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> A remote designed by someone who thought about it for ten seconds I love that a sibling comment to yours calls out the remote as dealbreaker terrible, but I

> A remote designed by someone who thought about it for ten seconds I love that a sibling comment to yours calls out the remote as dealbreaker terrible, but I agree with the sentiment that I would love a remote that was really well-designed.

SOLAR_FIELDS 6y ago
You can go too far in the other direction too, however. Apple TV remote infamously has no mute functionality. And if you do an internet search on how to mute the Apple TV using the remote (because of course there’s a way, right? No one would design a TV remote that has volume control without mute) you get either one of two answers: - it’s impossible/difficult to do with current tech (not true) - the classic Apple forum response of “why would you want to do that?” This turned into a bit of a rant but I’ll conclude the thought by saying that there’s certainly some sort of happy medium between a gajillion buttons on the remote and lack of absolutely critical functionality. In fact if you invest a bit of extra money into the Sideclick add-on to Apple TV remote you achieve exactly that.
- dexterdog 6y ago
  I never use the mute button. I just turn the volume down because I know where that button is without looking.
- olliej 6y ago
  Personally I find the problem with the apple remote to be the symmetric design (I would have though the puck mouse would have taught that lesson)
  - banana_giraffe 6y ago
    I put some gaffer tape on the bottom of my Apple TV remote to make it obvious which end is up. I'm personally not a fan of the touchpad. In principle, it's a decent solution to the problem, but Apple's implementation is somehow not sensitive enough and too sensitive at the same time.
  - mensetmanusman 6y ago
    This, it’s like the designers tested it only outdoors. Who would’ve thought it’s necessary to be able to grab the remote when it’s dark and know what orientation it is in.
    - SOLAR_FIELDS 6y ago
      I bought some silicon sleeves that fix this issue (the bottom half of the remote face with no buttons is covered by silicon). It also resolve the issue that the remote is very slippery in your hands as well as the issue of being unable to tell which remote goes where if you have multiple Apple TV’s (you can get different color silicon for each TV).
      - mensetmanusman 6y ago
        This is a great suggestion, but it is also surprising that it is necessary.
    - vetinari 6y ago
      That's why I love the Nvidia Shield remote. It is triangle shaped, and it has accelerometer that lights up the buttons once you grab and move it.
  - drewzero1 6y ago
    I had to look up a picture because I didn't realize they'd updated the remote at some point. I apparently have a previous generation remote which has all the controls at one end and is pretty usable in the dark. It's sad (but not shocking) to see design usability regress like that.
    - fossuser 6y ago
      New versions of the new design have a raised white circle around the menu button which makes it obvious which side is the top (if you couldn’t tell from feeling the trackpad). People on HN complain about this a lot, but I’ve used it for years and had parents use it without issue. I think it’s a made up problem.
- Zardoz84 6y ago
  I remember a universal remote that I had on the 90s to control my small bedroom CRT TV. it has only 7 buttons, and had mute button.
- fossuser 6y ago
  I’d probably do something that’s a large dial like an Apple Watch crown for volume that takes up most of a square remote and you push down for mute/unmute. The other buttons I’d have on it would be power, and input switch. I’d have an Apple HomePod sound bar which connects to the tv so you don’t have to configure any of that. Then you’d use the Apple TV remote like normal for everything else. The regular dial remote is just always sitting on the coffee table. Alternatively they could extend the existing Apple TV remote a bit to add a mute and volume knob or reconfigure to be the one remote for the dumb tv and the Apple TV.
namdnay 6y ago
Much as their adware laden TVs drive me crazy, I have to admit that their remote is absolutely amazing. A nice piece of aluminum with a minimum number of buttons, and yet you can control Netflix, Prime, TV etc
pbhjpbhj 6y ago
Amazon FireTV remote is pretty good, latest gen added a volume control inc. mute button (so you don't need your TV remote). Source switching uses CEC over HDMI. You don't need to point the controller for most tasks as it's Bluetooth. If I had a TV that used CEC I wouldn't need the original remote at all.

SOLAR_FIELDS 6y ago

You can go too far in the other direction too, however. Apple TV remote infamously has no mute functionality. And if you do an internet search on how to mute the Apple TV using the remote (because of course there’s a way, right? No one would design a TV remote that has volume control without mute) you get either one of two answers: - it’s impossible/difficult to do with current tech (not true) - the classic Apple forum response of “why would you want to do that?” This turned into a bit of a rant but I’ll conclude the thought by saying that there’s certainly some sort of happy medium between a gajillion buttons on the remote and lack of absolutely critical functionality. In fact if you invest a bit of extra money into the Sideclick add-on to Apple TV remote you achieve exactly that.

dexterdog 6y ago
I never use the mute button. I just turn the volume down because I know where that button is without looking.
olliej 6y ago
Personally I find the problem with the apple remote to be the symmetric design (I would have though the puck mouse would have taught that lesson)
- banana_giraffe 6y ago
  I put some gaffer tape on the bottom of my Apple TV remote to make it obvious which end is up. I'm personally not a fan of the touchpad. In principle, it's a decent solution to the problem, but Apple's implementation is somehow not sensitive enough and too sensitive at the same time.
- mensetmanusman 6y ago
  This, it’s like the designers tested it only outdoors. Who would’ve thought it’s necessary to be able to grab the remote when it’s dark and know what orientation it is in.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 6y ago
    I bought some silicon sleeves that fix this issue (the bottom half of the remote face with no buttons is covered by silicon). It also resolve the issue that the remote is very slippery in your hands as well as the issue of being unable to tell which remote goes where if you have multiple Apple TV’s (you can get different color silicon for each TV).
    - mensetmanusman 6y ago
      This is a great suggestion, but it is also surprising that it is necessary.
  - vetinari 6y ago
    That's why I love the Nvidia Shield remote. It is triangle shaped, and it has accelerometer that lights up the buttons once you grab and move it.
- drewzero1 6y ago
  I had to look up a picture because I didn't realize they'd updated the remote at some point. I apparently have a previous generation remote which has all the controls at one end and is pretty usable in the dark. It's sad (but not shocking) to see design usability regress like that.
  - fossuser 6y ago
    New versions of the new design have a raised white circle around the menu button which makes it obvious which side is the top (if you couldn’t tell from feeling the trackpad). People on HN complain about this a lot, but I’ve used it for years and had parents use it without issue. I think it’s a made up problem.
Zardoz84 6y ago
I remember a universal remote that I had on the 90s to control my small bedroom CRT TV. it has only 7 buttons, and had mute button.
fossuser 6y ago
I’d probably do something that’s a large dial like an Apple Watch crown for volume that takes up most of a square remote and you push down for mute/unmute. The other buttons I’d have on it would be power, and input switch. I’d have an Apple HomePod sound bar which connects to the tv so you don’t have to configure any of that. Then you’d use the Apple TV remote like normal for everything else. The regular dial remote is just always sitting on the coffee table. Alternatively they could extend the existing Apple TV remote a bit to add a mute and volume knob or reconfigure to be the one remote for the dumb tv and the Apple TV.

namdnay 6y ago

Much as their adware laden TVs drive me crazy, I have to admit that their remote is absolutely amazing. A nice piece of aluminum with a minimum number of buttons, and yet you can control Netflix, Prime, TV etc

pbhjpbhj 6y ago

Amazon FireTV remote is pretty good, latest gen added a volume control inc. mute button (so you don't need your TV remote). Source switching uses CEC over HDMI. You don't need to point the controller for most tasks as it's Bluetooth. If I had a TV that used CEC I wouldn't need the original remote at all.