“This one button TV&VCR Remote can be programmed to scan your favorite channels, turn the TV and VCR on and play the tape with one switch hit, or it can simply turn the TV on and off.”

This one button TV and VCR Remote offers flexibility and simplicity, depending on the end user. Each remote can be programmed to operate in three different ways, with the different modes selected by the positioning of a slide switch. If a person wants to watch TV, it can be set in TV mode. The way in which it operates can be customized. For example, it can be programmed to scan one’s favorite channels, so that each hit of the switch advances to another channel; to watch a videotape, it can be programmed to send a series of signals with one switch hit, turning the TV and VCR on, changing the TV channel to 3, and sending the Play command; or it can simply turn the TV on and off.

        
The One Button TV-VCR Remote

When first given the assignment, Di was asked to develop a one-button TV remote. Extensive input was sought from adults with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, leading to the development of a combined TV and VCR remote, since many wanted the ability to control the VCR, too. It also came out that parents wanted to control the channels a child watched. This led to the capability to preprogram which channels the TV scanned through. The single switch control and the ability to customize the commands sent by the remote and to create macros, or strings of commands, set it apart from existing remotes. Di worked with a developer of remote controls to reduce the overall cost of development and establish the ability to expand the code library as new TV and VCRs came to market.