Industry Overview; The Problem: The Growing Complexity Of Home Entertainment; The Opportunity - Logitech Harmony 890 User Manual

Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Reviewer's Guide – Page 5

3. Industry Overview

3.1 The Problem: The Growing Complexity of Home Entertainment

Until recently, most home-entertainment systems were confined to a single room of the
house – a living room or media room with only a few components. In nearly all cases,
these components were out in the open, so that conventional IR-based remote controls
could operate them.
But today's home may feature entertainment consoles and systems concealed inside of
cabinets or other furniture. And today's consumers often enjoy music, video, games and
other home entertainment throughout home. Many high-end music systems include
speakers built into several rooms – a scenario in which walls prevent conventional IR
remote controls from controlling the equipment in another room.
This state of affairs has left many consumers frustrated – while they may spend
thousands of dollars for top-of-the-line home-entertainment technology, the experience
is tainted by their lack of complete and flexible control over their systems. They resort to
using several remote controls, often in several rooms, to operate their equipment.
Worse, the proliferation of multiple remotes throughout the house makes it all the more
difficult for family members to both learn and remember how to operate everything.

3.2 The Opportunity

Several companies have tried to solve the problem of home-entertainment complexity
with universal remotes. However, most third-party programmable remotes have been
inadequate for these reasons:
• They are difficult to set up. They require consumers to program complicated
infrared codes into the remote, so they must have deep technical knowledge or
hire an installer.
• They control components individually, even though most entertainment
activities involve more than one component. They require pressing an elaborate
sequence of buttons to simply watch television or a DVD, or listen to music.
• They do not work with all components. Many remotes only work on a limited
number of popular devices. On some remotes, information that the remote uses
to control components is stored internally, at the time it was manufactured, and
quickly becomes outdated, forcing people to teach these codes to the remote via
a confusing, laborious process.
• IR dependent remotes don't work through cabinets, where today's components
often reside, and they can't work through walls or floors to operate equipment in
other rooms of the house.
As a result, some consumers have turned to elaborate whole-house automation systems
that provide operation of all remote-controllable electronics throughout the home.
Unfortunately, these systems are typically custom installed and programmed by a
professional, extremely costly and still complex to operate.