Solution for Elderly: Simple all-in-one music & TV audio. Sonos One? Smart TV? Roku?

[robert_kc]

I’m looking for an all-in-one music (and possible future TV) solution for my elderly (80+) Mom. (She’s in a distant city. I’m trying to help by doing some research.) I’m not very knowledgeable about the latest hi-tech solutions, and I’ll appreciate guidance.

Requirements that I’ve identified thus far:

1. The ability to play “radio stations” (local stations, Tune-in, and possibly Pandora), and possibly the ability to select music (Spotify Premium).
2. Decent audio quality, but not ultra-hi-fi. She’s now in a small room in assisted-living, so the volume can’t be turned up too high, and space is at a premium. Hopefully in a month or so she’ll be able to move back into her independent-living, one-bedroom apartment that has an open living room / kitchen floor plan.
3. A family member would set everything up. The assumption is that my Mom would NOT have access to a PC, or tablet, or smartphone to use the system. (She has an older tower Windows PC in her apartment, but has no PC in assisted living. She’s not keen on new technology that’s difficult to learn.) I think that Chromecast Audio is probably too complicated, and the controls on a tablet are probably too small.
4. Simple operation. No tiny buttons. Minimize number of remote controls.
5. Operation does not require getting out of chair or bed.
6. She has no existing equipment to interface to (i.e., she has no hi-fi system), except a basic flat screen HDTV. A new TV (e.g., smart TV) is not out of the question.
7. Small footprint: must be suitable for a small assisted-living room. (Hopefully she’ll move back to her independent living apartment, and might benefit from upgrading to a multi-room system.)
8. If she ends up back in her apartment, a sound bar for TV could be useful. A TV sound bar should be capable of being fully integrated with music system. Automatic on/off with TV?. (How is volume controlled? Separate from TV?)
9. I’m OK with $10/month for something like Spotify (or Pandora) for music.
10. What about movies? Netflix integration? She used to get Netflix discs in the mail, but lost interest in it. If streaming were extremely easy to use, I think she might enjoy access to a wider variety of shows and movies.

Is the Sonos One (with Alexa voice control) the best solution, with possible future Sonos sound bar? How long before a Sonos 3 (and 5) are available with Alexa built-in? (Perhaps I could prepare a typed “cheat sheet” of useful spoken commands that Mom could use as a guide.)

Sonos One’s inclusion of Alexa might also be useful for controlling a lamp, asking about the weather, news, etc. FWIW, here’s a few on-line articles that I found that discuss use of Alexa by elderly:

http://dailycaring.com/amazon-echo-for-dementia-technology-for-seniors/

https://www.techenhancedlife.com/explorers/amazon-echo-and-alexa-elderly

https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/14/e...y-care-for-their-remote-loved-ones-via-voice/

Perhaps a better solution would be for everything to be TV based, with a sound bar? (These solutions all share a disadvantage that the TV must be on, which may not be ideal for late night listening.)

• Cable TV based music channels? In other words, various music “radio stations” that appear as a cable TV channel. (I believe the provider is Charter. I don’t see any music channels listed on Charter's web site. I’m not sure if she has a choice of cable providers.)
• Smart TV based Tune-in (plus possibly Pandora)? (I tried Tune-in on my Panasonic SmartViera HDTV, and it's fairly easy to use, free, and provides access to countless free radio stations.)
• Or, would something like Roku (or Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast) provide an all-in-one, easy-to-use source for movies and music for an elderly person? How complicated is Roku to use? Does it require a smart phone to use, or a remote control? (I have no experience with Roku.) Could a family member help set up some pre-selected stations, and favorites to make navigation easier?

Do any of these technologies “play well together”. For example, is there an Alexa / Roku (or Amazon Fire TV, etc) interface that’s fully baked, and easy to use? (Or would the current technology likely be a source of aggravation?) Can the user alternate between using the TV remote control, and using Alexa?

Bottom line: I’m looking for a solution that would be very easy to use by an elderly person.

Thanks very much for any suggestions. Perhaps this thread will help others who have aging parents.

 

[drew_t]

I think the key is to find out what, if anything, she wants, and try to get that exact thing for her, even if it's just a little radio or CD player. Trying to talk people of advanced age into using new technology, no matter how great or simple it may be, is often fruitless.

 

[orsen]

as far as i can tell most older folks want simple stuff they are used to
the fella i bought my KEF's from, lives in a mansion, he carries a bose wave radio to what ever part of the house he is in

my parent are 80 ...my dad is going deaf ... they have cable and netflix... they use 2 sound bars my brother set up
hers is wired to the tv and she has her remote .... my fathers is wireless and sits on an end table beside him so he does not need the volume blaring
she has a nice radio in the kitchen and bedroom for her CBC fixes
they have a pc but really its used for news and email by her and he likes the old windows solitaire

i deliver to a few house bound handicapped people .... they just use tv and tv music

 

[blownsi]

The answer to how long a Sonos 3 or 5 with Alexa built is probably in their next gen. However, you can simply buy one or more of the little dots (currently on sale for $30) and control Sonos with them.

My question would be what technology is your mom familiar with? Did she have a console? A rack system? A table radio? Honestly if she's even slightly open to new tech then the Sonos is hard to beat. Otherwise I'd probably go with something like a Bose radio with CD player.

 

[hellhound94]

Agree with above posts: the Bose radio with CD sounds like it would cover a lot of the bases.

 

[marcthisdate]

My Moms 83 and a tech newbie. I bought her an Amazon Echo which I then had linked to my Amazon Prime account. Not the dot but the full size Echo. While not hifi, its good enough for what she needed. It allows her to listen to any of her radio stations which she can't with a normal radio (bad reception lately) and she can ask for almost any song she wants. That and she actually likes the arguments with Alexa when she gets her requests wrong... Keep in mind you also get the bonus of having it double as a phone so she can also use it to make calls, not too bad.

