Next month we will see all of the big names in technology showcase the next generation of products at the 2013 CES show in Las Vegas, but with the build-up firmly underway Korean tech giant LG has seen fit to release information about its forthcoming Magic Remote.
The LG Magic Remote TV controller will be officially unveiled at CES next month but LG has announced the product officially a few weeks beforehand to build up some momentum.
The futuristic looking device has been fully redesigned and incorporates voice control technology that picks up commands from conversational speech, such as “change the channel”.
According to LG you will be able to speak in a “more conversational manner” to your Magic Remote control as you attempt to access content on a LG CINEMA 3D television, so you can simply put in a request to your TV, e.g. “Show me the Pacific Rim trailer” and your smart TV will recognise the commands via the remote and access the desired content.
It’s specifically designed for use with LG’s Smart TV range but the Magic Remote will also work with other set-top boxes and Blu-ray players as a universal remote. And to add to voice recognition features, the remote will also support gesture control so you can control your TV in a Nintendo Wii-like fashion.
President and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company, Havis Kwon, said of the Magic Remote’s release: “Building on an already impressive feature set, the latest version boasts accurate language recognition and its gesture, wheel and point control options makes the Magic Remote stand out amongst its competition as a truly intuitive device,”
It’s an interesting step and currently we can only consider the Magic Remote as a bit of a gimmick, but with the Xbox 360 Kinect system, Wii U and Apple all trying to change the way we control our entertainment systems then maybe LG is on to the future of our living rooms. The LG Smart Remote will only be available with an LG Smart TV purchase at first and more information will be announced that the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.