Slashdot Mirror
New EL Touchscreen Remote Control
raminf writes "Stumbled across the Kameleon -- a new remote control device from Univeral Electronics. The interface is a blank electro-luminescent touch-screen. The 'buttons' are animated graphics drawn to match any device you choose . You can update new device interfaces via a modem (specs aren't clear how exactly). You can also define 'macro' buttons to do multiple tasks with one button. Apparently it also has a built-in motion-sensor and turns itself on when you pick it up. You can't buy it directly in the U.S. yet. Here's a British web-site that carries it and has some specs and a picture. Here's the company press release. RadioShack has announced they'll be carrying it retail pretty soon."
Is it just me, or does that animated GIF give the appearance that the controller changes size (as far as its height is concerned)?
I live, I learn, and yet, I yearn for more. -CyberMonk
I seem to remember another device like this, but this one does look very nice. I wonder how much RadioShack will charge for it? Probably more than I want to know. I guess there is a "remote" chance I'll actually be willing to pay the price for one.
-------------
"You would not get a high grade for such a design" -- Andy Tanenbaum on Linus' Linux design.
The drop test, the fluid contamination tests? This thing looks way too fragile.
You break all the laws of physics and you seriously think there wouldn't be a price?
Didn't Sony release a product like this years ago?
Also, Philips just released a similar remote, except some keys are not on an LCD. Its called the Pronto. More at http://www.pronto.philips.com.
I like the idea, but it seems a waste if you can't make a custom interface. downloading interfaces is all good, but I think I can do a better job integrating all my functions.
I may want stereo volume, dvd menus, and tv power all on one screen.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.
Anyone know if this is capable of controling X-10 devices? I realize that I can get an ir -> X-10 device but it would be nice if more remotes contained the poor man's home automation: X-10 functionality.
Mecworks BLOG
So when I go on a business trip I can dial back into my remote and reconfigure it? And I thought checking my email was cool.
-- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
Yeah the one by Sony is called the "Sony 18-Device LCD Remote With Learning Function"..
They sell it on amazon here and review here
Sweet stuff
My interpretation of the web page says that the keys are pre-defined, and only the appropriate ones are displayed ('lit', perhaps?). In my mind, this is different from 'drawn' which implies a different level of sophistication.
It does look cool, and the auto-on motion detection is a nice touch.
A.
...bringing you cynical quips since 1998
I seem to remember a similar remote control (With nowhere near this amount of features, though), and it was REALLY easy to get fingerprints all over it. Hopefully this thing is easy to clean.
I am a filthy pirate.
You can update new device interfaces via a modem...
Mo-dem? What's a mo-dem?... I think I remember Mo-dems...those were those slow things with the blinkylights that we all had before we got residential DSL and cable...right? And you could type +++ATH0 and it e(6`|:fK6@(^*&#~~~NO CARRIER
Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
What good is a remote that you have to look at to change the channel? No amount of bells and/or whistles will make up for not being able to feel the buttons...
"In a 32-bit world, you're a 2-bit user. You've got your own newsgroup, alt.total.loser." -Weird Al
It says it has a pushbutton remote "feel" but the surface looks flat to me.
The problem I have with these programmable touch-screen remotes is that I can't feel the buttons.
I hate looking at a remote when I want to use it.
Jesus saves....And takes 1/2 damage.
"The interface is a blank electro-luminescent touch-screen. The 'buttons' are animated graphics drawn to match any device you choose . You can update new device interfaces via a modem (specs aren't clear how exactly). You can also define 'macro' buttons to do multiple tasks with one button. Apparently it also has a built-in motion-sensor and turns itself on when you pick it up."
I am sure that there is going to be a number of patent infringements in there somewhere. Numerous lawsuits will be underway before the thing hits the shelves.
- 20 -
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
Looks like my winamp skin, all glowy... and stuff! Finally a remote matching my mp3 player!
How does this control the manythings they claim it can? If it cantuse omni-directional radio signals then Ill stick with touvhscreen remotes... When I can Afford them.
That being said, this looks like a good, inexpensive (Comparatively) option.
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals."
The favorite thing about my old rubber-button remote is that I know what button I'm pushing while I'm sitting on the couch in the dark, without having to look at the remote.
... if they would have put a standard LCD screen so that you could add your own skins or display nice things on it.
It's a little boring only having a template for the buttons.
But I guess that's not very far away, soon some company will put out something similar on the market.
These won't take off. Too pricey.
Also, I know when when I use a remote, I'm usually not looking at it. I tell what button to press by the feel of it, which obviously won't work with this.
I can see the geekiness factor, but unless it's hackable in some way, I wouldn't buy one.
Animated LCD and programmable is neat, but they should really take a clue from the MX-1000. People like physical buttons.
I can fast-forward and rewind and pause and change the volume or channel without ever looking away from the TV because the physical buttons can be located by (get this) touch.
A review of the MX-1000
And this is what gets posted?!
