Hastings: You’ll Control Your TV with This
During his keynote address at NewTeeVee Live, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings talked about abandoning the 50-button TV remote as we know it, in favor of a pointer device like the one used by the Wii. There actually is a company already building such a pointer remote device, and we’ve got a video demo of it, if you want to see a glimpse of the future Hastings described.
Earlier this year, Hillcrest Labs trotted out its “concept car” of a TV remote, which uses the Freespace motion control technology. It was a loop that you pointed at the screen to scroll through options and select your content. (It has anti-tremor technology built into the device so the on-screen pointer doesn’t shake as you try to steady your hand — neat!) Hillcrest wouldn’t actually make the remotes, but rather license the technology out to consumer electronics companies to manufacture.
Hastings referenced the Wii-mote during his talk as an example, and Hillcrest actually filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Nintendo, claiming the Wii motion controls violate Hillcrest’s patents.
Regardless of who winds up the winner in that fight, this video demo of Hillcrest’s technology gives you a sample of how you could be soon ditching those button-filled remotes for on-screen menu guide and hand gestures to browse not just TV shows, but photos, music and even streamed Netflix content.
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Hillcrest has been pitching this remote for like 2 or 3 years now. (I tried it at a 1/07 CES event.) See anyone using it yet…?
Linux MCE does the same thing as what Hillcrest is Doing with the UI with an Airmouse .
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Main_Page
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Gyration_Go_2.4_air_mouse
Watch this Linux MCE Video and you will see that this “technology” is already in the Wild and being used with Gyro Remotes
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2176025602905109829&hl=en
Actually the best way to use the Hillcrest remote today is to buy the new Kodak Theatre HD Player. It let’s you “fly” through your photos and songs using the cool pointer interface. Or Internet radio stations, or Flickr pics. Because the product was designed from the start for a pointer, it’s pioneering the new UI we will probably all use eventually on TVs.
Frankly it makes old remotes look like DOS compared to Mac.