Test Drive: Harmony 880 Universal Remote

Last time I checked in, I had just opened up my new Logitech Harmony 880 and letting the lithium battery charge up. I could hardly wait for it to charge before trying it, having contemplated the purchase for such a long time.


Once it had charged up, it was time to begin the setup and initial test drive.

I did very little research before buying the Harmony 880. I bought it based on a friend's recommendation and the general "buzz" factor on FatWallet. As I looked at the instructions (rare for me), I noticed that most of the programming appeared to be done on the computer through the software that comes with the universal remote.

After the standard installation of the software, I was ready to begin the programming. The first thing I noticed was that I did not have to have the Harmony Remote plugged in via the USB cable that is included. You can program the software independent of the remote being plugged in. You just need to connect it when you want to download your settings.

The first step was setting up all the devices I have. Through a fairly easy process, I quickly added the devices to the software and confirmed that all 7 components were added to the configuration.



Now it was time for the fun part, the programming. Since my setup was a little more complex due the presence of the Psyclone PSC01 and the various settings, I was anxious to get started.

The Harmony software had some great preset options like "Watch a DVD", "Listen to CDs", and "Watch PVR" that help you configure the things you want to control. I think the presets are nice, but a better starting descriptions would be a nice add. For example, how many people know what a PVR is? Of course you can change them later.



The Harmony asks me which devices are required to perform the action. I choose the Sony Receiver, Sony Television, Psyclone Audio / Video switch and Motorola DVR. The wizard walks you through the configuration of each item until you complete the activity.



After completing the activities I needed, it was time to download the configuration to the Harmony 880 controller. I just plugged it and in less than a minute, the Harmony 880 was ready to go.


But would it work?

I walked into the family room, started up the remote and clicked on the "Watch TV" activity that I added. The remote accepted the command and I waited for the Harmony 880 to do its magic. After a moment for it to start, everything turned on and went to the exact settings. Try "Play DVD", worked again. Great news, we were in business.

And the successes continued. Thus far, through several days of use, I have been able to put the myriad of remotes I had sitting in the family room away. In addition to the remotes being easy for Ashley to use, she also loves the uncluttered coffee table. I am very satisfied with my purchase -- I should have made it sooner. A huge plus is that with the Harmony's DVR friendly controls, it also has the great fast forward and replay features that are all so important!

Overall, only one issue that I have with it that I cannot say is the fault of the Harmony 880 remote. For one of my devices I have a split audio / video setting for two different channels to deal with a different in input types. The problem? I cannot control it with the remote. Either remote -- the Sony remote or the Logitech Harmony 880 cannot handle splitting the channel. The limitation is on the Sony side, since the Harmony can mimic all the commands. I am trying to find a macro to perform the action, but no luck so far.

Other than that, I am finally fully setup with a single remote.

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Harmony Makes Life a Little Easier

Logitech's Harmony 880 that is.

For some time I have been apathetic towards univeral remote controllers. Back in 1999 when I purchased my Sony DA333ES receiver (which I still use!), it came with Sony's Remote Commander, the RM-LJ302. That "universal remote" did not work with many of the components I had, nor did it provide a lot of control over the ones it did control. So, I quickly gave up and have had 5 different remote controls -- most times, it requires 3 of them to do any functions between the television set, the Audio / Visio switch, and the receiver.

Not only is that a little overkill -- I have to print out a a basic manual I have written anytime someone house sits so they can uses any of the components. Not to mention that Ashley will only use the system to watch TV since it is so complicated.

Now enter the Logitech Harmony 880 univeral remote. A few months ago I received a rave review on the Logitech Harmony 890 universal remote which aside from the RF wireless extender is basically identical to the 880. Since I did not really need the RF extender capability, the Harmony 880 was a great match for me.


The only problem? At the $249.95 price, it was a lot more than I wanted to spend for such a remote. I had no problem walking up to the system and hitting a couple of buttons or grabbing three remotes at that price. Get it under $100, and then it would make some sense to purchase.

