So we were thinking about getting a new TV, and we asked ourselves: what is that we enjoy most about the television-watching experience? Is it the high-impact action of televised poker? The sensitive terminal-illness dramas on that ladies’ cable network? The soul-cratering emptiness that is the contemporary sitcom? The mentally unstable human dregs who populate reality TV? Yes, of course, we love all of that and more. But then it hit us: as wonderful as TV is, our favorite part is the clicking, the flipping, the endless search for something better on another channel. It’s not the prey we care about – it’s the hunt.

So we said, “Screw the new TV. Let’s get a new remote.” Now we enjoy the Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote more than we ever enjoyed all the CSI and Law and Order spinoffs combined. For one thing, it’s got a little screen of its own, so it’s kinda like a remote and a TV*.

Whoa. We just blew our own minds.

And that’s not the wildest thing about the Harmony 880. Get this: unlike the baffling setup process of many universal remotes, all you need to do is hook it up to your PC with the included USB cable. Then you go to the Harmony Remote web site, answer a few questions about your home theater components, and the Harmony’s programmed like Patty Hearst. (The software on the included disc may have been updated, so just to go Logitech’s Harmony 880 software site to download the latest drivers.) And its Activity buttons make it easy to just, you know, do stuff – like, you hit “Play DVD” and it deals with whatever components need to turn on or off automatically. The DVD just starts up. It’s amazing.

Now we’re perfectly happy with our old, crappy little TV. What’s on? Who cares? Our attention is riveted to the Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote. That’s entertainment!

*-You can’t actually watch TV on it.

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