My dad has moderate dementia, and cannot operate his TV remote by himself. He is living in a good home, but he doesn't have someone who can change the channel for him or turn it on and off. Is there any sort of TV system that would allow me to control his TV over the internet? Anyone else have this issues?
As far as a "good home" goes - dad received excellent care but there couldn't be an aide there every minute. He could use his call button but he wouldn't do that to change his TV channel - he wanted to do that himself. They always adjusted things for him when they came in which was often, but he still wanted that control. Unfortunately, I never found a very good solution.
Keep us posted, please!
Carol
Its been a great timesaver for me and she's happy. The only thing is setting up the pre-programming in advance, but she has lots of favorites like game shows and old TV westerns she likes to watch so I just pre-program those to automatically play M-F and its al set from that point.
Carol
We have friends who made a cardboard device to fit over the many unnecessary buttons to cut down on confusion. The whole thing is taped over the existing remote.
The remote I got her only has On/Off, Mute, Vol up/down, channel up/down. The letters are large and it's a life send. She is so happy she can operate it.
The handyman at the AL helped me program it. It took a little while, but with not too much trouble. He told me that every resident there needed one like it. It's the best $19.99 I have ever spent.
I love the day of cable-ready TV when we didn't have to worry about these digital boxes. Getting HR is not worth the trouble it causes with old folks and remotes.
ANTENNA - it's easy & cheap, if you get a good reception, and most major channels have high definition! TV to program channels and timer on/off.
BOOKS ON TAPE. from library
Books on tape aren't really all that good because most people my mom's age can't hear. Plus she doesn't like books, period. She has never read an entire book in her life. I have subscribed to large print New York Times for her (it's the only one that offers large print 'news' although that's debateable :) ) and Reader's Digest Large Print (she sits there and pretends to read it)
An antenna would be impossible as I live in a condo.
And people in my mother's age group still believe that tv is 'new' and great invention for some reason.
I just have to bite the bullet, walk into the den where she watches three programs each day, i.e., The Price Is Right, The Chew, and Katie (which has been in reruns since March but she just doesn't believe me)
You made me feel better about her not being able to just push the red button!
Thank you for at least making me feel a bit better today that my mother can't operate the remote. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that she never could operate the remote and they've been around for thirty years or so!
And it's coming your way if it hasn't already. Same with telephone. Pretty soon, new customer will not be able to get hard wired phones. I'd Google this for people who are saying to get an antenna, but I'm way too tired today.
Apparently in 2012, PC World didn't think these products were yet ready for the average person. I have not found any similar reviews that are more recent. My nephew made it look easy.
I write it down for mum but its getting harder!
I will never give up my land-line, I had to call 911 a couple of weeks ago, and the dispatcher had my exact address, all I needed to do was verify it. This is great incase someone has a stroke and can still dial 911 via a land-line but cannot tell the dispatcher where they live.
I was thinking, if one's parents are mobile, thus can easily get in and out of a chair and walk to the TV, most newer TV's still have the old fashioned buttons on the bottom front or on the side of the flat screen.... only problem is that on some TV models the buttons blend in with the frame. My Sony has the buttons on the side, and they are large... On/Off, Volume, and Channels.
I am about to do that too, to limit the TV time. He CAN do stuff but just chooses to sit with the darn thing on 16 hours a day and it is LOUD. I spent a fortune last year buying the headphones and he is very resistant to that. It is very annoying in a two bedroom home when I want to sleep and have to wait for the stupid ballgame (always extra innings) to go off.
Pretty sure hardwire is on it's way out .... see article below. I've also read this on other news sources. The enhanced 911 is going to have to change somehow. It's the sign of the times. I don't particularly like it, just saying. :)
online.wsj/news/articles/SB10001424052702304834704579403090132882148
I did find an article that says 50% of households use both landline and cellphones, so there is still a large market for landlines. And those of us lucky enough to have Verizon FiOS cable, we can continue to use landlines.
It's a removable remote control, that covers the useless buttons on the remote, simplifying it by exposing only the most basic and frequent buttons (power, volume, guide). It's interesting in that it does not need to be programmed, and it fits right on the cable remote control. And it's hard to lose if it's the glow in the dark model. Worth taking a look into.