How do I set up a TV so it is simple for someone else to use?

Televisions have become general-purpose computers with several remotes, a home screen full of things nobody asked for, and inputs that change under you. For anyone who wants to turn it on and watch, that is a fair amount of machinery in the way. The aim is not to dumb it down but to remove the choices that were never wanted, which usually takes an hour and holds for years.

Step by step

1. Get down to one remote.Turn on the HDMI control setting so the television, the soundbar and the box respond to one handset. If the household has three remotes on the arm of the chair, that is the single biggest source of confusion and it is usually solvable in the settings.
2. Set the television to start on the right input.Most sets have a setting for which input to select at power-on. Point it at whatever is used most — the aerial tuner, or the box, or the streaming stick. That removes the commonest failure, which is a black screen because the input drifted.
3. Tidy the home screen down to what is wanted.Remove or reorder apps so the two or three that are actually used are first. Where apps cannot be removed, most sets let you reorder them, which achieves nearly as much.
4. Set the channel list to match reality.If the set supports favourites, build a short list of the channels actually watched and set it as the default list. Scrolling past two hundred shopping channels is a real barrier.
5. Turn off the things that interrupt.Recommendation banners, autoplaying trailers on the home screen, voice prompts and screensaver art all create moments where the screen changes without anyone touching anything, which reads as a fault.
6. Set the accessibility options deliberately.Larger menu text if the set offers it, subtitles on by default if wanted, and audio description available. Dialogue enhancement or a clear-voice mode on the television or soundbar helps a great deal with speech that is hard to follow.
7. Deal with the volume range.A night or dynamic range mode reduces the gap between quiet dialogue and loud music, which is the usual reason someone rides the volume control. Setting a maximum volume limit, where the set offers one, prevents the accidental full-blast moment.
8. Write one card and leave it by the remote.Large print, half a side. How to turn it on, how to get to the channels, how to get to the one or two apps, and what to press if the screen goes black. Laminate it or tape it to the table.
9. Hand it over and watch without speaking.Whatever they hesitate over is what still needs simplifying. This step finds more than the previous eight, and it is the one people skip.

Tips

• Cover or tape over the buttons that only cause trouble on a cluttered remote, or buy a simple large-button universal remote and programme it.
• Put a small coloured sticker on the one button that returns the set to the normal channel from anywhere. It becomes the panic button.
• Set up remote help while you are there — many sets and sticks let a family member manage settings or cast to them from elsewhere, which turns a visit into a phone call.

Common mistakes

• Leaving three remotes in play — Every problem then starts with working out which handset is being used, and most calls for help are simply the wrong remote or the wrong input.
• Setting it up the way you like it — The test is whether it works for the person using it. Sit down and watch them use it before deciding it is finished.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask