A lot of tech companies tout the great benefits of professional remotes, which can only be sold and configured by dealers. Despite the negative experiences that too many customers have with these remotes, many dealers continue to sell and install these questionable devices. Here is why we don’t install any of the remotes pictured above.
Smart Remote Communication Type:
Problem: Have you ever been in a one way relationship? Most of these remotes are! These remotes can only issue device commands and get absolutely ZERO feedback from the devices they are communicating with. So when the remote issues the command “TV ON”, the TV has no way of sending a response, which leaves only you to see if the TV turned on.
Solution: Our systems all utilize bi-directional communication, which means when we send the command “TV ON”, our system will listen for a confirmation from the TV that it actually turned on. If it doesn’t receive that confirmation, it will keep trying until it receives the confirmatory signal from the TV that it actually did turn on. Since electronic devices will often ignore commands from a remote while busy doing something else, such as a software update, this bi-directional communication will ensure that the signal actually gets through, even if it is unsuccessful on the first try.
Universal Bad Programming:
Problem: If you’ve read the above paragraph, you can imagine the talent it takes to write bi-directional programming. This is where other dealers cut corners. Even if the remote is capable they simply don’t want to go the extra mile for their customers. Additionally, these remotes have to be set up and programmed one feature or even one button at a time, which is time consuming.
Solution: Our remotes program via a connection diagram wizard. We tell our systems where all the wires connect, and it generates an exact user interface every time. We only use remote manufacturers that provide this tool.
Reprogram All That?
Problem: These remotes store the programming only in the remote itself! Thats right – we’ve had these things dropped in pools or otherwise damaged and we’ve had to reprogram the entire remote from scratch. I’m not sure about you, but I can’t remember how exactly I wrote a document 3 years ago. So, this results in the reprogrammed remote not operating in quite the same way.
Solution: In addition to that handy wizard we mentioned above, our programming is stored not in the remote itself, but in a hub that’s separate from the remote. We can simply drop off the replacement remote and pair it to the system.
Design:
Problem: We find some of these fancy remotes to be quite intimidating.
Solution: Take a look at our remotes. How does the look and feel compare? We find that they are much more intuitive and easy to use.
Our Universal Remotes:
Offering sleek handheld or Apple iPad options, our remote controls have none of the above issues, which results in an exquisite user experience that even grandma can use without instructions.