Then over the past couple of weeks, there have been a couple of great deals come out. First Amazon.com had a great deal on the Logitech Harmony where, with rebates it was at $100. Then, this past weekend (and continues today if you can still find it in stock!) at Buy.com the Harmony 880 went on sale for under $93 delivered before tax with a $50 rebate. I could not pass it up and placed the order.

It has arrived and I am just waiting for it to charge up to give it a spin. I am really looking forward to consolidating these remotes down to 1!


On a side note, there is a lot of speculation that there will be an update to the Harmony 880 due out soon by Logitech. If keeping up with the lastest technology is important to you, then you may want to consider that. Otherwise, if you are looking for a great univeral remote for a reasonable price, you may want to check out Buy.com ASAP. And, if Buy.com does not work for you, Best Buy has the Harmony listed in their weekly ad at $119.95, althought it cannot be found on the website, so you'll need to visit the stores.

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Costco Surprise - Vizio 42” LCD TV Arrived Today!

Costco definitely knows how to set expectations and then far surpass them. When I decided to pull the trigger on my new HDTV, the Vizio 42” LCD FHDTV (VU42LF) on Sunday, Costco set my expectations that it takes up to 20 days for the item to ship. While I was looking for a TV, it was more of an impulse buy because of the great price and discount. So, I was initially “OK” with waiting 20 days for the new HD Television set.

Then today, I get an unexpected shipment notice from Costo with the UPS tracking number. To my surprise, the delivery day is today – just two days after my purchase. Great news on that! It happens to be perfect timing since I have a new HDTV tuner and DVR on the way to me on Friday.

So, I wait for the UPS person and when it arrives – the Vizio 42” LCD is just as expected. It’s relatively light at only 46 pounds and it is very simple to set up.



To my expectations, after the initial channel scan, I carefully inspect the screen to make sure there are no “frozen” or “stuck” pixels on the LCD screen. The built-in HDTV tuner also picks up the stations on the Time Warner cable system (being replaced by Verizon FiOS) and shows them in 1080i.

More to come as I am able to watch some TV and movies on the new Vizio 42” LCD television!

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Getting in Touch with Verizon FiOS TV Service

Today, I was able to get in touch with Verizon FiOS TV service to discuss the issues I mentioned yesterday. While it still took a couple of calls, finally I was connect successfully to someone who knew what the situation was and how to access my account. What a relief.

While that was on the positive side, still in terms of my order with Verizon FiOS TV, I am no closer to where I want to be with the service. We will see how it all comes out this Friday with the replacement for Time Warner cable is installed at my house.

First, in terms of the scheduling. I was hoping to narrow the window I would need to spend at my home rather than sitting here all day, working from home and waiting for the Verizon technicians. The system was still experiencing technical difficulties according to the customer service representative. They could not access they actual details on my account. She mentioned she would try to give me a call back later in the day when the system cleared up. I am not holding my breath, despite the fact that she was a very pleasant and professional CSR.

Finally, the big one. Now that I ordered the Vizio 42” LCD FHDTV (VU42LF), I was trying to get the single Home Media DVR from Motorola that supported both HDTV and a multi-room DVR. And then add a second DVR with only HDTV & 1080p capabilities. After talking with the knowledgable representative – I was told the Motorola Home Media DVR does not support multi-room HDTV. All additional rooms are in standard quality. So, because of that I held off on the change and will end up with two HDTV / DVR receivers on Friday.

I cannot wait to get away from Time Warner Cable and see how it goes with Verizon FiOS on Friday!

