Ozioma Ubabukoh
In the 1950s came the first remote
controls for TV. They were initially connected to a cable, but soon
became completely wireless. Then came the VHS player, the DVD player,
the DTT, the Blu-ray, among several others. The universal remotes saved
us from needing a remote control for each device, but will it not be
easier to control everything from a mobile phone? Of course. The best
thing is that there are quite a few applications for this.
LG TV remote, VIERA remote and other TV manufacturers’ apps
Although the apps offered by TV
manufacturers were not the first applications available, these are a
safe option. Realising that mobile phones are today part of the very
television experience for users everywhere, manufacturers decided to
launch specific apps for their own TV sets.
LG, for example, has been offering since
2010 its LG TV remote for Android and iOS. LG has recently launched a
new version that includes features allowing searches and interacting
with Internet content through the Korean brand’s Smart TVs.
Sharing this same philosophy, Panasonic
launched its remote, while Sony did the same with its media remote.
Others, such as Samsung and HTC, have also their own applications but
are increasingly committed to other systems included in their own phones
with infrared, like WhatchOn in the Samsung Galaxy S4 or Sense TV in
the HTC One.
The greatest benefits coming from these
solutions provided by manufacturers are, in the first place, the
inclusion of almost all the functions of original remotes and, second,
that compatible models tend to work quite well, partly because of the
reviews users post on the various app stores. The main drawback is that
these solutions don’t work with all TV models and that these need to be
connected to the Internet.
Roomie and Beacon, apps imitating universal remotes
Roomie may be one of the most
comprehensive solutions on the market. It does not only allow you to
remotely control from your tablet or smartphone your TV, your Blu-ray
and media players such as Apple TV or DVR systems, but also allows you
to play media content from sources such as iTunes and Netflix.
To control a device compatible with
Roomie, you need to connect it to the local home network or use an
infrared adapter. This way, it is possible to remotely manage other
electronic devices without IP connectivity included, such as sound
systems, CD players, lighting, etc.
An alternative very similar to Roomie is
Beacon, even if its approach is different. This application uses a
central device emitting infrared that can be controlled with your phone.
If for instance you press ‘1’, the application informs immediately the
device Beacon. This latter device is then responsible for translating
the command into infrared for the television to understand it.
A long way ahead
Unfortunately, most of these
applications have their limitations. Those that do not use adapters or
additional devices are only available for specific models and require TV
sets connected to the Internet since most of the current mobile devices
do not have an infrared port (the one used by traditional remotes).
Another option for unsupported devices
will be buying adapters, as in the case of Roomie, or other devices
enabling us to translate IP traffic into infrared as does Beacon and
other converters in the market. In these cases, the drawback is that you
need to install additional hardware.
With the rise of tablets and smart
TVs, it is not farfetched that in the near future we will see new
proposals and developments in this field. For the time being, Samsung
and HTC have included infrared in their handsets for this purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment