Art Lebedev's Pultius remote: one button for every channel

Here's a human-interface challenge for you: what's quicker, typing in a three-digit channel number on a traditional 0-9 keypad, or locating a physical button for that channel in a 20-inch long rainbow gradient of 102 identically-sized buttons? Art Lebedev is apparently hoping to solve that age-old dilemma with the Pultius remote, a concept created in response to a challenge to "design a remote control with as many buttons as there are channels on TV." Since it's just a concept, there's no word on price or availability, but really, haven't we all learned not to expect that sort of thing from Art Lebedev at this point?

[Holger @ Oct 5th 2007 8:41AM]

Hm.. looks ok, but is more or less unusable imo.

1. "Now where was the Discovery Channel? Yellow or orangish yellow?"
2. What about tv's with more than 102 channels?

[Blackstar @ Oct 5th 2007 9:01AM]

The thing is, it does not need to be wireless. It's so long you can just poke the TV to change channels.

[Mark @ Oct 5th 2007 9:25AM]

"so that's what life would be like if i'd invented the finglonger"

[Tinu @ Oct 5th 2007 10:12AM]

Its also a Wii-remote too, right? ;-) Playing action games wouldn't be the same anymore.... :-D

[carmen @ Oct 5th 2007 4:40PM]

@holger
if your t.v has more then 102 channels you will have to buy the 40 inch remote and if you have more then 204 channels they do thave the cable link that can be pluged into your 40 inch remote with an extra 40 inch remote...lol i'm suprised they don't have it

[Clayj @ Oct 5th 2007 8:42AM]

If he really wanted to be clever, he'd invent a voice-actuated remote where you'd say the channel you want ("HBO HD", for example), and the remote would understand that that's channel 318 and send the appropriate remote codes to the cable box or TV.

This design is cute, but stupid.

[Pepe @ Oct 5th 2007 2:15PM]

That is a good idea. Hmmm. Well, not really for me though. I guess it might be helpful for those people who use voice activated dialing on their cell phones...

[Sander de Regt @ Oct 7th 2007 6:23PM]

A voice controlled remote, wouldn't that be fun? You sit there watching your show. In comes your wife/husband/kid/father/mother and goes: "What are you watching?" And you would say: HBO - Then the other person goes:"Be sure to look over at ABC" *TV changes channel* "because there's something that I'd like to watch" You:"HBO!" *TV changes channel* Other person:"Fine, or if you don't want to watch that, there is a great documentary on the Discovery Channel" *TV changes channel* You:"Will you shut up! HBO!" *TV changes channel* Other person:"Listen, if you don't want to watch ABC-" *TV changes channel* You: HBO! *TV changes channel* Other person continues:"then don't watch ABC" *TV changes channel* You:" HBO!!!" Other person:"Fine! Be that way! - you can tell your brain was deprived of Oxygen-" *TV changes channel* "when you were born!" You:"HBO!"*TV changes channel* Repeat until someone gets hurt.

[mlb @ Oct 5th 2007 8:42AM]

Someone went to the Atari Jaguar school of input design...

[Karl Viklund @ Oct 5th 2007 8:48AM]

Very cool. I want one. Finally a remote that breaks every rule there is about modern remotes. Very cool.

[o29 @ Oct 5th 2007 12:17PM]

Including the notorious rule of actually being useful.

[rudebo @ Oct 5th 2007 8:50AM]

i hope this doesnt provoke anyone but ...

amateurish ! just like everything else from art lebedev its based on a "wouldn't it be cool" or "you know what would look cool" - trying to stand out basing itself on shallow thought .. just like the lcd keyboard - deceptively useless

[Alan Partridge @ Oct 5th 2007 8:55AM]

It's refreshing to have a company make things based on whats they think would be 'cool' makes a change from companies thinking 'what would make us the most money?' Surely theres room for both.

[rudebo @ Oct 5th 2007 9:07AM]

well you are right .. i've been a bit harsh .. i apologize... i'm just sore at the attention the keyboard got in spite of the fact that it was ergonomically useless detail :)

this remote would make a great paddle tho

[MEAT! @ Oct 5th 2007 9:19AM]

@Alan

When was the last time Art Lebedev actually made something? (Ray-traced images don't count.)

