Beo4
| Product : | Beo4 |
|
| Produced from : | 1994 - Present | |
| Designed by : | David Lewis | |
| Finish : | Black/Aluminium | |
| Desirability : | 4 |
The Beo4 remote control was introduced within the Bang & Olufsen product range in 1994 as a replacement for the Beolink 1000 and 5000 and since then has comprised four main different versions as well as others:
- the Mark I version of 1994 had a noticeable ‘AV’ button in its top section
- the Mark II version of 1999 was brought in for use with DVD players, and,
- the Mark III variant of November 2004 onwards introduced the DTV, V.MEM and A.MEM keys
- the Mark IV (Type 1710) introduced mid-2010, which included ‘zone’ controls
- a B&O Play version was announced 2 May 2012 to be used with BeoPlay V1
There is also a hotel version as well as a home cinema version.
Similarly-looking to the shape, size and weight of the Beolink 5000, the Beo4 had fewer buttons with keys laid out just on the one (upper) side. The LCD display - although again similarly-looking - was not ’see through’ the way that Beolink 5000 had been, and further, Beo4 was set up for just one-way operation.
As two-way operation was withdrawn from the company’s product list, updated products such as the Beovision MX 7000 Beo4 was introduced. Other products’ software such as the Beosystem AV9000 was updated to accomodate only the Beo4 and the ever-popular Beocenter 9500 withdrawn, to be replaced by the Beo4-compatible Beocenter 9300.
Die cast zinc and aluminium was used for the remote terminal’s casing, making the handset ‘cool’ to the touch. And whereas the earlier Beolink 5000 had been a little too complicated to use - with keys both on the front and reverse of the handset - the Beo4 was simplified in that primary keys were still visible but secondary controls (which were less frequently used) were summoned to use by way of a ‘LIST’ button. In this way the user could customise the remote control to accomodate the present needs and the products that were actually owned (this practise has been taken yet further with the introduction of the Beo5). Yet the handset was still relatively future-proof in that products could be added to the LIST memory as need arose.
As with many other manufacturers’ handsets at that time, the introduction of four coloured buttons was also made on the Beo4, similar to Fasttext buttons for immediate summoning of particular ‘blocks’ of Teletext pages. The handset looked much neater than either of its predecessors and was much more pleasing to use.
The Beo4 functioned perfectly well with all post-1994 products and most from about 1988 onwards. As the handset used different infra-red frequencies found on standard handsets, it functioned even if not directly pointed at the apparatus in question. It also worked for Beolink® around-the-house music systems.
Introduced in 2006 was the Beo4 Cinema which was used within BeoLiving product arrangements. There was also a wall bracket ((Type 2067) Part no: 1206766) which was available in order whereby to mount the handset on a wall.
Beo4 Type 1710 was introduced mid-2010 which introduced zones, similar to the Beo5. The new remote is recognised by the ‘Text’ button on the third layer of top buttons (see below). By pressing the ‘ADD’ items to the ‘LIST ‘ the user has three options: AV, LIGHT and CONTROL
In late 2012 a new Beo 4 remote control was introduced which incorporated a joystick in place of the old GO button in the centre of the lower rocker switches.
With the new Beo 4 one can set its IR (infrared) strength.
Beo4 types:
Details:
Required batteries: 3 x AA
Dimensions: 254 x 38 x 20mm
Weight (t/w batteries): 290g
