Helix remote voice - how well does it work?

[susanjm]

Hi everyone,

My mother is 91 years old and almost blind. She lives in a seniors residence in Montreal. We are currently thinking of switching her to Helix because of the ability to use the microphone on the remote to change channels, etc.

Can anyone tell me how well it works? I should add that if it shows text on the screen requiring confirmation or something, she won't be able to read it.

Thank you. I have some other questions but I'm going to post them separately.

Susan 

[susanjm]

She isn't completely blind and can still see things on the screen. Also she's not deaf and some TV channels have something called "described video" specifically for people with low vision. She simply has trouble finding the buttons on her remote but if she can switch channels by talking it will be easier for her. She is not technically savvy and is not interested in using a mobile device (already tried that).

[PatrickM]

Hi @susanjm!

It should work pretty well assuming the language and search language are properly set in the Helix TV receiver to the correct language to avoid misinterpretations .  Using the voice commands, you can search for contents, actors, change channels, start a recording, manage  the TV receiver's settings and much more.     

For your question about changing channels, as soon as you say a channel name such as "CBC", the terminal will immediately go to CBC position  to display it.  Videotron's website gives a lot of examples of what can be used here: https://videotron.com/en/support/television/use/helix-voice-command

As you mention that it may be difficult for her to make a choice on the screen, another strong point of the Helix terminal is the voice guidance feature that can be enabled in the accessibility settings or just by saying "Voice guidance". Similarly to the audio description feature that can be found while viewing contents, the voice guidance feature will read aloud every  element of the menu. 

In my opinion, the voice command, navigational arrows and select button to navigate through the menu are very well located right in the middle of the remote control and quite accessible or,  should I say thumb-friendly! 🙂

Cheers! 

[susanjm]

Thank you Patrick - I appreciate your reply. I wasn't aware (yet!) of the Voice Guidance feature. Once she is accustomed to using the voice remote we will slowly introduce her to it!