The Logitech Harmony 525 Remote Control is an advanced unit designed to make the tasks of controlling all your devices simple.
With its blue back-lit LCD screen and pleasant silver case with a glossy black inlay, the Logitech Harmony 525 is certainly a smart remote control. It is also surprisingly medium weight for its size with only the bottom part of the remote (where the batteries are housed) having any real weight or thickness. It goes from 2cm thick at the bottom third of the remote and reduces to only 1cm for the remaining two thirds making it easy and pleasant to hold. The number and fastext buttons are positioned at the bottom of the remote with the selection pad just above, and the playback buttons in the middle just under the LCD screen. The main buttons are all rubber and tactile and pleasant to the touch, with the selection buttons and the channel and volume up buttons in a hard plastic.
To get started with the Logitech Harmony 525 you will need to install the provided software, update it to the latest version so that you have all the latest devices available (the software will insist you do this before you proceed!) and connect the remote to your computer with the supplied USB cable. From here you can follow the simple onscreen guide to help you select which devices you have and how you want to control them – to make things easier, try and have the exact model numbers for your equipment to hand when performing this step. We found the software extremely good at providing support for our devices, even knowing how to control an old ‘OnDigital’ set top box from 1998 we had lying around. When you have done this, and confirmed that the devices are all controlled correctly you can use the more advanced features of the remote.
A single remote control that simply controls all your devices is useful, but where the Logitech Harmony 525 really comes into its own is with the more advanced ‘activity’ options available. An ‘Activity’ is a simple task that we perform frequently such as ‘Watch a DVD’. To set this up you would select which items of your equipment are used in this activity (television and DVD player for example), and any special actions that need to be taken (such as switching to a specific input on your television) and you’re good to go. They come in especially useful when switching between activites such as ‘Listen to CD’ to ‘Watching Sky’ when your hi-fi would be switched off, and your television and Sky box turned on. If you have multiple devices to control when peforming an activity then the benefits become even more obvious.
The Logitech Harmony 525 needs 4 AAA batteries to bring it to life and we have found the batteries have lasted very well – we’ve had to change ours once in 6 months of moderate use and also found that good quality batteries last a lot longer than cheaper batteries. You will get a warning when the batteries are running low so you can get some new ones in readiness. If you do happen to lose all power and all settings from the remote, they can be easily reinstalled by the computer software which will have saved the configuration online.
This remote control is no longer available, but you might want to consider the cvery similar Logitech Harmony 650.
What to consider before you buy the Logitech 525 Remote Control
The only real worry we had with the 525 was with the thinness of the unit near the end. When you first hold the remote it looks like it could become fragile with extended use. We have not found this to be the case though and the unit has proved to be reliable. We would also have liked the ‘glow’ button (which makes the backlight come on) to be indented in some way or slightly raised so it was easy to find by touch when watching movies in low light.
Why you should buy the Logitech 525 Remote Control
Smart, simple to set up, intelligent, easy to use, and good value – if you need an end to remote control hell, then the Logitech 525 is a very fine choice indeed.
Logitech Harmony 525 Best Prices
Read more about this remote on the official Logitech website.