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SET-TOP.COM Remote Control

RUEL'S REVIEW OF
THE SET-TOP.COM
REMOTE CONTROL

Click Here for an interview of the people behind the remote control

I've been playing with a very nifty remote control that I think all WebTV and set-top users will like very much. It's the SET-TOP.COM remote control. This remote control will be available in mid-October 1999. It looks like any other remote control, but it's different. There will be those users who will want a keyboard, but this remote control may encourage people to put away the WebTV keyboard. This remote control could certainly help to ease computer-phobic people into using the WebTV without having to touch something that resembles a computer keyboard.

This remote control and it's underlying patent-pending technology are from the folks at SET-TOP.COM who have experience in digital television, electronics, and computers. They know that the consumer choice between television content and technological improvements will weigh in favor of television content. Having the latest technological improvements is nice, but people want to watch television. People want to go to TV channels and websites on their TV sets. And the SET-TOP.COM folks believe people, particularly new non-computer WebTV users, will primarily use their remote controls to go to these destinations.

Before we go into what this remote control is all about, let me tell you that I was a little skeptical about this remote control. Many WebTV users insist on having a keyboard. How can you type in URL addresses if you don't have a keyboard? Some folks hate that onscreen keyboard. But a keyboard seems to be a fact of life whenever you have to type in words. The SET-TOP.COM folks say using their remote control with their TV HyperCode system will make you put away any WebTV keyboard you may have. After playing with their remote control, I think the SET-TOP.COM remote control is what can make the WebTV easier to use and to accept by non-computer TV viewers who may be afraid of anything with a keyboard. If you have ever observed non-computer users, they are afraid of touching keyboards. If you need to do email or fill out forms, pull out the keyboard. But for pure television and internet surfing, you may want to get this remote control. With this remote control, you can use one hand to point the remote at the WebTV to click and go.

The SET-TOP.COM folks were kind enough to send a demo remote control unit to me to play with. This is what it looks like.

SET-TOP.COM Remote Control

The remote is the size of a regular remote control. It is a little under eight inches in length. It has all the basic buttons you need to maneuver around the WebTV. You have a red power button at the top along with some light-up buttons for TV, WEB, VCR, and AUX. You can use the light-up buttons to automatically program the remote control to whatever WebTV you may have. The remote control works with all of the WebTV Plus boxes as well as the Sony WebTV Classic, but the remote does not work with the Philips-Magnavox WebTV Classic at this time. [The SET-TOP.COM folks should have a remote control that is compatible with the Philips-Magnavox WebTV Classic sometime in December 1999.] There is a navigational compass of up, down, left, and right cursor buttons. And there are buttons for VIEW, TV/VIDEO, MUTE, HOME, BACK, PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, and for volume control and for changing channels. The channel changing button lets you surf through TV channels like with a regular remote control.

SET-TOP.COM Remote Control

Below the cursor buttons, there are function keys F1 through F7 like on a keyboard, except the F1 is labeled as the SET-TOP.COM key. If you get a remote control from SET-TOP.COM, you will have to program the WebTV to make the F1 key go to a specific SET-TOP.COM webpage. Along with the function keys, there is a FAVORITES button.

At the bottom of the remote control are buttons for OPTIONS, INFO, SEND, MAIL, GO TO, and RECENT. Above those buttons is the mnemonic-numeric keypad that is similar to the keypad on a telephone. The telephone keypad has the alphabet start on the number 2 key. On the SET-TOP.COM keypad, the alphabet starts on the number 1 key. The 0 key can be used as an "@" or an "&". And where the * asterisk key would be on the telephone keypad, there is a BACKSP button on the remote control's keypad. And where there would be a # prompt key on the telephone keypad, there is an ENTER button on the remote control's keypad.

