Our persona, Ann, is just like most people: She has a TV connected to a cable box, DVD player and VCR. This means she has 4 remote controls, one of which is supposed to be a “universal” remote that controls everything. After a long day at work, Ann just wants to find a good movie and enjoy it. Unfortunately, that’s a tall order. Any of these sound familiar?

• Wondering how to adjust the volume when the remote gets hopelessly lost among the couch cushions
• Turning on your VCR by accident because the universal remote was in DVD mode, or because you picked up the wrong control
• Bending around your couch companions, trying to angle the remote just right so the TV will pick up the signal
• Staring at that absurd, blinking 12:00 after a power outage and getting that sinking feeling because you’ll spend half an hour reminding the VCR of what it’s supposed to record

Like Ann—and just about everyone else we know—we get tired of needing three remotes just to watch a movie. We decided to do something about it.

The Television Hub is a concept that could be built now, using technologies that have existed for years. It replaces the cable box as well as all of the other remotes. Here’s how it fixes all those daily frustrations:

• Everything is a channel, from HBO and ABC to the DVD player and VCR.
• Because everything is a channel, there are no modes. For example, if you're on the VCR channel and you press the play button, the VCR plays. If you're on the DVD channel and you press the play button, the DVD player plays. You don't select a mode; you simply change the channel.
• Video cameras and other devices plugged into the front panel of the TV Hub automatically appear as new channels.
• All system settings are stored and remembered, even if the unit is unplugged or the power goes out.
• When the remote wanders off somewhere, you can find it by pressing the “Find Remote” button on the TV Hub's front panel, which tells the remote to signal its location with sound. If the batteries are dead, you can still use the buttons on the front of the box.
• The remote uses radio frequencies rather than infrared technology, so it doesn't have to be pointed at the box to work.
• The TV Hub will work with the devices you have at home right now, because it can broadcast commands to them using infrared signals they understand.
• Each family member can have a personal channel list that sorts favorite or most-watched channels to the top.

Finally, the entertainment system just works. As to finding something good to watch, well… that’s a problem for another day.