The voice remote made its debut at Videotron with the launch of Helix in 2019, and it has revolutionized the way you interact with your TV. It lets you find content in seconds at the touch of a button. How exactly does this technology work? Let’s find out!
How does a voice remote work?
The Helix voice remote has a microphone that lights up when you press the Microphone button. When you dictate a command, two things happen:
- Your voice command is sent to a first module that analyzes your speech and then translates it into text. This is called automatic speech recognition.
- A second module receives the command as text, interprets it, and then performs the appropriate action. This process is called natural language processing.
In 2024, nearly 700 million voice commands were made using the Helix remote. Some of the most popular commands in French include “Recordings (Enregistrements),” “Skip ahead 4 minutes (Avancer de 4 minutes),” “TVA,” and “Radio-Canada.”
Did you know?
In English, the most-used voice commands are a little bit different: “Netflix,” “YouTube,” “Recordings,” and “CNN” are often at the top of the list.
What makes the Helix voice remote so powerful?
The balance between automated technology and human intervention makes the Helix voice remote stand out for the quality of its results. Five factors drive its performance:
- Artificial intelligence. Helix voice command relies on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to generate good results. AI provides an understanding of commands that deviate from the norm, such as when we stumble over our words or don’t get the title quite right. It also continuously optimizes the system’s understanding of commands sent by users.
- Understanding the Québec language. When Helix first launched, 2.4 million voice samples were used to train the machine in French. Videotron sought the help of its employees across Québec to test a variety of voice commands. It’s thanks to them that the system can so easily recognize the different Québec accents!
- The use of synonyms. Our teams analyze queries so that they return the best possible result and add synonyms to the system when it proves useful. Here’s an example: Users sometimes start dictating before they press the Microphone button. So we’ve made “Flix” synonymous with “Netflix,” and “Tube” synonymous with “YouTube.”
Sometimes, several terms lead to the same content. We have eight synonyms that take people to the Star Académie page while it’s on air, including the “Garou’s debrief” voice command! - The design of thematic pages. We take great care in selecting relevant content on a variety of topics. Have you ever tried saying “Christmas movies” during the holidays, “spring break shows” towards the end of February, or even “Harry Potter,” or “race car movies”? These commands lead to pages of results on a specific theme with carefully selected trending content or new things to explore.
Example of a page when someone asks for “family movie”
- Adding new commands. Some additions happen automatically as content is launched on Helix, but others require proactive intervention by our teams. For example, in the fall of 2024, we added the “illico+” command when the name of the viewing platform changed.
Award-winning innovation
The technology that powers the voice remote has received several awards for the quality of its design, including the 2017 Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award and the 2018 Red Dot Design Award for its outstanding design.
Voice commands to try
Voice command makes navigation even easier when you combine multiple keywords. Here are some useful combinations you should know:
- “Content + platform.” For example, “La collecte on illico+” or “LOL Prime Video.” This command launches the content directly on the platform, if you subscribe to it.
Watch options
Sometimes you’re looking for content, but you don’t know which platform it’s on. No problem! Simply say the title of the show, series, or film. After you select the content in the results, Watch Options shows all the ways to view the content, as well as whether the content is free (included in your subscription) or available to rent for a fee.
- “Content + YouTube.” Using this voice command is faster than opening YouTube on a phone or tablet and typing in the search box! Kids have figured it out: the most sought-after YouTube content using voice command includes “YouTube The Ventura Family,” “YouTube Paw Patrol,” and “YouTube Just Dance.”
- “Content + season + episode.” You can ask to watch a particular episode, for example, “Witches, season 2, episode 3.”
- “Weather + city.” This command opens the Weather Network app, which displays current and future conditions for the city you asked about.
- “Film + category.” For example, “action movie,” “horror movie,” “romantic movie,” “kids movie,” etc. The results can then be sorted by release date to see the most recent films in that category. Results group films from different platforms, making it much easier to search.
Say, “Trending”
Don’t know what to watch? Say “Trending” and discover content that’s popular right now.
See more examples about voice commands you need to know.
One try and you’ll be hooked
Once you’ve tried the voice remote, you can’t do without it! Because it’s so popular and easy to use, voice-command navigation is making strides in areas other than TV, such as mobile phones. Some state-of-the-art mobile devices incorporate AI and speech recognition so you can easily find content on your phone. And just like that, technology sometimes takes us back to the basics: ask and you shall receive.
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Updated 03-03-2025
Version 1.0
