I had a phone that had an IR Blaster. It was a Samsung Galaxy but I forget what model. (It was around after Iron Man 2 came out.) Man was that an awesome feature! Put away all my remotes because I could control my TV and home theater system with just my phone (and not having to pay for an expensive-ass Harmony remote).
I know the Galaxy S4 had it, as did the Galaxy S4 Active. Also the Active had physical buttons. I know because I rocked that thing for far longer than its intended lifetime. Still have it somewhere, actually.
…hell, maybe I should get IR software up and running on that thing.
Nothing worse for me than a complicated remote that’s touchscreen only. It’s just as annoying as car infotainment touchscreens, though tbf, also like a million times safer, LOL. I’m trying to find something to watch, so I don’t want to have to look at the remote or make sure my thumb hasn’t slipped a few millimeters. I prefer a well programmed Harmony or URC (once you wade through the gatekeeping and find some software) or just committing to a simpler setup with one or two remotes.
Well, it’s been a long time so I have no idea if they still do, but Harmony made a phone app, you just had to buy their expensive-ass IR blaster kit that had a couple or so IR blasters that you stuck near your devices’ IR receivers. I’d rather have the Blaster in the phone and just download an app. And the app I had was just as programmable as the Harmony stuff.
That sounds like it’d suffer from the same problem a TV App would: if your network is having problems you suddenly can’t control your devices. The less intermediary connections between the controls and the device you’re controlling, the better.
I mean that’s still kinda cool though, it just doesn’t sound like it’d solve this specific problem.
The main thing for me is no-look tactility. I have a Roku remote app as a backup, and it’s annoying even with many fewer controls than the dedicated remote apps I’ve seen. I should be able to feel when my thumb has slipped over from the nav cross to the volume buttons. Different functional clusters should start in a sensible place and feel physically distinct from the other buttons, due to some combination of shape and placement.
I had a phone that had an IR Blaster. It was a Samsung Galaxy but I forget what model. (It was around after Iron Man 2 came out.) Man was that an awesome feature! Put away all my remotes because I could control my TV and home theater system with just my phone (and not having to pay for an expensive-ass Harmony remote).
I know the Galaxy S4 had it, as did the Galaxy S4 Active. Also the Active had physical buttons. I know because I rocked that thing for far longer than its intended lifetime. Still have it somewhere, actually.
…hell, maybe I should get IR software up and running on that thing.
Nothing worse for me than a complicated remote that’s touchscreen only. It’s just as annoying as car infotainment touchscreens, though tbf, also like a million times safer, LOL. I’m trying to find something to watch, so I don’t want to have to look at the remote or make sure my thumb hasn’t slipped a few millimeters. I prefer a well programmed Harmony or URC (once you wade through the gatekeeping and find some software) or just committing to a simpler setup with one or two remotes.
Well, it’s been a long time so I have no idea if they still do, but Harmony made a phone app, you just had to buy their expensive-ass IR blaster kit that had a couple or so IR blasters that you stuck near your devices’ IR receivers. I’d rather have the Blaster in the phone and just download an app. And the app I had was just as programmable as the Harmony stuff.
That sounds like it’d suffer from the same problem a TV App would: if your network is having problems you suddenly can’t control your devices. The less intermediary connections between the controls and the device you’re controlling, the better.
I mean that’s still kinda cool though, it just doesn’t sound like it’d solve this specific problem.
The main thing for me is no-look tactility. I have a Roku remote app as a backup, and it’s annoying even with many fewer controls than the dedicated remote apps I’ve seen. I should be able to feel when my thumb has slipped over from the nav cross to the volume buttons. Different functional clusters should start in a sensible place and feel physically distinct from the other buttons, due to some combination of shape and placement.