One controller for your home entertainment devices
26 Apr 2023
As homes have become increasingly intelligent, and home entertainment systems have become increasingly comprehensive, we’ve become more dependent on a greater number of remote controls.
In the United States, the Consumer Electronics Association has estimated that the average household has four remote controls.
Managing your home entertainment system with several controllers can feel like a juggling act, but there is a simple solution.
With a universal remote control, you can operate all your devices with a single controller.
Here are some key considerations to help you decide how beneficial a universal remote control might be in your living space.
Choosing a compatible controller
Modern universal remote controls are designed to control a wide range of household devices including your TV, set-top box, sound system, smart home devices, and more.
But before you buy a universal remote, remember to check if it’s compatible with the devices you want it to operate. You can easily find this information by checking out a controller’s product specs online, or reviewing its physical packaging in a retail outlet.
Be aware that universal remotes aren’t a panacea for device control though – they are universal for a set number of your devices (not an infinite number). It’s therefore important to confirm that the range of devices you want to control are controllable with the remote you have in mind.
Also keep in mind that universal remote controls range widely in their functionality. The quality of your user experience will be affected by features including button sizing and layout, backlighting, Wi-Fi connectivity, and built-in voice assistant.
The evolution of remote controls
Before TV remote controls, remote controls were actually packaged with a range of other consumer electronics products including garage door openers and radios.
By the 1950s, wired remote controllers for TV became available, but attracted little fanfare.
TV remote controllers boomed in the 1980s, thanks to infrared technology. Since then, we have become accustomed to remotely controlling a vast range of devices including toy cars, drones, video games consoles, heating and cooling systems, and more.
Today, you can also use your mobile phone as a remote controller for devices including your TV, home security, lights, music, and anything else you can find in a modern smart home. At the same time, universal remote controls have also become increasingly sophisticated to keep pace with the smart home.
The benefits of a universal remote control
So what are the biggest benefits of universal remote controls to be aware of?
If you like your living spaces organised and clutter-free, you’ll appreciate the difference it makes when you switch from multiple controllers to a single one.
It’s also much more convenient to operate a single remote, rather than digging around to operate several everyday.
One of the other benefits of using a single universal remote control is that it only requires you to replace batteries for a single remote. That’s both efficient and economically rational.
It’s also helpful to know that it is relatively simple to set up a universal remote control. Assuming you have chosen the right universal remote control for your range of devices, the next main step is to consult your controller’s manual to find the code name you need to program your remote, so it can control the device you want to operate. From there, you essentially enter the code using the buttons on your remote control, and test your remote to confirm it is controlling your device (such as your TV or sound system).
Ultimately, if you find that your current range of remote controls makes your home entertainment setup somewhat inconvenient to operate, a universal remote control should solve some headaches.
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