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AManInACan

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2015
57
112
Is it compatible with the ATV4?

I have an older Harmony One remote and it works. The ATV responds to the IR commands. The one thing to be aware of is that apps or features that require the touch pad on the Apple remote may not work correctly. I'm seeing examples of this in apps that assume everyone will be using the Apple remote all of the time - even to do mundane things like navigating.
 

Mockenrue

macrumors 6502
Aug 3, 2013
310
88
It varies by app. Even simple FF/Rew doesn't work correctly in some cases. I wish they'd require basic support for play, pause, and FF/Rew with varying speeds so Harmony support would be at least as good as the old model. This is THE #1 reason why I don't use it for most streaming video apps. I really dislike the ATV remotes (old and new).
 
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Agent2015

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2015
337
296
Sonoran Desert
I have the Harmony One remote and it works fine with the ATV4. I use the Harmony only to initiate the Watch Apple TV activity and then switch to the ATV4 remote to take advantage of its advanced features including the ability to raise and lower the volume of my Onkyo receiver.
 

fhall1

macrumors 68040
Dec 18, 2007
3,874
1,318
(Central) NY State of mind
I have the Harmony One remote and it works fine with the ATV4. I use the Harmony only to initiate the Watch Apple TV activity and then switch to the ATV4 remote to take advantage of its advanced features including the ability to raise and lower the volume of my Onkyo receiver.
Then it's not really working "fine" is it? The whole point of a Harmony remote is to not have to use multiple remotes to perform a function.
 
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Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,390
16,054
California
Then it's not really working "fine" is it? The whole point of a Harmony remote is to not have to use multiple remotes to perform a function.
Actually, it is working fine as I mentioned in my post. Agent2015 apparently just prefers to use the ATV4 remote. My ATV4 remote is sitting on the end table gathering dust while I control everything on the ATV4 with my Harmony remote.
 

fhall1

macrumors 68040
Dec 18, 2007
3,874
1,318
(Central) NY State of mind
I have three Harmonys so I'm glad to hear it works. My ATV4 is still in "test" mode on a spare TV, but when I actually put it in my home theater setup I will want it working with my Harmony remote.

I don't quite get Agent2015's comment that he "then switch(es) to the ATV4 remote to take advantage of its advanced features including the ability to raise and lower the volume of my Onkyo receiver" If programmed correctly, the Harmony should have no problem adjusting the volume of an Onkyo receiver.
 

chuyn

macrumors 6502
Nov 13, 2015
365
110
My harmony ultimate home works well enough but there still seems to be some glitches even after their Logitech's update. Sometimes if I pause/resume playback with the enter button, the playback bar at the bottom doesn't disappear. It will disappear if I press play/pause to resume playback though. It seems to happen most in the Hulu app. Also, obviously, games don't work and I can't use siri with it, but that's ok.
 

Agent2015

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2015
337
296
Sonoran Desert
Then it's not really working "fine" is it? The whole point of a Harmony remote is to not have to use multiple remotes to perform a function.
Grouchy are we? Actually its working fine within the scope of an older Harmony. Having the Harmony in conjunction with the advanced features of the ATV4 remote is a worthwhile tradeoff. Better than having the five remotes needed for my environment! Overall the Harmony is still worth keeping until I decide to upgrade to a newer one although that's unlikely unless Logitech incorporates more advanced features to match.
 

LiveM

macrumors 65816
Oct 30, 2015
1,268
614
I have the Harmony One remote and it works fine with the ATV4. I use the Harmony only to initiate the Watch Apple TV activity and then switch to the ATV4 remote to take advantage of its advanced features including the ability to raise and lower the volume of my Onkyo receiver.

Doesn't your TV switch over to the ATV as soon as you press the menu button on the ATV remote?
 

