By: Frank Engelman | Posted: August 14, 2020 | Updated: April 7, 2023
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Photo by Mariia Chalaya
This is about how I took advantage of the ubiquity of TV in the lives of many older adults. By adding various “smart” integrations, I turned the TV from simply a source of background noise into a useful tool — that helps my 94-yr-old aunt accomplish all sorts of things she previously had trouble with.
The Ubiquity of TV
Most of my older friends and relatives are very attached to their TVs. This is the case even if they don’t care that much about what’s playing on them. Sometimes they are just on for background noise or to hide the feeling of being alone.
If you ever visited a nursing home, you have seen how every room has a TV on, and the residents aren’t even watching it.
Helping My 94-yr-old Aunt
I’d like to tell you a story about my 94-year old Aunt, who lives alone 2500 miles away.
I only get to visit her once a year, so when I’m there, I try to do as much as I can to make her retirement years enjoyable.
I Started With Alexa Calling
Setting up Alexa Calling on an Echo Show for her and her son, as well as contacting me, was the first step.
But that’s only a diversion, at best, for once a week.
- (Learn how to set up Alexa Calling here. Learn what the Longevity Explorers think of the Echo Show here.).
Too Many Remotes
My Aunt had a pretty complicated TV setup. She had one remote for the TV, another for the cable box, another for Apple TV, and another for a DVD player.
She was playing “remote jockey” all the time and trying to remember which one did what.
Even when she could get something playing on the TV, it was never what she wanted as all the shows are on a “TV schedule” — and one that was not hers!
Amazon Fire Cube TV Let Me Consolidate Remotes
My first order of business was to consolidate all of this into an Amazon Fire TV Cube, thereby reducing the number of remotes.
This is one of the big strengths of the Fire TV Cube: it lets you consolidate multiple remotes together. This is a key reason I choose it for this type of project, compared for example to AppleTV — which is also an excellent video streamer, but which does not address the “remote control clutter” that makes the lives of many people frustrating.
- For detailed instructions on how to set up the Amazon Fire TV Cube. and many of the other “solutions” below, see my detailed “How To” at: “How to Set Up an Amazon Fire TV Cube“.
- To learn more about the Fire TV Cube, see the Amazon Fire TV Cube on Amazon.
On Demand Shows
I was also able to show her the vast array of “on-demand” shows of her choosing, on HER schedule, on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and, more recently YouTube!
Background Nature Shows: Better than Soaps?
YouTube provides an interesting “background” option in that you can run high-quality nature videos running 1-8 hours. This would be much more entertaining than daytime TV shows in a nursing home.
For example, the 4K Relaxation Channel on YouTube.
If you like the sound of this, here is an article I wrote on how to set up background videos:
Ask Alexa for Her Shows
When I showed her that she could even ask Alexa to display a show of her choice with Alexa picking up where she left off in the show last time, she was amazed.
For example, she can now say “Alexa, watch the Blue Plant Planet on Netflix.”
She can also view the cable channel of her choice without fumbling with remotes by saying: “Alexa, watch channel 56 on cable”
Caller ID on the TV
But I didn’t stop there. She also uses a wall-mounted land-line based “caption phone” where she can see the text of what the person is saying since she is hard of hearing even with hearing aids.
The problem was that she has difficulty walking, and when she is sitting in her lazy boy chair, it’s tough to get up and walk to the phone to see who is calling. She gets a lot of spam calls. She also plays the TV loud and may not hear the phone ring.
Faced with this problem, I added some features that allowed her to see the caller ID on the TV and even pause the show on an incoming call from the phone OR Alexa Calling from her son.
- See my explanation of exactly “How to” do this at “How to Set Up a Fire TV Cube“
Calendar Reminders & Security Cameras on the TV
Her son also puts reminders on her Google Calendar, and she can verbally ask about those through her Echo Show or Fire TV Cube. I also set up on Alexa Reminders to appear on the TV.
She also has a lot of outdoor security cameras and can ask for those to be displayed on her Echo Show or Fire TV.
- Stay tuned for detailed instructions on how to do that in a future article.
Video Doorbell on TV
My next project is to get her a Ring Video Doorbell and automatically display that on her Echo Show and Fire TV Cube along with a personalized audible reminder to caution her about opening the door. For example, “Bernice, there is someone at the door. Please check the camera before opening the door”.
- See my detailed “How To” at: “Ring Doorbell Announces Visitors via Fire TV Cube“
Controlling the Lights
One final point, she also uses her Echo Show and Fire TV Cube to control the lighting in her home. It works well with those “hard-to-turn” twist controls on chair-side and bed-side lights without having to stretch.
- Stay tuned for detailed instructions on how to do that in a future article.
Descriptive Audio
One feature I’ll be describing below was of no use to my Aunt, namely Descriptive Audio, worked very well for a family friend who was losing their sight. This feature provides narration when the show has action, but the actors are not speaking.
- See my detailed “How To” at: “Descriptive Audio Tells You What is Going On“.
Get Detailed “How To” Instructions: Fire TV Cube
For a Detailed set of “How To” Instructions for doing all of the above things, see “How to Set Up an Amazon Fire TV Cube“.
More DIY Solutions from this Author
See more of Frank Engelman’s DIY Solutions in his “column” below.
Disclaimer: The author used several Amazon products to accomplish the things described in this article. He is not compensated by Amazon.
*Disclosure: The research and opinions in this article are those of the author, and may or may not reflect the official views of Tech-enhanced Life.
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