Video calls on TV for seniors: one tap, no apps
A demo of a video call on the TV: Dad taps a name on a simple web remote, I get a text with a link, tap Answer and appear on his TV. No app on either end.
Read the full story: I'm turning my dad's TV into a video phone
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A video call that starts from the TV, with nothing to install on either end. This is a demo on a test TV: it isn't on my dad's TV yet, and a cardboard cutout of my cat stands in for him.
It opens beside the TV, then shows why a call on an iPhone is harder than it should be: finding the contact, the icons, and a menu with FaceTime, Telegram and WhatsApp.
Then the same call from the TV. The web remote shows the same screen as the TV, with one Call Ben button. A tap turns the TV to Waiting for Ben, a text with a link arrives, a tap on Answer, and the call connects, big on the TV.
It works the other way too. A call from my phone wakes the TV if it's off and rings until someone answers, and it rings over a show that's playing. After the call, the show comes back.
It ends on one tap for him and no apps for either of us. More on BoomerOS.
Transcript
I turned my dad's TV into a video phone.
On his iPhone, a video call means finding my contact,
remembering which icon is video,
then picking FaceTime out of a list.
From his chair, he taps my name
on the simple web remote we built.
I get a text with a link.
I tap answer and I'm on his TV.
He sees me big and there's no phone to hold up.
We're still working out the bugs.
So for now, I'm calling a cardboard cutout of my cat.
He picks up every time.
This is part of BoomerOS,
the simple TV home screen we're building for our parents.
It works the other way too.
Even with the TV off, it wakes up and rings.
One tap and I'm there.
It rings over whatever he's watching.
Hang up and his show comes back.
One tap for him, no apps for either of us.