The recent passing of Eugene Polley, the man known for inventing the remote control, has given me cause to reflect on the development of the remote control. In just my life time, the humble TV remote control has come into existence and been developed rapidly.
Introducing the Flash-Matic Remote Control
Eugene Polley worked for American firm Zenith Radio Corporation (now owned by LG). In 1955 he invented the Flash-Matic, a light beam which was aimed at one of four different light sensors around the TV screen. It was possible to turn the TV on and off, and change channels. The 1956 ad for this ground breaking invention is reproduced below.
Introducing the Computermatic Remote Control
Early B&W and Colour TVs used a large channel knob to change channels. This required actually getting out of your chair to change channels (and to adjust the volume too).
Wired Remote Controls
I recall around this era making a remote volume control and adapting our family TV to enable this volume control to adjust the TV sound – via a wire of course. But hey, this was a huge leap in interactive technology at our home, and the envy of many friends – fancy not having to get up to adjust the volume of the TV!
A good thing about these wired remote controls is that they were duplicating the controls on the front panel of the VCR, not replacing them. All functions could be easily controlled from the VCR even if the remote control was not lost or not working.
Cordless Remote Controls
Apart from making you lazy by not having to get up to adjust the TV, these remote controls have raised several other issues. Not the least being many devices now rely on the remote control. If the remote control stops working or is lost, it is almost impossible to use most functions on the device.
Another issue is the problem of having to have a different remote control for each device. While universal remote controls are available, they don’t suit everyone, and can be more complicated to use, and they don’t always allow every function of the original remote control.
Taming the Remote Controls
A simple method to help manage several remote controls is to mount them on a board (a custom made board or a chopping board works well). Having all your remote controls mounted on the one board has several advantages:
- as the remote controls are always in the same order it is easy to know which one to use for each device.
- because they are in the same position, you quickly learn which button to press for each function.
- they are always facing the same direction so you don’t need to turn each remote around to point it in the correct direction
- a board is harder to loose down the side of the lounge
The Best New Feature
In my opinion the best new feature since the introduction of remote controls is shown in this picture. It is the little plastic tether strap which connects the battery cover to body of the remote control. This prevents the battery cover from being lost misplaced. Why wasn’t this thought of years ago?
Please leave your thoughts on the pros and cons of remote controls in the comment section below.