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Vizio Effect - 42" LCD (VU42LF) Costco Special Purchase

Well, you can keep the puns going, the “Vizio Effect”, “Vizio on my Mind”, among many others break down my experience this past weekend. When Ashley brought the Costco coupon to my attention that showed the new Vizio 42” LCD FHDTV (VU42LF) with 1080p technology – for under $1,000 dollars I could not turn my attention away from it. Priced at normally $1199.99, the $200 off coupon dropped the price below that magic mark. Having been to Costco earlier in the day, I was not going to drive back - but, ordering online was not out of the question.



Costco had previous specials on the Vizio LCD HDTV, but the TVs were not of this quality in terms of specfications. Here are the highlights of it:

42” diagonal / 16:9 wide screen aspect ratio.
Full High Definition 1920 X 1080 resolution.
Compatible input formats: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i.
Supports high definition gaming systems.
Brilliant picture quality with over 16 Million colors.
Amazing 1800:1 contrast ratio.
Backlit Remote Control
Built-in digital HDTV & standard TV combined tuner.
Wall mounting capable; less than 4" deep without stand.
2X HDMI inputs for optimal digital connectivity.
Superior viewing from any angle.

I had been considering getting a new television for quite some time to replace an older one upstairs. In this case, the Vizio 42” (VU42LF) fit the bill perfectly and was deal I could not pass up. I was even willing to spend the extra $30 for delivery, which is quite unusual. The only bad news? Looks like I am supposed to wait 20 days for Costco to deliver it.

And for those of you missing out on this deal, Costco will have $300 off of the Vizio 52” LCD HDTV (VU52LF) in August. However, the 52” is not yet available on the Costco.com website.

What do you think of the Visio 42” LCD (VU42LF) HDTV with full 1080p? Do you have one? Let me know with a comment below!

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Sony Projection TV Red Line Repair Guide (Blue & Green, too!) Retrace Lines

A couple of weeks ago, red lines or bands of red color (they can occur in green and blue as well) started showing up on my Sony Rear Projection HDTV (High-definition 16:9 aspect ratio, model KP-51HW40) when watch movies. It was very noticeable when watching dark scenes or black transition screens during the films. Over a couple of weeks, it got a little worse until it started looking like this.



Not so good to have the red lines like that. While some people have complained about their Sony televisions and specifically the rear-projection units, mine has been almost flawless for the 5 1/2 years I have had it. This happened once before, after about 3-years of use and my BestBuy extended warranty on the TV was up. According to several sites, the problem is with the convergence via the voltage on the color ray gun tubes that get out of adjustment. They are also known as retrace lines

Sony wanted between $150-$300 to diagnose and fix the television -- instead I was able to complete this repair in less than 15 minutes!

Update: I have now received over two hundred comments on this fix, and several hundred emails. In many cases, people have wanted to send me something for helping with this post. I appreciate the offers, however this type of post is something Sony should make public. I was just an end user consumer (like you) with no previous TV repair experience -- so I am glad to share my good fortune! If you have a website or blog and would consider posting a link to this site, I would greatly appreciate that!

Since I had been through the routine once more and I was sure others are running into this issue, I am posting a how-to-guide / repair manual for the Sony Rear Projection Television. All you need to complete this guide is one flat-head screwdriver and one Phillips screwdriver as well as a delicate touch.

Please let me know with a comment below if this solution works for you. If this solution is not the problem you have, please be sure to check our sponsors on the right to see if they apply to your needs.

1. See the ugly red color bands on the television set? These can also occur in blue and green. We're going to fix these!


2. Front shot of the television. Their are two screw holes on the front of the unit near the edge of each side right next to the speaker grille.


3. Close up shot of the screw hold. It is covered by a plastic cover that has two tabs holding it in. Carefully pry them out with your flat head screwdriver. Do not apply too much pressure or you can break the tabs off. Once the covers are removed, unscrew the two screws with a Philips screwdriver.


4. To remove the cover, pull from the bottom of the front case and rotate towards you. Once you rotate it out, the top will disconnect and come loose. Do not pull it off, as there are cords attached. (see picture) Loosen the cables attached with the twist ties and set the front cover to the left side.


