12:00, 12:00, 12:00...
For years it was always a big joke "Program the VCR? I can't even set the clock!". A joke I personally never really got. I can see maybe in the early generation of VCRs, (the BetaMax days) - when the digital clock had to be set by pushing some strange combination of buttons to make the hours or minutes move - that some might have had a little trouble with the concept. But since the introduction of On-screen display I'm not really sure how this task could possibly challenge anyone. Best of all for many years now my VCR clock has set itself - all it needs is a cable or satelitte feed and it can pick up a timecode and set itself. Perfect.
What got me on this thought process were a pair of articles I read last night. The first was by "usability guru" Jakob Nielsen entitled
Remote Control Anarchy. The second,
The Perils of Home Theater by a guy named Donald A. Norman.
First, a little on my "history" with Jakob Nielsen. I've never met him personally but I've read his site off and on for years now. I put the term "usability guru" in quotes because that's his self-adopted title. I've always had a bit of a beef with this guys concepts - at their most fundamental are common sense but he seems to try and stretch everything to a level of simplicity that becomes a hinderence to all other considerations. Personally I think at times they do more harm to the user experience than good. So needless to say when I saw Jakob had delved into the world of Home Theatre remotes my interest was peaked.
I'll have to admit nothing frustrates me more than someone's inability to operate a remote - sitting there watching someone fumble with the remote when all they have to do is hit the play button drives me up the wall. I'll also admit that some are horribly designed and completely useless, but for the most part I don't see what the big deal is - it really isn't that hard.
I'm frustrated by how difficult it is to watch a movie on my TV. It ought to be a relaxing experience, but I constantly get into trouble trying to operate the several remote controls required to accomplish this simple task.- Jakob Nielsen, Remote Control Anarchy
This boggles my mind. Do other folks really have this much trouble operating their entertainment system? The process Jakob describes above is relatively straightforward, yes it probably requires the use of 2-3 remotes in many cases but it's not like there's some insane combination of buttons you need to push as if you were trying to unlock some hidden level in a video game. If you had to push "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Left, Right, Up, Down, A, B, Start" I can see that every Sunday morning the streets would be littered with the televisions or remotes of those who've had enough. But it's not, in reality the process is probably "DVD On, Play, TV On, Input Select, Stereo On, Input Select, Adjust Volume" - 2 button pushes on each remote, the big one (Power) and a little one (Source/Play). Also, consider that this same process replays multiple times a week, without change, for years on end. It's not as if everytime you pick up a remote the buttons have all moved and the process is different.
I'll agree that a big part of the problem is standards. If you buy a JVC TV and a Sony DVD Player the two will never talk to each other and their remotes willl probably have slightly different layouts. But if you stay in one brand every manufacturer has some kind of system for components to talk to each other and the remotes should have similar design/layouts.
Also, at the level that most consumers can afford to purchase components there isn't a whole lot of difference between the various, mainstream brands (If you're buying house brand electronics at Walmart you get what you pay for - I'm talking Sony, JVC, Pioneer etc.). With that being the case I elected to stick with JVC throughout my entire entertainment system (speakers excepted). The beauty of going this route is it simplifies the process exponentially.
JVC has a system called "Compulink", (both Sony and Pioneer have similar systems). Compulink connects all of the units through a couple of small cables (headphone cables basically) and allows them to communicate with each other. What this means is the process for me to turn on a movie is simple. "Play".
As soon as I push play on the DVD player the DVD player turns on and starts playing, this turns the stereo on and sets it to the DVD input, when the stereo turns on it tells the TV to turn on and switch to the input for the S-Video cable, by the time the TV is on the DVD has spun up and is playing. Want to watch a tape? push play on the VCR and everything will switch to the right inputs/channels. Same with CDs.
The most obvious indicator of remote control complexity is the vast number of choices they offer: 239 buttons in total. I only use 33% of these buttons with any regularity. Two-thirds serve no purpose except to confuse me and make it harder to hit the buttons I do use.- Jakob Nielsen, Remote Control Anarchy
This is where going with a consistent brand can pay off in spades, currently there are 5 different remotes that I can use to operate various components. Each one controls at least 2 of the components in my rack. If that were my only option I can see it being very confusing. But because all my units are JVC the remote for my AV Receiver (It controls both the audio and video signals) will actually control all of the most common functions on every unit in my stack. In a nutshell, the 33% is all right there, clearly labelled, on one remote (the remote is also programmable with a simple code to train it to operate non-brand cable boxes and VCRs - it's a simple process of entering a code form the manual for that brand).
As I eluded to before, I think the biggest problem is lack of planning, both long range and short term. When buying components for your home entertainment system be sure to include models in the same brand as your existing equipment in your research. If need be spend an extra $20 or $30 and get the same brand rather than the one on sale - in the long run your life will be a lot more enjoyable.
First problem: Jargon. Ordinary human beings should not have to understand jargon like this: progressive, interlaced, 5.1, 7.1, 480i, 480p, 960i, 1080i, 16/9, 4/3, 3:2 pulldown, anamorphic, stretched, expanded, large speakers, small speakers, matrix sound. It is too much. Why should the ordinary consumer have to know all this?.- Donald A. Norman, The Perils of Home Theater
This speaks huge volumes to people not reading manuals or doing a little research. His list there is deceiving because there's really only 2 or 3 concepts in that list to remember as many of those items are related to each other. Basically, if you know about one you'll know about the rest. 5.1 & 7.1 relate to the number of channels of sound, even the lackey at Best Buy could explain this concept to you. "480i, 480p, 960i, 1080i, 16/9, 4/3, 3:2 pulldown, anamorphic, stretched, expanded" all deal with the video etc. Unfortunately the reality of "Home Theatres" Is they're getting more complex and there isn't really a way to simplifiy it. When it comes to sound the shape of your room and speaker layout makes a huge difference, we're talking millisecond adjustments to get the sound just right. If someone wants to enjoy this level of entertainment at home they're going to need to educate themselves on it - with access to the internet these days everything is very easy to find.
A few reccomendations:
Dolby
Home Theatre Forum
Good place to do some research/reading for higher end systems
In the end - Home Theatre doesn't have to be a painful process. Recoqnize that it's going to take some upfront education - at the very minimum you should know the difference between Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital 5.1, 7.1, Wide Screen, Pan & Scan and what 16:9 and 4:3 mean. Read the manuals, especially when hooking up your equipment, and most important of all take a deep breath. Also when sitting down for a movie or to watch TV, take a second and make sure you've got the right remote. I keep all my controls together on the coffee table/bench and only grab the one I need and put it close to me. Then there's no fumbling for the right remote to pause etc.
Enjoy!
