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www.mybaycity.com December 25, 2010
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STUPID STUFF #1: TV Remote Controls

December 25, 2010       2 Comments
By: Stephen Kent

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When I was in college, I had to read the poem Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff by A. E. Housman. The poem didn't relate (it's a poem about poetry, after all), but the phrase STUPID STUFF struck a note. I'll never forget the poem because hardly a week goes by that something doesn't make me say under my breath "Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff".

Last week's Stupid Stuff is one that I think about often... like several times a night while watching TV. It's the typical TV remote control unit.

On this occasion my 89 year old Dad called from Dallas and said "Stephen, I've got that thing on the TV again that says recording and I can't change channels". Dad is a retired CPA, he (and Mom) are in good health and you'd never guess that they're 89 by talking to them. But that TV remote gets the best of both of them.

Using the remote requires aiming it at the TV. Most people extend their arm, bend their wrist down, and press buttons by feel. It's easy to get your finger on the wrong key. It's also difficult for older joints and fingers.

Whoever designed the modern remote must have been thinking about Martian anatomy. That is, a creature with two eye-stalks so that one eye can watch the TV and the other can look at the remote. Long green fingers might help too.


Don't drop it while trying to press the bottom
row of buttons! (If you figured out what they do.)
The designer was also, obviously, young. Someone with great eyes. At my age I can see the big buttons but to read the tiny labels requires magnifying glasses. And there are over FIFTY buttons on my remote. (Of course nobody, including the Cable TV support techs, know what half of those buttons are for.

And how about this: some of the buttons are so close to the heel of the remote that there's simply no way to hold the thing in one hand and press those buttons.

Even with two hands, the contortions required to aim and press a specific button can be impossible to perform. Add arthritic joints to the equation and the job becomes trying at best, painful at worst.

(A better way might be to hold the remote flat in your lap with one hand then look down and press the buttons with the other hand. On the other hand, it really helps to see the TV to know you pressed what you though you did. So looking down and looking up is not the best solution.)

One simple solution to many of these problems would be to simply change the direction of the beam. Instead of projecting it from the end of the remote, project it from the BOTTOM, or back of the unit. Now you could hold the remote vertically, see the buttons AND the TV, and easily press the correct button.

Without the bottom projection, you may be lucky enough to have a remote powerful enough to bounce the beam off a wall. Or you might tape a shiny piece of foil on the end to make a reflector to direct the beam. Not the best solution. And two hands are still helpful.

Back to Dad's problem.

When entering in a channel number he holds the remote vertically to see the number then tilts it forward to aim and press. He repeats that for each number.

In this case his finger strayed during the tilt and accidentally pressed the RECORD button, which is next to the THREE button. Even though his cable box does NOT include a DVR (digital video recorder), it still tries to start recording. That effectively locks everything else out!

Fortunately, the last time I was in Dallas I took pictures of all the remotes, and the TV, and the phones. Using these pictures, I was able to talk him through some educated guesses until we successfully reset the cable box.


Just to confirm that this is not my imagination, I checked a couple of device manuals. As the illustration at right shows, the designers acknowledge the issue. In this particular case, at our house, only the person sitting directly in front of the box can use that remote. People on the side of the room are out of luck.



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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

dmaillette Says:       On December 27, 2010 at 06:03 AM
It's about time that someone addressed this problem.
I just use the controls on the TV in the rare event that there is anything worth watching.
kentd01 Says:       On January 01, 2011 at 07:10 PM
Oh, wise one, you speak to my heart. But you've only scratched the surface. What about the need to have more than 1 remote control in order to manage the multitude of devices (cable box, DVD, TV, etc.)? In my experience, most "universal" remotes are case studies in false and misleading advertising. I haven't encountered one yet that truly takes control of all devices unless all components are made by the same manufacturer and the remote was supplied with the product. -- DCK
Agree? or Disagree?


Stephen Kent

Steve Kent and his family have lived in Bay City for 40 years. He is VP of Technical Services at MMCC which produces MyBayCity.Com. Kent is active in many Bay City civic organizations.

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