Excellent Remote, but is some work

I have now had this remote for 4 months and I LOVE it! It does take a little work to set up but it is totally worth it once you're done. I have read other people reviews and there are some that get frustrated and finally give up saying the remote is garbage because they can't figure it out, but it really isn't all that difficult. Let's start from square one:
When you first get the remote out of the box (Or any piece of new hardware), you should ALWAYS go to the manufacturer's web site and get the latest drivers software that's been released. That holds true for any technical piece you buy.

The login information makes sense when you think about what you have to tell the remote to do. The remote needs to know not only the make of your TV, but the exact model of TV, and the exact model of everything you want to control with it. Think about how many TV's are out there and how many different combinations you could have, millions! Once you tell it exactly what you have (which is all done VERY easily), it remembers the devices and you can access it any time to make changes.

Once you have all of your devices chosen, you need to play around a little to make sure the remote acts exactly how you want when you're doing certain "activities". Activities are like "Watch TV" or "Watch a DVD". When you hit one of the 8 activity buttons, the remote does the rest like turn the TV on to the correct input, turn the cable box or DVD player on, turn the receiver on to the correct input, and turn off any other devices that aren't needed. Don't worry about losing functionality because now that the remote knows exactly what devices you have, you can still access every button the original remote had under a new button called "Devices" on the Harmony. This is unlike the older Universal's which would do the basic commands but you gave up most of your options as well.

What separates the 890 from the 880 is the Wireless Extender which means you do NOT need line-of-sight to your devices to control them. A regular IR remote (like the 880) needs to be visible by the device in order for it to respond to the commands. Not so with the 890. You have the option of programming it to talk to the Wireless Extender via WiFi and it in turn will talk to your devices through small infrared eyes you wire into your entertainment stand or rack. I find this feature VERY handy since I don't need to be in the living room to control the stereo or TV when I'm cooking in the kitchen. I also don't need to hold the remote in the air to "see" the devices, it'll work from anywhere in my house. There's one caveat with this and it took me a while to figure out: You need to place the small wireless extender base away from speakers as the EMI (electro magnetic interference) will make it respond a lot slower if at all. Once I moved it away from the speakers, it works a whole lot better!

The great thing is now that I have this remote, adding devices and making changes is simple and it's not a big deal if we get a new DVD player or what ever it is your going to upgrade next. The list of devices they have on their website (harmonyremote.com) is greater than any list I've ever seen before and I guarantee your stuff is in their (even the cheapest of cheap stuff). I've already set my Aunt up with one because her home theater was getting too difficult to manage and now it's easy for her.

If you don't see the value in any of this, think about what I say next: You're wife will be able to watch anything on the TV and not complain about "all this junk" because it'll be easy for her to operate. That alone was worth the money. No flack, and it's all good.