I’ve been reading all sorts of topics on setting up my “smart apartment”. I have had Phillips bulbs for several months now which work great with IFTTT, and I just bought an Echo which should arrive soon-ish.
I get confused though when y’all refer to “Harmony”; I really want to start off with light bulbs and being able to tell Echo to turn my TV on (and, after some configuration I gather, Netflix) but I can’t tell which device of Logitech’s you’re referring to. I’m also admittedly mildly confused as to whether it’s assumed every device (like a TV, sound system, etc) being referred to is plugged in via a smart plug of some kind?
On the one hand, I understand how I’d be getting the devices to talk to each other via software/wifi/etc but on the other, I don’t totally get what physical devices I’ll eventually need and I find the fact that a bunch of this brand talks with a bunch of that, and therefore not everything is needed. Could you please point me in the right direction?
Logitech Harmony remotes that work with the Logitech Harmony home automation features. This used to require the Harmony Hub, I think now it may not.
You have one universal remote from Logitech Harmony that can control many different home entertainment devices.
SmartThings can communicate with the controller for that remote, so basically you’re using SmartThings to initiate a Harmony “activity” just like pushing a button on the handheld remote.
This is the one that I have. It’s occasionally on sale for $99, but typically costs about $130. The Harmony hub is the square box on the left, then there’s a handheld button remote. You are buying those two pieces in a set. The phone in the picture is just supposed to represent the phone app.
There are much fancier and much more expensive ones.
So instead of having every individual entertainment device plugged into a smart plug, you’re just using the control capabilities of a universal remote.
Yes, thank you tons. I think once I get the basics down, like having had to learn IFTTT + Phillips and their limitations at the time, the rest should get easier quickly. Been hanging around the forum for a while before taking the plunge today, so I appreciate the help.
Yes - the SmartThings integration does still require the Harmony hub.
The hub is, of course, included with many of the new Logitech Harmony offerings (including the latest Harmony Elite). But, if you purchase a remote without a hub, you won’t be able to hook it up to SmartThings (or at least, not until you purchase a hub and connect your remote to it (assuming the remote you purchased can connect to a hub…)).
Phew - convoluted, but you can buy hubs and remotes separately, and not all remotes connect with the hub…
Safest option if you don’t understand the product family - buy one of the newer remotes bundled with a hub, e.g. the Harmony Elite, or one of the remotes listed in this post (which predates the Elite) (if you follow the link to the post you’ll find the content is formatted much better than the preview here):
Not sure why, but the decimal point disappeared there; made for a good readthrough with your next sentence