Where did all the eject buttons go?
Notice anything missing?
(Credit: CNET Networks)Over the first half of 2009, we've notice a disturbing trend in the home theater: eject buttons are going out of style.
A surprising number of disc-playing home theater products we've reviewed this year have included remotes that inexplicably lack an eject button--even though manufacturers have no problem cluttering the remote with all kinds of other useless buttons that nobody uses. For us, it's a real annoyance. If we're changing discs, our standard tactic is to hit the eject button, get off the couch, and by the time we get to our player the tray is open and waiting for us. Now we have to get up, crouch over the player to hit the eject button and wait for it to spit the disc out--and with many Blu-ray players it can take quite a while before it actually ejects.
We can't think of any reason why this is a smart design move; were people really accidentally ejecting discs all the time? It can't possibly cost significantly more to include a single button. Our best guess is that the button was thoughtlessly discarded, under the logic that you have to get up to change the disc anyway. But anybody who actually uses these products would realize it's a major design blunder. Sure, you can accuse me of excessive laziness for complaining about crouching over the player, but why put up with extra annoyance when nearly all the disc players we used last year had an eject button on the remotes?
Last year, Sony's BDP-S350 Blu-ray player had an eject button, but the newer BDP-S360 doesn't have one.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Here's a list of disc-playing products that we've reviewed at CNET this year without an eject button: Sony BDP-S360, Sony BDV-E500W, Panasonic SC-BT200, Panasonic SC-BT300, Polk Audio SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater, Sony DAV-HDX589W. And those are just products we've done a full review for; I'm sure there are many more.
What do you think? Should every disc player come with a remote with an eject button or does it not matter since you need to get up to change discs anyway? Sound off in the comments.
Got a disc player with a remote that lacks an eject button? Write the model number in the comments and we'll add it to the list.
Update: Here's a list of reader-submitted products with remotes that lack an eject button: Panasonic SC-PT770
But when I think about it, even when I had a VHS player, I've never regularly used an eject button. It always seemed like a cool function to have, but I've never actually found myself pressing it.
Doesn't everyone use a Harmony Universal remote these days? With those you can have as many useless buttons as you like.
You also cannot eject a single disc and load up the other slots without stopping what you are currently watching.
I have an old Denon receiver that came with two remotes, one small one that had all the most common features, and one big one with the full feature set. The big one has been in a closet for years; the small one has all the features I actually use on a daily basis and is easier to use. I think Denon made a good decision there, they also used color coding so the feature you use the most on a receiver (volume) is highlit and easy to find even if you're not familiar with the remote.
It seems to me like the feature set of many home electronics within a category (e.g. receivers, disc players, etc) are pretty similar, so often if I'm torn between two or more models, I'll use the remote layout as the tie-breaker. Whichever unit has a smaller and easier-to-operate remote will often be the one I buy.
I know some people who have Sony CD players in their racks, and the remote doesn't have a power button. A power button?!?! And you thought manually ejecting was a pain...
1) Am I so lazy the lack of an eject button on my remote and resulting waste of several seconds represents a serious inconvenience to me? No.
2) Am I so lazy I avoid arguing inane subjects on usually insightful tech sites? Again, no.
I suspect the two are related...
1) "Blu-ray 1.0 and 1.1 players? All people want to do is watch the movie anyways. Live with it and shut up about it."
2) "No internet connection for firmware updates? People who don't want to burn a CD with DRM updates are "lazy". Live with it and shut up about it."
3)" No eject button? Never use it anyway. But that "angle" button is used all the time! Live with it and shut up about it".
4) "PS3 requires a special all-in-one remote or translator? A minor inconvenience, so stop bringing it up."
Since ALL blu-ray players (and discs) sold today will be instantly obsolete next year when Managed Copy players come out, Sony zealots will no doubt shout "live with that, and shut up" as well.
- by phaser125 August 7, 2009 5:40 AM PDT
- I don't care about the eject button on my remote, not one bit. What I'm wondering is why it seems like a good idea that for my receiver to have so few buttons and controls on the unit itself? Often times I find I am up and want to just switch it on and select the inputs from the receiver itself, and theres just the big KNOB for selecting between about 12 inputs... Who thinks that's a good idea? Give me buttons!
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
Showing 1 of 4 pages (84 Comments)Just about all "multi-purpose" buttons need to be thrown out. I'll take more buttons that I can memorize the look, feel, and position of, both on the remote and the units themselves, any day.