Big Button Universal TV Remote for Seniors, Dementia - Works Both a TV Only or TV & Cable (STB) Set Up - Favorites, IR Devices Spectrum, Xfinity, Samsung, LG, Vizio, [Does not Work Streaming]

We bought this for my wife's mother who is in early stages of dementia and gets easily confused. The Spectrum set top box remote has about 800 buttons on it (ok, probably more like 50), but they're all very small and most aren't needed for daily viewing. This remote was perfect. It has just the volume, channel, and power buttons, and it was programmable to her TV (TCL with Roku built in) and her Spectrum set top box. There was even an option to have the power button only turn off the TV rather than both the TV and the set top box, which is a nice feature, since turning off both can cause the infamous "sync" issue if they move the remote during the power-on/off sequence for multiple devices.The only nit I had was in the programming. I tried all the codes for the TCL/Roku TV and none worked initially. Later I discovered that after putting it in programming mode, I was pressing the 4 code digits too quickly in sequence. I had to wait until each one made the light blink. Once I slowed down and paused for a second between each number press, the code worked properly.I set it up so the volume button works with the TV and the channel button works with the set top box. It's going to be great for her since she has historically had difficulty with her TV remote due to her easy confusion and her degrading eyesight. The designer(s) did a great job with this -- hiding the keypad so it's out of sight for programming only, and keeping only the basic buttons visible. Also, the volume and channel buttons being different colors just adds to the ease of remembering which color goes with which function, especially as eyesight fades. The instructions were also clear and well written, which is uncommon these days. I also saw a video demonstrating how to program it, and it was concise and easy to follow. This is the kind of device I would design if I wanted to create my own custom remote for someone with my mother-in-law's condition. Thank you for creating it.The price is a bit higher than some other "senior" remotes on Amazon, but the others had extraneous buttons and didn't appear to be as easy to program for multiple devices, or used the same color for all the buttons. Or the buttons were smaller and closer together, making it easier to mis-press. I think this is the "best-of-breed" in this arena, and so I decided to pay the premium price as I was confident it would "just work" the way I expected it to... and it did. I would highly recommend spending the few extra dollars to get this remote over less expensive knock offs. You do get what you pay for in this case, and it's worth it.

