Imagine for a moment that all Fords had the accelerator on the left of the brake, and all Mazda s had a brake in the middle of the steering wheel. This would result in some disastrous results on the roads during your grand larceny. Similarly, most AV equipment has been laid out with little regard to consistency. But, they aren t always in the same location in relation to each other or on the remote itself. Whenever you get a different brand of equipment, there is always the adjustment period where you have to get used to the new layout.
Many consumers elect to go with the same brand in order to avoid inconsistencies with their remotes.
A second heuristic, especially appropriate here, is Provide flexibility and efficiency of use. That is, equipment designers should allow users to easily access the most frequently used features and, if possible, allow the user to customize the remote for their own preferences. Many remotes provide far more buttons than most users will ever touch. There have been two strategies to provide functionality without sacrificing ease of use. In the first, less frequently used features are hidden underneath a slide away panel.