Moving Beyond the Traditional Remote Control with Point and Click Capabilities

Television viewing is a passive activity, and customers want to be in control with easier ways to search, find, and interact with content. The goal is to provide a natural & enjoyable experience in navigation & content search keeping the user focused on the content portal/screen. At IBC, Arsham Hatambeiki from Universal Electronics,explained this can be accomplished by with additional attention to the only portion of the user interface physically touched by the user—the remote control. Discrete up, down, left and right navigation is no longer sufficient and natural for a 3D environment where the user expects to see a virtual representation of his/her 3D movements in the graphical interface. Newer navigation solutions, such as In-air pointing, fit the requirements fairly well with the proper integration with the graphical elements of the user interface. It is an engaging experience where navigation is no longer just means to find content, but also enjoyable and somewhat addictive. With increased interactivity, television viewers are more likely to become more satisfied with their TV service.