You’d probably be surprised, though, at how more your remote control can do. If you’re thinking “I don’t need it to do anything else,” you may quickly change your mind after seeing this list compiled by DTV Installations owner John Lysy.
Fifty years ago, an amazing technological breakthrough allowed couch potatoes to actually turn their televisions on and off – and even change channels – without having to leave the comfort of their couch. How convenient!
In the years since then, we’ve seen multi-function cable TV remotes, coffee tables covered with remote controls for every device imaginable, and early “universal” remotes which were so big they barely fit in one hand and definitely weren’t “universal.”
Today, of course, most people have versatile remote controls which can easily manage a modern home theater and audio components. They’ll control your television, audio system, DVD/Blu-Ray player, DVR, CD player, and cable and/or satellite receiver; they can manage DVD recorders, home-theaters-in-a box and digital-to-analog converters as well.
You’d probably be surprised, though, at how more your remote control can do. If you’re thinking “I don’t need it to do anything else,” you may quickly change your mind after seeing this list compiled by DTV Installations owner John Lysy.
- Legacy Devices: This may seem obvious, but it’s still a nice touch; if you have an old VCR (or even a laserdisc player) so you can watch old family movies or videos you never got on DVD, almost all modern remote controls will still handle them.
- Next-Generation Video: Whether you prefer Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, Apple TV or another streaming system to deliver video from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube or other sources, many remotes can now control your device/streamer of choice.
- Video Game Systems: Of course, this comes in handy if you watch Netflix on a game console. But even if you just want the convenience of controlling your Xbox, Wii or PS3 with a universal remote, that’s not a problem anymore.
- Home Automation: Here’s where things get really interesting. More and more homeowners are installing “whole-house” automation systems, so they can program everything from their heating and air conditioning, to their home’s lighting and security systems. These systems are not only convenient but energy efficient, and many can be controlled by a universal remote. For example, if you’re settling in to watch a movie, you can turn up the heat, turn down the lights, even close the drapes (if you have a modern motorized shade system) and start the film – all from the same remote control. Isn’t technology cool?
- Other Possibilities: Many of the latest remotes will also manage electronic devices you wouldn’t even think of (without us to tell you, of course), like your Windows Media Center PC or – believe it or not – the digital picture frames sitting on the shelf over your TV. Today’s universal remote control really is universal.
Here’s the example of popular remote control capabilities
We should mention that many remotes on the market require either an additional control box or a smartphone-operated app to fully manage some of these functions. That can make operating them a bit more cumbersome, but also vastly increases the number of devices a remote can control (one popular model claims to support 270,000 different devices).
One final reason to consider upgrading to a modern remote control: most now operate on radio frequencies instead of using infrared technology, meaning you don’t have to be able to see a device in order to control it. Forgot to turn off the living room TV before going to bed? Stay snug under the covers and just hit the remote to turn it off. That’s a universal remote that’s truly convenient.
Ask DTV Installations how remote control can ease your life
