Neeo vs Logitech Harmony Elite
Thinking about replacing my NEEO with a Logitech Harmony Elite.
Has anyone played with the 'Elite'? How does the touch screen compare?
I am wondering what the Neeo can do that the Elite cannot.
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A Harmony Eilte has a more extensive IR database and is also able to control devices via Bluetooth, e.g. Playstation, Fire TV, Nvidia Shield etc.
The control of Hue is better possible, firstly it has special buttons and secondly, you can also set everything like color using the slider.
Commands can be placed anywhere on the Harmony display. The hope that the NEEO will give you a user interface that is easier to use and adaptable has never been fulfilled since the software was never completed.
An essential difference is the concept of actions. With a Logitech Eilte remote only one Harmony AV action can be active at a time with a NEEO you can start more recipes at the same time. The Logitech Elite is typically intended as a remote control for one room, while the NEEO can also control several rooms.
Another big difference is the integration of external systems. While with the NEEO with the Forward actions function it is possible to pass every keypress and every action to an external system, this is more complicated with a Logitech Harmony. Here a network device has to be emulated in order to be able to evaluate keystrokes should you also want to switch external systems. An example of this is described here how to set up an emulated Roku device to forward keystrokes to an external system.You get less feedback from devices on a harmony elite than on a NEEO display for example sonos you can only select favorites.
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Fonzo I agree with you and only have experience with an older Logitech, but in reality the multiple recipe ability of the NEEO is seriously flawed and I needed to add devices twice or even three times, add dummy devices or devices I don’t own and it is still not exactly as I would wish it to be. On the Logitech only one action is active but you can easily tell it to leave devices on when you quit an action making it easy to go from one to the other and back. Also not 100% how I would like it but easier to implement and ultimately less frustrating. That being said, as long as my NEEO works I will use it as my main remote. Although I’ve been waiting for two weeks now for a sign of life of neeo support. Anybody been successful in adding a device recently?
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Thanks Fonzo ... sounds like Harmony Elite will do the job to replace my NEEO then.
Have you used their touch screen? how does it compare?
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Brian Chambers
The difference in the touchscreen is that Logitech can only place commands there. You can see a list with commands and an icon next to it. Otherwise, the display serves e.g. as a display for the TV station logos or information about Sonos or the selection of Sonos favorites, or Color and Hue selection for Hue or Lifx bulbs.
What does not work with Logitech is to write your own drivers. This is possible with NEEO with the SDK, but the possibilities with the SDK to design a reasonable UI are also very limited at the end with the last firmware they published.
I had bought the NEEO once in the hope of having more feedback on the display, which is also one of the advantages over a Logitech. However, the NEEO has other disadvantages as massive as a lack of Bluetooth support and a lack of the possibility that you can simply learn IR commands yourself, which is the reason I now mainly use again the Logitech remote.
Relevant for me would have been functions from the NEEO that were always promised for NEEO but ultimately never implemented. Really a shame, because the design of such an NEEO is really something different from a Logitech Elite.
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Brian Chambers if you are primarily interested in using a touch screen then there would also be an alternative e.g. to create an app control interface for iOS or Android and then to switch the NEEO brain or a Logitech hub. I myself use AIO NEO for this. Apart from the missing E, the difference is that you can use it to freely design your own app interface as it was never possible with NEEO and you can control completely different systems, and you are free to choose what to show on the display as feedback. You can use this also as a Remote interface for sending commands via a Logitech hub.
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My requirements for the remote are very simple. I need to be able to turn on/off hue lights, turn on/off sonos and turn on/off the tv and switch inputs.
If it has a touchscreen and customisable icons - even better.
Currently investigating the SevenHugs remote as well.
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Brian Chambers For controlling Hue lights, Sonos, and TV the Logitech Elite works perfect as an alternative to NEEO, all systems are supported natively from Logitech. The difference is that you can only choose Sonos favorites in the display from Logitech, but you can control Hue much better also with buttons and sliders and color selection. TV favorite channels are selected in the display of the Logitech remote.
The question arises only if the NEEO can currently control these devices and is still working, why do you want to buy a new remote control?
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I did shortly after NEEO dropped the product. Switched to Elite which even controls my BOSE 700 (did'nt work with Neeo). I'm happy overall. Neeo is finally back in the original box....
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Fonzo said:
The question arises only if the NEEO can currently control these devices and is still working, why do you want to buy a new remote control?As NEEO will soon not allow me to add new devices - I'm starting my research now for a replacement.
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Hey, to have a powerful IR system I strongly recommend the inexpensive broadlink blackbeans. It can learn IR, has a huge database, and pretty straight forward to integrate with neeo through the sdk. That let your neeo control everything IR in your house for a bit more than a Starbuck (ok, 3).