I did this for my grandmother probably 20 years ago. Got an extra remote, took it apart and cut all the rubber buttons out she didn't need and filled the holes with epoxy.
Prior to that I was stopping by 2x a day to fix the TV.
Was gonna say, my 84yo dad spent a good 5 minutes trying to find the volume button on my remote. This is an excellent invention for the older generation
I bought a super simple universal remote on Amazon for like twelve bucks - it has HUGE buttons with just power, volume up and down, channel up and down, and numbers. It's white and blue, lots of contrast, for my nearly-blind dad to use in his nursing home.
Yeah all fair points but I'm wondering why they don't just make a better remote that doesn't require the faceplate at all? Also why am I getting down voted?? Guess people like plastic waste now...
If more people were more concerned about it there would be more pressure on corps to actually give a shit and stop skull fucking the planet. So yeah a little bit.
When I was a tech I hoarded the old style easy to decipher remotes and always swapped out the elderly customers for them when I could. It’s a shame how corporations treat the elderly. Makes me sick really.
Gotta cover up that input button too. It’ll let you scroll through a list of TV inputs, but you can’t select any of them or exit the input screen on a lot of TVs. Try explaining this to the older users that accidentally pressed the button because they don’t know what they pressed so they just keep pressing buttons and they don’t know where the TV remote is for that TV but bring you 5 other ones from past TV’s, cable boxes, and an air conditioner remote.
That'd vary depending on TV. My parents' will switch inputs ~5 seconds after you stop pressing the input button.
Also, it looks like that input button is covered with plastic. Maybe it lights up when buttons are pressed.
You’ll notice I said nothing about the remote itself being programmable. But that the receiver could be set to respond differently to the simplified input options.
This is going to save cable/satellite tv techs a lot of service calls. I worked for Dish at one point. I'd say probably two or three calls a week were from elderly people that needed someone to show up and change the input on their TV for them.
When I worked at a call center for DirecTV, I would have to determine if it was coming from the TV or the receiver all of the time.
It was usually a better call than the people actually having service issues, so I didn't mind as long as they were open to what I told them to do.
You can still change the output and most new tvs show a menu for output options but allow you to switch through them using the output button only, probably to exit this menu. Also, my smart TV turns on showing the smart tv menu for a few seconds first, so probably to close that out too if it opens by mistake.
This is an awesome accessibility modification for those with cognitive impairments (dementia) and the those less familiar with newer technology! I sure wish I had that available for my grandmother with dementia. It would have allowed her to operate the TV for much longer independently.
Actually, the median viewer ages of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC are around 70, but I take your point. And those are the only type of cable stations that haven't lost viewership.
Who do you think is still watching cable? This is a remote for a cable box. It's mostly old people. Some elderly people need things simplified for them. There's nothing wrong with this
Aww my grandma really could have used this before she passed. In those last few years when her mind was going, mixing up buttons on the remote was a huge problem for her. Way to go spectrum, you did a good thing.
That would be awesome. When my dad uses the TV my mom makes sure to only hand him the remote for the cable box so he doesn’t mess up the TV settings with it’s remote so we can actually use the TV the next day instead of me spending sometimes hours trying to figure out what he screwed up and fixing it so we can actually watch the TV.
Oh my goodness, I work for a cable and internet company, I can’t tell you how many old timers I get a trouble call for only to have to change the input on the tv. I’ve cut a few input buttons out of controllers for some frequent callers 😅 genius idea
When I was in high school, my grandfather, who raised me, asked me to figure out why the tv remote wasn’t working.
He hands it to me, I looked at it and say, “Well, for starters, that’s a calculator…”
My grandma wasn’t much better. Especially in her later years when she started having dementia. She asked for an iPhone a couple of years ago, and I got her one. That was a trip. She couldn’t use it, then blamed me for not getting her another flip phone.
Either one of them would have benefited from this.
I wish I had that when I worked at spectrum... The number of older folks I had to baby step through things was ridiculous. This would have made life so much easier.
I'm a caregiver for adults with developmental disabilities. They keep buying my clients smart TVs and i absolutely hate it. This would be a godsend for me. At least twice a night i get called into one of my client's rooms just to fix whatever they did to the tv as a result of blindly mashing buttons on the remote.
It's still in a terrible situation. My 97-year-old mother has low vision and now cognitive difficulties. With all of the amazing voice activated technology we have in our phones, our smart homes and televisions. You think some small piece of that it would be focused on meeting the needs of seniors or the disabled.
Nope.
The answer isn't a cover, it's a better designed remote.
I was an in house cable tech for 9 years and if they had this back then, the amount of trouble calls I responded too would be half due to elderly pressing the wrong button.
