I wish to gift my mother a remote. She prefers a very basic and simple remote.



Can you please tell me which remote is available in market for the following purpose?

Thank you.

Describe it in words. You've shown what appears to be a touchscreen remote, which I would advise against. Really nice artwork, though.

Be aware that a simple remote is simple by dint of its having all the complications built in where you and she do not see them.

For instance, the TV button would do this:
turn on TV
turn on AV Receiver
turn on satellite receiver (maybe)
switch TV to correct input
switch AVR to correct input
set surround mode correctly on AVR

The Power button might better be just a Power Off button as those other buttons turn things on.

Now, let's say you've hit TV and everything is on. How do you look at the guide? How do you go from channel 2 to channel 1107?

So... I thing you're envisioning something too simple. As brain researchers say, the brain is terribly complex, and they wish it were simpler so that we could understand it... but if it were simpler, we wouldnt' have the brain power to understand it. A simple remote IS NOT SIMPLE.

After that, I'd recommend RTI, URC, Crestron, AMX. I'd recommend real physical buttons for most things, NOT a touchscreen, as you always have to look away from the TV at the touchscreen to do anything. That's a real drag.

ebay

Thanks for response.

I share the same thought that it should be a physical device with buttons and not a touch screen. Yes, this was not a touch screen, a physical one. :-) "Really nice artwork" ( :-) square)

Description : Some thing very very basic so that any one, especially elderly people can easily see/read, understand and use.

(Most remotes have very small labels. I think some elderly people wont bother reading, instead they will just press the left most button or the biggest button etc. And hence, they dont know how to select the input source..)

Functions :
Power : Will switch on the main display. (Main Display TV) and the last used device (So, when power was pressed before, TV was working, so this time, TV will also start).
TV, Music,Film, Extra : These buttons are to select the input for AV1, AV2, HDMI1 etc. So once selected all other input devices gets switched off and this device will switch on and give input to the TV. (Initially when I get the remote I will set which HDMI provide which input (TV) etc in the remote either through and extra "Settings" button or will connect to computer and set.)
Volume : +/-
Program : Dependent on input. (TV-Change Channel,Music-Change Music,Film-Change Chapter in DVD etc)

So what I wish is the same thing "Harmony does" in a very basic format. The Harmony remotes available here has so many buttons, so will defeat this specific purpose and I dont want to go in for the touch screen. Hence, no available alternative except to design one / buy some thing similar (which I don't know about)

Reg simple vs complex : Do agree. In this specific case, issue is, my mother simply wont use the DVD player because she gets frustrated thinking about the process - Switch on TV. Select the Input Source. Wait for the intro in DVD to get over. Click play. - Instead, she just wants to click power and press "Film" so that film starts to play.

I do know this way we cant setup many things (like as you said channel no. X, chapter no, 16:9 etc et). But thats ok. Because my mother simply does not want to use the remote which does give all those options. Also, she usually just changes channels +/-. So, in this case, not being able to have better control is fine.

Do yourself a favor.  Have a professional provide and program the remote control for her.  Here are a few reasons why.

1.  You want an inexpensive and simple remote.  Those 2 things don't go together.

2.  You want a remote that has limited buttons for use,  all remotes have quite a few buttons, but with a quality remote control a professional can make things considerably easier for her to use.

3.  If you hire a pro, you won't be the one getting the phone call when she can't figure it out.  The pro will.  That in itself is worth the money.

Keep in mind that for these functions to work, a series of commands must be sent in sequence. If the remote uses IR, then the remote will need to be pointed at the devices for the duration of that sequence, lest the devices not receive all intended commands and the system gets in a bad state.

An RF remote will eliminate this particular shortcoming.

Also, it is essential that the components you are controlling have discrete IR codes for power and input selection to help ensure the system state is properly maintained and recover from the system getting in a bad state.

Let me repeat my recommendation that you find a pro to handle this for you (I DID suggest that, right?) by pointing out a couple of things.


In order for a remote to operate in a very simple manner, all necessary steps must be understood, put in order, any necessary time delays inserted, any necessary time delays tested to make them as short as possible while being completely reliable, and buttons assigned to make the processes occur. The programmer must understand ALL of this so the remote can be configured to be operated by someone who doesn't understand all of that.


Now, THERE is a reason for a touchscreen! The cheap ones only allow a few letters of one font and size. The more expensive ones allow the knowledgeable programmer to create large buttons. This meets your needs.


Totally wrong approach. I listed the commands of the right approach in an earlier post.


Good idea. But if you add system turn-on, then you totally eliminate the need for the POWER control part of the setup.


Might be a good idea. Might not.


Right, right, right.


You thus want nothing on the market.


Nothing similar.


And I want her just to press FILM so she doesn't have to think about power. It's automatic!


It's not difficult to do this. I just don't think you can do it. Especially since you don't want a touchscreen, which is the only thing that will meet the other needs.

[Link: thinkgeek.com]

What source material? That is, only cable, or only satellite?

When my elderly parents visited a couple weeks ago, I set up a new cable box for the guest BR TV. Since cable was the only source, I programmed the stock budget free Comcast remote to operate the TV power. Cable box is always on, so power button on remote turns the TV on/off. The budget remote has very few buttons, and my 84 year old father commented on how easy it was to operate. Your cable or satellite provider may offer a similar simple remote.

The new cable box is the size of a deck of cards, standard definition, no DVR. And 'free', at no additional charge (I already pay them $200/month for other DVRs and internet).

It sounds like the remote is different from the regular one. You say stock, but then you say "budget," making it sound like a remote with fewer buttons, or something like that. Is it the regular remote?

@Hasbeen. Thanks. Yes, I will try some more and if nothing works I will approach a professional.

@Crosen. Yes pointing the device for long is going to be an issue. Thanks for pointing it out. I am not sure if they do have a discrete IR code, need to check it myself. Yes, two devices accepting the same binary command will make things worse.

@Ernie. Thanks a lot for providing all the reasons. I do realize this needs a huge work more than I had expected. I understood that touchscreen does make it easier for this purpose. Before posting this, what I felt was, there might be some remote out there in the universe with say 10 buttons, each which can be programmed to a corresponding function of an existing remote. So I can program that the vol+ in tv remote is button 1, and I can send the vol + binary code from original remote to new remote which learns this. This way I felt, for each of the 10 buttons I can associate it with a button in the other remotes. But, now I do realize, many of the things are not possible like the time delay etc. Better off to meet a remote pro here. Yes just "Film" is easier than "Power + Film"

@jesterselv : Cool, thanks, this will surely help. Will read a few reviews and decide if my devices can be controlled with this.

@Neurorad : Source is digital cable (My provider gets all the channels and sends it digitally to a set top box they have installed here. From the set top, I connect the yellow video out and stereo audio).

@All : Thanks a lot.

The most advanced tiny remote ever created was, I believe, the URC SideKick. Basically the power of an MX-700 wedged into a tiny package. However, even that isn't really capable of doing what you're envisioning here.

Now... if only they'd built an MX-250 similar to as I'd designed. :-)

The 'regular silver one' is standard for HD and DVRs. This SD box uses a simpler remote, a black one:[Link: avsforum.com]

Your digital cable provider may be able to supply that black remote. The red power button turns the TV on/off. Very straightforward operation.