Logitech 550 Reviews

Great remote!
by Troy S. Marine , 2010-07-20

Really easy to setup and easy to use. Great looking remote. Very slim and sleek. Only issue I have is sometimes the buttons aren't very receptive.

The remote that won't work
by Eric Held from Beverly Hills, CA United States, 2010-06-30

I have had this remote for almost a year and was quite happy with it when the LCD screen decided that it no longer wanted to show anything. I have spent hours trying to fix it going through all of the Logitech forums as well as every technical web page I could find about the problem and there were a lot as this does not seem to be an isolated problem with this remote . I also tried dealing with Logitech and it just seems like they are not interested in supporting this product. Go elsewhere I have had lots of other universal programmable remotes and I have never had similar problems with any other product.

Amazing!
by corgi maniac from Tampa, FL, 2010-06-15

I'm not a computer wiz but this remote was so easy to use! It has made my life easier by reducing the clutter of all my remotes. My household uses a cable DVR, stereo receiver, Media PC and of course a TV. We were able to set up the remote to switch between watching cable (it works perfectly with the DVR) and the media PC as well as another level for playing video games. I couldn't have asked for more with this remote!

Good remote, with a few flaws
by gork57 from Aurora, CO USA, 2010-06-09

Logitech's Harmony 550 does a good job by and large. However, it does have a few problems. I have owned one of these since October 2008, so I've had plenty of time to develop an evaluation. I originally bought it because I thought there was a problem with my old universal remote-turns out the issue was with our old Toshiba CRT television's infrared sensor. Anyway, I decided to keep the 550.

Here's the good stuff:

The 550 is very easy to set up: all you do is hook up the mini USB connector to the remote, connect the other end to your computer, download the software disc (or download from the Logitech website), and follow the instructions. You must of course make a list of your various components makers and model numbers and such. The Logitech 550 program menu makes it a snap to set everything up; once you're finished, you hit "Update Remote," then go over to your entertainment system and see if everything works. For us, it did (except for the TV, which we have to operate manually due to the sensor issue I mentioned earlier). I set it up to operate each of three programs: Watch DVD, Watch VCR, and Watch Cable TV. The 550 comes with preprogrammed titles on the LCD display, but it's easy to change them to suit your preferences. We recently upgraded to a digital cable setup from non-digital basic cable, and it was easy to add the digital cable box and reprogram the device sequence.

Now for the bad:

The buttons and display are much too small, and are difficult to read if you're an older dude with bad closeup vision like myself. I have glasses, but I don't like to wear them all the time. I can see the TV screen just fine-but the remote is a different story. The volume and channel changer up/down buttons are not clearly delineated from each other, and sometimes I end up headed in the opposite direction from what I intended. The trend in digital devices always seems to be toward smaller size, but I think in this case bigger would be better. One particularly annoying issue is when using "Watch VCR," the remote is somehow programmed to automatically set the VCR to "Play," and there is no way I could find on Logitech's computer program to disable this. We all know the first thing you do when watching something on your VCR is to rewind it to the beginning of the tv show you recorded. This means you have to hit "Stop," then "Rewind" every time you want to watch a video tape. Duh, Logitech! The 550 also burns through batteries relatively quickly, especially if you use the blue backlight when watching stuff in the dark (an absolute must with the tiny buttons and display letters). I suggest getting a couple sets of Sanyo Eneloop AAA batteries, with one set charged and at the ready for quick changeovers.

These annoyances aside, the Logitech 550 has enabled us to keep that pile of remotes in the entertainment center drawer. The device does it job pretty well, but improvements in the areas I mentioned would be welcome.

Perfect! Glad it's not a rechargeable!
by Ben Stevenson from Chicago, IL United States, 2010-06-03

I've had this remote for nearly a year and after reading all the complaints about the rechargeable models I'm glad it's NOT rechargeable.

The newer models like the Harmony One apparently suck the poor rechargeable dry in no time and when it no longer holds a charge the proprietary rechargeable battery is hard to find and expensive at $45+.

Thankfully I just have to pop in 4 AAA batteries (I use Sanyo Eneloop precharged NiMH batteries) and I'm off and running again. They last a few months with daily use.

Also these remotes are dirt cheap, selling for less than $50 online. I found mine at a thrift store for $5! Apparently they didn't know what they had. I really don't understand spending $150 on a remote to turn on the $500 52" Plasma. $150 could be spent better places in my opinion.

Shame Logitech doesn't sell anymore AAA powered remotes anymore, but I guess they're trying to make extra $$$ from battery sales.

The 550 is also one of the few non-rechargeable models to support 15 devices. I sometimes wish it had a color screen but then I remind myself it is just a remote, it's function is to turn on other color screens ;) I honestly don't think I'll ever upgrade unless everything goes radio frequency.