BT Set top box control for elderly

[cant_get_no_line]

Hello

I have an elderly relative with a BT Connect Dolby Bluetooth Set top box.   She finds the BT TV remote control difficult to operate causing anxiety and not able to make use of the tv. 

It has too many very small buttons (47 buttons) on it most of which elderley or impaired people will never use. Easy to mistakenly press the wrong button and turn it off or change its mode.

There are simple remote controllers like Flipper which could help but they are infrared only and this BT box uses Bluetooth from what I’ve been told. Haven’t found a simple to use Bluetooth tv remote yet. 

Has anyone found a solution they could share to make BT Connect more accessible to elderley people? A keyboard or game control is not an Option.  This needs to be simple with on / off, channel Change, vol /  up down  that’s it.

Otherwise are infrared set top boxes and controls still available ?

thanks

[JonMace]

I think the box you have is a BT TV Box Pro, if so it can use IR as well as Bluetooth, you need the remote up as Humax DTR-T4000, I have done this with my harmony remote and it works perfectly

[rbz5416]

I don't recognise the BT Connect description but the mention of bluetooth suggest the BT Pro box? But that remote doesn't have 47 buttons.

If that is what she has then the box also has an IR receiver & will respond to a Humax command set. So if you can identify a suitable programmable remote then that should work fine. But they usually have the opposite problem of missing buttons!

As far as I know, all previous BT boxes were made by Humax & are IR only, so again should work with a third party remote.

[Les-Gibson]

@rbz5416 

I think the OP must be referring to the earlier (T2100, T4000) remote which does have 47 buttons

[Les-Gibson]

Whichever box your elderly relative has it will work with an IR control, indeed there is no value in using Bluetooth mode at present as voice search has not yet been implemented in the BT TV Box Pro.

Geemarc manufacture a range of learning big button remote controls which may help, they do not need a code as they learn from the original control.

The disadvantage of that being that you have to decide which keys you want the Geemarc control to learn and then programme them in one at a time

[rbz5416]

The One For All Zapper 2 may do the job & is currently discounted at Argos. Or there's a plain Zapper without number buttons but it's also missing a Menu key.

[cant_get_no_line]

Thanks.  I bought a Flipper. Tried all the codes but it didn’t connect.  The BT Box is made by Dolby which seems to be Bluetooth not responding to any infrared instructions .  I’ll give this another go. But did spend ages on this.

[cant_get_no_line]

Thank you for all the replies. 

Hi the BT box is made by Dolby.  It doesn’t reply to any of the codes for Humax on the Flipper simple remote.   Though the flipper remote works fine with the Samsung tv which is infrared. 

but I’ll give it another go anyway.

[rbz5416]

Can you post the model number of the box on the label, or post a pic?

[JonMace]

Dolby do not make TV Boxes, they do audio specification so not hardware - can you take a picture of the box then we should be able to help