To watch a single movie, one had to perform a ritual: pick up the TV remote to turn it on, pick up the VCR remote to play, pick up the amp remote to adjust the volume, and finally, the TV remote again to change the input. If you lost one—especially the TV remote—you were condemned to manually pressing buttons on the device itself, like a peasant.
For the first time, a single remote could handle the obscure "Open/Close" button of a 1989 Denon CD player or the "Timer" function of a budget GoldStar VCR. The Grundig became the family archivist, preserving the functionality of dying original remotes whose rubber pads had turned to goo. grundig 8 in 1 remote control
Prologue: The Curse of the Coffee Table
The deepest lore of the Grundig 8-in-1 was the function. This was a hidden feature, discovered not through the manual but through whispered forum posts on early internet bulletin boards (CompuServe, AOL). To watch a single movie, one had to
The story of setting it up became a domestic legend. A father would sit on the carpet, surrounded by user manuals, pointing the Grundig at the TV while repeatedly pressing the "Mute" button. The remote would cycle through its internal library of infrared signals—over 400 brands' worth—until the TV finally went silent. A triumphant press of "Store," and the war was over. The Grundig became the family archivist, preserving the