Eight-function remote uses one button, no microcode
From: EDN - 12/15/22009 - page 47
By: Jay Davis

Simplify the operation of a remote control.

Many people with significant physical disabilities can't operate everyday
mechanisms, such as TV remote controls. To make matters worse, adaptive
technologies are often unaffordable unless insurance covers them. This Design
Idea describes an interface circuit that lets a disabled person control eight
remote-control functions. The design uses older, small-scale-integration ICs
because of their simplicity, low power requirements, affordability, and
availability at stores such as Radio Shack. Because the circuit uses no
microcontroller, you need not do any programming. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.edn.com/article/CA6711861.html

Schematic
http://www.edn.com/contents/images/6711861f1.pdf