91 year old dad needs new smart TV to get rid of 5 (yes 5) remotes

Daughter 1

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Hello there

I need some help please - my parents 91 and 85 are really struggling now working the TV. They have 5 remotes including sound bar. They have a virgin mega package (£££) which they cannot afford with the heating costs going up and they love watching BT Sport - Sky sport - prime, netflix and basic channels c4 news and more 4 for walter presents etc...

I got them a harmony remote which has simply made things worse - so I now think a good smart TV might be the answer that has NOW, Prime etc available? But I really dont understand if they then still need their virgin TV package / wiring as they n o longer have an aerial.

So questions

1) is there a brilliantly clear remote they can use
2) what is the simplest and best smart tv to buy them which will do the job of all the remotes but keeps it simple and one remote?
3) Is there a service I can buy to install everything in a kind and clear way (I can be there but they need to understand 100%) - I think John Lewis?
4) Dad will want to keep his email as it is and that is with Virgin

Thanks in advance. Oh for the days of 4 channels and buttons!
 
Hi and welcome. Can't help with lots but someone will. Can you clarify what about the Harmony didn't help and if the soundbar is staying? Thanks.
 
Hello - too many buttons - screen too small for him to read - soundbar is negotiable!! Thanks for replying - off to make them a roast for lunch - back later!
 
just thinking out loud here.

My parents (in their 70's) have an old Panasonic TV, and Virgin and Soundbar, and everything is controlled by the one virgin remote,

They turn the TV on with the virgin remote and dont touch the TV settings after that, the virgin remote volume controls operate the Soundbar and not the TV, and all the channel content (Virgin channels, Netflix etc etc) is all running through the virgin box, so really is just one remote.

Could you not set things up in a similar way - keep virgin, do some prices negotiation with them to reduce the channels and if not re contracted for a while see if they can discount also?

I had a similar chat with my parents about getting rid of virgin, but the alternative was learning to use in built apps for Iplayer, netlfix and everything else in a smart tv, and decided it was better to keep the virgin box they had as they knew how it worked - they could also record which they are used to doing....
 
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Have you considered an AppleTV box for them to stream everything from.

It has apps for Now TV, Netflix, Prime, BTSport as well all the terrestrial apps for ITV, BBC etc.

There's also some free apps such as Pluto that have live channels on them.

I've got one in every room and can't recommend them enough to friends and family.

If you have a BT subscription they would be able to use that on their box as well to save a bit of money.

By buying a AppleTV box there would be no need to buy a new TV.
 
I have seen there is a speaker you can get which can commend tvs and things might be harmony again would this work?
 
I just set up a Harmony and just use Alexa ( voice control ) to do just about everything in my home from TV to lighting/heating etc
 
Have you considered an AppleTV box for them to stream everything from.

It has apps for Now TV, Netflix, Prime, BTSport as well all the terrestrial apps for ITV, BBC etc.

There's also some free apps such as Pluto that have live channels on them.

I've got one in every room and can't recommend them enough to friends and family.

If you have a BT subscription they would be able to use that on their box as well to save a bit of money.

By buying a AppleTV box there would be no need to buy a new TV.
they dont have BT - but thanks - worth thinking about
 
ATV would just be one more remote. I have an ATV, Roku, Firestick, & then the soundbar & blu-ray player = 6 remotes

My LG with WebOS has just about every application I need, the only reason I have those other streaming devices is because I'm anal about getting HDR content & the highest bitrate I can.

Get a LG TV & compatible LG soundbar & you're golden, in my opinion.
If I remember right, the LG soundbars have integral Google for voice commands.

They're not top-tier for audio performance, but I think it would be easier to use with an LG TV & possibly without needing to have the remote for it handy.

I'm using a Samsung soundbar with my LG & it's necessary to keep the remote handy for switching modes.

If you want to keep the existing TV, get a higher end Roku device, they come with a remote that can control the TV volume.
 
I just set up a Harmony and just use Alexa ( voice control ) to do just about everything in my home from TV to lighting/heating etc
Ooh -how do I do that?
just thinking out loud here.

My parents (in their 70's) have an old Panasonic TV, and Virgin and Soundbar, and everything is controlled by the one virgin remote,

They turn the TV on with the virgin remote and dont touch the TV settings after that, the virgin remote volume controls operate the Soundbar and not the TV, and all the channel content (Virgin channels, Netflix etc etc) is all running through the virgin box, so really is just one remote.

Could you not set things up in a similar way - keep virgin, do some prices negotiation with them to reduce the channels and if not re contracted for a while see if they can discount also?

I had a similar chat with my parents about getting rid of virgin, but the alternative was learning to use in built apps for Iplayer, netlfix and everything else in a smart tv, and decided it was better to keep the virgin box they had as they knew how it worked - they could also record which they are used to doing....
the issue for dad is he likes the shows on prime too so we have a firestick and all the changing hdmi - hence the harmony - but somehow I made it worse..
I just set up a Harmony and just use Alexa ( voice control ) to do just about everything in my home from TV to lighting/heating etc
On line it says the only harmony I can do this with is the hub? i bought them a remote only.
 
I'll add that Prime-Video on the LG is basically as good as it gets for Prime in my opinion.
It does HDR & ATMOS without issue, which I can't make the same comment about other applications. I'm not sure if Disney+ can do HDR on the LG, but Hulu (owned by Disney) will not do HDR from the WebOS application.
 
You may be able to reduce the number of remotes but it may not reduce the complexity. I have a 5 device universal remote that I can control 7 devices with, but it relies on the control signalling being IR and not Bluetooth.

Look up JP1 for more info.

My primary remote is a URC-7555 which is very old now but does what I want. It has one key feature called "macros on device keys" which makes everything work. Basically if I press the device key to control the Apple TV, it transmits a signal to a HDMI switch to select the input the Apple TV is connected to then emits Apple TV IR codes. So you get single button source selection.

I am controlling the TV, an Enigma2 PVR, an Apple TV, an Amazon Fire TV stick, a Blu-Ray player, a Samsung soundbar and a 4 into1 HDMI switch.
 
just thinking out loud here.

My parents (in their 70's) have an old Panasonic TV, and Virgin and Soundbar, and everything is controlled by the one virgin remote,

They turn the TV on with the virgin remote and dont touch the TV settings after that, the virgin remote volume controls operate the Soundbar and not the TV, and all the channel content (Virgin channels, Netflix etc etc) is all running through the virgin box, so really is just one remote.

Could you not set things up in a similar way - keep virgin, do some prices negotiation with them to reduce the channels and if not re contracted for a while see if they can discount also?

I had a similar chat with my parents about getting rid of virgin, but the alternative was learning to use in built apps for Iplayer, netlfix and everything else in a smart tv, and decided it was better to keep the virgin box they had as they knew how it worked - they could also record which they are used to doing....
Hello - how do I get the sound bar to work via the virgin remote please? As this sounds good option.
 
Hello - how do I get the sound bar to work via the virgin remote please? As this sounds good option.
It may depend on the Soundbar, can you tell us exactly what make and model it is?
 
My 88 dad manages with an AppleTV with new style remote. The TV turns on/off via HDMI and the remote is setup via IR for volume. The tv works with the single Apple TV controller and as there are few buttons eye sight is less of an issue.
 
Ooh -how do I do that?

the issue for dad is he likes the shows on prime too so we have a firestick and all the changing hdmi - hence the harmony - but somehow I made it worse..

On line it says the only harmony I can do this with is the hub? i bought them a remote only.
I have in all Honesty , forgot how i did it .. I daresay there may be instructions etc on the Alexa/amazon forums
 

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