3SS Partners With Tech4home

3 Screen Solutions (3SS) and Tech4home (t4h.) have partnered to offer pay-TV operators a pre-integrated remote control and user experience platform designed to support programmable shortcuts, targeted promotions and new monetisation opportunities.

The collaboration combines Tech4home’s remote control hardware and programmable key technology with 3SS’s 3Ready Platform, which provides the user experience and service management layer for set-top boxes and other connected devices.

By integrating the technologies in advance, the companies aim to reduce the work required by operators to deploy programmable remote controls across their subscriber bases.

A central feature of the offering is the ability to change the function of remote control buttons after devices have been deployed.

Remote controls have traditionally shipped with dedicated buttons linked to particular services or functions. Those shortcuts can become outdated when streaming services are rebranded, operator strategies change or new content partnerships are introduced.

Tech4home’s programmable keys can instead be reassigned remotely, while subscribers can configure up to four keys on supported models according to their viewing preferences. The buttons can be used to launch applications, access contextual functions within the TV interface or open voice-based services such as 3SS’s 3Ready Hero.

Operators manage the programmable buttons through 3Ready Control Center, 3SS’s platform for managing and configuring user experiences across devices, markets and brands. This enables button assignments to be changed centrally and targeted at selected groups of devices.

The companies are also integrating Tech4home’s AdaptiveKey technology, which incorporates an interactive display into a remote control button.

Because the key’s displayed label, destination and function are software-controlled, operators can change them without replacing the remote. The functionality is managed through 3Ready Control Center alongside Tech4home’s other programmable button technologies.

The companies see AdaptiveKey as a way of turning the remote control into an additional promotional and commercial channel for pay-TV providers.

Operators could, for example, display promotions on the remote and link them directly to streaming services, content packages or programmes. Campaigns could be targeted according to subscriber profiles, while button positions could potentially be offered to OTT services and other content partners as sponsored placements.

The software-based approach also allows operators to alter campaigns to reflect new content releases, seasonal programming or commercial partnerships without making changes to equipment already installed in subscribers’ homes.

Campaign configuration and targeting are handled through 3Ready Control Center. Analytics generated by the platform can also provide information about how individual keys are used, allowing operators to measure engagement and test different button assignments and promotions.

The partnership reflects a broader effort by technology suppliers to expand the role of the television remote beyond basic device navigation and make it a configurable part of the pay-TV user experience and commercial platform.

Tech4home’s AdaptiveKey-powered Alva Programmable Buttons received a German Innovation Award from the German Design Council in 2026. The company’s Notus remote control with programmable buttons was also recognised with a Red Dot Award in 2026.

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