I think the main reason was that they had to be programmed by the dealer. Secondly copying a third party remote was done only via the lintronik appliance. Then it is also the fact that if wifi was enabled the battery wouldn't last enough time. Last but by no means least the batteries need a visit to the dealer to be changed 

I own a beo6 and I am very happy with it but it took me another 200 euros (lintronik) and a month to figure out what it can do.

Tassos wrote:

I think the main reason was that they had to be programmed by the dealer. Secondly copying a third party remote was done only via the lintronik appliance. Then it is also the fact that if wifi was enabled the battery wouldn't last enough time. Last but by no means least the batteries need a visit to the dealer to be changed 

I own a beo6 and I am very happy with it but it took me another 200 euros (lintronik) and a month to figure out what it can do.

I think you hit the nail on the head. The batteries were too small to provide enough life between charges, the programming was too expensive, batteries died permanently too often. I have now got three Beo5s, none of them work, all need battery replacements which are hard to find and I've not taken time to do it.

Logitech can manage to create a very flexible, easy to program remote in the Harmony series, done by your computer. Why B&O couldn't manage it is more a matter of philosophy rather than technology. B&O just didn't want us poor plebeians to program our own remotes. If Logitech provided the guts and B&O did the external design you could have a great, sexy remote that worked. So, I still use my Harmony for my video setup and my Beo4 for my audio setup.

Beo4 navi with LinTronic rules.

Yes,I almost gave up 5 years ago,fiddling to understand programming LinTronic.Once done,it is bullet proof solution. Since then,I control all my audio and video,including no-name chinese ceiling light.LinTronic updates coming with newsletters.Never needed to reboot.Highly recommended for all Beo4 fans.

Having sold both of them, they basically had everything working against them. 

There was never a cohesive set of best practices for button layout. Text color, upper & lower case, same button in different places on different pages, made it feel more poorly designed than it was. Most B&O employees weren't programmers and it showed. 

The programming tool was proprietary and linked to the internal corporate web portal via credentialing. It was difficult even for a trained sales person to use let alone a client. So any change no matter how minor was a headache and since the program could not be extracted it made it necessary for a copy of the program to exist on a computer before things like dropbox were widely available. 

It was fragile. Any slight impact would deform the aluminum ball and clamp down on the button pad making the wheel difficult or impossible to turn. The glass would chip and delaminate. 

The wifi on the Beo6 was basically non-functional for its intended purpose. 

And ultimately it wasn't easy to use and hold in a world where control apps on the iPhone were coming online at the same point in time. 

I have one on my desk as a little totem, but it was and is a truly terrible remote. 

Can't agree more on everything said above.

As a Beo6 Newcomer and having the expectation for it to be the universal remote B&O should have done, I've found out, when allowed to play with one, that it is complicated, not so universal, and even more, if perfectly programed, not as convenient as a beo4 (as an example).

Maybe I did miss something, but the concept of zones and zone depending controlled devices dont make the sense you imagine in todays world where devices are designated by ID's.

I keep mine, after having secured it from its common flaws thanks to the help of people from this forum, in the hope that maybe one day I will discover any functionality that would make it useful. But as for today, Its just an item in my collection.

Jeff wrote:

Tassos wrote:

I think the main reason was that they had to be programmed by the dealer. Secondly copying a third party remote was done only via the lintronik appliance. Then it is also the fact that if wifi was enabled the battery wouldn't last enough time. Last but by no means least the batteries need a visit to the dealer to be changed 

I own a beo6 and I am very happy with it but it took me another 200 euros (lintronik) and a month to figure out what it can do.

I think you hit the nail on the head. The batteries were too small to provide enough life between charges, the programming was too expensive, batteries died permanently too often. I have now got three Beo5s, none of them work, all need battery replacements which are hard to find and I've not taken time to do it.

Logitech can manage to create a very flexible, easy to program remote in the Harmony series, done by your computer. Why B&O couldn't manage it is more a matter of philosophy rather than technology. B&O just didn't want us poor plebeians to program our own remotes. If Logitech provided the guts and B&O did the external design you could have a great, sexy remote that worked. So, I still use my Harmony for my video setup and my Beo4 for my audio setup.

IF B&O had a sense of good spirit, it would release the codes for ALL of the old kit, so that quirky but functioning products don't end up in a bin. Steve could reproduce the bespoke cables and a real smart computer person might take time off from hacking and update the software to 21st century hardware. Maybe even develop a cottage industry in Denmark for replicating critical parts for the top old products? And Oasis will reunite and do a reunion tour! Never mind. 

I hear Atlantis is rising from the ocean floor too...

I only ever held one of these remotes once, at a dealership. I took an immediate dislike to it compared with a Beo4. It felt like a golf ball with a square screen sticking out from it. Not comfortable or natural to hold.

Maybe the admittedly nice colour display should have been integrated with a new Beo4 instead to replace those ever failing pixelated screens.

Graham

I quite liked the Beo 5 remote, I only stopped using mine as the buttons tend to bubble after a while of use and I didn't want to have to replace the button pad. The programming part is a huge problem though, I think thats its main downfall. Also the fact the B&O won't release the program but then again the software only works on certain versions of Windows etc. Great pity.