[Alan Partridge @ Oct 5th 2007 10:15AM]

Well there was the Optimus Mini 3 and that pencil eraser...

[i luv nose candy @ Oct 5th 2007 10:54AM]

You are right! This guy is a hack. He is regarded as the "Homer Simpson" of the industrial design world...

[ken @ Oct 5th 2007 8:50AM]

Wait, there's an interesting opportunity here. Imagine playing this remote like the neck of a guitar.

There's a whole world of "Channel Surfing Hero" to be explored here.

[Natedog @ Oct 5th 2007 10:41AM]

I was about to kill myself, but then I read this comment and realized that there is still something to live for. You sir have saved my life.

[ph @ Oct 5th 2007 8:55AM]

As Steve Jobs would say, "too many buttons". A scroll wheel would work just as well for channel selection. Uh, isn't that how those "radio" things used to work? But an iPod style scroll wheel would be cool for the TV.

[Andy S. @ Oct 5th 2007 9:19AM]

You may be too young to remember, but selecting channels via a scroll wheel (or as it was called back then, a channel selection "knob") was also common on televisions prior to push-button channel selection and remotes. Hell, there were satellite dish boxes back in the early 80's that had wired remotes that were little more than a box with a channel dial on it.

[shaun @ Oct 5th 2007 8:55AM]

ew, no, just....no

[strider_mt2k @ Oct 5th 2007 8:58AM]

Reminds me of that candy on the paper.

Eww.

-also not available until 2008, sorry.

[Meltz; @ Oct 5th 2007 2:18PM]

that crud was good i thought...except for the little bits of paper you would get along with the candy itself

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Oct 5th 2007 9:09AM]

Looking at this remote, it makes me want to cry, lol. I think because I gave this thing too much thought and I actually imagined myself using this at home. It just doesn't make any sense for me. Those colored-buttons have a menacing look about them. It's like they all want to eat me ALIVE!

[Joe V @ Oct 5th 2007 9:10AM]

I'm surprised this "concept" doesn't feature 102 OLED buttons programmed to display the logos of the corresponding channels. If you're going to make something absurd, go all out.

[Matt H @ Oct 5th 2007 9:13AM]

I guess just like you remember the numbers of channels, you'd remember the positions.

[mike @ Oct 5th 2007 9:16AM]

press butan

[Holger @ Oct 5th 2007 9:49AM]

hehe Futurama quote! love that series! Can't wait till the movie comes

[Petar Smilajkov @ Oct 5th 2007 9:30AM]

All I can say is MUAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :)

[Atanas Boev @ Oct 5th 2007 9:47AM]

I am for an old school TV with 9 channels and a rotary dial on the remote :)

[fraggle @ Oct 5th 2007 10:32AM]

being from the uk, we lack the myriad of channels that you guys have in the States. In fact, we only have 5 channels on standard analogue TV. Would we be able to reprogram the redundant buttons for things like the toaster/kettle/shower? Or would we be able to control every feature of the TV - " oh, £"$%, it's Tom Cruise, and his blinding white teeth - set the brightness to level 0!!"?

Just a thought.
frag./

[Richard John @ Nov 30th 2007 7:14AM]

Erm, they don't have that many analogue channels either... their spectrum is limited just like ours is.

Sky has over 600 channels.

[Robert @ Oct 5th 2007 10:37AM]

Hm, that's not enough for the 2500 channels I have over digital satellite! lol

[Z @ Oct 5th 2007 11:05AM]

Has he gone MAAAAAAAD??? A really eccentric fella, that one.

Seriously, I've got a better idea. How about making a sphere with these buttons all over it, no labels, and make the buttons all one color.

Or, make a remote with just one huge button in the middle - call it, "The Randomizer".

