The long-anticipated Apple TV is expected to join the throng of devices replacing remote control with voice control, but is voice control all it’s cracked up to be?
Recombu Digital editors Tom Newton and Alex Lane sat down to enjoy movie night with a brand-new voice-powered TV, but it’s not so smart.
How does voice control work?
Both the Xbox 360 with Kinect, and high-end TVs from Samsung, LG and Panasonic all feature voice control so that you don’t need to pick up the remote control to do anything except switch them on.
It’s the ultimate couch potato feature, preventing even your hands from being at risk of getting a regular workout.
The biggest barrier for voice control isn’t really recognising voices, but training them to recognise your voice. New users have to run their TV through a training programme, and many users don’t think it’s worth spending this time instead of just picking up the remote.
They also need a good broadband connection, because many voice recognition systems now analyse voice commands on powerful processors in the cloud, not on your TV or games console.
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