Ever Try Explaining Remote Controls To Elderly Folk ?

[Tweet]

It's that time again when one needs to consider what would grandma or old misery guts would like for Christmas ?

Oh dear! I've been here before and when every electronic item insists on having a remote control just to make our lives painless surely another one can't hurt ....or can it ?

I know there are programmable remotes out there but they are generally expensive and not something one might give away to an elderly person who cannot identify the 'play' or the 'stop' button.

The more elderly seem to have difficulty in remembering and comprehending the technicalities that accompanying manuals of entertainment equipment try to impart.

This lack of comprehension that some elderly users experience even after having read the manual and then having it explained to them repeatedly and in detail is quite bewildering.

Throw in a few remotes, each one for its own individual purpose, with some looking very similar to others with half charged batteries and you have the makings of a lunatic of 86 years trying to get the blu-ray player, the AVR and the plasma to talk to each other, let alone getting a picture on the screen, and now having come to the conclusion ..... it's all too much and it's time to go.

It just isn't funny... technologically induced dementia, it's quite irrational.

Honestly, remote controls ..... they're just out to get us ......

C.M

Edited December 11, 2011 by Tweet

[DrP]

A few years ago a cousin of mine bought his mum (87) a mobile phone so she could keep in touch with him. It sits on a cabinet shelf, dead flat and never used. She never did get the hang of it even though for what she'd be using it for its a case of dial his number and press the connect button. Only one more button press compared to a regular fixed phone (and don't even think about explaining any sort of abbreviated dialling on the mobile) but that was enough.

When I visited her last week I pulled my mobile out of my pocket before getting into the car (it inevitably rings once I've done my seatbelt up) and she perked up and asked "what that was". I had to write a list of channel numbers down when I got her a plasma TV... (why is channel 9 on channel 8?). She has all her marbles but this technology stuff is just too much.

With the 50,000,000 buttons on remotes these days is it any wonder some of the elderly give up.

[kulfi]

With the 50,000,000 buttons on remotes these days is it any wonder some of the elderly give up.

They don't have to give up. The government will use our tax dollars to install it for them !

[Dork(original)]

.

With the 50,000,000 buttons on remotes these days is it any wonder some of the elderly give up.

Elderly,

what about wives.

Paul.

[stach]

Elderly,

what about wives.

Paul.

corrrrrrrrrect

[JSmith]

It's that time again when one needs to consider what would grandma or old misery guts would like for Christmas ?

Oh dear! I've been here before and when every electronic item insists on having a remote control just to make our lives painless surely another one can't hurt ....or can it ?

I know there are programmable remotes out there but they are generally expensive and not something one might give away to an elderly person who cannot identify the 'play' or the 'stop' button.

The more elderly seem to have difficulty in remembering and comprehending the technicalities that accompanying manuals of entertainment equipment try to impart.

This lack of comprehension that some elderly users experience even after having read the manual and then having it explained to them repeatedly and in detail is quite bewildering.

Throw in a few remotes, each one for its own individual purpose, with some looking very similar to others with half charged batteries and you have the makings of a lunatic of 86 years trying to get the blu-ray player, the AVR and the plasma to talk to each other, let alone getting a picture on the screen, and now having come to the conclusion ..... it's all too much and it's time to go.

It just isn't funny... technologically induced dementia, it's quite irrational.

Honestly, remote controls ..... they're just out to get us ......

C.M

My 87 year old Gramdma has no problems operating a Samsung 32" LCD. Unfortunatley she has recently been moved to a nursing home, but she uses the TV all the time there now compared to just in the evening when she was still at home. She can find/scroll through channels and recently I've taught her how to use a USB with preloaded TV shows and movies. We just leave the USB slotted in, seems it turns out to be alot easier than teaching her how to use a DVD player as she just uses the same remote for the TV that she is familiar with to press the one "media" button. I've put a fluro pink sticker for her on the "enter" button so she knows that is the "go" button as we call it. It all seems to work well and she loves watching the Planet Earth and Blue Planet series I've copied for her.

Maybe you should try to somehow remove the player and/or the AVR from the equation to simplify matters?

I agree though explaining how this type of equipment is challenging and alot of patience is required. Of course everyone differs in their level of understanding. I find it best to reduce the usage of any technical terms at all.

Best of luck there CM.

JSmith

[lepa]

I've encountered a similar situation with my 80+ yo father except it was the Hardly Normal salesman that stitched him up. Sold him this fandangle ubueat DVD (that he didn't need) with a huge remote. Now unless one of us are around to help, he has nfi how to operate the device. Yeah remotes, just can't seem to get enough of them can we?

[mcduck]

Elderly,

what about wives.

