TV-B-Gone

TV-B-Gone

TV-B-Gone is a type of simple but universal remote control device for turning off television sets, developed and sold by Mitch Altman. The device was designed to be able to turn off a large majority of the current available brands of television sets. It was created to allow people in a public place to turn off nearby television sets, presumably because the broadcast was distracting them from other activities. Its inventor has referred to it as "an environmental management device". The device is part of a key-chain, and, like other remote devices, is battery-powered. Although it can require up to 69 seconds for the device to find the proper code for a particular television, the most popular TVs turn off in the first few seconds.

History

TV-B-Gone was invented by Mitch Altman, and is sold by his company Cornfield Electronics. Altman was one of the pioneers of Virtual Reality, working with Jaron Lanier at VPL Research, and it was during his research in this field that he discovered the almost hypnotic power of television. The standard model TV-B-Gone consists of an infra-red LED, two CR2032 cells and an IC, which contains the TV power code database, in a plastic case.

Models

Standard Model

TV-B-Gone comes in two models, the "North American And Asian" model and the "European" model. The models are sometimes referred to as the "NTSC Model" and the "Pal Model" although there is no technical link between the television standards and the remote control codes used. As new televisions are made, the TV-B-Gone database is updated, eventually resulting in a new generation of TV-B-Gones. The current generation is TV-B-Gone Generation 3.

TV-B-Gone Pro SHP

The TV-B-Gone Pro SHP (Super High Power) is the latest TV-B-Gone to be announced. It is considerably more powerful than the standard model, utilizing eight infra-red LEDs to allow TVs to be turned off from distances of up to 100 meters. TV-B-Gone Pro SHP is switchable between its North American and European databases of POWER codes.

TV-B-Gone Kit

At several hacker conventions Mitch Altman has run workshops that allow participants to build their own TV-B-Gones using Adafruit Industries' micro controller-based mini-POV kit. Around January 2008, Adafruit Industries released a kit to build an open source TV-B-Gone.

Consumer Electronics Show controversy

During the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, some individuals from Gizmodo brought a TV-B-Gone remote control and shut off many display monitors at booths and during demos affecting several companies. These actions caused the individual from Gizmodo to be banned for life from future CES events. [ [http://gizmodo.com/343348/confessions-the-meanest-thing-gizmodo-did-at-ces Confessions: The Meanest Thing Gizmodo Did at CES ] ]

Derivative works

Since December 2007 the open source project "unzap" [ [http://www.lochraster.org/unzap/ unzap project page ] ] offers free tv-b-gone-alike hardware, including a USB-port and a learning function for new codes.

ee also

* TV turnoff
* White Dot

References

External links

* [http://www.tvbgone.com/ TV-B-Gone at Cornfield Electronics, Inc.]
* [http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=20 TV-B-Gone Kit at Adafruit Industries]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gone — may refer to:* Go (verb), the past participle of the English verb * Gone (film) , a 2007 thriller film set in Australia starring Amelia Warner * Gone (novel) a young adult series written by Michael Grant * Gone (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode) …   Wikipedia

  • Gone Baby Gone — Ben Affleck lors du tournage d une scène du film à Meaney Park, Dorchester, dans le Massachusetts ( …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gone Too Soon — «Gone Too Soon» Сингл Майкла Джексона из альбома Dangerous …   Википедия

  • Gone Maggie Gone — Episodio de Los Simpson Episodio n.º Temporada 20 Episodio 433 Código de producción LABF04 Guionista(s) Billy Kimball y Ian Maxtone Graham Director Chris Clements Estrellas invitada …   Wikipedia Español

  • Gone (roman) — Gone est une série de six livres pour adolescents en cours d écriture par l Américain Michael Grant. En France, Le premier tome est sorti en juin 2008, le deuxième en mars 2010 et le troisième en novembre 2010. Les titres des six volumes sont:… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gone Maggie Gone — «Gone Maggie Gone» «Вперёд, Мегги, вперёд» Эпизод «Симпсонов» …   Википедия

  • Gone (band) — Gone is a three piece punk based instrumental rock band, formed by Greg Ginn in late 1985. Originally, Gone was a side project to his main group, Black Flag. Before, Ginn had been performing some instrumental compositions with Black Flag… …   Wikipedia

  • Gone, Baby, Gone — Gone Baby Gone Gone, Baby, Gone Réalisation Ben Affleck Acteurs principaux Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan et Morgan Freeman Scénario Ben Affleck et Aaron Stockard Musique Harry Gregson Williams Décors Sharon Seymour …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gone Fishin' — can refer to:* Gone Fishin (film) , a comedy film. * Gone Fishin (Christine Hayley album) , an album by Christine Hayley. * Gone Fishin (Flipper album) , an album by the punk group Flipper. * Gone Fishin (single) , a single by Holy Ghost. * Gone… …   Wikipedia

  • gone — [ gɔn ] n. m. • 1868; franco provenç., de goner « vêtir mal » ♦ Région. (Lyon) Jeune enfant. ⇒ gamin, gosse. ● gone nom masculin (mot lyonnais, de goner, vêtir sans goût) À Lyon, enfant des rues, gamin. ⇒GONE, subst. masc. Région. (Lyon), pop.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Gone Abie Gone — «Gone Abie Gone» «Прощай, Эйби, прощай» Эпизод «Симпсонов» …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”