I was reading an earlier thread about a remote for 'grandma', who was a technophobe. One reply recommended the URC-980 which looked promising, but I don't think it would cut the mustard for my needs. I'm looking to purchase one for a company executive. She's older, but not quite a 'senior'. She's smart, but I WOULD classify her as a technophobe. She's pretty well-off, which means that price isn't much of an object but she DOES want everything to be a one-button, no-fail operation...

The big kicker was that she suffered a stroke over the last year.

So her vision and motor functions have been impacted. Not so much that she can't function, but enough so that I need a BIG screen for the programmable functions (the Philips Pronto TSU-9800 may not even be big enough), combined with large hard buttons for some of the more common functions, like Channel and Volume Up-Down. She's a Sony girl, so everything except her Motorola Digital HD Cablebox/PVR (PVR functions not used) is Sony-branded. Her main entertainment system consists of a Sony LCD TV, DVD-Home Theatre Sound System, and a Sony VCR. She also has two other Sony LCD TV's with Motorola cable-boxes in other rooms, but those would be 'nice-to-haves' later on.

So right now the TV is left on all of the time, along with the Home Theatre sound system. When the cable box is powered on the TV wakes up and sound comes through the sound system. She has tape on the Motorola remote control with large labels (and possibly for tactile feedback). But these buttons are large and have a distinctive feel and placement regardless. The only other concern I have is with 'macros'. She'll want 'one-button' operation for, say, watching a movie on the VCR (something she will only do now if someone else is around to set it up for her), but I've had bad experiences with the Harmony-series remotes and macros. If the full command set doesn't reach the devices, it's left 'screwed up', and the average person gets confused by the remote's questions on how to UN-screw it up, if they can read them in the first place.

Anything you can recommend?

Troy, it's sad to hear about this poor woman. It sounds like she needs a smart processor. A processor which is located near the equipment and stores all the macros. The way it works is the remote will send a trigger to the processor and the macros will run there, reliably and without missing a beat.

I would reccomend the RTI T3-V+ because of it's high resolution, large screen real estate, and ability to handle without holding with two hands. I think a high contrast design will allow a greater extend of use. I think an MX-5000 might work with an MSC-400 processor, but the T3-V+ 480x640 resolution is large for a handheld and can be programmed for effective macro reliability.

The way I design remote controls (especially with processors) nothing can get "screwed up" and every button is completely re-runnable. That means that if for some crazy reason a command misses, simply repeating the command will fix any issues. With a processor you can get some added controlability, such as power and video sensing, serial control and time based events which sound like they would be useful here.

I like this type of work - it's very rewarding. I do a lot of work for seniors and sometimes it can be tough to make good money, but it's very fulfilling to help someone who is impaired.

Regards,
Vincent
Total Control Remotes

Troy, I agree with vbova27.

However, I could not detect from the information that you gave if you were looking for a remote to program yourself or if you would be hiring a professional for programming.

Upper line RTI remotes and URC remotes require a good bit of programming knowledge. If you add a processor in the mix, it can be even more challenging. For a techie who loves to program, these might be fun projects to tackle, but might also be way beyond the realm of the average consumer.

I have found that adding a RF transceiver to the mix such as URC's MRF-350 can by itself make a system 100% more reliable. Then, even on a long macro sequence, you don't have to worry about whether the remote is pointed correctly.

Any of the upper line RTI or URC remotes will handle any kind of programming needed. I would think that your problem will be finding a display where the graphics are of sufficient size but also within your budget.