With the proliferation of AV equipment and all of the confusing remote control options, it has become a nightmare to turn on and operate 3 or even 2 devices at one time. The Harmony can control every device you have and it can do it intelligently. It knows what you have turned on and adapts itself to controlling only the functions necessary for the activity that you are doing, thereby minimizing the buttons positions that you will need to remember. Watch a DVD and the forward and rewind buttons control the DVD while the volume and mute buttons control your AV receiver. Switch on your VCR and the forward and rewind buttons automatically control the VCR. No more having to tell the remote which device you want to control, it knows... It is simple, intuitive, and yet very customizable as well. Programming is done with the computer. It is so simple that the manual has very little in the way of instructions. Moreover, if you do run into trouble, the toll free tech support is the best I have come across. The wait is less than 5 minutes during peak hours and the people on the other end are very knowledgeable and speak English (they are located in Canada). Here is why I give the setup procedure a 4 out of 5. I did have to call tech support. They told me I needed to download and run a firmware update before my remote would communicate with the PC properly. However, with the technicians guidance it was a simple process. It would be an improvement if the manual that came with the unit had a little more set-up information and screen shots so that one can follow along to see if everything is proceeding normally. Additionally, it would help if the LCD screen on the remote would give some indication when it is communicating with the PC. It would have cut my setup time in half or down to one hour.