This should probably come as a surprise to no one, but Logitech recently commissioned a study that shows many people are becoming increasingly frustrated with remote controls. The survey and press release are a bid to help advertise their new line of Harmony remote controls, marketed to these irritated masses.

In fact, one element of the study hits pretty close to home for me. “And, according to the survey results, even when people have the remote, between 15 percent and 24 percent of global households have someone who does not use electronic devices simply because they don’t understand how to operate the remote.” There’s a retired DVD player still in my living room that nobody uses because nobody can find the remote—the device itself doesn’t have any useful external buttons, just on/off and eject.

“If you think you’re the only person who needs to use the TV remote, then the audio remote, then the DVD remote to just watch a movie – you’re wrong,” said Scott Harrington, director of product marketing at Logitech for Harmony remote controls. “An increasing amount of technology in the living room produces greater complexity, for which consumers need a solution. Through the recent study we conducted, we found it’s clear that people around the world are calling for one-touch simplicity, which has been lost in the array of gadgets people use on a daily basis.”

According to research in the seven countries surveyed, which include the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Sweden, Netherlands, the United States and Germany, a majority of households in France (51 percent), Australia (52 percent) and the United Kingdom (52 percent) possess four or more devices in the living room that need remote controls. And the number of devices in the living room leads to frustration or confusion over how to do even a simple task such as watch a movie. In nearly every country in the survey, almost half of remote users needed to press three or more buttons – usually on multiple remote controls – just to watch a DVD.

Unlike traditional universal remote controls, Logitech’s Harmony takes advantage of the information age by connecting the remote to your computer. You can program your remote by searching, downloading, and configuring profiles for a vast and constantly updating array of entertainment system models. Four of the five models also sport a touch-screen, which adapts to your current use to lower the total number of button presses you need to go from cold-start to getting your ears blown off by the THX introduction theme.

According to the survey, it looks like the world is ready for a touch-screen universal remote. The press release cites that almost 9 out of 10 Americans and Australians believe the touch-screen remote will be a solid investment. Looking at all the new devices coming out that are enhancing reality of TV—noting there’s even a Google TV Harmony remote app for the Google Android—such a device may in fact do a lot more than simply act as a universal remote replacement. Devices like the Harmony will become the new personal interaction device for the interactive, Internet-enabled TV experience.