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"Improved"? remote

Auto re-switch-on remote
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I support advertising as the lifeblood of trade, but in the nature of things, many ads are wasted on me, so I kill them, get immersed in some activity, or doze off, and miss, to my annoyance, the rest of a good programme.

The idea is for there to be a means, in a remote, of bringing sound and/or vision BACK ON AGAIN AUTOMATICALLY, after an [adjustable] period.

The remote I dream of will get me back on track, so it's more than just a sleep-time switch-off, a common feature of remotes.

Of course my remote would have to be laid down pointing at the box to use it as an auto-timer.

rayfo, Jul 05 2001

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       If I understand you correctly, the remote wouldn't necessarily need to remain pointed at the TV. It could issue a 'Mute-for-n-seconds' command, so the TV would do just that. This would require new logic in the TV as well as the remote, but the major manufacturers renew their product ranges every year or so anyway.
angel, Jul 05 2001
  

       Of course. Skip forward. Why didn't I think of that? I'd want the skip time to be adjustable though.
rayfo, Jul 05 2001
  

       Neither TiVo nor Replay offer that function anymore, though. Advertisers went ballistic and the function was quickly re-programmed. You can still skip the commercials, of course, you just have to fast forward through them normally.
agentzen, Aug 09 2001
  

       My TV has a 'commercial skip' thing. Push the button for 30 seconds per press, then change channels. When the timer runs out, it jumps back to the original channel.
StarChaser, Aug 10 2001
  

       For those of us that can not afford cable one could start a company city by city, state by state rent a small office all major cities, install a "microwave" transmitter or a trasmitter with a frequency strong enough to cover a major city. hire minimum wage staff to watch 5 or 6 channels per person. Said staff would turn on and off commercials sending a signal to your reciever that could use velcro to attach said unit to remote, or design it so you can throw away your remote and much like a traditional beeper gets its signal, would mute not only the channel your on but all those with a commercial playing in your area. Unit could be called the "Commercial Canceler" for a deposit or simple purchase like a 7 in 1 remote with extra feature for $19.95 and pay $5 a month for all or most major channels to mute all commercials. ( Of course with the ability to over ride ) I don't know about you but I would gladly pay $5 or $10 a month to have all commercials muted. Cheap, effective and you get the latest remote controller. One could go one step futher and add that not only does their remote control turn off all commercials in your area, but it can download all future commands for new tv's and dvd's and whatever else gets built requiring a replacement remote control. Possibly the last remote you'll ever need. If you can afford cable, maybe the cable company could offer you a commercial free 118 channels for an additional fee. Of course the technology would be easier but similar. koolwebs@bellsouth.net
coleygross, Mar 02 2002
  

       coley, you got it right, but why microwave? future VCRs, like all future appliances, will have IP numbers. just subscribe to commercialcancelling.org and trade your vcr ads for web ads, or, pay me that $20/month and we'll withhold the web ads. 10/15/2002
gnormal, Oct 15 2002
  

       //Neither TiVo nor Replay offer that function anymore, though.//   

       Not true agentzen. TiVo still allows you to fast forward through commercials, as does ReplayTV. The ReplayTV 4000+ units also have Commercial Advance (automatic skipping of commercials), and this still works fine pending the outcome of the lawsuits. I own a Replay 4000 and can confirm that Commercial Advance is alive and well as of this writing.
krelnik, Oct 15 2002
  
      
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