Title: Anyone else feel awkward talking to their TV?
I totally get what you mean about feeling silly—half the time I’m convinced my TV’s just trolling me. I’ve had it pull up “cooking shows” when I asked for cartoons. Here’s what’s worked for me: try speaking a bit slower and with less background noise (easier said than done with kids, I know). Also, if your model lets you, retrain the voice recognition—mine had a setup where you repeat phrases so it “learns” your accent. Not perfect, but it helped a bit.
Honestly though, nothing beats the satisfaction of that old remote click. Sometimes I just grab it out of habit. And yeah, accents seem to trip these things up all the time... my aunt from Scotland had zero luck getting it to understand her. Maybe in a few years they’ll figure it out, but for now, I keep the regular remote handy just in case.
- 100% agree on the remote—sometimes it’s just faster, especially when the voice thing gets confused.
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Same here, my dad’s accent throws it off every time.“my aunt from Scotland had zero luck getting it to understand her”
- I’ve noticed if I say the command in a monotone, it works better, but then I feel even more ridiculous.
- Honestly, I wish there was a way to turn off voice completely. Too many accidental triggers when someone says “TV” in conversation.
- Still, I guess it’s handy when your hands are full, but I’m not giving up the remote anytime soon.
I get what you mean about the accidental triggers—mine once started playing some random documentary just because someone mentioned “volume” at dinner. It’s a little wild how sensitive these things are. I do like the hands-free aspect when I’m in the middle of cooking, though. Has anyone tried adjusting the sensitivity settings or maybe set up custom commands? I wonder if that actually helps with the misfires...
“mine once started playing some random documentary just because someone mentioned ‘volume’ at dinner.”
That’s classic. Mine once started blasting 80s pop when my kid said “Mom, can you solve ’em?” (as in math problems). Sensitivity settings do help a bit—if you dig into the device app, there’s usually an option to reduce how far away it listens, or you can retrain the wake word. Custom commands are a lifesaver too, especially for stuff you do all the time. It’s not perfect, but at least it doesn’t start narrating my grocery list every time I sneeze anymore...
“at least it doesn’t start narrating my grocery list every time I sneeze anymore...”
That’s honestly an improvement, but these things still make me question if all this “smart” tech is worth the hassle. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to explain to guests why the TV suddenly starts reading news headlines in the middle of a conversation. Custom commands help, sure, but sometimes it feels like I’m working for the tech, not the other way around. Still, I guess it beats fumbling for remotes buried in couch cushions.
