I think this article tells home truths. This is why AV and even audio is not enjoyed by many. Years ago most homes had a halfway respectable system. It was simple that is why.
Now few people I know can master it, especially my peer group. The most they can cope with is a TV and a sound bar if you are lucky.
Many of our acquaintances would like to enjoy what high tech has to offer, and they are just intimidated.
A lot of this comes from those pesky remotes and practically none intuitive.
Most people are now computer savvy, and also use iPads and iphones.
I have long thought that the way forward is to have a universal protocol. Any system you put together should then be able to communicate with an ipad, smartphone or laptop.
The connected systems should then show up on your portable device. There should be easy set up menus and automated as far as possible. The screen should show a picture of the connected devices, and connections. You should just be able to activate any of them, by a finger press on the picture. You should not need another streaming controller other than your portable device. Remotes as we now know them need to be gone.
Speakers should be active, and WiSA improved. A pro/pro could then be a device totally out of sight.
So we really badly need highly standardized protocols and operating procedures. What we have now, is actually not fit for purpose dog's dinner, and a disgrace.
It is in the industries interest to get this right. I'm pretty sure this chaos is causing them to loose probably 90% of prospective sales and may be more.
The problem is that most people don't know what to do with the cables, they don't read the setup instructions, don't perform the setup correctly and don't know how to buy compatible equipment because the manufacturers made it too complex for them.
As much as it has become necessary for someone else to install and set up some systems, the manufacturers don't make it very easy for custom integrators and further, they don't give a rat's butt if we (integrators) need to constantly find ways around their bad designs/screwups and think we're a PITA. We have saved the butts of every manufacturer I can think of and this is the result- I think they decided that someone would come along shortly to fix things for them.
However, left to their own devices, they won't do anything to make things more compatible or easier to operate, although the change in direction to allow voice control is killing remote control companies. Voice commands for Alexa work. Sometimes. The problem- who's going to set that up if the kids aren't at home and they have homework?
Integrators can save a lot of time and effort by making the systems they sell fall into the 'cookie cutter' category- ONLY sell a limited range of brands & models, set them up basically the same and don't offer many options. That way, they drag & drop the models into the remote software (this applies more to URC and RTi control systems than Control4, Crestron, Savant, etc) and in fifteen minutes, the control setup is done. For brands like an advanced Contro4 system or, especially, Crestron, it's much more complicated and requires more knowledge of programming.
As far as a remote control being intuitive, you need to ask the burning question "Intuitive, for whom?". I have posted about a 3 year old who pressed the buttons and sat back to watch a DVD with absolutely no information from me- she's not typical, but she's not uncommon, either.
Many kids born after 1980 ALWAYS had a computer of some kind in the house and it was only a few years later that PCs became common in schools- Now, the whiz kids who have never known a day without some kind of higher technology are designing AV equipment and remote control systems. Great for techy people but for those who weren't born with a silver thumb drive in their mouth, not so much. Engineers and network specialists need to determine the abilities of the people who will be using their stuff, not geek out and giggle when they make a button on a $12,000 Crestron touch screen that controls lighting by making the sound of two hand claps, like a Clapper (seen in TV ads). I'm not making up this example, either.
Another problem- audio people mainly know audio, video people know video and networking people know networking, but not all know the areas outside of their field. Sonos didn't start out as an audio company and they still remind us (integrators) of that on a regular basis. OTOH, they sometimes make it difficult for us to believe that they started out as a network device company because the tend to break third party apps, rather than let them continue to work for the end users. There's nothing like getting a bunch of frantic phone calls/texts/emails at the beginning of a weekend or holiday, telling us that we need to do something about their Sonos because it started working just before a party. Same thing happens with AV brands.
Then, there's the networking. People take it upon themselves to swap the router/have that done by someone else without telling the people who set up the equipment, often resulting in something not working- base stations for remote controls, lighting, Alexa/Google Home, etc, DVR/NVR for cameras and access points need to be set up to work on the new network. I just received some texts from a client who FINALLY let me know that he replaced the router. He thought everything would work normally, but also commented that they haven't been able to view their place on the iPhones in months. That house is a 2-1/2 hour drive from here, one way. On another occasion, he said that he thought their DVR storage was unlimited.
The struggle is real.
