Hands-On Tech 220 Transcript

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0:00:00 - Mikah Sargent
Coming up on Hands-On Tech, let's take a look at remapping the media buttons on a TV remote. Stay tuned.

Hello and welcome to Hands-On Tech. I'm Mikah Sargent and we, as always, are answering the questions you have, yes, the tech questions you have. Today we are looking at a question that comes from Lance. So Lance writes in and says as you know, many home theater and gaming gear devices come with remotes in the box. I wonder if there's a way to fix them based on my needs, not what they want. In my case, since I already use iHeartRadio, I don't need a Spotify button. Since I use the Disney+ with Max, I don't need that. I don't need the Netflix app because I don't like Netflix. So can I change these buttons? Is essentially what Lance is asking.

So what Lance is talking about here, many of you I'm sure have either maybe you've stayed at an Airbnb, or you've gone to a hotel, or you've purchased a TV that you pull it out. You pull out the remote and there are three or four buttons on there that have a logo Netflix, Hulu who knows? Amazon Prime, all these different things and it's typically that the TV manufacturer and the company that distributes the content that makes these streaming platforms kind of have a deal in place to make it so that that button is being used. It helps to subsidize the cost of the television and in doing so you are sort of locked in to having to have those buttons for that specific stuff and in some cases those streaming services go the way of the dodo and suddenly that button is of no use to you anymore. Or, as is the case with Lance, who doesn't really watch Netflix even though Netflix is still around not very useful to Lance. So can you change the buttons on the remote? I'm going to say this Technically sort of yes, kind of, but ultimately there's no easy or good way to go about fixing this. You could and I have seen in looking into this some people who have physically rewired the buttons on the remote or shorted the traces on the remote to try and kind of change what the button does. But you could end up ruining the remote that way and it's also just not really practical. Because if you're rewiring it, what are you rewiring it to? You're just gonna make more than one power button on the remote. That's kind of. Then you're going to accidentally grab it and turn off the TV. So no, um, you really can't do that. But you know, I think there are some other options available to you. A third party programmable remote is a great idea, um, so you can get a remote that will have buttons that can change based on your needs at that time. You can have it launch. If you have an iHeartRadio app, you could have it do that.

I wanted to mention something that is a tool that I have used in the past that could be useful to you. It's called the Broadlink RM4 Mini and this tiny little device. It's powered via USB and you can plug it into a USB port on the TV as power, or you can get a little adapter and plug it in that way, and you can actually buy a special little power cord that has built into it a temperature and humidity sensor as well, and so then you can also just have a little device in your living room or wherever you have this TV that also is giving you information about the television, or rather the room's humidity and temperature. But what this device does, it's called an IR blaster and you can program it with information to be able to control different devices in your home, including the TV. So in this case you could have it change menu, change input, da-da-da-da-da. But you could also have it launch specific apps that are on your television or do.

Whatever it is that you're, you know you're looking to do so with this device. You would be able to achieve more than you would with trying to do this remapping of the media buttons. It's just very complicated, uh, and not practical for making changes to those buttons In most cases. Yeah, the way that these are set up, it's meant to a contact and then it sends a specific signal out to the TV and that signal is that signal and the TV is going, the TV software firmware is going to read that signal and then do the thing that it's programmed to do. So you would have to either somehow change the signal that's coming out of the remote and figure out some other thing that you could tell the TV to do that's not already programmed, or you would have to change the software firmware on the television to interpret the signal as a different command. So we're talking like jailbreaking your devices and in that way, lance, I don't think that's a great idea. So a programmable option is better.

And it used to be that these IR blasters, these universal remotes et cetera were a little bit more pricey. But the Broadlink RM4 Mini, I think, is less than $30, if I remember correctly, yeah, $25.99. It works with an app on your phone and also works with a Google Assistant and ALAXA. And if you have any other IR devices a fan, audio equipment, dvd player, air conditioner those will also work with it. So you could end up controlling a lot of stuff in your living room or media room or whatever it happens to be that you have. It's also compatible with different automation software. So if you want to do that, you can. And, as I mentioned, I liked that I was able to buy it with the temperature and humidity sensor, so I just had that extra little device as an addition that gave me that info. So it ends up being about $35.99. So $36 to get the temperature and humidity sensor as well, but again, you don't need that part. So $25.99 for just the Broadlink RM4 Mini.

So, lance, I think that's going to be your best option, unless you have a Burke who could get in there and work on somehow remapping those buttons. But again, you'd only be remapping them to something else that's on the remote right, so it's not really something that's going to work. I think another listener said you know you could make a change just with some alcohol wipes, implying that just rubbing off the logo that's on the button might be nice, but yeah, I understand it's frustrating, yeah, and taking a sledge to the remote is probably not going to get you the result that you want either. Lance, I'm sorry that there's not a better option out here for you especially. I'm sorry that there's not a better option out here for you Especially. I think your question perhaps suggests that you're not interested in investing more money into the issue, and so I understand that hearing well, if you buy this thing might not be the answer you were looking for, but that's what I've got for you, friend.

Um, all right, so, oh yeah, now's a great time to remind you about Club Twit at twit.tv/clubtwit. For but a wee payment every month, or a reasonable payment every year, you can join the content, none of the ads. You gain access to the Twit+ bonus feed that has extra stuff you won't find anywhere else behind the scenes before the show, after the show, special Club Twit events get published there and access to the members only. Discord server A fun place to go to chat with your fellow Club Twit members and those of us here at Twit. We always have great events going on in the club a book club, my crafting corner and, of course, live coverage of different tech press events in a week and a day as we record this episode.

I guess by the time you listen to this it will have already happened, but Leo and I are doing live commentary of WWDC, so hopefully, if you didn't get to see that live, you should get to see it, I believe, after the fact, in the Twit+ feed. So, regardless, that Twit+ feed is chock full of great stuff that you aren't getting otherwise. So we would love to see you in the club twit.tv/clubtwit is where you go to sign up, and now is the time where I remind you all out there. hot@twitt.tv is how you get in touch. Love to hear your questions, but also love to hear your answers and your solutions to problems that you've had, so always feel free to reach out with those as well. Thank you, lance. Thank you listeners. I'll be back again next week with another episode of Hands on Tech.

0:10:39 - Leo Laporte
No matter how much spare time you have, twit.tv has the perfect tech news format for your schedule. Stay up to date with everything happening in tech and get tech news your way with twit.tv. Start your week with this Week in Tech for an in-depth, comprehensive dive into the top stories every week and for a midweek boost, Tech News Weekly brings you concise, quick updates with the journalists breaking the news. Whether you need just the nuts and bolts or want the full analysis, stay informed with twit.tv's perfect pairing of tech news programs.