Paul.

oi

i know how to put the disc into the bluplayer ( when he opens the drawer )

and then he'll hand me the remote and show me where the volume button is

gonna learn to turn on the tv and ps3 soon( and how to find them on the reciever )

[fawlty99]

corrrrrrrrrect

Yes + 1.

A universal learning remote is a good idea BUT still not foolproof. e.g. if the old dear (or wife) selects "play DVD" and then later turns off the dvd player at the front panel the remote still thinks it's on.

At some point the user has to think about what is going on and how to fix it when the results are not as expected. That is the hard part.

[bernievink]

Guys and Gals

I know just what you mean, I have a mother in law who is 89 and is in a retirement home.

when her 21 inch CRT TV failed some time ago, I went to a lot of trouble to find a HDTV with DVD player included,

to try to prevent all these problems.

I also made sure the remote had good size buttons and was quite solid. I bought a TEAC LCDV2657DVR.

So 1 TV/DVD player 1 remote, buttons good and decent size.

was she happy NO! does she use it Yes.

does it get messed up with wierd combinations of button presses Yes.

Luckily there is a useful person in the retirement home who is quite helpful.

I have enlarged the remote control page out of the manual on a photo copier.

and then laminated it so it does not get coffee stains on it.

now only about once every three months or so I need to do a factory reset to restore all to normal.

Hope these ideas help someone else out there with elderly people in need.

Regards

Bernie Vink

[JSmith]

Something like this may assist?

JSmith

[ajm1503559545]

I'm in my 40s, been around "tech" since I was 6, could program my own games in Basic when I was 10 (etc etc etc etc) and I find most HT devices a chore to setup. I've installed all the gear in my house (and there's a metric ****-tonne of it) and even I can get lost in the maze of inputs, remotes and processes required to get something to play.

I often wonder what incomprehensible systems my kids (and their kids) will come up with to confuse and confound me. *shudder*

[SDL]

I'm in my 40s, been around "tech" since I was 6, could program my own games in Basic when I was 10 (etc etc etc etc) and I find most HT devices a chore to setup. I've installed all the gear in my house (and there's a metric ****-tonne of it) and even I can get lost in the maze of inputs, remotes and processes required to get something to play.

I often wonder what incomprehensible systems my kids (and their kids) will come up with to confuse and confound me. *shudder*

Thats the worry, we think we are a pretty tech savvy generation. My parents struggle, I have to setup all their gear, I get channels on numbers they will remember and then delete all unused channels, and then get phonecalls when they get messages like DVB has found another channel. I gave my my mum a mobile once. I tried ringing her several times on it and got that it was turned off. I asked her why I could never phone her and she said she leaves it off so the battery doesn't run down and will turn it on only if she has an emergency.

But my 4 year old knows how to use the IQ on Foxtel, grabs my wifes Iphone or my Ipad and plays about with them. Turns on the PC and sets up games - no-one has taught him he just learns by watching and also it seems intuitive to him.

You may think your parents seem tech stupid, but just wait the next generation are going to have to help us too.

[CAVX]

I often wonder what incomprehensible systems my kids (and their kids) will come up with to confuse and confound me. *shudder*

Scary thought. By then we should have moved past physical discs and be totally in a low def down load world.

[Dork(original)]

Elderly,

what about wives.

Paul.

oi

i know how to put the disc into the bluplayer ( when he opens the drawer )

and then he'll hand me the remote and show me where the volume button is

gonna learn to turn on the tv and ps3 soon( and how to find them on the reciever )

Relax Ducky.

I said wives not Ducks

Paul.

[IanD1503559705]

I expect life will get easier when we migrate to have imposed on us completely streaming on-demand services with some form of XBMC style GUI: just navigation cursor keys and an Enter button.

The problem might be when the old dear complains her pension account is overdrawn (from all the movie purchases made).

[Pfeff]

I must mix in different circles. God, reading some of these comments about 80+ rellies of yours, you'd think none have any marbles any more. My bosses parents are both in their 80s and run a substantial tyre import and distribution business, working a full day. They drive quite fast cars, fast and deftly. Have a Gold Coast unit they travel to regularly and can keep up quite a pace when walking. I know plenty of people half their age who would not keep up with them either in activity or intellect.

And I am 60 myself and frankly equally or more HT and IT savvy than my children. I have no trouble programming or setting up my Harmony 900 remote to control the 7 devices and 9 activities I've got in my HT room or the Harmony One in the spare room. Nor did I have any trouble setting up my 3 room Sonos system connected to Rhapsody and Pandora, the media server, and so on all connected to a pair of routers, one of which is a pass through to StrongVPN for the US resources. I'd use Netflix or Hulu except I don't have enough time to bother.

