I don’t like this trend of making the remote for streaming devices like Roku and Roku TV, etc. so tiny.

We’ve been using a Roku and a Roku TV now for some years but with little kids it’s tough because the doggone thing keeps getting lost because they are too small.

I told my wife I wanted to mount the Roku TV remote to a large block of wood or a piece of 2 x 4 and got looked at like I had two heads and was told “no”.

I did manage to find a replacement remote on Amazon that had some extra buttons which made it a little bit longer and then it had a silicone cover that was red that made it a little easier to not lose hopefully.

Why can’t they just make a big Roku remote?

I just use the Roku app on my phone. It has a remote built in. The remote stays in a drawer.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I just use the Roku app on my phone. It has a remote built in. The remote stays in a drawer.

We tried using that, but it seems hit or miss and only works about half of the time for us.

And then there are the TV / Cable remotes that are the size of a damn shoebox .

I stayed in a VRBO condo for a couple of weeks last November and they had a streaming remote.

Every time I picked it up I'd accidentally active the mute button which was on the side of the remote, about in the middle.

Poorly designed.

It took me a few days, but I quickly got used to Samsung's current universal remote, which is minimalist and streamlined. It handles most everything pretty well and I'm sure I could figure out how to accomplish the few tasks I dig out the full-sized (shoebox) verizon remote for if I bothered to look it up.

I hear you, though. I think they're just getting us used to smaller and smaller tactile controls to prepare us for implanted brain chips.

-Rob

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It does beat having to get up from your chair to change the channel with a pair of pliers since your kids have destroyed the channel selector.

quote:

I told my wife I wanted to mount the Roku TV remote to a large block of wood or a piece of 2 x 4 and got looked at like I had two heads and was told “no”.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I just use the Roku app on my phone. It has a remote built in. The remote stays in a drawer.

We tried using that, but it seems hit or miss and only works about half of the time for us.

Interesting. Mine has never failed. And I like being able to type using the full keyboard on the phone instead of the much slower process of hunting and clicking on individual letters using the arrow and OK buttons with the on-screen keyboard.

(Plus, you can do other cool stuff via the app like connecting headphones to your cell phone and listening to the TV audio without disturbing other people in the room. Handy for stuff like watching at night while your spouse sleeps, or watching while the wife listens to music in the adjoining kitchen.)

Does your Roku/RokuTV use a the basic IR remote or the fancier Wifi remote? Mine are all Wifi, so maybe that makes the difference in reliability?

I hate the little remotes too.

I lose that shit without even getting up.

Do I want Granddad's "control box"? If they make it look cool, and give it some weight so I know it got lost in a comforter fold, sure. Unless it costs a hundred dollars. Then fuck off with that shit.

You could always do like the really cheap motels and attach it to the TV or the beside table with a security cable.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
You could always do like the really cheap motels and attach it to the TV or the beside table with a security cable.

We had that in our house until the youngest moved out. He could lose a sedan in a phone booth.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
You could always do like the really cheap motels and attach it to the TV or the beside table with a security cable.

I've been to a couple hotels in the Philippines that charge a deposit for a remote. You get your money back when you return the remote upon checkout.

I velcro my remotes to a table. I have a cat.

Back in the early 90s when we moved into our first house the remotes were big.
We had one for the TV,the cable box,the VCR,the stereo and eventually the Cd player.
My wife collected Longaberger baskets back then and we had a big one for all the remotes so we could keep them in one place.
I remember when we finally got a universal remote from Radio Shack everything else went into a draw. Back then the fun was programing it for all the electronics it would finally run.

Yeah, when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, my parents always kept a basket next to my Dad's recliner that held the various large remote controls (TV, cable box, VCR, and stereo receiver), along with the current copy of the printed TV Guide.

You could use a remote if Dad wasn't home, but it damn well better end up back in the basket when you were finished.

Besides the size of the remotes, maybe to big or small, I have a beef with the complexities of such. I’m mostly talking hotels or visiting others, you try to change the channel & mess things up.

My favorite remote was from the 80’s. It had the on/off, volume & channel up & down, then number keys. It’s more a problem when not familiar.

Anyhow, just saying, bring back simple.

Damn, you people sound like you want the Jitterbug equivalent of a tv remote. Maybe one with a wire so you can’t lose it.

60 years ago, I WAS the remote

My Samsung Smart TV remote is small, rechargeable by USB or solar and works everything pretty well.
True, it has no numbers for channels or other stuff, but I like it much better than a big-honkin-remote.
The problem is with multiple devices it is impossible to have one that works everything easily.
Most have universal capabilities but unfortunately, they can't think of every scenario.
I'm always bouncing from at least two remotes at a time.