The Halo still a viable choice?

[etype76]

…in the context of use with the Theatre? I know that it is compatible and I am looking for more tactile control of music volume and tracks rather than using the phone or physically approaching the theatre. I considered a beoremote one but I love the form of the Halo.

I just don’t hear much about it here. I’ve read through the thread about the last software update in April 2022 but do you think it will be in the B&O line-up for the foreseeable future with more updates to come?

 

thanks

[Sandyb]

I dont think the Halo is going anywhere for quite a while.

i.e it will remain as one of they key control options for a long time yet.y And I suspect more updates will come.

(I dont have one, it doesn’t suit me personally)

It does seem more useful for those with home automation, where the Halo then becomes more than just a quirky volume control / source selector.

 

[beojeff]

The Halo works MUCH better with the Theatre than I had expected. You have the ease of reaching over to adjust the volume with the wheel — which can be faster than reaching for the Beoremote One and pressing the volume buttons. Also, you can pause/play MOST sources. You just need to swipe down once from the upper left side and then press the middle dot. I say that you can pause/play most sources because some sources require the play and pause buttons on the Beoremote One rather than using the middle dot button. It would be nice to have some uniformity, but this varies even among apps on the Apple TV.

Swiping down twice from the upper left of the screen gives you a screen where you can select the video and music sources of the Theatre. The sources are even grouped by “TV” or “Music” sources.

One swipe up gives you a screen of the My Buttons. Two swipes up gives you a screen where you can choose among your Listening Positions. This is useful. Three, Four, or Five swipes up gives you up to three screens of home automation controls if you have a BLI. This can let you control light scenes, blinds, temperature control, fan control, etc. You can even start your Roomba vacuum from these screens. You can use the wheel to adjust the dimming of the lights. I find two programmed buttons to be very useful: (1) a button to set the lights for a scene for tv viewing and (2) a button to turn on a lamp on a side table to full brightness for when you need enough light to read.

While B&O is working out the bugs of the Theatre, the Halo helps fill in these gaps of control. You can set lights scenes which you currently cannot by using the Beoremote One with the Theatre. Also, when the Theatre fails to turn on the TV screen, you can program a button on the Halo to do this.

[Sandyb]

I’d add that (apologies if you know this already), that the Halo is poor / doesn’t really do music browsing / search.  Thats possibly one part of why the more vocal users of the Halo take advantage of its usefulness as a home automation interface (i.e with a BeoLiving Intelligence hub).

 

[beojeff]

I never had the expectation of being able to use the Halo to search music nor was that ever promised as a feature. That would be quite a leap for the Halo to essentially have the functionality of a Beosound Moment. It’s still quite useful for music control, though. You can see metadata of what music is playing and can move among tracks being played through Deezer.

As for the Theatre, you can use the color arrows to navigate around the TV, Apple TV, etc., screen to make selections.

[Sandyb]

sure, but some would have (not unreasonably) expected a bit of search capability.

Just saying that that lack of ability is perhaps one reason why it doesn’t generate quite as much discussion as the OP noticed.

If I had home automation stuff, I’d probably get a Halo.

But for music, I find it a bit pointless.

[beojeff]

I find it fascinating that someone who doesn’t even have a Halo and hasn’t spent time using one has such opinions. lol

[Sandyb]

Really, thats pretty weak.

I’ve played with one a few times at my dealer.

It doesn’t do what I want for music. I dont need to own one to know that.

I can also see that when they added the BLI integration, that added some genuine additional usage and interest. Again, I dont need to own one to know that.

Even my dealer gets a bit shoulder shrug-y when it comes to the Halo, reflecting perhaps the OP’s comment, of it not getting a huge amount of thread discussion.

 

 

[Razlaw]

beojeff wrote:

Also, when the Theatre fails to turn on the TV screen, you can program a button on the Halo to do this.

When you say can program I assume you mean with a BLI as opposed to a stand alone Halo?

Thanks!

[LeMirage]

I just use one for the most basic functions like track skip, volume and starting internet radio.

use it with Level, Core, Edge and BV11 , all works flawless now.

Had loads of issues in the beginning but this was the result of an old wifi router and buggy initial firmwares. Now my Halo works just perfect!

It is due to it’s price a really poor seller! My experience is if you want one or more Halo’s best is to try to negotiate, I got a pretty good deal with my dealer who was happy to finally sell one ! The 800-900€ MSRP is absurd for what it is….

 

 

 

[beojeff]

@Sandyb:

A few minutes of playing with it at your dealer’s store or even bringing one home and promptly returning it is not at all the same as owning one, living with it, and getting a true feel for its usefulness It just gets old that whenever the Halo gets mentioned the same Halo Haters show up trolling when they have no true experience with using it. We get it — you don’t like it. Then just don’t buy one. Problem solved!

[beojeff]

Razlaw wrote:

beojeff wrote:

Also, when the Theatre fails to turn on the TV screen, you can program a button on the Halo to do this.

When you say can program I assume you mean with a BLI as opposed to a stand alone Halo?

Thanks!

Hi, Razlaw!

Right. There is a system in the BLI that you can add that gives control of the LG TV directly from the BLI. If you have a BLI and needs some help programming the macro, DM me and I’d be happy to help.

[Razlaw]

Thanks!  I do not have a BLI but have been considering one for a long time.  I am not sure I would get much benefit out of it which is what has held me back from getting one.

[Sandyb]

beojeff wrote:

@Sandyb: A few minutes of playing with it at your dealer’s store or even bringing one home and promptly returning it is not at all the same as owning one, living with it, and getting a true feel for its usefulness It just gets old that whenever the Halo gets mentioned the same Halo Haters show up trolling when they have no true experience with using it. We get it — you don’t like it. Then just don’t buy one. Problem solved!

