Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this remote a few months ago to replace an aging Sony RM-VL900. This remote is absolutely perfect for our family. Here are the three things I was looking for (and found in the Harmony 676)... 1) Activity-based remote - the remote is very easy for the kids to understand because they choose the activity that they want (TV/DVR, Video games, or DVD) and the remote then sets everything up for them to control the devices for that activity. FF and RWD control either the DVD or the DVR depending on what you are doing. All the inputs for the TV and A/V Receiver are automatically set correctly. It makes using a system with multiple components very simple. 2) Hard buttons - I have a Pronto but it sits in the closet. Despite the flexibility that the LCD touchscreen offers, there are two big disadvantages: complicated setup and using the remote by "feel" or "touch." I really like the soft rubber buttons on the Harmony 676. It's very easy to use without looking at the remote because you quickly learn where all the transport buttons are. The rubber has a nice feel and they travel enough that you can tell when you have pressed the button down. As a bonus, you get an LCD screen with extra buttons for those commands that don't fit on a real button. 3) Computer-based setup - I liked the Sony VL-900 because of the nice rubber buttons but I lost my learned commands and settings a couple times because the batteries were removed. After programming it for the third time, I vowed that my next remote would have a computer-based setup so that I could save all the settings and restore them if needed. The Harmony remote uses a web-based utility that allows you to save everything should you need to restore your remote settings. The web-based approach also allows you to benefit from all the other users that have already learned all the commands for your devices. The Harmony 676 met our needs perfectly and I can't say I've ever enjoyed a remote more than this one (and I've tried plenty). The color faceplates are a nice feature. Ours is currently red because we have red accents in our TV room and my wife loves it. The faceplates are a nice deep color too, not cheap and plasticy like you might expect. Here are a couple more things to consider as you shop around and compare the other Harmony remotes... The Harmony 680 is similar but has two major differences. First the buttons are arranged so that the transport buttons are around the cursor. I like having the transport buttons at the top where they are laid out in a logical line. I think it makes using the remote by touch simpler as well. Also, the 680 has hard plastic buttons rather than soft rubber buttons. I prefer the feel of the soft buttons. Some of the other Harmony remotes have more buttons, but they have strange (to my taste) button shapes and layouts. I don't like how the buttons on the 688 are next to each other. It makes it much harder to use by feel. I have to look at the 688 to make sure I'm pressing the right button. The 659 has the transport buttons at the very bottom of the remote, which is an awful position if you use a DVR to watch TV. We use the transport buttons all the time to fast-forward through commercials, etc. and the 676 has them in a nice place to use often. When you program the remote, keep in mind that the activity screens and the device screens are different. I spent some time tweaking the DVD layout and LCD buttons only to find that they didn't show up when I pressed "watch DVD." I needed to go back and make the same changes to the "watch DVD" activity that I had made to the DVD device.