On March 15, 2019 at 16:30, Ernie Gilman said...
Brad, you're saying the big control companies haven't yet incorporated stupid voice control. Maybe they agree that it's stupid? (Then again, Kodak thought digital photography wasn't ever going to go anywhere.)
As stupid as this sounds, does URC sell the MX850 any more? It's crude and clunky but can do exactly what you need.
1) When I said "cheap, minimalistic, well-laid-out, learning remotes" I was referring to the $25-$35 remotes we had 10+ years ago from URC, One-For-All, and others. These remotes were great for simple setups or even a little more. The URC WR7 was the last of those remotes and I'm guessing all the companies stop making those type remotes, to 'PUSH' people into more expensive remotes where they had much greater margin.
Now, if a customer has a simple setup (1 TV, 1 or 2 sources), they have no simple device on the market to buy if needed. The closest thing is Don's suggestion, an entry level Harmony for $50.
2) I personally do think voice control is stupid. The only useful thing voice control brings, is when a search is required. Being able to 'voice search' is much better than trying to type it.
But what I think doesn't matter, it is what the customer thinks and wants. And I have customers that use the voice function for everything (changing channels, searching, guide,...).
As far as remotes go... I am having a hard time selling any interface (remote control) these days, because it lacks voice control. Even customers that don't use it, can see the cheap remote that comes with their source box has voice control. They see my $500 remote without any voice ability and they look at me funny. Like I'm trying to sell them some outdated, overpriced, junk. And they are NOT wrong on at least a few of those thoughts.
And before someone makes the comment - because I had someone tell me "you don't understand what it takes to make a universal 'voice' remote" - there are products on the market now, that you can use Alexa, Google assistant, or Siri; all in the same box! (don't ask me for links, I'm to tired. But I read about a couple of them recently)
So the argument about it is to hard is 100% BS! The control companies are just to lazy and stupid to figure it out and do it. The only road block would be manufactures that try and block voice control of their device from 3rd parties. Maybe 'that' is a legit issue but not that it is to hard - not for a software engineer that knows what he's doing. It is just code.
