Talking zapper

A new TV remote control with a built-in speaker could bring some peace and
quiet to TV-obsessed households. The idea is to let people watch TV from a
distance without having the sound turned up blaringly loud. Made by JVC, the
remote picks up a television’s sound signal using a radio receiver, which drives
an 80-milliwatt speaker. To allow the radio receiver to fit inside, the remote
control is a chunky 3.3 centimetres thick. JVC says the system will benefit
people who are hard of hearing or who are trying to watch TV amid a lot of
background noise. “In Japan, we also have a problem with noisy apartments,” says
JVC spokesman Tamotsu Okamoto.