An opinion regarding the Logitech 650
#1
From a human factors standpoint the 650 is a hot mess. I very much dislike the "activities" orientation of the remote and have observed a number of friends and acquaintances eventually give up and reach for the keyboard and mouse with or without instruction. The problem, I think, rests in the ability to have multiple activities and the inability to customize the power button. I usually observed one of the following situations:

- The TV and PC (MCE Keyboard) are off and in standby.
- The user picks up the remote and automatically hits the power button. Nothing happens.
- They start pressing random buttons on the remote and will occasionally hit one of the soft keys on the multifunction display (MFD)
- If I have a second activity programmed it will be random whether it is the correct activity or not.
- The user commonly gives up even if they finally pressed the correct button simply because they are frustrated and confused.


- The TV and PC both on and the remote is in the correct activity.
- The user automatically shuts down XBMC through the shutdown menu.
- The remote is now still in the activity with one or both devices shut down.
- If I have not explained the functionality of the help menu, they will attempt to press the power button (because the MFD is still lit).
- This swaps the power state of the devices further confusing the user.


- One device is on while the other is off and the remote is in the activity.
- The user attempts to use the power button.
- If they have used a universal remote, they will instead look for a device button (like the TV if the TV is off).
- If they find the soft-key for the device they will often navigate correctly and power down or power up the device.


- Sometimes the user has just entered or exited the activity and the help menu pops up on the screen.
- Since I have programmed the screen's softkeys, the user will commonly not exit the help screen and miss the programmed softkeys.
- When entering an external program they have no way of exiting without reaching for the keyboard unless I tell them to exit the help menu and press the programmed "exit program" button.
- If the user has exited the activity, the help screen is on the menu. Some time later, the user comes back to turn on the PC and TV again and cannot figure out how to turn them on because the help menu is still displayed, obscuring the activity softkey.


I find this to be a human-factors UI failure and a pretty bad one at that. I appreciate the power one gets from the idea and I also am well aware of the natural limitations of a programmable remote that does not necessarily get return signals on the status of the devices it controls, but I still consider Harmony, at least the 650, to be a botched implementation. I would not recommend it to someone implementing an XBMC build.

There are some things I would change if I were the program manager at Logitech:

- The power button should be able to turn devices both off and on and should be programmable to a default activity. In other words it should be a toggle that operates according to the remote's current mode.
- There should always be an active activity. E.G. - there should always be a "mode" that the remote is in, much like an average universal remote.
- Devices should have equal status to activities. E.G. - I should be able to switch to "Vizio TV" mode that causes the remote to operate only that device.
- The activity/device switch should be select-able through a dedicated button or set of buttons. Softkeys should not be the sole method of powering a device or mode.
- The help display is useful for devices that are out of sync (one on, one off). Having dedicated device modes would partly help solve the problem, but the help display should disappear after a time-out period.
- Honestly a remote model should be offered dedicated to PC operation: something with a mouse pointer and dedicated buttons (something like their air mouse or a Wiimote).

Those suggestions would clear up most of the confusion regarding operation. Till then I may or may not continue using the remote. I'll be crossposting some of this material on an Amazon review.
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#2
I'll take back what I said about the help assistant.
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#3
(2014-01-22, 02:14)Bedwyr Wrote: I'll take back what I said about the help assistant.

Not sure what this has to do with xbmc as such. Tell logitech perhaps?
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#4
(2014-01-26, 01:43)nickr Wrote:
(2014-01-22, 02:14)Bedwyr Wrote: I'll take back what I said about the help assistant.

Not sure what this has to do with xbmc as such. Tell logitech perhaps?

Nah man, he's just giving a review of the Logitech 650 in an XBMC environment. Sometimes it's good to know when something doesn't work in some situations :)
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#5
I gave up on the 650 and now run a URC setup. Way better in every aspect of control. I have a macro setup to open and close Xbmc which makes it really nice.
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