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...Continued from Page 5.
Activities-in-a-can!
Once all devices have been successfully added to the profile, the program attempts to automatically determine which activities can be used with the system. For example, if you have a DVD player it figures out that you can "Watch a DVD". With a television you can "Watch Television", for a VCR "Watch a videocassette", and so on. Although similar styles of activities can be created on other fully customizable remotes, there's one activity where the Harmony truly stands out: the built-in television guide.
Essentially turning the Harmony into an interactive pocket-sized TV guide, this feature has only been seen on a couple of remotes in the past - and none are as small as the Harmony. The program requires you to enter your zip or postal code and select the cable provider for your area, or off-air programming if desired. Individual stations can be selected or deselected for guide information download, plus those which are watched most often can be highlighted for a special section. The online manual recommends a maximum of 100 "regular" and 20 "favorite" stations, but this is not a forced limit. The program displays the guide as station listings and program listings, into two additional categories: "all" and "favorite". The software also allows for the configuration of multiple guides for multiple televisions (or users) if desired, but remember that guide information must be refreshed to the Harmony on a weekly basis.
Overview of an entire system, activities on the left, devices on the right.
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When configuring, the program displays a listing of stations available in your area, but at the time my region appeared to be incomplete (note that other online guides I've tried worked fine). So, thankfully, Easy Zapper allows you to manually add additional stations by name and tie them into the guide. This process can take a bit of time, since you've got to figure out what the "official name" and number of a station is, but the end result is well worthwhile. The only downside is that stations cannot be automatically sorted into numerical or alphabetical order, or removed from the list. This can be corrected in "advanced" mode, later.
After all activities and devices have been configured, the system is nearly ready for use - or at least a bit more modification. Easy Zapper provides a plethora of advanced options for each activity, allowing you to customize the remote to operate exactly how you'd like. For example, it's possible to have the DVD's MENU button send the "menu" command and then automatically jump into "navigate" mode.
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