Anthony, I think it's pretty intuitive that we should not burden the average user with commands they're not going to use. DVD Players had an AUDIO button that I put on remotes for a while before I realized nobody used it. And it's pretty intuitive that we'd better not give them commands that they can easily use to screw up the system, for instance Zone 2 volume, which should be set by the installer and that's that.
Why? One customer's daughter came to visit him and she refused to use the programmable remote. She picked up the Denon receiver remote and used it. That remote had three main keypad settings, AMP, TUNER, and REMOTE (Zone 2).
One day after picking a radio station, she switched the remote to Zone 2 by accident instead of AMP, and turned the Zone 2 volume up all the way before realizing he sound wasn't getting any louder on the main zone, which she was listening to. She then switched to AMP, adjusted the volume, and went on with her life.
That evening I got a call from the client -- the Denon had switched off in the middle of a TV show. Nothing seemed to have caused it.
When I was on the service call a day later I found the Zone 2 volume turned up all the way. Apparently Zone 2 was on Tuner; Zone 2 volume was up all the way; and some thump or other had been loud enough to shut down the amp, even though the tuner could not be heard. (Did I mention there were two pairs of Zone 2 speakers and the individual VCs for them were turned down all the way?).
It was a simple matter of turning Zone 2 volume down to where I had set it before, and telling Daughter Dearest to use the damn programmable remote.
If I had put Zone 2 volume on the programmable remote, it would have been my fault that it got adjusted. The daughter used a remote that she was not qualified to use, so it was her fault.
This happened one other time with a client, where I drove out to do a service call, before I figured out this was serviceable over the phone. I just had to recognize the problem before I drove out there.
Yes, remotes should be intuitive.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything. "The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
