[Philips, Sony, TCL Android TV] Redflea:
[MENTION=452586]N23[/MENTION]

This is HUGE. (Well, I think it is.) :)

The Activity edit feature in the Logitech app that the 700 series uses doesn't allow for removing Input commands set up by/the activity automatically (e.g., when you tell the app what input you want the TV to use in the Watch TV setup flow). So i went through the "Change your settings" flow for my Watch TV activity and selected "I do not set an input" for both the TV and receiver.

Then I manually added two discrete input commands to the Watch TV activity via the "Customize your activity" flow, adding the discrete input commands for the TV and receiver to get them on the right input for Watch TV. [Important Aside: The Logitech SW used w/the 700 doesn't allow you to add Input commands to the Activity in the Customize flow - it filters them out (in a simple way - blocking commands that start with "input") from the list of available commands in the Command drop-down..likely Logitech is trying to protect customers from themselves). So I used a backup Harmony remote I have to teach the TV and Receiver discrete input commands to the first Harmony remote and named the input commands so they would not be filtered (started the command names with "nput". Unfortunately, if you don't have a second Harmony remote that has the Sony discrete input commands available on it, you won't be able to teach the Sony discrete input commands to the first remote].

Anyway...short story long...IT WORKS! :) Tried it several times and seems to work great this way w/out issue. For some reason sending the Input selection commands as separate commands added manually to the Activity (vs as an input select command included automatically in the start activity from the activity setup) works just fine - the android apps on the Home screen are blissfully still when changing from the Home screen to my Watch TV activity.

EDIT: Just remembered I wanted to confirm it was the TV input command that causes the problem. I went back and added the input selection choice for the receiver back into the activity setup, and things still worked. So confirmed (of course) that the issue is w/the TV input selection command, for some reason the TV misinterprets it when it's sent as part of the activity startup, as opposed to a command added manually to then end of the activity startup.

So to "fix" things all we need to do (from my testing) is remove the TV input selection from the activity setup (select "I do not select an input") for the TV in the activity setup flow, and then add the input selection command to the activity manually in the Customize Activity flow. I did this to all my activities that use the TV and they all switch from the Home screen to the activity w/out issue. The tough part is you need a second Harmony or other remote that has the discrete input code on it. If you didn't have another Harmony you could use any remote at home that can learn commands (or borrow/purchase an inexpensive learning remote) and teach the discrete input commands you need to it from the Harmony, and then use it to teach back to your Harmony w/the new names so they won't be masked in the Command selection drop-down in the Customize Activity flow.

Thanks, [MENTION=4623330]asg.srtw[/MENTION] and [MENTION=4201124]A.D.I.O.S[/MENTION] very much to both of you for your suggestions/ideas.