Too many remote controls? The Harmony Hub.

I have my TV and HiFi system connected together so that I get high quality sound from my TV, but the outcome of this setup is that I have remote controls for the TV, the Sky box, the amplifier and the DVD player – too many! After much research (mostly watching reviews on YouTube) and thinking about this situation I decided that the solution might lie with Logitech’s Harmony Hub. The concept of this device is that it will replace Infra-Red/Bluetooth remote controls with a single device and provide control through an App on a mobile phone.

Setup is relatively easy and the App guides you through all of the stages, but it is worth checking, on the Logitech website, that all of your equipment is supported. I have a Primare NP5 streamer, which is not supported and has its own App that I have to use – so two apps instead of 5 remotes.

I have been using this setup for over a year and most of the time it works well, but occasionally the hub looses contact with the network and requires a reboot. The beauty of the system lies with the control it offers. For example, I have added volume up commands into the “play vinyl” activity because the output level of my record deck, to the amplifier, is quite low relative to my other inputs. When the activity is closing, I’ve added the same number of “volume down” commands to set everything back to normal.

Switching between activities means the hub will switch off unwanted devices (e.g. the TV when switching between TV and music). However, the available commands can be edited, which allows the TV to be switched on while listening to music – it’s really a very adaptable system.

Fav. Tracks: Simon and Garfunkel – Old Friends (Disk 1)

Old Friends – Sounds of Silence.

I am going to break my own rules here – this is a triple CD collection, but I am going to feature a track from each CD – the music is too good to pick only one track from all three CDs!  The collection was a Christmas present and is a great collection of Simon and Garfunkel’s music – well worth owning.

The first CD has several favourite tracks, but I love this track so much because it goes way back to my mid-late teens and was the first song I heard by Paul Simon.  It is a wonderful example of the harmony for which these two singers are so famous, but it is the lyrics that are what I like so much and there are so many phrases that make me reflect on myself – great stuff from the 60s!

Fav. Tracks: Simon and Garfunkel – Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits – Bridge over Troubled Water.

Continuing with the “greatest hits” theme this album is an excellent collection of the music of these two brilliant artists.  There is not much that hasn’t already been said about their music, their musical style and their writing ability, so I will limit my review to comments about my memory of this track.

This version is live, and a little drowned out by the applause at the beginning, but is still a wonderful performance.  The piano and gentle rendering of the opening tune make this an all-time classic ballad.  When I first heard it I was a student and the occasion was something of a romantic moment with a young girl from Liverpool.  It was a wonderful background song for the moment until a bookshelf fell on top of us!  That killed the moment, but the song remained in my memory and I always associate it with that earlier moment.

I should add that the way the beat changes and the song builds to a crescendo is so inspiring.

Fav. Tracks: Art Garfunkel – Breakaway

Breakaway – I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever).

Back to my older material now!  This album is actually the first CD I ever bought (I was slow to turn from vinyl to CD because I was unsure of the lifespan of the media).  It is difficult to make negative comments about Art Garfunkel, after all, his work with Paul Simon is legendary!

This album is what I would call easy listening and very much in the style of traditional Simon and Garfunkel and shows his voice well.  I chose this track for both the melody (very easy to listen to) and the words – so often said by so many people, but then so easily forgotten!  This is a true ballad and really worth a listen.