Toob: Across the Room
The living room has been an entertainment center for quite some time. Even hundreds of years ago, this is the place where people were entertained. It was a completely interactive environment, depen
Later, the phonograph and radio came to the living room in quick succession. These devices were easy to operate. The phonograph required the handling of media (records) every few minutes, while the radio usually carried programs that would run 30 minutes. A person could start a record or tune a program and then go and sit on the couch. Slowly, the fully interactive environment of the living was becoming passive.
The TV arrived on the scene in the late 40s and early 50s. Like the radio, the TV was operated sporadically and then enjoyed for 30 minutes at a time while the TV program displayed on a tiny black-and-white screen. The first channel surfers had to turn a knob on the TV itself, which was very inconvenient because the user had to squat in front of the TV while the channels were surfed. But the remote control would change all of that. Suddenly the viewer could sit across from the home entertainment device and operate it without getting up. With the exception of
During the 1980s the VCR made its way into the living rooms of most homes. The VCR required the operator to handle the media, but once a tape was playing, the operator got nearly two hours of uninterrupted viewing. Within a few years of its release, the VCR shipped with a remote control. This introduced us to the two-remote living room.
During this same period, cable TV proliferated. Most cable users had to have a set-top box (or cable tuner) installed by the cable company. These set-top boxes also came with remote controls. Within a short time, satellite TV systems offered another option for TV customers. The large 10-foot dishes soon gave way to the small DSS receivers and again, these all came with remote controls to allow operation from the couch.
Now, in the dawn of a new era we have even more choices. Many home entertainment systems not only have televisions and VCRs, but also game machines, sound systems, DVD players, Digital Video Recorders and Internet Set-top boxes. Each of them take up more space in the home entertainment center and (you guessed it,) come with their own remote control. Add wireless keyboards, trackballs and mice to the growing pile of remotes, and you have an unwieldy process of communication with your entertainment center.
With so many devices to manage, I wonder if the devices should be closer to the couch, like the old days when grandpa would tell stories. If all of these products were installed under the coffee table, the operator could easily load the media (VHS, DVD, CD and game cartridges). They could also opt not to use the remote controls, especially those who dislike remote controls. Most coffee tables are not used for much except propping our feet up. The space under the coffee table could be better utilized. This would require a little rewiring of the living room, but nothing too extensive. It would not require more wires, just a new way of wiring the living room. If there was a computer (or a simple Internet access device) in the living room, a small computer monitor could sit onto of the coffee table (of beneath a glass top). This would be ideal to reviewing TV schedule listings or visiting web sites of your favorite shows while you are watching them on the big screen.
Fortunately, there are already answers to both of the modern day phenomena happening in today's living rooms. Programmable universal remotes offer a viable solution to the chaos and clutter of the "too many remotes" syndrome, while interactive television promises to re-engage a pacified audience.
A programmable universal remote can talk to each of the devices connected to your television. Though they have a bit of a learning curve, once mastered, they give the user a single device to control a multifaceted entertainment center. We have dedicated buyer's guides in this issue to programmable universal remotes and wireless input devices in order to reveal the choices consumers have in this growing and dynamic product category.
If we take a moment to reflect on what all these sources of media (DVDs, gaming systems, set-top boxes and digital video recorders) provide for the new age, the most compelling is how they are actively engaging the family again. Like the old days when grandpa would tell stories, and people would sit around and play games, interactive TV programs and devices engage viewers' minds actively. We are on the brink of a new and positive trend toward content and technology that provides thoughtful stimulation and active decision making in the arena of living room entertainment.
That's what SmartTV is all about: bringing you the latest developments in this exciting new era. We encourage you to simplify and engage. May our children's children have no understanding of the term "couch-potato!"
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