SET-TOP.COM Remote Control

This remote control let's you type in words using the TV HyperCode mnemonic-numeric system which is similar to those 800 and 900 numbers where the telephone number is translated into a word or a brandname. So, if you want to go to a particular website, you press the SET-TOP.COM button on the remote control to go to a special SET-TOP.COM page where you input a word or a brandname to go to a website or a TV channel. It is similar to using Realnames on the internet, but you do it with a remote control using the TV HyperCode system. If you want to go to the ESPN website, you simply type in "ESPN" which numerically translates to 2765. You just look at the keypad and spell it out. If you want to go to the ESPN channel, you type in "ESPN" and the "@" key (which is the zero key) where "@" means go to a television channel. So, you punch in "ESPN@". Just punch it in, click, and go. It is all very easy and so very cool. If you are hooked up to cable or to a satellite system, you can surf through all of the channels one at a time to find what you want to watch. However, if you want to go to ESPN without having to surf all of the TV channels, and if you forgot that ESPN is channel 4 or channel 167, you can use the TV HyperCode system to type in "ESPN@" to watch ESPN. This system is particularly useful if you have a lot of cable or satellite channels on your TV set. And it is useful for surfing to websites on the internet. The TV HyperCode processing is done on the internet side, but the system switches you to the TV side if you want to watch television. You can flip back and forth between the TV side and the SET-TOP.COM page to input a new mnemonic for a TV channel by pressing the SET-TOP.COM button on the remote (or you can press the VIEW button on the remote if the internet side is already on the SET-TOP.COM page).

One question I initially had, and that I received from people who I showed this remote control to, was what would happen if you typed in a TV HyperCode that could translate to more than one website or TV channel. For instance, what if you want to go to the NBA which translates to 511 and which is also the TV HyperCode for NBC? If there is a TV HyperCode conflict, you are sent to a conflict control system that tells you that the TV HyperCode is for both the NBA and NBC and gives you a chance to choose the correct destination that you want to go to. Just click and go.

You have to access the internet to use this system. So, if you have a dial-up WebTV Plus box, unless you are already connected to the internet, you will have to wait for the WebTV to connect so you can log into the Set-Top.com website to use the TV HyperCode system. This shouldn't be a problem with the cable version of WebTV Plus or any other interactive TV service over cable since you should be connected all the time. I would not be surprised if WebTV or some other company chooses to license the TV HyperCode technology for use in an Electronic Program Guide (EPG). I can imagine seeing a TV HyperCode input blank somewhere on the WebTV's TV Home page or in the WebTV's TV Listing section (and even on the internet Home page or somewhere in the Explore section). I would not be surprised to eventually see TV HyperCode input boxes built into search engine pages as television becomes the popular way to access the internet in the future. The SET-TOP.COM folks say that they are talking to a bunch of people throughout the television, cable, internet, and set-top industries who show some interest in their TV HyperCode and remote control technology. This is hot technology that adds quick go-to simplicity for the TV viewer that takes advantage of brandnames and common words. Branding is the name of the game in marketing on the internet and television. And the TV HyperCode system takes advantage of the consumer recognition of brandnames and common words. It is so simple to use.

I like this remote control from SET-TOP.COM. But I wanted to see what other people thought of this remote control and the TV HyperCodes. As previously mentioned, I was skeptical as to whether this remote control could replace a keyboard for WebTV surfing. Well, it can, but what would other people think of this remote? I went to a electronics store and asked to play with their WebTV boxes. The remote worked with each of the WebTV Plus boxes that I tried out. I showed the remote to several sales people and to customers at the store and asked them what they thought of using a remote control instead of a keyboard with a WebTV. When I explained to them that you can type in common words and brandnames on the remote like you would on a telephone keypad when calling an alpha-numeric 800 or 900 telephone number, they agreed that it would be easier and more convenient to use the remote control instead of the keyboard to surf the web or to change channels on the TV set. A keyboard is nice, but an easy-to-use remote control could be better.

The best review I can give for this remote control is: You have got to get one. The manufacturer's suggest retail price for the SET-TOP.COM remote control is $29.95. The remote control should be available in mid-October 1999 at the http://www.set-top.com website.

What could be just as interesting as this remote control are the folks who are behind this remote control. Click Here to read an interview of the folks at SET-TOP.COM.


CLICK HERE FOR AN
INTERVIEW OF THE
PEOPLE BEHIND
THE SET-TOP.COM
REMOTE CONTROL