SAN JOSE, Calif. – As the creator of television’s first wireless remote control nearly 50 years ago, Robert Adler spawned generations of viewers who change channels from the couch.
But today, the retired engineer is just as confounded as millions of others who fumble with the remote controls that clutter their coffee tables and routinely fall into the cracks of sofas.
Adler, 90, has three remote controls in his suburban Chicago home – one each for his TV, VCR and DVD player. He has trouble navigating them just to play a movie.
“I think it’s scandalous how little the people who design these things seem to keep in mind that people don’t know it by heart as they do,” he said.
Today’s remote controls commonly sport 30 to 50 buttons to accommodate the growing features – and complexities – of modern electronics, from picture-in-picture modes of dual-tuner TVs to the ability to zip past commercials.
The average American household has four remotes, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
Zach Scribner, a 25-year-old sound engineer in San Francisco, bought a $15 universal remote about two years ago to tame eight-clicker chaos. To his dismay, it worked with only one of his two TVs and his VCR, but not his DVD player or any part of his stereo system.
“It’s not so universal – it’s regional,” he said.
That’s because basic universal remote controls under $50 are limited to the thoroughness of the maker’s database of remote control codes. Usually, cheap universals can operate only five to eight devices.
“That’s why people go from six to three remotes – and not one – and that doesn’t help their cause,” said Ramzi Anmari, a vice president at Universal Electronics.
Industry observers say low-end remotes still account for the bulk of the sales, even though more sophisticated all-in-one type remotes have emerged in the past few years.
Universal remotes that run closer to $100 or higher are smarter and more flexible. They can “learn” or pick up function codes via an infrared zap from a gadget’s remote that isn’t on the universal remote’s pre-designated database. They also often have more “macro” buttons that users can program to do a series of tasks with a single click.
For instance, a user could have a “macro” button turn the TV on, switch it to the A/V mode, power up the home theater receiver, set it to DVD mode, and turn on the DVD player – a common process that would otherwise entail juggling three different remotes.
The $200 Harmony H659 by Intrigue Technologies tries to ease user agony by providing pre-labeled buttons such as “Watch TV” or “Listen to Music” that do the “macro” programming for you.
Climb higher on the price scale, spending more for the remote than for some coffee tables, and there are models that can operate more than a dozen devices – not only audio and video components but sometimes your air conditioner.
The $500 Home Theater Master MX-800 controls up to 20 devices. The new $700 Sony Navitus Remote Control controls 18 and sports a color LCD screen that presses against your fingertip to confirm commands.
Royal Philips Electronics’ top-of-the-line $1,699 iPronto universal remote can wirelessly connect to the Internet to display news or e-mail, as well as a TV programming guide on its LCD screen.
Associated Press
Audio engineer Zach Scribner of San Francisco displays nine remote controls he uses to operate his electronics equipment. He bought a universal remote, but it only worked on one TV and a VCR.
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