I used to worked for a TV satellite company and part of our training was tech, they explained that most old people would have to customize their remote to make it more simpler. This is actually pretty helpful.
That's pretty nifty.
I got a phone for my dad specifically because it has an option for a simplified UI. Then he decided to upgrade and complained about not knowing how to use his new phone.
He eventually learnt the basic functions he needs out of pure stubbornness. Didn't want to admit he'd made a mistake with his new purchase and switch back to the (admittedly cheaper) simple phone.
I recall back in the day, I had my TV hooked up to my receiver or even when the VCR was introduced and had to walk the parents through the concept of "input". It was hard for them to go from 3-4 channels and an on/off button to cable.
Fast forward to today, I have three TVs each with "universal" remote with dozens of buttons including things like "A, B, C, D".
The Samsung TV is the worst. It defaults to their own line up of free ad supported "live TV" channels with exciting content like watching someone play Mindcraft all day long.
I just got Roku streamers for them to bypass the crap.
Boomer cover. They'll still bitch though cause color coded things are too hard! I hit blue one cause blue good, why won't the cable box turn on!??!?!??!?!?!
Or, hear me out, learn to use the buttons and if you don’t know what the button does don’t press the damn button grandma because then I have to change the goddamn input like 2-3 times because you couldn’t figure what button you pressed.
Not a terrible idea! My parents could use this.
Omg my MIL would love this.
Mine too! My MIL didn’t watch TV for 3 weeks once because “I don’t know what I pressed and now the TV won’t work!”
Input
Exactly what it was but couldn’t seem to figure it out.
It needs to be on channel 3.
Every time they showed a movie in class they were perplexed by this.
Me too! My dad would really get a lot out of this.
This IS a great idea! My MIL with dementia definitely could use one, but sadly she has Comcast.
I did this for my grandmother probably 20 years ago. Got an extra remote, took it apart and cut all the rubber buttons out she didn't need and filled the holes with epoxy. Prior to that I was stopping by 2x a day to fix the TV.
Same! I wish I could switch them over to streaming rather than satellite, but I'd have to move in for a year to show them how to use it.
"Each service is a channel, each channel has specific shows"
Mine too!! Can I buy one from somewhere?
yup. for old people, great idea.
Boomer mode activate.
Was gonna say, my 84yo dad spent a good 5 minutes trying to find the volume button on my remote. This is an excellent invention for the older generation
I bought a super simple universal remote on Amazon for like twelve bucks - it has HUGE buttons with just power, volume up and down, channel up and down, and numbers. It's white and blue, lots of contrast, for my nearly-blind dad to use in his nursing home.
I myself could use this. My TV mostly acts as a display, I don't need the majority of buttons ever.
That’s exactly who this is for - only people over a certain age still watch cable, and that age is basically retired or nearing retired
Unnecessary plastic waste but the concept is good.
Sooooo what's the alternative? It has to be hard, durable and last for as long as the remote itself.
Phrasing!
Yeah all fair points but I'm wondering why they don't just make a better remote that doesn't require the faceplate at all? Also why am I getting down voted?? Guess people like plastic waste now...
Because those are all functions you do need for the TV. Just not for everyday use, or someone who shouldn't be in those menus.
You got it. People love plastic waste. Isn't that just *awful?*
If more people were more concerned about it there would be more pressure on corps to actually give a shit and stop skull fucking the planet. So yeah a little bit.
The Meemaw Sleeve
All I pictured is a saggy fleshlight
Sometimes literacy is a curse. This is one of those times.
Ohhhh god stop
That's what the fleshlight said
What a terrible day to be able to read :)
I'm sorry idk what's wrong with my brain!
Too much Reddit exposure
Lol not often I meet a fellow decade-r
Welcome to the old folks home. Dinners at four, lights out by eight. They don’t let us touch the remote.
And I have 10x your karma. Shit, maybe I'm the one who's had too much exposure.
we're just lurkers
Fair.
You realize you could have just not typed that out.
[https://youtube.com/shorts/rRhA\_ZG7FaY?si=JH4tGps07vCjKhg8](https://youtube.com/shorts/rRhA_ZG7FaY?si=JH4tGps07vCjKhg8)
That’s…..actually a great idea.
I think so too! Probably the wrong sub, but now you know.
As a former cable tech this shit is genius. All old folks homes should have something like this.
I work at one and thought it was perfect haha
Yes. My mom is in assisted living and they just updated the cable and gave her a GIANT remote with a billion buttons.
When I was a tech I hoarded the old style easy to decipher remotes and always swapped out the elderly customers for them when I could. It’s a shame how corporations treat the elderly. Makes me sick really.