It doesn’t do browsing – and hence isn’t the device that suits me. Spending 20 hours with it wouldn’t change that conclusion.  And there isn’t a problem, given that I didnt buy one, and it really doesn’t keep me up at night.

Was merely reflecting to the OP that it many see it as a bit too limited given the price, though those who use BLI’s certainly get a lot more out of it.  As a summation, few would regard that as unfair, let alone trolling or hater-ism.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

For me the words that comes to mind when I use my Halo for the last 3 months is: SAD MISSED POTENTIAL.

Hardware:

1. The battery life is horrible at 1-3 days. They could have easily fit a bigger battery or create more intelligent power management abilities.
2. The screen should be OLED especially for the price. If it was OLED you wouldn’t know where the screen ended and bezel began, and save battery. It should also be in colour to show your music artwork.
3. The off centre logo in the motion sensor looks sloppy

Software:

1. It’s dumb as dirt. It’s basically a glorified remote for music.  That is unless you get the Beoliving intelligence which costs more than the Halo.
2. Why can’t think do everything my iOS device in terms of just the B&O app and maybe some home automation?  Is it because the CPU and OS on the halo is super basic and it can’t do as much as an album cover? Is that why you need the intelligence just to turn the light off?
3. The software isn’t intuitive. Lots of totally hidden gestures like swipe from top/bottom and they aren’t even consistent. No why for casual user to figure that out.

Long story short if the halo came with OR just had the intelligence built in for the same price it would actually be a pretty good product. Not for non-advanced users but for the price it is now (same as iPad Pro which kills it in every way other than a volume wheel) I would be happy.

For now it’s super over priced and extremely limited. Worst part is when B&O released it they mentioned they wanted it to be the hub of your smart home and software updates were coming. It’s been 2 years and still waiting. Don’t think its coming either again without the expensive intelligence.

Sad 🙁

[T.W.G]

I’m very happy that Bang & Olufsen was wise enough to choose a LCD instead of OLED display. That way it is ensured that the product will be usable and survive much longer. OLED displays (yes, todays modern OLED displays, too) tend to burn in, dim out etc. while LCDs can last for decades!

Every day usage:
The halo does a good job here and doesn’t act only as a B&O remote.
It works as a Bluetooth remote control and Bluetooth display for multiple devices, including some Sony High Resolution Audio Walkmans.
Streaming via Google Chromecast (which is not very reliable, no matter on which network) we use Bluetooth at home, too.
I don’t care too much about my phone but I don’t want to have my Sony HighRes Walkman laying around in the kitchen when doing the dishes etc. I like it to much! 🙂
Walkman is paired to an Essence in the Kitchen via Bluetooth. When I play music over Bluetooth from the Walkman the Beoremote Halo shows current track, title FROM THE WALKMAN and of course I can skip tracks or play/pause the Sony Walkman! How cool is that? I love it!

Beoremote Halo on every level in the house is the preferred solution to control music and music systems/speakers at home.
It cures the unplanned “Damn, where’s my phone?” athletic search tours around the house. 🙂

I miss a full screen clock on the Beoremote Halo when approaching it, and Bang & Olufsen should reintroduce the red standby light on every product again. 🙂

Currently we use only a small percentage of the HALOs functionality as a few NL/ML convertes are waiting to be installed and even with our current use case the HALO is a lovely addition at out home.. which will hopefully last longer as a mobile phone.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

TWG wrote:

I’m very happy that Bang & Olufsen was wise enough to choose a LCD instead of OLED display. That way it is ensured that the product will be usable and survive much longer. OLED displays (yes, todays modern OLED displays, too) tend to burn in, dim out etc. while LCDs can last for decades!

Phones which have been OLED today which are on for 10 hours a day with static images still look good from 2013.  Same goes with monitors and tv’s with hours and hours of static and moving content a day.  Not a chance the halo would be on more than a few minutes a day and software shifts UI elements to not cause any burn in.

It’s cute to think the Halo will last decades, the battery won’t nor the charging port.  After less than a year usage many people report the wheel not rotating fluid as before. I already have issues with my wheel after a month.

I want to love the halo but it needs a major revision in hardware and software for this price point.

[Emilos88]

Just a few points,

The screen is a colour screen

And the big software have arrived as promised, but you need the BLI to fully make use of the Halo. That is by design.

[etype76]

Quite an impassioned thread I inadvertently started.

I thought I should give an update. In the end, I went for the Beoremote one. It fits my relatively simple setup of Theatre for TV and music. I also didn’t fancy having another device that needs to be frequently charged. I am still waiting on it as I ordered it on Dec 23. Perhaps in a future home I’ll have the BLI and make way for a Halo but until then…

 

[beojeff]

I don’t see the Halo as a replacement for a Beoremote One. Rather, I think of it as an improvement on the Essence Remote. Its use is more intended as a stationary point of control rather than moving it around and relying on the battery. The battery is great for the occasional change of location, but I don’t rely heavily on the battery power. Notice that the B&O wireless Qi charging pad fits perfectly with the base of the Halo. Therefore, it’s easy to keep it charged and move it for the temporary battery use. I’m always careful not to treat the wheel as a handle — as I’m sure that could over time cause problems.

I’ve found that the use of my Halo varies greatly depending on where it is located. With the Halo on the living room side table, I frequently use the wheel to easily adjust the volume and lights. With the Halo in the kitchen, I like to move through tracks in a playlist and be able to see the title and artist of the song. With the Halo on the nightstand, I use the Halo as a clock and to turn on the lights in the morning. I do agree that it would be great to have the option to have a full-screen clock — particularly for the Halo on the nightstand. I’ve created a clock on a virtual “button” using the BLI, but it’s really too small for me to read when I’m groggy in the morning and without my glasses.

[Author]

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