Logitech Harmony Universal Remotes Gain Philips Hue Control

One of the most popular universal remote brands on the market today is the Logitech Harmony line of remote controls. These aren't like the cheap universal remotes you buy on a whim at Walmart as you checkout. Harmony remotes are high-tech bits of kit that allow you to not only program in all of your devices, but also supports macros. Those macros are where the magic begins with the Harmony remotes.

As it stands now you can make your Harmony remote do things like change all the inputs to let you play games or watch movies with the press of one button. That means you don't need to leave a roadmap for people to figure out how to work your complex home theater set up. Literally even a child can use a Harmony remote.

Logitech has just released a firmware update for two of its popular Harmony remotes, the Smart Control, and the Ultimate remote. With the new firmware installed the remotes gain the ability to control Philips Hue smart lighting. These bulbs are dimmable and you can control how bright the lights are from an app on your smartphone or tablet.

With the ability to control them from your Harmony remote that means you can have your macro not only change the inputs for your given activity, but you can also have it change the lighting in your home. Want no light over the TV; you can set that up to work with your Watch TV macro. When you stop whatever you are doing, you can have the remote put the lighting back to normal.

SOURCE: Logitech

VIA:Engadget