5. With the speaker grille and cover removed, you now need to remove the wood panel to expose the inner electronics on your Sony HD TV. To do this, remove the four Philips head screws from the panel. Then, pulling from the right, rotate the panel off and the electronics will be exposed.


6. This is a picture of the inner electronics of your Sony Rear-Projection High Definition television. The little black box towards the front of the unit is where we will concentrate our time as it is the control for the voltage & convergence adjustment.


7. When focused in on the controls, you want to concentrate on the bottom row for the voltage / ray gun projection adjustment. The colors are labeled below and from left to right are blue, green, and red. Choose the one that needs to be adjusted and turn ever so slightly with your Philips screwdriver to remove the lines. In my case, the red just needed to be turned 1/8 of a rotation to be back in adjustment. Do not turn to quickly or abruptly or you could possibly damage your TV by varying the voltage too quickly.


Did this guide work for you? Tell me about it below with a comment!

Guide was specifically done using the Sony HD Projection TV model KP-51HW40. However, this guide may also be compatible with:
KP-51HW40
KP-57HW40
KP-60HW40
KP-51WS500
KP-51WS510
KP-57WS500
KP-60WS500
KP-46S15
KP-53HW40
KP-53HS10
KP-61HS10
KP-57WV700
KP-53XBR45
KP-51XBR45
KP-57XBR45
KP-46S55
KP-53XBR200
KDF-37H1000
KDF-42E2000
KDF-42WE655
KDF-46E2000
KDF-46E3000
KDF-50E2000
KDF-50E3000
KDF-50WE655
KDF-50X30
KDF-55E2000
KDF-55WF655
KDF-55XS955
KDF-60WF655
KDF-60XBR950
KDF-60XS955
KDF-70XBR950
KDF-E42A10
KDF-E50A10
KDF-E55A20
KDF-E60A20
KDF-E60A20PKG
KDP-51WS550
KDP-51WS655
KDP-57WS550
KDP-57WS655
KDP-57XBR2
KDP-65WS550
KDP-65XBR2
KDS-50A2000
KDS-50A2020
KDS-55A2000
KDS-55A2020
KDS-55A20L1
KDS-60A2000
KDS-60A2020
KDS-70Q006
KDS-R50XBR1
KDS-R60XBR1
KDS-R60XBR2
KDS-R70XBR2
KF-42WE610
KF-50WE610
KF-50WE620
KF-50XBR800
KF-60DX100
KF-60WE610
KF-60XBR800
KP-41T15
KP-41T25
KP-41T35
KP-41T65
KP-43HT20
KP-43HT20C
KP-43T70
KP-43T70A
KP-43T70C
KP-43T75
KP-43T90
KP-46C36
KP-46WT500
KP-46WT510
KP-46WT520
KP-48S65
KP-48S70
KP-48S75
KP-48V75
KP-48V80
KP-48V85
KP-48V90
KP-5000
KP-51HW40
KP-51WS500
KP-51WS510
KP-51WS520
KP-53HS10
KP-53HS20
KP-53HS30
KP-53N74
KP-53N77
KP-53S65
KP-53S70
KP-53S75
KP-53V15
KP-53V75
KP-53V75C
KP-53V80
KP-53V85
KP-53V90
KP-53XBR200
KP-53XBR300
KP-53XBR45
KP-57HW40
KP-57WS500
KP-57WS510
KP-57WS520
KP-57WV600
KP-57WV700
KP-57XBR10W
KP-61HS10
KP-61HS20
KP-61HS30
KP-61S65
KP-61S70
KP-61S75
KP-61V75
KP-61V80
KP-61V85
KP-61V90
KP-61XBR200
KP-61XBR300
KP-65WS500
KP-65WS510
KP-65WV600
KP-65WV700
KP-65XBR10W
KP-7200
KWP-65HD1

(Author is not responsible for any damage that may occur while attempting to repair your television using this guide)

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