[SpecialKDawgg @ Oct 5th 2007 1:22PM]

Hahahhahahaha "The Randomizer". Nicley done. I'd buy it

[SugarDaddy @ Oct 5th 2007 11:08AM]

Stupidest concept ever! If you wanted to go to channel 83, chances are you'd push the wrong button at least once. So you'd end up having to use the same amount of button pushes to get to 83 anyway! What's next? A keyboard that costs $1200... oh wait...

[yelohbird @ Oct 5th 2007 11:29AM]

Art Lebedev should combine its efforts and work on something a lot more worthwhile for the world...

The OLPC project...

..
..
..

The [O]ne [L]cd-key [P]er [C]hannel Project =P

[suv4x4 @ Oct 5th 2007 11:29AM]

That's one of their most pointless designs. But actually most of their designs are made to impress visually and be quirky, not quite so useful.

What makes channel navigation frustrating on a typical remote is the digit number switch button ("_" / "_ _" / "_ _ _") and the microscopic circle rubber buttons that aren't easy to push quickly. Since most people have over 9 channels (10 with 0) it doesn't make sense to optimize the selection of channels 0-9 anymore, so the switch should go.

Want to make better remote? Go with bigger, firm, concave plastic buttons that are easy to push, and replace the switch button with bigger enter button (1+enter, 132+enter, 12+enter), like on a numeric keypad.

Want to make EVER better remote? Eliminate the channel buttons and put a touch screen with scrollable channel icons, the favorites listed on top. iPhone of a remote.

And a cheaper version of the last design: replace the remote with a remote mouse with scrollwheel and two buttons, and put the icons on the screen itself.

Now THAT, I call good design. But of course a two button mouse won't have enough buttons to show off our super turbo power rainbow coloring skills.

[Matt @ Oct 5th 2007 2:21PM]

Perhaps use an interface like the Wii's to select which channel you want to watch?

[shaliron @ Oct 5th 2007 11:48AM]

If Steve saw this, he'd have a heart attack!

[suv4x4 @ Oct 5th 2007 11:56AM]

Hehe, for those not in the know, Steve was heard saying he hates buttons on devices. Good design should have no buttons, or minimum number of buttons :)

Makes you wonder why he couldn't convince the design team to ditch the Home and on/off buttons off the iPhones :)

[Stan Winstone @ Oct 5th 2007 12:06PM]

How about a touch screen dummy?

[lanoitarus @ Oct 5th 2007 12:21PM]

You know honestly, this is a letdown given the source.

Honestly, home many of you watch more than, say, 15 channels regularly? Make a remote with 15 largish OLED buttons that show the channel logo with the current show superimposed over it for your "favorite" channels. I mean, i get probably 400 channels or something absurd like that, but I only ever watch a dozen at most. Heck, you could even get away with 5 OLED buttons for the 65 most watched channels (which id guess for most people comprise 90% of tv watching), and then a regular guide/arrows button for the rest if youre really bored.

Sure, its unnecessarily complex and expensive, but do you really expect any less from art lebedev? And if it DID work and you could afford one, how freaking cool would it be?

Oh, and there should be two more oled buttons at the bottom that automatically show any channel thats currently showing TNG or Walker: Texas Ranger.

[blore40 @ Oct 5th 2007 12:21PM]

If this remote were any longer, you could poke the channel up/down buttons on the TV.

Does anybody remember a MAD comics cartoon where this guy presses a button on the remote and the TV walks over to him?

[01 @ Oct 5th 2007 12:44PM]

I'd be more into this if there weren't THOUSANDS of channels available....give me a call when the 1K button remote comes out.

[SpecialKDawgg @ Oct 5th 2007 1:17PM]

I'd buy it........ what?!......... I WOULD!!!!

[LEXX911 @ Oct 5th 2007 1:18PM]

Wow, are people that lazy to type in 3 digit-numbers?

[DP @ Oct 5th 2007 1:43PM]

Wow that's dumb.

[JM @ Oct 5th 2007 1:50PM]

meh, that's not that impressive. Impressive would be building a remote with 4 buttons, and then chaining combos together to achieve the channel change. Maybe there's also a picture within picture that dramatizes your channel change combo in terms of Street Fighter.


Oh, and you win stuff by using it.