Universal Remote Controls were the hot thing at Best Buy for a long time. A quick search of their website shows they still sell 14 of them. But what is a Universal Remote Control, and is there any difference between that and a Smart Home Control System or is it all marketing?

The Reason for a Universal Remote Controls

As we added video cassette recorders (remember those), DVD, Blu-ray, and audio systems to our TVs, our tables started to get covered with remote controls. This control promises that they could make multiple devices do multiple things at once at a press of a single button. Just one press could turn on the TV and the Blue-ray player, change the channel, and press play on the player.

The challenge of these devices is that they can be tough to program, maintain and use. The cheaper ones were designed for a homeowner with time and infinite patience, and the more expensive ones require complex and costly programming. All of that is great, but when something changes, you must do much of it again. Many of us abandoned our Universal Remote Controls for integrated TV with streaming services or apps on our mobile devices for these reasons.

Smart Homes Have Smart Control

One of the key differentiators of a Smart-home is replacing the bag of remotes and mobile apps with a single interface that controls the whole home. Whether it is your TV, music, lights, shades, security systems, or any other of your home automation devices, they are all controlled by a single interface. That single interface runs on many different devices such as iPhones, iPads, LCD panels, TV apps, and of course, remote controls.

The homeowner needs to do no programming here as your friendly Installer, like BRAVAS, has already done this for you. When systems change, those changes are automatically updated into the interface and available on your devices. Of course, youdon't need a remote control to manage your home automation system; it all depends on how you want to use your home.

Can They Become Intelligent?

The next step is to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to make our Smart remotes intelligent. Some of this is already working with systems like JoshAI. Tools like that can decipher what you meant by 'lounge' even though you may not have programmed the word 'lounge' into your system. Many of the companies we work with use face, people, and pet detection with security systems to ensure the right people get suitable access.

Over the next few years, there will be more and more AI and ML in Home Automation, and ensuring you have a whole home automation system and smart control means you will get access to these technologies without having to start again.

If you want to know more, BRAVAS Baltimore would love to show you how we can help. Contact us today.