遥控器革命初现端倪
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三星电子（Samsung Electronics）副总裁乔•斯丁齐亚诺最近在一次新闻发布会上谈到智能电视的未来时，很少有人能料到他会谈到卧室里最不引人注目的设备——遥控器。“到目前为止，遥控器的功能在过去50年里基本没什么变化，”他在介绍一系列创新性的新功能之前这样说道。 斯丁齐亚诺的一番话使遥控器突然成了人们关注的焦点，它很可能是家庭娱乐设施里最后一个还没有经历过全面的、根本性变化的设备了。尽管现在每个家庭平均拥有多达4个遥控器，每个遥控器上面都布满了成排的按钮和服务，令人摸不着头脑。但是，由于受到生产成本、基础设施和相互矛盾的技术标准的制约，摇控器一直没有引起人们的广泛关注。摇控器经历的变革大多都是渐进式的。但这种情况可能要开始发生变化了。 遥控器为何一直遭到创新的冷落？曾任Boxee TV首席设计师的迈克尔•阿尔瓦雷茨表示：“与配套的电视机或机顶盒相比，遥控器总是处于从属地位。”Boxee TV是一个先进的家庭影院PC软件应用，在阿尔瓦雷茨担任首席设计师期间，该公司研发出了它的旗舰型机顶盒和双面遥控器。“由于厂商把主要的生产成本都用来保障其竞争性功能的主要部件，因此摇控器的创新就被搁置起来，导致遥控器和电视的关系停滞不前。” 但是遥控器刚问世的时候，情况并不是这样的。世界上第一支无线遥控器是由齐尼斯无线电公司（Zenith Radio Corporation）于1956年生产的，由罗伯特•阿德勒设计制造。当时这个名叫“齐尼思空间控制器”（Zenith Space Command）的产品堪称是个奇迹。它提供了一个简单的界面，与当时人们看电视的习惯保持了一致。随着这支遥控器的诞生，一种演变也随之开始：消费者第一次有了自由选择频道的权利。调查发现，自从观众可以坐着遥控电视，25%的观众一看到片头片尾的字幕开始滚动就会换频道。这种现象也导致电视台的节目发生了相应的演变。等到世纪之交时，在多重系统的压力下，遥控器的设计已经有些跟不上时代步伐。这不仅是因为设备的成倍增加（比如电视和有线机顶盒各需要一个遥控器），还因为生产和服务提供商的分离，导致遥控器的按钮数量出现了不可遏止的增长。 |
When Joe Stinziano, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics, took the stage recently at a press event on the future of smart TV, few might have expected him to talk about the quietest device in the living room: the remote control. "Until now, the remote control has basically stayed the same for 50 years," Stinziano said, before proceeding to unveil a bevy of innovative new features. Indeed, Stinziano cast a spotlight on a device that may very well be the last piece of home entertainment equipment to undergo broad, fundamental change. Hampered by manufacturing costs, infrastructure, and competing technical standards, the remote control has gotten little attention even though the average household now has four of them, each with its own confusing array of buttons and services. What changes remote controls have gone through have mostly been evolutionary. That may be starting to change. Why has the remote control been a long-time victim of innovation? "It's always come secondary to the television or set top box it's been paired with," says Michel Alvarez who was lead designer when Boxee TV, a progressive home theater PC software application, developed its flagship set-top box and dual-sided remote. "As manufacturers continued to invest production costs on making sure the main unit delivered on its competitive features, remote control innovation sat on the back burner, ultimately plateauing the relationship between the remote and the television." It didn't start that way. The first wireless remote was a marvel, introduced by Zenith Radio Corporation in 1956 and engineered by Robert Adler. Called the "Zenith Space Command," it offered a simple interface, consistent with consumer habits for watching television at the time. With its introduction an evolution happened: choice or remotes was granted to consumers for the first time. Findings emerged that began to shape programming: 25% of viewers changed the channel once the credits started rolling since they could change the channel sitting down. Yet by the turn of the century, the remote's design faltered under the weight of multiple systems. Not only did it multiply by device -- while one remote shipped with a TV, another shipped with the cable box -- but the separation of labor and service provider caused an unstoppable multiplicity of buttons. |
