????隨著越來越多的新產品進入臥室——如VCR、DVR、DVD、藍光播放器、游戲機等等，茶幾上出現了設備之間互相“打架”的局面，因為每個新設備都配有自己的遙控器。雖然后來出現了旨在“一統江山”的萬能遙控器，但它用起來還是不如各廠商自帶的遙控器那樣簡便。

????廠商也沒有足夠的動力來關注這個問題。“中低端電視的銷量對利潤非常敏感，因此，許多廠商放棄了營造全盤體驗的想法，轉而把重點放在了降低生產成本上，主要把投資用于改善畫質。”創新與戰略咨詢公司ReD Associates的合伙人李俊（音譯）表示：“他們把普通遙控器的生產價格壓低到1美元，把‘高檔’遙控器的價格控制在3到5美元，不過他們也知道，遙控器已經不再是連接消費者與電視觀看體驗之間的主要紐帶了。”

????有線運營商和電視生產廠家的業務與生產遙控器的業務有著重大的區別。對于有線運營商和電視廠家來說，遙控器往往只是個附屬品。而羅技科技（Logitech）則是一家在生產個人周邊產品方面擁有30年經驗的公司，它設計的產品年年都會獲得設計大獎。該公司產品研究部主任凱文?西蒙表示：“每周都有客戶走進我們的辦公室，但他們往往要么不知道自己到底想要的是什么，要么不知道自己的痛點到底是什么。”作為研發流程的一部分，羅技科技會進行一系列的實驗室研究、民族研究和傳統調查。甚至連羅技科技在市場上推出的一款名叫Harmony Link的遙控器，也能通過眾包的方式有效地收集人們的實時行為，保證軟件的每次更新都能輻射到各地的Harmony Link用戶。

????遙控器的發展可能正面臨著轉折。最近有兩種非傳統的遙控器為消費者提供了更好的遙控功能，讓人們燃起了用手勢或語音進行遙控的希望。首先是微軟的Xbox遙控器Kinect，它同時支持語音和手勢輸入，而不需要用戶手持設備。其次是安裝在蘋果iPhone 4S上的Siri，它可以識別語音指令，Siri推出后短短幾個月的時間，就幫助蘋果公司狂吸463.3億美元（截止至2011年底）。如果將來我們回溯歷史的話，就會發現，Siri已經不可逆轉地改變了消費者的預期和行為。李俊表示：“蘋果統一了iPhone上的產品和服務。它有可能會在電視上也采取類似的做法。”

????與此同時，三星也推出了自家的智能互動技術，它集合了面部識別、手勢和語音控制功能，旨在為消費者提供更多與電視進行互動的選擇。盡管三星仍然為旗下的電視機同時配備了智能觸摸遙控器（the Smart Touch Remote）以及傳統的搖控器，但三星的語音和手勢遙控顯然已經超越了前輩。

????不過語音、手勢和觸摸遙控技術的誕生真的能給消費者更大控制權嗎？卡耐基梅隆大學（Carnegie Mellon University）的博士生克里斯?哈里森說：“人們甚至根本不用拿起搖控器，只要坐在臥室里打個響指，就好比按一下Siri的開關。隨后，電腦就會自動搜索你伸出的是哪只手，這只手就是遙控器。然后，人們可以輸入“52頻道”，或是讓它播放DVR上最喜歡的五個電視節目，然后點擊播放鍵。這種操控方式已經脫離了傳統遙控器的范疇。整個房間都是互動的。這才是真正讓人興奮的地方。”

????With the introduction of new services to the living room -- VCRs, DVRs, DVD and Blu-ray players, game consoles -- device infraction emerged on the coffee table because each new box pack its own remote. And while universal remotes intended to unite the confounding multiple experiences, it was often a less usable version of simple versions from manufacturers.

????And there wasn't much incentive to focus on the problem. "Mid- and low-end TV sales are very sensitive to margins, and so many manufacturers effectively gave up trying to own the entire experience and focused on lowering manufacturing cost and on investing in picture quality," says Jun Lee, a partner at ReD Associates, an innovation and strategy consultancy, "They reduced the price of remote control manufacturing to $1 for the average remote to $3-5 for a 'premium' remote, but they also knew the remote was no longer a primary point of contact between their customers and the TV viewing experience."

????There is a chief difference, however, between cable or TV manufacturers (where remote controls are often an afterthought) and the business of making remote controls. Take Logitech (LOGI), who for 30 years has been making personal peripherals. These devices win design awards year after year. "We have customers come in to our office on a weekly basis, says Kevin Simon, director of Product Research. "People often don't know what they want or what their pain points are." As part of their process, they do a combination of lab studies at their headquarters, ethnographic studies, and traditional surveys. Even the Harmony Link, one of their remotes on the market, effectively crowdsources live behaviors so that each new addition becomes available for Harmony Link users everywhere.

????Things could be turning around. Two non-traditional remotes have recently put better control in front of consumers, effectively raising expectations for gesture and voice. First the Kinect, a Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox remote that supports both voice and gesture input without a device at all. Apple's (AAPL) Siri, which shipped with the iPhone 4S, recognizes voice commands, and helped result in $46.33 billion in revenue by the end of 2011 just a few months after it was introduced. And if history is any evidence, Siri has already changed consumer expectations and behavior irreversibly. "Apple unified service and product on the iPhone. It may try to make a similar move on TV," says Lee.

????Meantime, Samsung introduced its Smart Interaction technology with face recognition, gesture, and voice control, intended to provide choice for how consumers interact with their TV. And while Samsung still supplies the Smart Touch Remote and traditional remote in the box, the way consumers can interact with them clearly tips a hat to what its voice and gestural predecessors have done well.

????But is the advent of voice, gesture, and touch really more control for consumers in a remote? "You don't even have to pick up a remote control," says Chris Harrison, a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), "You're sitting in your living room and snap your fingers. It's like clicking the button for Siri. The computer looks for whatever hand is being held out—that is your remote control. Then you type 'Channel 52' or the top five shows you love watching on your DVR and click play. It's getting away from the paradigm of a remote control. Your whole room is interactive. That's what's really exciting."