 

[musichal]

Roku would be a good choice for her needs, imo. It is simple to use, with very few buttons on the remote, and provides access to Netflix, Pandora, radio stations and much more. Of course, Netflix requires a small monthly fee, but many 'channels' are free. I'd look for a TV with variable audio outputs and connect a pair of small powered monitors to it in order to keep operation simple and the space needed very compact.

 

[robert_kc]

Thanks for all of the replies.

Clarification: Mom has no CDs.

I'm in the process of watching some youtube videos about some of the technologies that are new to me (e.g., Alexa, Roku). I'll continue my research.

I'll list a couple of quick questions for now. More to follow.

marcthisdate: Does your Mom use Amazon Echo to access Tune-in? Amazon Prime Music? Amazon Unlimited Music? Did you mark a few radio stations as favorites? Does that make it easier to use Alexa to play a radio station (i.e., narrowing the selections)? And/or, did you provide your Mom a written "cheat sheet" of Alexa commands, including some radio stations? I'm intrigued by Alexa - I might get a Sonos One or Amazon Echo and try it.

musichal: Is Roku the only audio/video streaming service that uses a remote control vs. smartphone? What's the benefit of using Roku vs. apps built-into a smart TV? As I said above, I tried Tune-in on my Panasonic SmartViera HDTV, and it's fairly easy to use, and provides access to countless free radio stations. A Roku or smart TV solution seems like it might be the easiest to use, and a sound bar (or powered speakers) could serve for both TV and music.

Please keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks again.

 

[marcthisdate]

Thanks for all of the replies.

Clarification: Mom has no CDs.

I'm in the process of watching some youtube videos about some of the technologies that are new to me (e.g., Alexa, Roku). I'll continue my research.

I'll list a couple of quick questions for now. More to follow.

marcthisdate: Does your Mom use Amazon Echo to access Tune-in? Amazon Prime Music? Amazon Unlimited Music? Did you mark a few radio stations as favorites? Does that make it easier to use Alexa to play a radio station (i.e., narrowing the selections)? And/or, did you provide your Mom a written "cheat sheet" of Alexa commands, including some radio stations? I'm intrigued by Alexa - I might get a Sonos One or Amazon Echo and try it.

musichal: Is Roku the only audio/video streaming service that uses a remote control vs. smartphone? What's the benefit of using Roku vs. apps built-into a smart TV? As I said above, I tried Tune-in on my Panasonic SmartViera HDTV, and it's fairly easy to use, and provides access to countless free radio stations. A Roku or smart TV solution seems like it might be the easiest to use, and a sound bar (or powered speakers) could serve for both TV and music.

Please keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks again.

For playing radio stations, all she has to do is say either say 95.5fm or say wplj radio station and it plays it. No need for favorites and the skill is built in. That’s why she took to it so quickly. The fact that alexa understands simple commands was the key.

 

[musichal]

Thanks for all of the replies.

Clarification: Mom has no CDs.

I'm in the process of watching some youtube videos about some of the technologies that are new to me (e.g., Alexa, Roku). I'll continue my research.

I'll list a couple of quick questions for now. More to follow.

marcthisdate: Does your Mom use Amazon Echo to access Tune-in? Amazon Prime Music? Amazon Unlimited Music? Did you mark a few radio stations as favorites? Does that make it easier to use Alexa to play a radio station (i.e., narrowing the selections)? And/or, did you provide your Mom a written "cheat sheet" of Alexa commands, including some radio stations? I'm intrigued by Alexa - I might get a Sonos One or Amazon Echo and try it.

musichal: Is Roku the only audio/video streaming service that uses a remote control vs. smartphone? What's the benefit of using Roku vs. apps built-into a smart TV? As I said above, I tried Tune-in on my Panasonic SmartViera HDTV, and it's fairly easy to use, and provides access to countless free radio stations. A Roku or smart TV solution seems like it might be the easiest to use, and a sound bar (or powered speakers) could serve for both TV and music.

Please keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks again.

TuneIn is easy via Roku. Not sure about remote control question.

 

[Andyman]

My mother is 90 and this hits home. Don't overestimate what your mom can and can't handle; simple to you is rocket science to most elderly.
This really is pretty much to the point...All hell breaks lose once they change the channel off 3 for an input

 

[robert_kc]

Based on my research thus far, it appears that the best solution might be for everything to be smart-TV (or possibly Roku) based, with a sound bar. Presumably, if the smart TV and sound bar are from the same manufacturer, a single remote control would work. Same for a Blu-ray player (if she doesn’t do streaming.) (I haven’t been into a store to test any TVs yet.) These solutions all share a disadvantage that the TV must be on to listen to music, which may not be ideal for late night listening, and might cause TV image burn-in. I think that Samsung smart TVs have the Tune-in app, and Samsung offers soundbars. (There are probably other manufacturers.)

Am I correct that a Sonos One (with Amazon Alexa voice control) will NOT play TV audio - i.e., a separate Sonos sound bar would be required for TV? Can Amazon Echo play TV audio?

Another option for music might be the Grace Digital Encore+ (or Mondo+) internet radio, but I’m concerned about ease of use (considering that I’m assuming Mom won’t use a smartphone or tablet). This radio might be able to connect to the TV via Bluetooth, or analog RCA connections, depending on whether the TV offers this connectivity. (The Grace Digital products don’t have an optical input.) Would there be a lip-synch problem with Bluetooth audio from the TV? A potential benefit is that the radio could be next to the listening chair, and wouldn’t have to be turned up as loud as a sound bar that is across the room. It comes down to ease of use – could someone else program the preset buttons for Tune-in (and Pandora) radio stations?