A PC Helps This Remote to Do It AllThis ocncept is transferable to the
blindness/disability industry.  Now the only thing to wait for is a talking
version of this.

Pratik Patel
Managing Director
CUNY Assistive Technology Services


July 25, 2002
A PC Helps This Remote to Do It All
By DAVID POGUE


N artificial intelligence, they have the Turing Test: Can a computer
impersonate a human well enough to fool a researcher? In magic, they have
the Book Test: Can a magician mind-read well enough to divine a word chosen
at random? And in the home-theater field, they have the Baby Sitter Test: Is
your system simple enough that a guest can turn on the TV unaided?
These days, the answer is often no. Every component of a home entertainment
system comes with its own remote control: one each for the TV, the cable
box, the VCR and the DVD player. Fancier systems involve additional remotes
for the sound system, the video projector, the TiVo video recorder, the
satellite receiver and even room lighting. Forget the Baby Sitter Test: the
modern home entertainment setup would be lucky to pass the Electrical
Engineer Test.
Until recently, you had only two options. You could buy a preprogrammed,
all-in-one remote. Alas, few inventions are so likely to wind up at the back
of your batteries drawer. Not only do all-in-ones recognize relatively few
equipment models, but the simple act of, say, playing a DVD entails
switching modes so many times and pushing so many buttons that you risk
developing Couch-Potato Finger.
The alternative is a programmable remote, which can turn on and control
multiple devices with the touch of a single button — after you've taken a
year off to program it.
The Harmony remote (www
.harmonyremote
.com), $199, takes a radically different approach that promises the power of
a programmable and the simplicity of an all-in-one. Using a side-mounted
thumbwheel, you choose activities, not components, from a list on the
remote's small illuminated screen: "Play a DVD," "Listen to a CD," "Record a
Show," "TiVo Television" and so on. That's a huge idea. It reduces a long
list of steps — turn on TV, turn on DVD player, turn on sound system, switch
TV input to AUX, start playing — to a single button press.
Because the remote does so much grunt work for you, it has shockingly few
buttons: only 13. (A typical universal remote has 50 buttons or more.) As a
result, you get a small, simple-looking device with big, variously shaped
buttons. Considering its power, this remote is tiny, too — roughly the size
and shape of a modern cellphone.
So how can something with so few buttons control millions of combinations of
audio and video gear? Before you can use it, you must dial up the company's
Web site using a Windows PC, select the model numbers of your components
from the gigantic lists there and specify which TV channels are your
favorites. (You don't necessarily have to go online for this process — a
CD-based version of the setup program is included — but the online database
is likely to be more up-to-date. And by the way, the company says that Mac
and Linux compatibility is in the works.)
Finally, you connect the remote to the PC with a U.S.B. cable; the PC
downloads your configuration information to the remote.
The online database is surprisingly complete. In fact, as I scrolled through
the long list of component categories (DAT, Game Console, Light Controller,
Satellite, CD Jukebox and on and on), I grew self-conscious about the
inadequacy of my puny setup: TV, VCR, DVD player and TiVo. Still, I was
surprised to find all of my gear listed, even though some components are
nearly 15 years old.
I wasn't so lucky with my sound system. The vast category list includes no
entries for Surround Sound System or Home Theater Speakers — only Amplifiers
and Receivers. My speaker system wasn't listed in either category. In fact,
neither was its manufacturer, JBL.
In such situations, you're supposed to train the Harmony remote manually
with the assistance of the unlisted equipment's original remote control.
Using the pop-up menus on the Web site, you specify the first function you
want to teach (like Boost Center Speaker) and then press the corresponding
button on the original remote. A sensor at the bottom of the Harmony remote
memorizes the infrared signal. You repeat with the older remote's other
buttons, one by one, until the Harmony can duplicate all of its functions.
This ritual isn't much fun, but it works.
If your programming is successful, you're in for a giddy surprise the first
time you try it out. Choosing "Play a DVD" instantly turns on all the
required equipment and plays the disc in the player. Subsequently choosing
"Play a Videotape" turns off the DVD player, powers up the VCR and plays the
cassette that's in it. If you press the Mute button, the remote even pauses
the tape simultaneously.
One of the remote's wildest features is its built-in TV listings. Each time
you sync the remote with your PC, it downloads the listings for the next few
days. Whenever you're watching TV, the schedule for the current channel
appears right there in your hand.
Unfortunately, technical idiosyncrasies nearly spoil the festivities. For
example, most VCR's turn on automatically whenever you insert a tape or
disc. Trouble is, the Harmony expects to find the VCR turned off (because
turning it on is one of its duties). As a result, you have to turn the VCR
off again, manually, after inserting the tape but before using the remote —
a baffling step that few baby sitters, let alone family members, are likely
to understand.
On my setup, there was another glitch. The Harmony remote successfully
switched the TV's input to Aux whenever I chose the "Play a DVD" activity,
but failed to switch back to the Cable input when I wanted to watch TV. I
had to make the switch manually at the TV's front panel. A few
back-and-forths with Harmony tech support revealed a bug in the profile for
my TV, which was fixed on the spot for the benefit of future customers.
(Note to fellow owners of the Mitsubishi CS-32307: You're welcome.)
The digital video recorder problem, however, is a tougher nut to crack. The
13 buttons on the Harmony remote are perfectly adequate for operating TV's,
cable boxes, DVD players and VCR's. When it comes to navigating and
operating a TiVo or ReplayTV, however, they're hopelessly inadequate.
There's no way that 13 buttons can stand in for 50 carefully placed and
shaped controls on one of the industry's most brilliantly designed remotes.
According to the messages at the company's Web site, many owners wind up
keeping both the Harmony and the TiVo remote on the coffee table, content
that two remotes is still better than seven.
By far the greatest failing of the Harmony remote, however, is the lack of
help and documentation. Its maker, Intrigue Technology, has made a
gargantuan blunder in shipping such a complex, quirky device with no user
manual and, incredibly, supplying no tech-help phone number. You feel as
though you've just bought a car and found a dashboard sticker that says,
"Brakes sold separately."
As a result, ingenious though the Harmony remote's concept may be, the
current incarnation fulfills only half of its promise. One owner, for
example, got the Harmony to operate his three PC's, surround-sound
processor, preamplifier, SACD-CD player, DVD player, two power amps,
projector and a cable box — but it took him "several weeks and lots of time
with tech support" (by e-mail) to get there.
In other words, it's possible to turn the remote into a supersmart,
supersimple device that does indeed pass the Baby Sitter Test.
Unfortunately, advanced systems (and technophobic users) may require just as
much programming, fiddling and technical support as the expensive,
programmable remotes that the Harmony could have blown into that great
Circuit City in the sky.
The company admits its weaknesses in these areas. It swears that a manual
(along with tutorials) is in development, has just put a toll-free
phone-support department into operation — number: (866) 291-1505 — and
claims to be overhauling its Web site to make it easier to figure out. Until
then, 1.5 cheers for the Harmony remote!


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