It's new new One For All URC-8060, it's available in Europe currently. But as One For All are the biggest manufacturer of universal remotes, I'm sure it will be stateside soon.
r c/ URC-8060.htm
The actual manufacturer's site with photos and all the details is here:
http://www.oneforall-int.com/english/products/u
A number of the "One for All" remotes already have modems in them. Other than being a flat glowing screen, the remote itself really doesn't seem much more advanced than their current high end line. I think the modem is a bit overkill, by using the advanced codes or JP1 cables they can be completely customized.
So figure US$100 easily.
Hmm...I remember doing something similar on my palm m100 (yea, a while ago) just not animated (whoopee)
and aside from that...kenwood came out with something almost exactly like this a few years back for their entertainment systems, and sony had something just like it too
and since im too lazy to go get links, im sure ill be modded down. but the kenwood jobber was on the cover of crutchfield when it came out...
caino
I thought the Pronto had just been, saw an ad for it in Wired and thought it was new. Never heard of it before.
I don't know about you guys, but I usually don't look at the remote control when zapping between channels, changing the volume. Expect for the most exotic functions, I never need to look down and find the key. I just "touch type" on the remote control.
With this new device, that wouldn't be possible. Ok, you can have several remote controls integrated into one. But we already have that with normal remote controls...
So, really, apart from the geek fractor, this thing just sounds like a pain to use. Imagine a keyboard without keys! Oh, but wait...
I code, therefore I am.
Marantz has been offerring devices similar to this for quite some time. Check out the RC9200 and RC5200. They offer a serial port connection for easy connection to a PC to get more codes installed.
They are also available in the United States.
- (c) 2018 Hank Zimmerman
"The drop test, the fluid contamination tests? This thing looks way too fragile."
You forgot the "Eaten by the couch" test.
Very few remotes come out of that.
Why don't you just go with the new high end Philips Pronto they showed in Time's gift guide. It's only $1,700 and has built in 802.11b networking, what more do you need in a remote? I'm pretty sure you can almost buy one of those new TabletPC's and I'm sure turn it into a way to control your TV for that price. I can see spending $200 for a remote if you have a $5,000 setup, but you better have one really, really nice home theater to pay $1,700.
Take care and watch out for motherfuckers.
Does it run on OS? In sure it'll be terrible when someone calls from the Living Room...
"Honey, the remote Blue Screened again..."
Check it out: Radio Shack Kameleon Remote
Electronics are usually more espensive in the UK, so Pounds usually match US dollars pretty closely for electronics.
- Eric, InvisibleRobot.com
Wow, your English really really sucks.
I'll only buy it if they make a remote control to control this remote control. Then I'll just lay it down on the coffee table in front of the TV, send it commands via the second remote, and voila!
Sooooo lazy.....
Does anyone actually look at the remote control when flipping channels? I don't know about anyone else, but I find the buttons by feeling for them. Touchscreen won't work for me in this case.
... learning, programmable, touch-screen remotes have been around for years in the consumer market. This one is just another that doesn't seem as programmable as many of the others (most of the "buttons" look to merely be on an on/off toggle rather than truly modular) and tends to be a bit cheaper as a result (Radio Shack lists it for $99 IIRC). Check out Remote Central or most A/V sites and you'll find a mess of other remotes.
There's no point using a touch screen remote unless you have decent macro ability, which makes up for the loss of tactile feedback from real buttons.
My Pronto turns on my TV, turns on my receiver, sets the appropriate inputs on both, turns on my DVD player & pops the tray open, and dims the lights, all in about five seconds with one screen tap. Press another button, it turns off the DVD player and switches the inputs so I can watch cable. You can't get any easier than that.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
for the first person who creates a playable game on it.
This kind of thing has been out for quite a while, I've seen them on a PBS rennovation show, and the Osbournes.
Shouldn't something like a speech activated remote control be built into the TV ? We do have all the necessary technology already.
It would be a great stress releiver to be able to shout, scream at the TV. Imagine screaming "CHANGE THE FSKING CHANNEL" at your TV and the TV meekly obliging...way too kewl..
Science as a way of life.
They say the deeper the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'.
... a Beowulf cluster of these!
You pay more for your remote than I pay for my TV (a pretty decent one).
:
Look at the reality
IT'S *NOT* WORTH IT.
People buying such something really needs to get a life. If you have too much money, buy better vacations, better houses, better studies, give it too the poor, but don't buy a stupid remote with it. Are American geeks not already fat enough ? Do they really need a boring toy to prevent them from standing up ?
What is needed is:
If they get that right, it'll succeed.
.: Max Romantschuk
Mod parent up, please.
imagine a beo...
We apologize as the poster of this message has been sacked.
I agree. This is clearly a set of pre-defined buttons that are configurable depending on the device selected, not a PDA style touch LCD. Big deal. This company's remotes suck anyway. Hardly slashdot-worthy.
But when my family went to the UK a number of years ago (Probably 8+ at this point...), the exchange rate was something like $2 US = 1 UK pound.
Despite the major difference in the value of each currency, prices for food (never looked at electronics) in the UK were the same in pounds and pence as they were in the US in dollars and cents. (i.e. if a McDonalds meal cost $3.99 US, it would be 3.99 UKP in Britain, despite the fact that 3.99 UKP was approx. $7.98 US - Food was on average TWICE as expensive in the UK because of the exchange rate)
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
It does have some kind of physical feedback. Thats what makes this remote different!
