The TiVo Remote: Design Nirvana?
Have I mentioned recently just how much I freakin’ love having a Tivo? Well, I do. So, whenever I see an article about Tivo, I just have to go read it right away. In this case, the article is a New York Times (free registration) piece devoted to, of all things, the remote control for the standard TiVo.
Anyone who uses home electronics such as a TV, :DVD: player, stereo, etc. knows firsthand how important a remote control can be. Bad design can seriously detract from your experience, whereas good design can make using the remote natural and intuitive. The TiVo remove definitely falls into the latter category - it has an excellent, user-friendly design.
Before I got my current “Series 2” TiVo, I had a Sony SVR-2000 model and I really liked the remote with that one, too. I’m kind of torn about which I like more, actually: the Sony remote had a nice advantage in the way that the number pad and the directional buttons were much closer together than on the standard TiVo remote, which made one-handed operation with the thumb easier. But I much prefer the pause/play/ff/rw buttons on the standard TiVo remote.
Oh, and one downside to the easy-to-hold symmetrical design of the standard TiVo remote? It’s hard to know whether you’re holding it right side up without looking. More than once I’ve simply picked the remote up to rewind something and found myself fast-forwarding instead because I had it upside down!
Posted Thursday February 19, 2004 in TiVo and DVR by Chris Curtis
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