TV Industry Preparing for Voice Recognition Interfaces in 2012

The only problem with voice recognition on TVs is that it could interfere when commanding volume. If the TV is too loud, then the mic may pick that up. "Turn volume down to ten." "Did you say, 'buy a Snuggie?'"

Let the TV wars begin!

TV companies are already scrambling because of the rumored "iTV" that we know nothing about.

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Go hard or go home

Exotic-Car Man said:

The only problem with voice recognition on TVs is that it could interfere when commanding volume. If the TV is too loud, then the mic may pick that up. "Turn volume down to ten." "Did you say, 'buy a Snuggie?'"

Click to expand...

Why do people keep thinking this?

Obviously they're gonna add a trigger where the TV volume will go mute when Siri is on.

I like to call this, "The Apple Effect".

In my opinion, in order for Apple's television solution to really be a revolutionary product, it will have to do more than just have a Siri-remote. That would be a nice feature, but remember that most televisions don't live alone in an isolated environment - they are connected to stereos that have their own complicated "universal" remotes.

In order to really crack the TV - and therefore the living room - Apple needs to have their Siri remote not only be able to command the TV, but all of the other devices that you have. Maybe they'd use Airplay? Maybe they'd use HDMI control?

That's before we even start talking about content and content synchronization.

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Exotic-Car Man said:

The only problem with voice recognition on TVs is that it could interfere when commanding volume. If the TV is too loud, then the mic may pick that up. "Turn volume down to ten." "Did you say, 'buy a Snuggie?'"

Click to expand...

Saying this is like saying that playing music from a phone is a bad idea because it would interfere with phone calls.

Nothing new here and Jobs didn't crack anything. There has been somewhat sophisticated recognition devices out for some time now that can control a myriad of devices.

*Source, Google.

Ha! I guess the old saying "what's old is new again" is more than just a pithy cliche. Didn't some random company release a voice controlled television set back in the late 90's? It didn't catch on then, obviously. I wonder what makes people think it'll catch on now?

srxtr said:

Why do people keep thinking this?

Obviously they're gonna add a trigger where the TV volume will go mute when Siri is on.

Click to expand...

If the volume is too loud, then the TV may not even be able to pick up the command to go into Siri. Additionally, if the TV is entirely controlled by voice, then there would be no command to go into Siri in the first place. Thus, simply saying "Set volume to ten," would be the only requirement for a volume change. I am a fan of voice recognition on TVs otherwise, but I still see a fundamental flaw and a need for a simple remote, like the Apple Remote, for regular features such as changing volume and channel.

On a side note, take a look at the Ciccarese Design link. Those mockups are very nice, but since when was the Apple TV going to be curved?
http://www.ciccaresedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Apple-TV-MacRumors-03.jpg

Apple did Siri.

So it's now "safe" for everyone else to do.

Renzatic said:

Ha! I guess the old saying "what's old is new again" is more than just a pithy cliche. Didn't some random company release a voice controlled television set back in the late 90's? It didn't catch on then, obviously. I wonder what makes people think it'll catch on now?

Click to expand...

They're trying to beat Apple to the punch. They've sat back and watched Apple destroy Palm, Windows Mobile, and now RIM is in the ICU. They simply don't want to be next.

Exotic-Car Man said:

The only problem with voice recognition on TVs is that it could interfere when commanding volume. If the TV is too loud, then the mic may pick that up. "Turn volume down to ten." "Did you say, 'buy a Snuggie?'"

Click to expand...

srxtr said:

Why do people keep thinking this?

Obviously they're gonna add a trigger where the TV volume will go mute when Siri is on.

Click to expand...

Exactly how Siri works now...

One issue is how you trigger "Siri" to inut a change? You will need some form of remote to tell the TV that a command is coming. I imagine that the input device would be a mic that looks very much like the current apple remote.

*LTD* said:

Apple did Siri.

So it's now "safe" for everyone else to do.

Click to expand...

XBox does it today. What's your point?

Exotic-Car Man said:

If the volume is too loud, then the TV may not even be able to pick up the command to go into Siri. Additionally, if the TV is entirely controlled by voice, then there would be no command to go into Siri in the first place. Thus, simply saying "Set volume to ten," would be the only requirement for a volume change. I am a fan of voice recognition on TVs otherwise, but I still see a fundamental flaw and a need for a simple remote, like the Apple Remote, for regular features such as changing volume and channel.

