Well, it’s been a long time so I have no idea if they still do, but Harmony made a phone app, you just had to buy their expensive-ass IR blaster kit that had a couple or so IR blasters that you stuck near your devices’ IR receivers. I’d rather have the Blaster in the phone and just download an app. And the app I had was just as programmable as the Harmony stuff.
That sounds like it’d suffer from the same problem a TV App would: if your network is having problems you suddenly can’t control your devices. The less intermediary connections between the controls and the device you’re controlling, the better.
I mean that’s still kinda cool though, it just doesn’t sound like it’d solve this specific problem.
Harmony remotes use RF to communicate with the IR blasters, so no, there’s no network issues. As for the Harmony app…I never used it, because why would I pay a couple hundred for something that I could do with a free app that uses infrared so no network issues? That, though, would probably have network issues because I don’t think cell phones do RF other than Bluetooth and WiFi.
The main thing for me is no-look tactility. I have a Roku remote app as a backup, and it’s annoying even with many fewer controls than the dedicated remote apps I’ve seen. I should be able to feel when my thumb has slipped over from the nav cross to the volume buttons. Different functional clusters should start in a sensible place and feel physically distinct from the other buttons, due to some combination of shape and placement.
Well, it’s been a long time so I have no idea if they still do, but Harmony made a phone app, you just had to buy their expensive-ass IR blaster kit that had a couple or so IR blasters that you stuck near your devices’ IR receivers. I’d rather have the Blaster in the phone and just download an app. And the app I had was just as programmable as the Harmony stuff.
That sounds like it’d suffer from the same problem a TV App would: if your network is having problems you suddenly can’t control your devices. The less intermediary connections between the controls and the device you’re controlling, the better.
I mean that’s still kinda cool though, it just doesn’t sound like it’d solve this specific problem.
Harmony remotes use RF to communicate with the IR blasters, so no, there’s no network issues. As for the Harmony app…I never used it, because why would I pay a couple hundred for something that I could do with a free app that uses infrared so no network issues? That, though, would probably have network issues because I don’t think cell phones do RF other than Bluetooth and WiFi.
The main thing for me is no-look tactility. I have a Roku remote app as a backup, and it’s annoying even with many fewer controls than the dedicated remote apps I’ve seen. I should be able to feel when my thumb has slipped over from the nav cross to the volume buttons. Different functional clusters should start in a sensible place and feel physically distinct from the other buttons, due to some combination of shape and placement.