Bad Design Analysis - TV Remote's

One of the most popular electronic devices of the modern day the TV. The advancements in the technology in this field has been phenomenal in terms of the quality of image reproduction from when TV’s were first born. 3D vision is now available in the home for less than £200. With all this amazing technological advancements its raises the question, why are the remotes and UI’s that accompany these amazing devices still so behind the times?

A lot has changed both aestetically and functionally from the first ever TV remote control as the technology inside the TV has changed and Evolved.

The remote has changed to accommodate these extra features and functions however this has resulted in a device that is - for the most part - a clutter of buttons.

It appears that some designers have recognised this and have taken action too irradicate these overly cluttered remotes that many people - especially the elderly - find difficult to use and function. This is all well and good since the result is a remote that is aesthetically pleasing unlike they’re cluttered counterparts.

However this then leads to the problem that you’re forced into using the onscreen user interface built into the TV. Which for the most TV’s is terrible, even some high end TV manufacturers haven’t been able to implement a good, smooth user interface. Often you will find the interface is a labyrinth of menu’s that are slow to load and difficult to navigate. Often it can take a couple of minutes to find what you’re looking for.

Often this is down to the fact that many TV interfaces have been designed for multiple languages and the translation can sometimes mean functions will be in a menu branch that you wouldn’t expect them to be in. Despite this most modern UI’s on TV’s are actually aesthetically pleasing!

A good example of this is a line of LED TV’s that Phillips produced. The UI and remote were both very nice to look at. However the navigation of the UI was far too slow and it took too many button presses to access functions that you need. - The sleep timer for example takes 11 button presses to simple find and potentially a further 7 more to select the amount of time you want the timer to be on.
The remote -

This results in the user being distracted from what they were watching which is the fundamental function of the TV - So this is a obviously a big problem for designers as consumers could very easily become disillusioned with the product and brand.

Another thing that I often find is a problem is that the ergonomics and anthropometrics of the remotes aren’t great. It’s a tough challenge for designers since the demographics that will interface with it can be from 2 year old, up to people at 100 years old. With this you obviously have to account for different mental aptitudes and different anthropometrical measurements. So it’s a difficult task,  however the result is often a remote that isn’t practical for anyone.

Ergonomically I find modern remotes are far too light, this results in an accessory that feels very cheap - which when some people spend £1000+ on a TV doesn’t feel justified. Some designers have recognised this and have added weights to their remotes - Cambridge Audio for example have; Their hi fi remote weighed in at 205 grams which is more than double what most the remotes in my house weighed. It weighed 60 grams more than the BT vision remote that I tested. Which doesn’t sound like much right? But it did make a big difference. It’s a pleasure to interface with, and feels very good in the hand.  Also something to note is that the majority of the weight is added to the front of the Cambridge Audio remote which sits above where you support the remote with your fingers. The majority of the weight was towards the back of the other remotes and was made up by the batteries.

Obviously cost will be a big factor with these accessories and they will ultimately be trying too produce them for as little as possible so they can spend more money on the TV internals to provide a better picture quality. However, the whole experience of using the TV is important and I feel it’s an area in which many designers could improve the products.

It seems in many way that the technology to improve interaction with TV’s is out there and widly available it’s just a matter of when TV manufacturers will take advantage of these technologies and start too implement them widly across they’re TV’s.

Noteably you can purchase a remote called the ‘Harmony ONE+’ which is made by Logitech.

It costs around £70 but it combines all your remotes into one well designed very functional device. It has a LCD screen with it’s own GUI to allow you to smoothly and easily interface with your devices. It’s neither too cluttered nor too bare and it has a real quality feel to it. It weighs in at 862grams which really makes a difference! Considering it can control nearly every device in your home it's remarkably uncluttered, If anything it’s potentially too heavy. But it’s a much nicer solution than most remotes currently provided by the TV manufacturers. Most TV remote's and UI's can be improved especially now that TV's are starting to implement more and more features. And with wireless connectivity they are becoming full media systems that stream more content too you than ever. So the need too have all this content easily accessable is even more important than ever. Hopefully this will mean that TV manufacturers will start to give more consideration to their remote's and UI's. The most important change that has to be widely implemented is the speed of the UI, i has to respond to the input instantly. Then secondly i'd say the anthropometrics of the remote need to be improved. Hopefully they will also move the technology used within the remote in-line with what's widley available to the mass consumers. Will touch screen remote's be something we'll be seeing in the future? Quite possibly as it would allow for a more intutive and contextually aware interface for the use