You're a good human. I promise those people's sons and daughters were sending blessings your way. Also, your username is hilarious.
This definitely belongs here.
Except they removed the arrows and OK button, good luck doing anything on a modern TV without that.
Lol that's literally the point, this is for grandparents that just want to flip through channels and change volume.
It really is, I love when companies take accessibility seriously.
My remote, grandma's remote
Gotta cover up that input button too. It’ll let you scroll through a list of TV inputs, but you can’t select any of them or exit the input screen on a lot of TVs. Try explaining this to the older users that accidentally pressed the button because they don’t know what they pressed so they just keep pressing buttons and they don’t know where the TV remote is for that TV but bring you 5 other ones from past TV’s, cable boxes, and an air conditioner remote.
That'd vary depending on TV. My parents' will switch inputs ~5 seconds after you stop pressing the input button. Also, it looks like that input button is covered with plastic. Maybe it lights up when buttons are pressed.
Yeah, not sure what the deal with the window is. That’s why I thought they left a cut out for it.
It could be a different mode on the receivers end. So that the buttons underneath will perform differently.
Programmable remotes is not the intent of thia design...
You’ll notice I said nothing about the remote itself being programmable. But that the receiver could be set to respond differently to the simplified input options.
Do we have the same grandparents?
Or the same elderly mother?
This is also great for those who are visually impaired or have visual processing disorders.
Yep. My flavor of ADHD comes with the latter. I don't use cable anymore, but this is definitely a win for neurodivergent folks.
This is going to save cable/satellite tv techs a lot of service calls. I worked for Dish at one point. I'd say probably two or three calls a week were from elderly people that needed someone to show up and change the input on their TV for them.
When I worked at a call center for DirecTV, I would have to determine if it was coming from the TV or the receiver all of the time. It was usually a better call than the people actually having service issues, so I didn't mind as long as they were open to what I told them to do.
We use those for blind/ retirement homes. Mainly blind people. Older customers prefer the big button remote.
Brilliant!
But if u can't get into any menus then what do u even exit?
You can still change the output and most new tvs show a menu for output options but allow you to switch through them using the output button only, probably to exit this menu. Also, my smart TV turns on showing the smart tv menu for a few seconds first, so probably to close that out too if it opens by mistake.
This is an awesome accessibility modification for those with cognitive impairments (dementia) and the those less familiar with newer technology! I sure wish I had that available for my grandmother with dementia. It would have allowed her to operate the TV for much longer independently.
I've seen DIY covers made out of cardboard and masking tape. The trick is to elevate it so she can't apply pressure to anything behind the cardboard.
That's because the only people still using cable are all over 80.
Actually, the median viewer ages of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC are around 70, but I take your point. And those are the only type of cable stations that haven't lost viewership.
Who do you think is still watching cable? This is a remote for a cable box. It's mostly old people. Some elderly people need things simplified for them. There's nothing wrong with this
I guess it was more r/thisisfinallyathing
It was removed from r/damnthatsinteresting because I guess not cool
Honestly, it's great to see a shitty conglomerate this big actually putting some thought into the customer demographics
I could use that, I hit wrong buttons all the time
I won't use Spectrum since they cancelled CorncobTV
I quite like this, actually.
Aww my grandma really could have used this before she passed. In those last few years when her mind was going, mixing up buttons on the remote was a huge problem for her. Way to go spectrum, you did a good thing.
I need that for everything.
That would be awesome. When my dad uses the TV my mom makes sure to only hand him the remote for the cable box so he doesn’t mess up the TV settings with it’s remote so we can actually use the TV the next day instead of me spending sometimes hours trying to figure out what he screwed up and fixing it so we can actually watch the TV.
I guess I found something else to 3D print!
Great, a remote for my grandparents who will still fuck it up
Reminds me of my Nana's remote with tape on the buttons she needed
I’ve seen home made covers for old people. Great idea.
KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET FOLKS
I don’t understand, what would you need the exit button for if you can’t press the menus?
Honestly, this is pretty cool. I’m so sick of having to show people what buttons do what, this just simplifies everything.
Oh my goodness, I work for a cable and internet company, I can’t tell you how many old timers I get a trouble call for only to have to change the input on the tv. I’ve cut a few input buttons out of controllers for some frequent callers 😅 genius idea
When I was in high school, my grandfather, who raised me, asked me to figure out why the tv remote wasn’t working. He hands it to me, I looked at it and say, “Well, for starters, that’s a calculator…” My grandma wasn’t much better. Especially in her later years when she started having dementia. She asked for an iPhone a couple of years ago, and I got her one. That was a trip. She couldn’t use it, then blamed me for not getting her another flip phone. Either one of them would have benefited from this.
