Remotes Archives - Page 4 of 14

TiVo Roamio Remote Now Available for $30

If your household is anything like mine, you might find you’re in need of his and hers TiVo remotes – one for each nightstand. Fortunately, new Roamio owners now have that option… as TiVo has launched a Roamio Remote accessory for $29.99:

Award-winning peanut shape in a more compact size and with new “back” button for use in apps.
Control power, input, volume and mute of your TV and/or audio receiver.
IR/RF signal removes line-of-sight requirements, ideal for in-cabinet setups.
Press the remote finder button on your TiVo Roamio™ Plus or Pro to have the remote play a TiVo jingle so you can easily find it.

Officially, the remote only supports Roamio hardware. However,

TiVo Roamio QWERTY Remote… Coming Soon?

Thanks to WSJ Live, via AOL ON, it looks like an upcoming TiVo Roamio Slide Remote has just been outed. The new IR/RF remote currently shipping with Roamio is getting something of mixed reviews, due to the exclusion of a learning function, as provided by prior TiVo remotes, and reduced range compared to the discontinued … Read more

Roku Streaming Stick Remote Updated For Audio Output

The clever remote control audio out capabilities introduced with the Roku 3 will be making their way to the Roku Streaming Stick according to today’s FCC filing. Despite new MHL-compatible partners, we can’t imagine Streaming Stick sales have been significant… as it’s often cheaper and always conceptually simpler to bring “Smart TV” capabilities to a HDTV … Read more

Logitech's Xbox 180?

Logitech announced that it plans to retain ownership of its Harmony remote product line. The company has determined that retaining ownership is in the best interest of its shareholders. #

Comcast X1 DVR Gains Voice Control (via iPhone)

x1voice

Following in the footsteps of DirecTV, Comcast is the latest provider to bring voice navigation to the television:

The X1 Remote app first launched in mid-2012, giving X1 customers the ability to control the TV, navigate Xfinity On Demand choices, search for programs and tune to TV shows and movies directly from their iPhones. In addition to uniting the TV screen with customers’ mobile devices, the latest version adds the ability to issue voice commands for guide navigation and content discovery. For example, users can say “When is the next Phillies game?” or “Show me all action movies on HBO.”

Logitech's Last Harmonies Now Playing at Best Buy

Prior to the division’s potential sale, Logitech’s last Harmony remote control models have started arriving at Best Buy. The Harmony Ultimate and (soon) the Harmony Smart Control join the Touch and 650 on a revamped retail display. Both new models ship with a the “Harmony Hub” – which appears to represent the evolution of the Harmony … Read more

Wanna Chat With Your DVR?

According to Variety, DirecTV has been working on a Nuance-powered iPhone app update to bring speech recognition to HR24 and newer set-top boxes. My initial reaction was that it’s nothing more than a clever, but not very practical, application of Siri-like skills. Yet, upon reflection, being able to change channel via station name, rather than researching a … Read more

Logitech To Sell Harmony Remotes. All Of Them.

harmony-category-page

Logitech continues to struggle with their identity and revenue, given another quarter of “disappointing sales“. To right this ship, the company intends to double down on mobile accessories while sustaining their PC peripheral biz. Simultaneously, they plan to unload their Harmony remote and Logitech Alert security camera divisions. Logitech may no longer be interested in those businesses, yet management obviously feels there’s still some intrinsic value.

We’ve covered Harmony from pretty much Day 1 of this site. But our ties stretch even further – to the early 2000s. Prior to Logitech’s acquisition, Harmony hailed from Canada when their cutting edge thematic universal remote powered my projector and Lutron dimmers, along with an ever rotating array of set-top boxes and HTPCs. And it really was one remote to rule them all. However, in recent years, Logitech has let the Harmony line languish as they diverted resources towards that Google TV debacle. Fortunately, they regained interest and recently pushed out the Harmony Link mobile companion and Harmony Touch (which would have been a more compelling remote in 2009). I assume they have additional product in the pipeline, which we’re anxiously awaiting, but Harmony will clearly need a new champion going forward. From CEO Bracken Darrell: