Smart TV makers want you to use their interfaces and apps. They wouldn’t have loaded the screens with all of this software if they didn’t want people to use it. That doesn’t mean the experience you’ll get through LG’s webOS or Samsung’s Tizen OS are particularly good, but it does mean they’re the default.
The alternative is the small number of devices with streaming apps you can plug into an HDMI port. Set-top boxes like the Apple TV 4K, Google TV Streamer, or the variety of consoles that can run Netflix like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. As accessories for your TV, these streaming boxes are limited in their ability to actually control your screen, which means you’ll often have to juggle remotes and controllers to adjust the volume, brightness, or change inputs. Universal remotes attempt to solve this by being able to control everything, but what if there was a simpler answer? As it turns out, even my Apple TV 4K’s simple Siri Remote, can, with the right tweaks, make the most annoying parts of my Samsung smart TV a bit more bearable — you just need to know what to change.
HDMI-CEC can’t fix every problem
My Samsung 55-inch Q80T TV has served me well as my main source of entertainment for at least six years. But even with a totally serviceable 4K QLED screen and four HDMI ports, it’s revealed its fair share of shortcomings, and almost all of them have to do with its software and remote. Samsung would really love it if you only used its built-in software and one of the ways it chooses to express that is by deliberately removing functionality from its remote, like the ability to change inputs from one HDMI port to another. In order to do that with mine and seemingly all modern Samsung TVs, you have to dive into some menus. Unless, of course, you want to rely on HDMI-CEC.
In an ideal world, every HDMI port would work this way, but not every HDMI port on Samsung’s TV supports this feature, and not every device supports HDMI-CEC in the first place.
HDMI-CEC is built into HDMI cables and devices with HDMI ports and allows HDMI-enabled devices to talk to each other. On TVs like Samsung’s, where the feature is called Anynet+, HDMI-CEC lets a device control things like the volume on your TV, automatically turns them on when they turn on, and can even automatically switch inputs. In an ideal world, every HDMI port would work this way, but not every HDMI port on Samsung’s TV supports this feature, and not every device supports HDMI-CEC in the first place. Which means you still have to fall back on manually switching inputs yourself, which once again highlights the annoying aspects of Samsung’s design.
None of this would be a problem if I just had one device connected to my TV or only relied on Samsung’s built-in apps. Unfortunately, I have multiple consoles, a Linux PC, and an Apple TV 4K plugged into my television. I’ve made things more complicated. My real problem, though, is that Samsung doesn’t seem to want to make things easier in a simple way, like, say, adding an “Input” or “Source” button to their remotes. Instead, I have to dive into Tizen’s layer-upon-layer of settings menus in order to switch to a different device, or hope Anynet+ gets to it first. Getting fed up with this system is why I decided to explore third-party universal remotes that are capable of controlling multiple devices at once. As it turns out, a remote I already own might be the best option.
The Siri Remote is the simplest universal remote I already own
Apple lets its remote control TVs and sound bars by default
I could buy a universal remote from a company like Sofabaton or Switchbot, but after considering my options and my budget, using the Siri Remote that came with my Apple TV 4K seemed like the more prudent move. An Apple TV 4K can already turn a TV on and off and switch inputs using HDMI-CEC, and the box’s Siri Remote has an IR transmitter that can send commands to your TV, soundbar, or receiver. Combined, I’d still lose out on the ability to manually switch HDMI inputs between my various consoles, unless, of course, I used the Siri Remote in a way Apple didn’t intend.
Third-party remotes can also be taught to control an Apple TV 4K, if you preferred to contorl everything with your TV remote.
Through tvOS’ “Learn New Device” feature, it’s possible to teach the Siri Remote to replicate the IR blasts of the pack-in controller that came with your TV or speakers. Apple includes the feature in case you aren’t using HomePods for audio or your TV is too old for more advanced forms of HDMI, but it also means you can technically assign new functionality to the Siri Remote’s buttons. For example, I could assign the Mute button on my Siri Remote to change inputs, just by setting things up “incorrectly” in tvOS.
Of course, because Samsung’s new remotes are missing an Input or Source button, in order to do that, I had to buy a separate remote off Amazon that works with Samsung’s TVs and has one. After spending $7 and making sure the Samsung BN95 universal remote I purchased does in fact work with my newer TV, I got started. To actually teach the Siri Remote to replicate IR commands, you have to open your Apple TV 4K’s Settings app:
- Click on Remotes and Devices.
- Scroll down to Home Theater Control and then click on Volume Control.
- Select “Learn New Device.”
- Follow the on-screen instructions to teach the Siri Remote volume control.
- When you reach the mute section, instead of tapping the Mute button on the remote you’re teaching the Siri Remote to replicate, tap Input/Source.
After following those steps, when I pressed the Mute button on my Siri Remote, I was able to change HDMI inputs. The set-up is far from perfect — for example, the input menu covers a large part of the screen and takes a while to go away — but now I’m able to do everything I need with just my Siri Remote, the thing I reach for anyway when I want to watch something on my TV.
Use your TV the way you want
A dedicated solution could be better, but so would better TV software
One remote that can do everything could ultimately be better in the long-term, especially if I ever decide to change the devices connected to my TV. Or better yet, an Apple TV remote with a customizable button, like what Google offers on the Google TV Streamer. Realistically, though, home theater tech is expensive, and if I can save money finagling a solution with the devices I already have, I should. Maybe someday a TV maker will create software that’s genuinely good to use. Until then, it’s best to just learn how to work with the TV and devices you’ve got.
