My Yamaha remote has more buttons than I need but it fits comfortably in my hand and I like where the volume/mute buttons are.
Was there a time when a device's operation controls were on the device, eg, on the TV? Now if your remote stops working or gets lost, you lose almost all control.
Amen. I'm absolutely boggled by the buttons on the TV remote and the Blue ray player. And I've asked, didn't devices used to have controls on them so you could still do things if the remote failed or got lost.
I have an early generation Apple TV, with the ultra-slim/tiny silver remote that was so small that the buttons were hard to press and it was always getting lost in the crevices. As an Apple device it looked good, but those Apple designers have so many awards that their sign "form follows function" has covered up to only read "form" now. I fixed the Apple remote. I got a small piece of off-cut pine wood the size of a small normal remote control, routed an inset and curved the edges. BluTacked the Apple remote into the inset and it is now easy to hold and use, and never gets dropped or lost! Why is it that I seem to understand ergonomics better than the Apple design team?
Believe it or not, there was a time "before remotes." My first amp, a Pioneer receiver purchased in the early 80s didn't come with nor supported the use of a remote. This was also true of most TVs. All had easily accessible controls on the body of the unit.
The good ole days! I grew up mostly w B&W TV. And remember the day we got our first color TV, it was kinda a "big deal".
The one for the newest Samsung tv I bought (two years ago) borders on being so minimalist it's unusable. No descriptors on the remote. I'm relatively tech savvy at a personal level. It's not good when I had to find the manual to know where the volume and device switcher was located. A new user to it would not be able to use it properly without screwing the tv up. As I did until I pulled out the manual. It's not actually used anymore. It's so small it's probably lost in the couch or the borrowers have it for a bed.
Or, being the youngest, I was the remote. "Turn the volume up. Can you change the channel / move the rabbit ears?"
Sony strdh-190 receiver. My curre Our old console remote was just a clicker. Worked by sound. I used to jingle my keys and change the channel.
It's too bad Logitech/Harmony got out of the remote business. Really like mine for as long as it will still be supported or break.
The best remote is the front panel on the device itself. How annoying is it to lose the remote (or having to look for it), because most of the functions can only be accessed by the remote… IMO, it should be the other way around; Only the few functions that are used most frequently are useful to put on a remote. Most functions are only used a few times a year or less; those should be on the frontpanel or hidden behind a nice looking frontplate. And the worst remote is a smartphone app.
That would be an ideal type of remote. Put the rarely used and setup controls on the component and have the most used controls on BOTH the remote and component.
My issue with the 4-button TV remote is the lack of a number pad to pick a specific channel. I was in a hotel once where there were something like 60 channels and the remote was something like the one pictured. On top of that, there wasn't a "guide" channel, but that's a pet peeve for a different thread.
I know I’ve complained about it elsewhere, but the Belles Aria remote is so cheap and crappy, I can only conclude it’s included as a begrudging afterthought.
All remotes have to be BT, it is a shame that $1oK devices are still employing IR. My ideal hard remote (BT) is from my ROKU Ultra. Pass Labs is not bad, but heavy.. The heavyweight champion is for my AYON CD-5, milled from a single metal piece, but I use it mostly as DAC. so kind of useless.. Everything should be controlled via Phone or iPad, without some "conversion" gizmos...