Agent2015

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2015
337
296
Sonoran Desert
Doesn't your TV switch over to the ATV as soon as you press the menu button on the ATV remote?
Unfortunately not in my scenario. I have a recent Samsung "smart" TV that is anything but smart. Samsung uses something called Anynet to switch modes back and forth between regular OTA TV and the ATV4. The Harmony also does the necessary port switching on the Onkyo A/V whenever the activity is changed. As I said previously the Harmony does a fine job with all of this considering its age. Within the ATV4 environment, the Harmony performs most functions well except for some the more advanced features such as Siri and gaming.
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I have three Harmonys so I'm glad to hear it works. My ATV4 is still in "test" mode on a spare TV, but when I actually put it in my home theater setup I will want it working with my Harmony remote.

I don't quite get Agent2015's comment that he "then switch(es) to the ATV4 remote to take advantage of its advanced features including the ability to raise and lower the volume of my Onkyo receiver" If programmed correctly, the Harmony should have no problem adjusting the volume of an Onkyo receiver.
Very true, the Harmony has no problem raising or lowering the volume which in this case is a Onkyo A/V receiver. However once I have switched to the ATV4 activity with the Harmony, the ATV4 remote handles the raising and lowering of the volume on the Onkyo. Of course if the intent is to not use any of the advanced features of the ATV4 then the Harmony remote is perfectly fine.
 

LiveM

macrumors 65816
Oct 30, 2015
1,268
614
We took the ATV to Dad's over Xmas and I found his Samsung with Anynet would switch on and switch over when I activated the menu button, and went to the "TV" input when I put the ATV to sleep. I was connected using the Apple HDMI cable.
 

gugy

macrumors 68040
Jan 31, 2005
3,914
5,358
La Jolla, CA
I have an older Harmony One remote and it works. The ATV responds to the IR commands. The one thing to be aware of is that apps or features that require the touch pad on the Apple remote may not work correctly. I'm seeing examples of this in apps that assume everyone will be using the Apple remote all of the time - even to do mundane things like navigating.
Yep, I have one as well and it works fine.
I use the ATV remote to navigate, I just like it better. But all my activities are on the Harmony One. I would love to see an App able to work like the Harmony remote and use it controlling all my activities and devices.
 

Agent2015

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2015
337
296
Sonoran Desert
We took the ATV to Dad's over Xmas and I found his Samsung with Anynet would switch on and switch over when I activated the menu button, and went to the "TV" input when I put the ATV to sleep. I was connected using the Apple HDMI cable.
In your simplified scenario that may well be the case. However my setup includes an Onkyo A/V receiver that routes all traffic to and from the TV via a single HDMI connection and the peripherals in the mix including the ATV4, Blu ray player, etc. Having full surround sound is simply too important to me and am willing to put up with the minor hiccoughs with my setup.
 

richpjr

macrumors 68040
May 9, 2006
3,759
2,585
In your simplified scenario that may well be the case. However my setup includes an Onkyo A/V receiver that routes all traffic to and from the TV via a single HDMI connection and the peripherals in the mix including the ATV4, Blu ray player, etc. Having full surround sound is simply too important to me and am willing to put up with the minor hiccoughs with my setup.

I have a similar setup with a Denon receiver and have to use my Harmony remote to select the proper input and then switch over to the ATV remote when I use it. Kind of tedious to have 2 remotes but it's not that bad.
 

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,909
Having the Harmony in conjunction with the advanced features of the ATV4 remote is a worthwhile tradeoff.

I agree and I do the same thing.

But I don't think of changing the volume as an "advanced" function. If the Harmony can't change the Onkyo's volume, it is not fine--it is set up incorrectly.
 

Agent2015

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2015
337
296
Sonoran Desert
I agree and I do the same thing.

But I don't think of changing the volume as an "advanced" function. If the Harmony can't change the Onkyo's volume, it is not fine--it is set up incorrectly.
Perhaps I was not clear in my earlier ramblings about my experience with my Harmony and ATV4. The Harmony performs its duties perfectly fine whether switching activities or raising or lowering volume while in the ATV4 activity. To be clear the ATV4 remote also raises and lowers volume on the A/V receiver while using the ATV4. In other words, the Harmony and ATV4 coexist reasonably well in my experience.
 

Vegaspilot

macrumors 6502
Oct 28, 2010
282
63
Picked up the Harmony Hub and use the app on my phone. Controls everything quite well. ATV4, Samsung TV, Sony A/V receiver and PS3.
 
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