Newsletters
Facebook
RSS Feed
EH Store
Maybe it’s because technology is so ingrained in my life. If I’m not talking about it, I’m wondering about it; maybe that’s why this little factoid I ran across recently seems so shocking: According to a study by Wakefield Research and Logitech, almost half of remote users need to press three or more buttons—usually on multiple remote controls—just to watch a DVD.
I guess I just assumed (wrongly) that by now most consumers, at least those who own good home entertainment systems, had invested in a universal remote control.
The results of this study were released just last week, so the data isn’t outdated, as I immediately suspected. No, this is current info, which makes it all the more bewildering—and eye-opening.
Just because universal remote controls have been around for a long time, doesn’t mean everyone has one. Neither does it mean that people clearly understand the value of a product like it.
It’s important then, that as a purveyor of information about consumer electronics we continue to cover the virtues of “old” tried and true technology just as much as we do new cutting-edge products and systems.
More findings from the Global Remote Control Trends Study, which was commissioned by Logitech:
- Almost one in five Americans own a device, such as a DVD player or a home audio system, which is connected but rarely or never used due to a missing remote.
- Even when people have the remote, between 15 and 24 percent of households globally have someone who doesn’t use their electronic devices because they don’t know how to work the remote.
- A similar number of consumers (between 16 percent and 27 percent globally) have written their own personal “Remote Control for Dummies” guide to help their friends, babysitters and visitors decipher their home entertainment system.
Tell us what you like and don’t like about your current remote, or what you wish your current clicker could do. It might be high time to buy a universal remote.
It is not just remotes that are made to be incomprehensable; I sell consumer electronics and trying to find something that isn’t made with black on black “buttons” in places that you need a map and a Boy Scout troop to find them is just impossible.
I think the some of the greatest deterrents to the average consumer buying a universal remote are cost and usability for the average person (or lack thereof - mostly during the programming phase). Folks can’t comprehend spending another $200 on up for another remote when they already spent a lot of money on the equipment itself, which usually came with it’s own remote. Manufacturers have made the programming easier for the average person to comprehend, but they are still not “plug and play”. Until remotes are a wireless connected device that automatically interfaces to the consumer’s equipment (like the remote that came with the equipment) and can configure itself automatically (using a 2-way, open source Bluetooth or RF standard that all manufacturers agree on), it will always be a specialty product for a small market niche.
Make them legible please. I can operate everything in my AV system without wearing glasses except the remotes. Come one—grey letters on silver backgrounds? Remote control non-acceptance is a self-inflicted wound, with design twits making classic mistakes including putting form above function and ignoring user needs. How hard would it be to try these things out with some real-world prospective owners before unleashing them on the market?
Originally remote controls augmented core device features (tuning, volume and power) while full control remained on the front panel. Later on, remotes evolved into the primary control panel, with device controls shrinking and becoming almost non-existent. With that, there is a special responsibility to make them useable by everyone. Take a cue from OXO and other “universal design” conscious manufacturers and come up with something for the rest of us.
When a low-end Logitech was selling for $30 on eBay, I bought my parents and grandparents one. I also convinced several of my friends to buy one as well. Most people just won’t invest $50-200 in a good consumer universal remote.
+ View all comments on for this article
- News
- Cool Homes
- Blogs
- Photo Galleries
Soundcast Makes OutCast Speakers Bluetooth-Friendly
BlueCast adapter gives OutCast and OutCast Jr. portable systems more versatility
Theater Renovation Heats up Once-Frigid Room with 4K Images
JVC’s upscaling projection, Da-Lite screen and Current Audio speakers get fired up in this dedicated home cinema.
Brighter LCD TVs on the Horizon?
3M technology poised to boost the vibrancy and richness of colors on LCD screens.
22 Outdoor Speakers for a Sizzling Summer
We take a peek at some of the current options for outdoor audio.
The biggest challange I have when programming a remote for clients is working with preformatted control layouts. Manufacturers of custom remotes tend to put to many buttons on them.