through the 5.1 system. They're super happy with it, maybe I'll get a nice xmas pressie now!