I've purchased a number of remotes for my mother, and finally, one she can use, hooray! UNBELIEVABLE, the difference it makes in her mood and outlook, to have some autonomy and control. She is legally blind and has dementia, but even if she were totally blind, she could use it (to listen to the TV). Other remotes presented so many buttons that my mom was overwhelmed by them. This one has only six, and by their placement, it was an easy matter for her to learn their functions.I showed her, made sure she knew where the power button was, learned that one. She was confused when I tried to teach her the other buttons, so I told her: "Mom, you can't do any harm by experimenting. Just play around with it- push a button, and if it doesn't do what you want, try another one, until you find something you like" and that's what she did (I don't know if that sank in or helped, that's what she seemed to do naturally anyway. The important thing, I think, was encouraging her to experiment).The beauty of the design is that the buttons have been pared down to only those that actually do something tangible. If she hits mute, it mutes. Or, the channel is changed, or the volume changes. That's it. So learning is nearly automatic, stimulus-response, no thought processes required. She learned the button's functions in a couple of days, on her own, what a BLESSING.We have a large display clock that shows the time, and she knows what time her favorite shows are on, such as Jeopardy and Judge Judy. I programmed in her favorite channels (takes time and patience, but it was worth it), excluding all the foreign language channels that discombobulate her so, along with ones she never watches, and she just pushes the channel up or channel down button until she sees/hears Judge Judy or whatever.The Flipper's makers seem to have thought of everything. Depending on your situation, you can program the Power button to operate either the TV or the STB [Set Top Box], or both at the same time. The volume and Mute buttons work with the TV, the Channel buttons work with the STB and NOT the TV (on our old universal remote half the time it changed the STB's channel, half the time it changed the TV's channel, taking it off of channel 3, impossible). That's if you're using the Flipper with both an STB and a TV. The flipper also has a TV only mode, if you plan to use it with a TV alone, in which case all the buttons work with the TV.Another thing I specifically wanted to mention is that our Magnavox STB's remote doesn't have a dash (-) or dot (.) button, you tune offset channels by waiting a moment until the dot appears after what you've entered, for example, if you enter 56, you wait a beat, a dot appears after the 56 in the corner of the screen, you can then enter a 2 or 3 or whatever to get 56.2 or 56.3. Obviously, this is challenging enough, even for me (you must be quick), totally impossible for my mom. I wondered how this would work in programming the Flipper. The programming keys on the Flipper remote includes a dash (-) key, and using it accomplished the same thing, worked with our STB! When you push that key, it adds the dot or dash and you can then enter the next digit, immediately. I'm talking about the Flipper's programming buttons, when you're setting up the favorite channels. Once these channels are programmed in, no-one ever needs to worry about this issue again.The biggest issue to note is that although generally the owner's manual for the Flipper is specific and detailed, excellent, clear language, occasionally they leave out a step. As I get older I find it more challenging to do these things, I'm less intuitive and must follow instructions to the letter, so a missed step really screws me up. So, when you're doing this, anywhere where it specifies a number of steps in a procedure, just make sure you repeat them all if needed. For example, when you're entering the code for your TV brand, the owner's manual says if the code doesn't work, try the next one. To do that [AS I REMEMBER- I'm not about to do it again, undo all my hard work to double-check], I believe you need to go back to the 2nd step, "Press and hold TV until the light turns solid" before trying the next code. I may be mistaken about this specific example, just bear this in mind when programming, if what you're doing doesn't seem to be working. There were at least two instances in which I got stuck, and it was because steps needed to be repeated and that wasn't specifically stated.One other issue- at least with our Magnavox box, if you hit channel up or channel down too quickly, before the channel has actually changed, it adds the digits to the digits already entered and the box will return with "invalid channel", showing nothing on the TV screen. So I've explained to my mom to wait between presses, wait until the channel actually changes, before hitting the button again. "Slow down, Mom." That worked.Finally, if you happen to own a Homeworx STB and over-the-air DVR (LOVE IT)- I hoped this remote would work with it, but it didn't, unfortunately. If you have one, you might see the end of my Aug. 7th review of it (link below), for an explanation of how one CAN use the Flipper with a different STB AND the Homeworx unit together (along with a ROKU box, provided you have auxiliary jacks), for folks with cognitive or sensory deficits.The Flipper is the best, fantastic, WHATEVER you use it with, has provided my mom a measure of freedom and autonomy so sorely missed, needed- invaluable. Highest recommendation!Mediasonic HW-150PVR HomeWorx ATSC Digital TV Converter Box with Media Player and Recording PVR Function/HDMI Out (Black)

I had no problem syncing this remote to my mother’s tv or satellite box and the remote does as it is described in its information here, HOWEVER…In my experience it is very difficult to program the individual channels. For example, you cannot add a channel in the numerical order after you think you are finished programming. Let’s say you have programmed 10 channels in for Mawmaw and realize that you forgot to program a channel she loves. If you simply program that channel in, it will be the last channel in the circle of channels that Mawmaw surfs through. The remote doesn’t recognize that channel 186 goes after 152 and before 202 within the channels you’ve programmed. If you want to add 186 in, you will have to delete all channels after 152 (in my case) and then re-add 182 and any subsequent channels to the programmed channel list. The programming buttons tend to stick so this can mess you up too. I had to pay close attention as I pressed each button to ensure the rubber button wasn’t caught under the edge of its button hole.Also, my mother’s tv (Vizio) is slow to turn on with this remote—the satellite box turns on immediately though. She has Alzheimer’s, so I told her the tv has to “warm up.” (You must be of a certain age to understand this.) She understands this lingo and is more patient with the tv coming on.There is also a slight lag in the channels changing. You must give the next channel time to come onto the screen for a good few seconds before you move on to subsequent channels.