Patent ID: 8253867

Claim:
An operational method of a remote control for controlling one or more components of an entertainment system of a user, the remote control having a display and a plurality of push button switches, wherein at least one of the components of the entertainment system includes electronic circuitry and signal inputs which may be selectively operatively coupled to the electronic circuitry to provide a video or audio signal to the electronic circuitry for the user to view video or hear audio on his entertainment system, the signal inputs being switchable in an endless loop by the remote control transmitting command signals to the at least one component to selectively operatively couple a selected signal input to the electronic circuitry, which comprises the step of: displaying on the display messages to the user to achieve a desired activity of the entertainment system using the one or more of the components thereof, the desired activity involving at least one of viewing video and hearing audio on the one or more of the components of the entertainment system, the user observing at least one of whether the user is able to view video and whether the user is able to hear audio on the one or more of the components of the entertainment system, the user pressing one or more push button switches in response to at least one of whether the user is able to view video and whether the user is able to hear audio; detecting the pressing of one or more push button switches of the plurality of push button switches in response to the user observing at least one of whether the user is able to view video and whether the user is able to hear audio on one or more of the components of the entertainment system; transmitting command signals to the one or more of the components of the entertainment system in response to the detection of the pressing of the one or more push button switches; and determining the number of signal inputs on the at least one component by counting the number of times it requires to switch signal inputs on the at least one component from a first time that the user is able to view video or hear audio on the user's entertainment system for a selected input to a second time that the user is able to view the same video or hear the same audio on the user's entertainment system for a selected input.