On a side note, take a look at the Ciccarese Design link. Those mockups are very nice, but since when was the Apple TV going to be curved?
http://www.ciccaresedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Apple-TV-MacRumors-03.jpg

Click to expand...

One of the primary methods of invoking Siri on the iPhone 4S is by pressing a button. Why don't you think that you'd do the same for the TV?

Press button... volume automatically lowers and Siri starts listening...

voice control would be a bummer if you do a lot of channel surfing or watch tv at night while your family is sleeping.

Exotic-Car Man said:

On a side note, take a look at the Ciccarese Design link. Those mockups are very nice, but since when was the Apple TV going to be curved?
http://www.ciccaresedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Apple-TV-MacRumors-03.jpg

Click to expand...

It hasn't been a rumor, but it actually makes a little sense. Curved screens can help create a slight perception of depth without the expense (or headaches) of 3D technology.

Relative to all this "Siri can't hear over the TV volume" nonsense, why not just program the system to ignore the audio stream for the television programming so that Siri can't hear it at all (like noise canceling headphones, but much better since the "noise" would be very specific and precise)? Then, Siri would just hear the sounds in the room that are NOT playing through the TV.

ChrisTX said:

They're trying to beat Apple to the punch. They've sat back and watched Apple destroy Palm, Windows Mobile, and now RIM is in the ICU. They simply don't want to be next.

Click to expand...

Thing is, someone already beat Apple to the punch...assuming that Apple's ideal TV is one that you control via voice commands.

I wish I could remember the name of the thing. It had a rather ingenious setup. To keep the set from accidentally activating itself, it'd only take commands if you called out the name of the set beforehand. It'd then mute the speakers, and begin listening.

I think one of the reasons it failed was because people found it too awkward to use. As in, no one liked shouting out phrases at a TV set. Whatever Apple ends up doing, I kinda doubt Siri will be involved.

LTD said:

Apple did Siri.

So it's now "safe" for everyone else to do.

Click to expand...

Uh. Besides my example above, showing that voice recognition is far from a recent thing, Android already had a rather robust set of voice commands long before Siri showed up on the scene. Siri is a good deal more intelligent, and is able to figure out what you mean without requiring you to spit out perfectly formed sentences to get a response. But still, it's a new tweak on an old idea.

Go visit some other tech site once in awhile. You'll realize there's a whole world of neat ideas and innovations out there beyond the Apple-centric bubble you seem to live in.

*LTD* said:

Apple did Siri.

So it's now "safe" for everyone else to do.

Click to expand...

what? are you sure you know what you're talking about?

HobeSoundDarryl said:

Relative to all this "Siri can't hear over the TV volume" nonsense, why not just program the system to ignore the audio stream for the television programming so that Siri can't hear it at all (like noise canceling headphones, but much better since the "noise" would be very specific and precise)? Then, Siri would just hear the sounds in the room that are NOT playing through the TV.

Click to expand...

Oh, brother. Not only are televisions not alone as the sole electronic device in the room, they are not alone with a single viewer. Dad does not want Kevin to yell "SpongeBob!" while he and his buddies are watching the wide receiver head toward the end zone. If Apple returns to the TV set business, then we can expect Siri to play a role. However, it will not be the end all and be all that so many fans seem to think it will be.

longofest said:

One of the primary methods of invoking Siri on the iPhone 4S is by pressing a button. Why don't you think that you'd do the same for the TV?

Press button... volume automatically lowers and Siri starts listening...

Click to expand...

I suppose, as the article suggests, a single button on the remote could work. At the same time, is having to open Siri every time to turn down the volume, change the channel, etc. really easier than just pressing a button on a remote? For doing a series of commands (channel surfing through the guide or loading a movie, for instance), voice control would be by far more convenient. However, a couple of buttons for the most common needs may greatly compliment the button to enable voice control.

The only way the TV would be controlled by Siri is via the iPhone or iPad .

No need to have a microphone on the tv when you can use your iDevice to control the TV.