Yes, it's not really possible with current products. But part of the point is that we should strive to make it possible; the original 6-button Apple remote should be the minimum and every additional button needs a significant justification for its existence, such as volume control.
On/off? Make everything power efficient, turn off after some idle time or detecting that no one is around, reliable auto power on across devices (HDMI-CEC is terribly unreliable), reduce "on" times to no more than two seconds, etc. (requiring a full minute for a TV to boot is insane)
Fast forward / rewind? Reuse left/right arrows. Heck Netflix on my TV doesn't even let you use the dedicated fast forward / play / etc buttons - you have to use the d-pad.
Number pad / channel control? Depends on the person. Cable's dying though, so it makes slightly less sense each day.
3D button? Detect whether glasses are being used. Or develop useful non-eyestrain inducing 3D in the first place.
Widescreen button? Ditch legacy hookups already!
Closed caption button? Who wants to toggle this often enough to warrant a dedicated button? (Yes I know broadcasters are retarded enough that you need to, you shouldn't need to though)
Device selection? Maybe one input selection button. But the button presses should always go to the intended device without having to push another button on the remote. Yes, HDMI-CEC sucks for this again (big surprise)
On/off? Make everything power efficient, turn off after some idle time or detecting that no one is around, reliable auto power on across devices (HDMI-CEC is terribly unreliable), reduce "on" times to no more than two seconds, etc. (requiring a full minute for a TV to boot is insane)
Fast forward / rewind? Reuse left/right arrows. Heck Netflix on my TV doesn't even let you use the dedicated fast forward / play / etc buttons - you have to use the d-pad.
Number pad / channel control? Depends on the person. Cable's dying though, so it makes slightly less sense each day.
3D button? Detect whether glasses are being used. Or develop useful non-eyestrain inducing 3D in the first place.
Widescreen button? Ditch legacy hookups already!
Closed caption button? Who wants to toggle this often enough to warrant a dedicated button? (Yes I know broadcasters are retarded enough that you need to, you shouldn't need to though)
Device selection? Maybe one input selection button. But the button presses should always go to the intended device without having to push another button on the remote. Yes, HDMI-CEC sucks for this again (big surprise)