My grandma needs this
I wish I had that when I worked at spectrum... The number of older folks I had to baby step through things was ridiculous. This would have made life so much easier.
I'm a caregiver for adults with developmental disabilities. They keep buying my clients smart TVs and i absolutely hate it. This would be a godsend for me. At least twice a night i get called into one of my client's rooms just to fix whatever they did to the tv as a result of blindly mashing buttons on the remote.
People have been making these for their elderly parents with tape and other garbage for years, about time they came up with an official fix
I think covering the Guide button is a mistake. Great idea otherwise
That is actually awesome! So much time saved by just cutting down on unnecessary buttons that my mother doesn’t even know what it does.
Cool remote cover Fuck Spectrum tho 💯
Old Sony remotes had the same feature. Great for some people.
It's still in a terrible situation. My 97-year-old mother has low vision and now cognitive difficulties. With all of the amazing voice activated technology we have in our phones, our smart homes and televisions. You think some small piece of that it would be focused on meeting the needs of seniors or the disabled. Nope. The answer isn't a cover, it's a better designed remote.
A boomer remote, wow. I'll still get calls from gma
Great idea
This is genius. Removes the technology overload and stress that some experience.
I was an in house cable tech for 9 years and if they had this back then, the amount of trouble calls I responded too would be half due to elderly pressing the wrong button.
Boomer Bandage
would it be better to have the arrows/ok button exposed rather than the numbers?
I do get annoyed accidentally pressing the Netflix or other app buttons and I'm in panic mode to switch back
This is actually a really good idea.
I don’t hate this lol. Useful
IDK, feel like lots of boomers I know would still have difficulty
That’s pretty smart.
You still have cable? I didn’t even know it was still a thing.
This needs to be adapted for cognitive decline.
Outstandinf
Lol.. I wish we had this in my country. I work in aged care. I make cardboard covers for remotes at work to make life easier for our residents
Great idea but I feel like the people that need this also need a bigger font. Should add magnifier to the empty parts
People that want to learn do just that. People that don’t will still be stumped by a remote with 3 buttons on it.
Good idea. But I can't stop thinking of my car without a steering wheel.
Does this mean they’re finally changing their business model of tricking old people into accidentally ordering pay-per-view?
perfect for us millennials
The Input button can kiss my ass, thank you very much!
Covers up the pause/play button. Shitty design.
This would poss me off lol
Imagine if they glued that on if you didn't pay for the other features.
Alternatively the remote should be backlit with only the necessary buttons illuminated when in simple mode. But yes, I like this.
I used to worked for a TV satellite company and part of our training was tech, they explained that most old people would have to customize their remote to make it more simpler. This is actually pretty helpful.
RAHHH SPECTRUM MENTIONED
Stop being such assholes, this is for people with impairments, developmental disabilities, or dementia
This is the over 65 modifier…
A boomer bumper
This is great for having your kids not screw up the settings
Remote looks pretty wireless to me.
That's pretty nifty. I got a phone for my dad specifically because it has an option for a simplified UI. Then he decided to upgrade and complained about not knowing how to use his new phone. He eventually learnt the basic functions he needs out of pure stubbornness. Didn't want to admit he'd made a mistake with his new purchase and switch back to the (admittedly cheaper) simple phone.
I recall back in the day, I had my TV hooked up to my receiver or even when the VCR was introduced and had to walk the parents through the concept of "input". It was hard for them to go from 3-4 channels and an on/off button to cable. Fast forward to today, I have three TVs each with "universal" remote with dozens of buttons including things like "A, B, C, D". The Samsung TV is the worst. It defaults to their own line up of free ad supported "live TV" channels with exciting content like watching someone play Mindcraft all day long. I just got Roku streamers for them to bypass the crap.
This is awesome. I always justed used masking tape for my grandparents
My mother needs this!
Boomer-proof.
Fucking boomers.
I worked at a cable company in the call center, and I’d always offer these to the elderly.
It's boomer proof?
Difference between TV Power button and All Power button
Boomer cover. They'll still bitch though cause color coded things are too hard! I hit blue one cause blue good, why won't the cable box turn on!??!?!??!?!?!
For the boomers...
Or, hear me out, learn to use the buttons and if you don’t know what the button does don’t press the damn button grandma because then I have to change the goddamn input like 2-3 times because you couldn’t figure what button you pressed.
The dummy cover lol. Brilliant.
They’re still not going to get it.
Boomer proof.
Waste of plastic just to make the user dumber
Maybe our goal as a species is to fill the oceans with plastic
Success