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Tag: remote-control

  • Apple TV To Get a Wii-like Remote?


    Apple     has filed a set of patents for a Wii-style remote control for Apple TV.

    In the two patent applications Apple describes a "wand" for controlling the operations of a media system, suggesting the iPhone-maker may be considering games for Apple TV.

    That would involve distributing them to the device through the iTunes App Store, as is currently the case for the iPhone.

    In January, it was suggested that NVIDIA’s Ion platform is likely to be included in the next Apple TV.

    Among the uses proposed by Apple for the wand are zoom operations, a keyboard application, an image application, an illustration application and a media application.

    Other possiblities for the wand include it being used to call up a dock, and then to select an option from the menu by moving the wand across the screen.

    The controller could also scroll through a CoverFlow display and be used to manipulate photos by zooming in and out and rotating.

    It will be interesting to see how this develops – and how Nintendo reacts to the Apple application.

  • How Do You Turn a PS3 Owner Onto Blu-ray? With a Remote

    Hollywood studios recognise the importance of PlayStation as a driver for Blu-ray Disc (BD) sales and remote control is indicator of household demand

    Reports on Blu-ray’s progress – and difficulties – on the road to becoming the mass-market video format are legion.

    Monica Juniel, vice president of international marketing for Warner Home Video, added an interesting statistic into the mix during her presentation at IFA 2008 in Berlin last week.

    According to the former commercial banker, Sony PlayStation owners that possess remote controls for their games consoles buy more than twice as many BDs as those that don’t have them.

    Perhaps not rocket science, since if you are going to be watching movies on the PS3 it’s fairly fiddly doing it with a game controller.

    But with millions of PS3s sold around the globe, it’s understandable why those with an interest in the Blu-ray industry pay particular attention to how they’re used.

    Games and Movies

    In July, a report from the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) showed that 87 per cent of PS3 owners watched Blu-ray movies on their console.

    While this is an impressive headline figure, Warner aren’t getting carried away with it.

    According to Juniel owners of stand-alone Blu-ray players buy twice as many BDs as PlayStation households.
    She said this undoubtedly meant there were “other opportunities” for the format.

    “There are a few things that are slowing us down,” she said. “PS3 comprises the majority of the installed base, but with software buy rates significantly lagging behind those of Blu-ray set-top box owners.”

    Control by Remote

    Juniel said one way to drive BD movie sales was to “convert PS3 households via remote control usage” – the logic presumably being that if it’s easier to play the disc, you’re more likely to buy more of them.

    No figure was given for the percentage of PS owners who had remote controls but HDTV.biz-news.com has asked for the data and will post an update as soon as its received.

    She also detailed a few other barriers to purchasing Blu-ray Discs, such as hardware prices and consumer indifference.

    Remove issues such as these and there might be a lot more people happily zapping their PS3s.

    Do you agree? Please let us know your comments on what the real barriers are to consumers adopting Blu-ray technology.

  • The iPhone takes on new role as universal remote control


    A new application is to go on sale in July that turns the iPhone into an all-purpose remote control capable of operating everything from your HDTV to audio, video and lighting.
    While the iPhone is popular as an interface for home-control systems such as home automation (HAI, Savant), multiroom audio (SpeakerCraft) and media servers (Sooloos), so far there hasn’t been a low-cost solution for using the iPhone (or iPod Touch) as an ordinary universal remote control.
    Now London-based integrator, Steve Moore, has launched the AirRemote application which he modestly describes as “the greatest little TV remote you’ve ever used”.
    The setup includes the AirRemote software and a communications box from Global Cache, which can turn the iPhone’s IP commands into signals to operate an array of home electronics devices.
    “The beauty of the iPod Touch or iPhone versus other tablets is that it has bullet-proof Wi-Fi, doesn’t need to wait for Windows to boot up, and can be held in a hand,” Moore told CE Pro.
    “And they sell loads of them so they cost almost nothing.”
    AirRemote will be available from July 11th exclusively from the iPhone App store for $99. The Global Cache transmitter will retail for about $100.