Having got the foregoing off my chest, I realise there are plenty of other aged people who don't care for technology and some downright put off by it. To those of you trying to assist them I feel sorry for because I feel we should all be prepared to learn throughout our lifetime and if you give up learning you may as well be in a grave... Dementia sufferers exempted. Justin case I alone of them one day.

[Venus]

My 79 year old mum can program the PVR I set up to record and play back. She can also switch between STB, DVD and VCR inputs on the widescreen CRT I passed onto them. I'm so proud of her.

My husband, on the other hand, just doesn't get technology and is immensely frustrated if a command doesn't do what he thinks it should (because he is in the wrong menu...).

[JSmith]

...and if you give up learning you may as well be in a grave... Dementia sufferers exempted. Justin case I alone of them one day.

Bit 'arsh ay? What about just being old? Some people try to learn but can't anymore...

Who's Justin... you alone what now?

JSmith

[ajm1503559545]

I have no trouble programming or setting up [snip]

Nor did I have any trouble setting up [snip]

I suggest there's a liberal application of mayonaise on your recollections here Pfeff. No one in the history of ... ever... went through these sorts of setups without trouble of some kind, even if it's a mistyped/forgotten password an IP address conflict. Knowing what to do when you hit these hurdles, however minor, is the reason you got to the end of the process. Even if you looked up a solution on the internet then you got some help getting set up so it doesn't take a genius to work out that if you're not familiar with using the interner to find answers then trouble is pretty much inevitable.

[IgglePiggle]

I must mix in different circles. Dementia sufferers exempted. Justin case I alone of them one day.

I think youre going around in circles.....dont worry youre exempted!

Justin?...u there?

Im 58 and I setup up everything for everybody ...friends,family,neighbours ,whoever...young,old,very old.......TVs,computers,laptops,hi fi,phones,internet,modems,DVDs ,HT ,software,hardware,firmware,etc etc. yada yada

My 82yr old Mum uses a PC ,email ,surfing,photos kinda thing,a mobile phone but needs to move to a PVR due to digital TV ..... and needs to move from dial up internet...... .......but my 84 yr old stepfather has no idea....he can turn on the TV and has the channel numbers written down so hes happy....let sleeping dogs lie....

[Tweet]

I think we all have to go through a process of mental reprogramming in order to 'interface' with the new consumer electronics we make use of these days.

For the more elderly, they are more resistive to this process as in their youth electrical appliances had fewer functions and was much to easier to use.

So often modern electronics, apart from its basic functioning is sold with additional features that are not particularly useful to the end user, but are included as marketing add-on's so models of a brand can be differentiated from one another in terms of functionality.

This of course complicates the learning process the user undergoes unless they are somewhat familiar with previous models of the brand. If we have difficulty in learning to use such a device, explaining its use to someone who really sees no need in using it is doomed to failure.

Just learning basic key functionality along with the imprinted 'symbols' is all that is really necessary for the uninitiated user, once confidence grows sufficiently a more explorative approach can be taken.

Though it seems elderly folk don't generally need anything more than this, as 'any complication' beyond that simple functionality of a product is not what they want at this time of life..... which is understandable I suppose.

C.M

Edited December 18, 2011 by Tweet

[Anden]

My folks late 70's and mid 80's have a Pioneer 428 Plasma, I had the lx508 prior to moving up to the lx 609, The point so far is that the remotes on both the 428 and 508 are the same.

A few weeks ago i got a call from mum ask why is the screen blank after switch it on,

About 10 mins of over the phone frustration turned out that one of them had accidently switched input devices somehow, easily done when they both have rather shakky hand movements now.

Even though i had written down instructions for them,. still unforseen mishaps will still happen, also they are terrified of all things tech.

I'm no tech guru by any means but i'm glad it was sorted out over the phone easily.

[Pfeff]

Bit 'arsh ay? What about just being old? Some people try to learn but can't anymore...

Who's Justin... you alone what now?

JSmith

Okay, okay.... A victim of auto correction on an iPad without reviewing my typing. Should read "just in case I am one of them..."

I still think this thread is disrespectful in its generalisation to older folk and unnecessary.

[sirhc55]

I am 66 and have been involved in electronics for most of my life and as such know the ins and outs of audio and video components.

I think what we have to consider is not the age but the interest in whatever is your thang!

For example I have a couple of friends (husband and wife) who go against the norm. He knows absolutely nothing about anything (he can’t wire a plug or drive a car). His wife, however, is amazing. She drives him, she wires plugs, she works the hi-fi and TV and many other jobs that would normally be undertaken by a man. However, this male friend is an absolutely brilliant artist who has made a fortune from his art.

So, if your gandma can work the computer, great. If your grandpa can’t, who cares - and of course, visa versa.

Each to their own