# Unique user feedback
The Electro-Luminous Display combines the flexibility of a touch-screen with the push button feel of a traditional remote control, so you get the best of both worlds!
...be real bad for the battery life ;)
Does anyone know what the battery life on this thing will be? My TV/VCR remote hasn't needed a battery change in a couple years, and I doubt this thing will last nearly that long. So would I be going through bucketloads of batteries, or does it have a built-in rechargable one?
Ob-link
Arthur C. Clarke described such a PDA in Imperial Earth, whose buttons changed captions as the function changed according to the currently selected functionality.
Yes, SONY did have a touchscreen LCD remote. I have one. I bought it in 1986 with an A/V receiver. It still works. Very nice idea - one which is, oh, about 20 years old, at least. That's how long I've been designing touchscreen monitoring/control GUI's.
[problems with pronto]
:-)
There's firmware updates for the Pronto models that solve the problems you describe.
it's not any faster than picking up a regular remote and hitting the button
I've had my ProntoPro for a few weeks now and can say it's much faster than using the regular remotes. My setup includes HDTV, surround sound receiver, cable, DVD, Laser disk, PS2, and SVHS deck. What makes it faster than normal remotes is the macros you can program - you can set up a single button to control all your equipment.
For example, I have mine set up so that hitting the HDTV button will power on the TV, receiver & cable box, switch the TV & receiver to the HD inputs, and finally change the display to show 9 channel logos for the HD stations I receive. Pressing a single logo and the 3 digit channel code is sent to the cable box. - So to watch any HD show I only have to grab a single remote and press 2 buttons.
Prior to that I had to dig the TV remote out of the stack, turn it on, swith it's input, dig the receiver remote out of the stack, turn it on, switch it's input, and finally dig the cable remote out, turn it on and enter the channel number.
A major benefit is that my mom(currently visiting) can work my TV without calling me at work
The Philips Pronto is the greatest. It beats the hell out of almost every remote. I think the newer versions have RF capabilities, but every IR device is perfectly accessible with a Pronto.
http://www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/
There are a number of remotes out there with a six-pin connector that allows you to reprogram them from a computer. This connector is typically accessible from the battery compartment. While most universal remotes have codes for hundreds of devices, with the JP1 connector, you can add new devices that didn't exist when the remote was built. You can also do things that the remote doesn't normally allow (like assigning macros to non-macro buttons). You finally have full control of your remote--you can program every button to do exactly what you want it to do. And you can back it up to a file on your computer.
Can you use a ultra-cool Zaurus as a remote control a la the Sony Clie oder other Palm based organizers?
Any hints?
Bye egghat
-- "As a human being I claim the right to be widely inconsistent", John Peel
... according to the manual is catching the upgrade with a microphone. So you can download a wav from their site and play it to your remote to teach it.
Real or not, why bother with buttons at all. Go for voice:
"Channel Thirty Seven"
"Louder"
"Mode Dolby Digital"
"DVD On"
"DVD Play"
You can't lose your voice under the sofa cushion.
https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
What I'm wondering is why if the company is based in Southren Cali, that it is being released in Europe first?
Does it come with an adapter so i can plug it into the wall so i don't have to get new batteries every 2 hours?
All this has is an electromagnetic coupler, and it's only a 'dem' as it can only demodulate a signal and not talk back. You either hold it near your phone or pc speaker and it picks up the codes like a hearing aid set to 'T'
Nice concept but the lack of haptic feedback will severely limit it's usability for most people. I know personally that I operate my remote almost completely by feel. That's how most tv manufactures design their remotes.
_nfotxn
The picture clearly shows that the graphics are mostly static and unchanging; they simply either light up or stay dark depending on what mode the remote is in. The exceptions are the arrows around the four-way pad at the middle bottom, and the six transport-control buttons below the pad. Those have banks of dots that can be used like crude, low-res pixels to draw crude, low-res pictures.
The posters comparing this to a pronto have been misled by the headline and blurb, as have those posters talking about the no-tactile-feedback problems of touchscreen remotes. As the advertisement says, this remote "combines the flexibility of a touch-screen with the push button feel of a traditional remote control". That claim is probably a bit overblown; the flexibility can't possibly match that of the Pronto, although it might be comparable to the Sony RM-AV3000.
At any rate, the article submitter and the slashdot editors have done another fine job of completely misunderstanding the very articles they link to.
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Does this puppy have a JP1 connector?
If it does then I'll take a serious look at it.
I have a Rat Shack 15-1994 that is COOL but was
discontinued. I knocked it off the arm of the couch and it fell 12 inches and hit the carpet, the transformer for the EL ripped loose and quit working. Rat Shack wants $30 + shipping and a DNA sample to fix it.
F*&^ you Rat Shack....
This may end up being on my xmas list if it's JP1-able...
The idea of the modem in the remote is so you can upgrade it without having to get a cable for it. The code upgrades can be downloaded as a wav file I believe, then you hold the remote to your speaker and play the wav file, simple as. Same thing works over the phone, you call the helpline and they'll play the update down the phone.
Meza.